EU Annual Budget Conference 🇪🇺

The next long-term budget will power the Union shared vision for the future in a context of growing geopolitical, economic and societal challenges.  

The Annual EU Budget Conference brought together a wide array of stakeholders to rethink a future budget with the Union policy priorities at the centre by making it more focused, simpler and impactful.  

A Voice for Venture in Europe’s Financial Future

Participating in the high-level thematic exchange on “The Future of EU Competitiveness: the EU Budget”, Kinga Stanisławska, joined a panel that included leaders like Minister of Economy, Trade and Business in Spain, Carlos Cuerpo Caballero, Executive Vice-President Strategy of Airbus, Matthieu Louvot, Member of the European Parliament Carla Tavares, and Finnish Mayor Kai Mykkänen. Moderated by Henry Foy Brussels Bureau Chief, Financial Times, the discussion tackled Europe’s innovation capacity, digital transformation, and the urgent need for financial strategies to support long-term growth.

This panel build on the earlier conversation and proposed concrete actions to foster competitiveness from the institutional and private sector point of view. It examined the role of innovation, research, and industrial leadership in strengthening Europe’s competitiveness on the global stage. Topics included advancing digital transformation, clean energy, and advanced technologies to drive economic growth. The discussion explored how improving the Single Market and aligning EU policies could deliver better results, reduce funding fragmentation, and support long-term growth.

Kinga’s emphasized:

"Venture and growth is an important and most impactful asset class that should be strengthened by budget support to build a private fund of funds layer in Europe (a revival of VentureEU?) and by catalysing secondaries funds. The biggest impact would be providing liquidity through all mechanisms (importantly Capital Markets Union) to attract new players to venture and startups."

Budget as a Strategic Tool

The 2025 Annual Budget Conference, themed “From Local Action to Global Influence: The Next Long-Term Union Budget”, set the stage for redefining how EU finances can support a more competitive, resilient, and sustainable Europe. With participation from leaders like President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, European Council President António Costa, and European Parliament President Roberta Metsola, the conference reflected on the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) and the need to align the next budget with global and local challenges.

Key themes included:

• Citizen engagement in shaping the next long-term EU budget.
• Strengthening EU competitiveness through innovation, digitalisation, clean energy, and better integration of the Single Market.
• Tackling regional disparities and promoting inclusive growth via efficient budget delivery and governance.
• The EU's role as a financial actor, including its position as a major capital markets issuer and promoter of the Euro internationally.
• Modernising EU revenues by integrating public and private finance, creating new resources, and supporting strategic investment areas like infrastructure and climate action.
• Global positioning of the EU through external financing instruments and enhanced cooperation with international partners.
• Transparency and anti-fraud efforts to protect the Union’s financial interests.

‍