Where are we one year after the European Commission published the draft 2028-2034 MFF?

As negotiations intensify for the EU institutions and Member States on the next long-term budget - the EU 2028–2034 Multi-annual Financial Framework (MFF) - we continue our special series exploring what's at stake.

From healthcare and digital to defence, green innovation and skills, we unpack how the new funding cycle will shape Europe's priorities and open fresh opportunities for innovators, industry and the public sector.

Our goal: to help our clients and our extended community understand where EU money will flow, position early and engage in shaping the next chapter of EU's investment agenda.

This week, we dive into healthcare - part 2: Health, medical and pharma innovation

The EU budget negotiations are live

The EU's next seven-year budget is being negotiated as you read this. The Commission presented its MFF 2028–2034 proposal in July 2025, and institutional negotiations in the European Parliament and the Council and then all together, are running throughout 2026 and, experience tells, very likely into 2027.

The political choices made in the coming months will determine how much EU money flows into health, medical innovation and crisis preparedness for the next decade.

The Commission's proposal 

The 2028–2034 MFF restructures EU funding more significantly than any previous budget cycle. The new flagship instrument is the European Competitiveness Fund (ECF), a proposed €234 billion mechanism that consolidates 14 existing programmes, including EU4Health, into one streamlined vehicle. Combined with a renewed Horizon Europe (€175 billion), this creates an EC proposed €409 billion envelope for strategic technology and innovation investment. Out of this health, biotech, agriculture and the bioeconomy share a dedicated policy window of €20.4 billion. That is a significant allocation, but it covers several sectors simultaneously, and how the budget breaks down between them was not clearly defined by the Commission draft regulations.

In parallel, the absorption of EU4Health into the ECF marks one of the most consequential (and controversial) structural shifts for the health sector. Health is now explicitly framed as a competitiveness and strategic resilience issue. That reframing opens new doors but it also raises legitimate concerns about dedicated visibility and ring-fenced funding for public health interventions like prevention or early detection of chronic diseases.

And here indeed is where the land of divergence and negotiation starts.

The central debate now, in mid 2026

The health community is not accepting the Commission's framing without challenge. Civil society organisations, health alliances, medtech associations and MEPs are pushing for health and life sciences to be treated as a strategic priority across the full EU budget, with clear ring-fencing, dedicated funding lines and measurable outcomes. In the end, the question is whether health benefits from broader competitiveness instruments on its own terms or gets diluted within them.

But there is more. In June 2026, the debate shifted to budget numbers: the Cyprus Presidency's Negotiating Box introduced the first concrete figures in the Council track and the proposed reductions are visible in programmes relevant to the health vertical (The European Competitiveness Fund and Horizon Europe). This reinforces the central challenge for the health community: health is present in the future budget, but mainly as part of competitiveness, research, innovation and preparedness instruments, rather than as a clearly ring-fenced health policy. The next phase of negotiations will therefore determine whether health receives a measurable and protected role within these broader envelopes, or whether it is spread among wider industrial and strategic priorities.

This debate is live through 2026 and potentially 2027. It will shape work programme priorities, eligibility criteria and the funding opportunities available to health organisations across Europe. Early positioning through associations, coalitions and direct engagement are mandatory.

The national dimension: NRPPs and where money actually lands in EU countries

ECF and FP10 are European-level programmes and only part of the picture (together with the Union Civil Protection Mechanisms, revamped in the EC proposal). The next MFF introduces National and Regional Partnership Plans (NRPPs), replacing the current cohesion and structural fund partnership agreements. Member States will consolidate key EU funds into a single national strategy, with more flexibility to tailor priorities to local conditions.

Some Member States are already in preparation mode. By way of example, Poland has formally launched a multi-stakeholder working group for government, regions, civil society, academia and economic partners to shape its NRPP priorities.

Whether health becomes a fundable priority or is pushed to the margins will largely depend on the decisions of national and regional governments, which have the discretion to propose their pipeline of future investments to the EU.

For health organisations, this is an equally important positioning track: not just Brussels, but the capitals.

Don't overlook what is still on the table: MFF 2021–2027

While attention shifts to the next MFF, the current one is still very much live. EU4Health, Horizon Europe health clusters, cohesion funds supporting health infrastructure, and InvestEU health strands are all continuing to fund projects under the 2021–2027 framework. Under standard EU budget rules, funds committed under the current MFF can be spent until end of 2029. For many organisations, this represents a two-to-three-year window that should be capitalised.

New calls are still being published. Projects are still being approved. The window to apply or to accelerate existing project development is now.

What organisations should do

Two tracks need to run simultaneously.

On the 2028–2034 track: monitor negotiations closely, engage in public consultations, and work through associations and sectoral coalitions to ensure health is ring-fenced in the ECF and reflected in NRPP priorities at national level. The advocacy window is open as we speak.

On the 2021–2027 track: map remaining funding under the new wave of expected EU4Health calls, Horizon Europe health missions, and relevant cohesion programmes in key EU countries. Identify project opportunities, build or join consortia, and advance project development ahead of programme closure.

Waiting for the next MFF to be finalised before acting means missing the opportunities that exist today and arriving late to the ones that come next.

How we can help

Schuman Associates combines Brussels-level policy intelligence with in-country expertise and networks across Europe. We help health, medtech and life sciences organisations navigate both tracks simultaneously: tracking MFF negotiations, shaping advocacy strategies, mapping live funding calls, building stakeholder coalitions, positioning projects, and supporting bid development and implementation.

If you are active in health, medical innovation, digital health, biotech or crisis preparedness, the window to act is open.

Get in touch to explore your 2028–2034 positioning and 2021–2027 funding opportunities.