The multiannual financial framework
Multiannual financial framework
Keeping the EU's annual budget in check
The multiannual financial framework (MFF) regulation sets 'ceilings' - annual maximum amounts - for the following two types of EU expenditure:
Commitments
They are the amounts that the EU can promise to spend in one given year and which would then be spent in that same year or over several years.
Payments
They refer to expenditure that is spent in a given year of the MFF. This expenditure arises from legal commitments that the EU entered into either in that same year and/or in earlier years.
Ceilings
The MFF also includes annual global ceilings for payment appropriations and for commitment appropriations.
What it does?
- The MFF sets the limits of the annual budgets of the European Union for a period of at least five years
- It determines the amounts that can be spent on commitments and payments each year
- This ensures spending is well-planned and in tune whit the EU's priorities.