The EU Competitiveness Fund for dummies

The European Commission has unveiled its long-awaited plan for the future EU budget. Brussels proposed to shake up the EU’s finances with the creation of a Competitiveness Fund — a single, €400-billion pot which it hopes will give the bloc the financial firepower needed to deliver on climate, energy and economic objectives. Contexte looks at the fine print to figure out just how this budgetary overhaul will work.
18 July 2025 at 8h00
Energy
Jérémie Luciani for Contexte

The European Commission has finally unveiled its draft proposal for the bloc’s future Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) , the €2-trillion budget that will run from 2028 to 2034.

It features a novelty, in the form of a new European Competitiveness Fund (ECF), covering areas from energy and climate to health, defence and digital.

Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s proposed financial blueprint aligns with the leading priority of her new mandate — ensuring the EU stays competitive in a fast-moving…

Further reading

Five things the new EU budget would mean for energy and climate Five things the new EU budget would mean for energy and climate
Jérémie Luciani pour Contexte

Five things the new EU budget would mean for energy and climate

The European Commission has finally unveiled its €2-trillion proposal for the 2028-2034 EU budget — and there’s plenty for energy and climate watchers to dig into. With a fivefold boost in cross-border energy infrastructure spending, 35% of funds earmarked for green priorities, and a notable new role for nuclear, Contexte sets out some key points to take away.
Multiannual financial framework (MFF)
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Connecting Europe Facility (CEF)
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Competitiveness Fund
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Nuclear power
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Energy networks
The long and winding road to a new EU budget The long and winding road to a new EU budget
Infographic

The long and winding road to a new EU budget

Negotiations on the European Union’s long term, multiyear budget kick off on 16 July. But with EU countries divided on everything from climate and the economy to security and defence, not everyone sees eye to eye on just how to allocate the €1.2 trillion potentially at stake. Ahead of negotiations for the post-2027 EU budget, which could last up to two years, Contexte examines the process that lies ahead.
Multiannual financial framework (MFF)
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Energy finance
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European Parliament
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Competitiveness Fund
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European Commission
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Von der Leyen 2 Commission
The EU’s clean industrial subsidy framework leaves room for gas The EU’s clean industrial subsidy framework leaves room for gas

The EU’s clean industrial subsidy framework leaves room for gas

The European Commission released its highly anticipated subsidy framework on 25 June, setting out how EU state aid can be dished out for the next five years. The clean industrial state aid framework, a key plank of decarbonisation goals, covers everything from nuclear, to clean technology manufacturing, to de-risking private investments in energy infrastructure. Perhaps most controversially, it allows public subsidies to go to a fossil fuel, albeit setting a 2040 phase-out date.
Competition - Energy
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Natural gas

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