| Dokumendiregister | Riigikogu |
| Viit | 1-2/26-440/1 |
| Registreeritud | 26.06.2026 |
| Sünkroonitud | 26.06.2026 |
| Liik | EL dokument |
| Funktsioon | |
| Sari | |
| Toimik | Komisjoni teatis - COM(2026) 336 |
| Juurdepääsupiirang | Avalik |
| Adressaat | |
| Saabumis/saatmisviis | |
| Vastutaja | |
| Originaal | Ava uues aknas |
EN EN
EUROPEAN COMMISSION
Brussels, 24.6.2026
COM(2026) 336 final
COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN
PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL AND THE COURT OF AUDITORS
CONSOLIDATED ANNUAL ACCOUNTS OF THE EUROPEAN UNION FOR THE
FINANCIAL YEAR 2025
CONTENTS
FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS OF THE YEAR ....................................................... 2
NOTE ACCOMPANYING THE CONSOLIDATED ACCOUNTS .............................. 33
CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND EXPLANATORY NOTES ........... 34
BALANCE SHEET ................................................................................ 36
STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE ............................................. 37
CASHFLOW STATEMENT ...................................................................... 38
STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN NET ASSETS ............................................. 39
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS ............................................... 40
BUDGETARY IMPLEMENTATION REPORTS AND EXPLANATORY NOTES ...........140
GLOSSARY ..........................................................................................204
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ......................................................................208
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
2
FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS OF THE YEAR
The objective of this section on financial highlights, which has been prepared on the basis of the principles outlined in the IPSASB Recommended Practice Guideline (RPG) 2 ‘Financial Statement
Discussion and Analysis’ is to assist readers in understanding how the operational, financial and
investment activities of the EU are reflected in the different elements of the consolidated financial statements of the EU. The information presented in this section has not been audited. Please note that due to the rounding of figures into millions of euro, some financial data in the tables below may appear not to add up.
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
3
CONTENTS
1. KEY FIGURES AND HIGHLIGHTS OF THE YEAR ............................................... 4
2. SUMMARY OF BUDGET IMPLEMENTATION ..................................................... 8
2.1. Revenue ............................................................................................ 8
2.2. Expenditure ........................................................................................ 9
3. NGEU IMPLEMENTATION .......................................................................... 12
3.1. Overview ......................................................................................... 12
3.2. Disbursements of non-repayable support to Member States under the RRF (including REPowerEU)................................................... 12
3.3. Disbursements of loans under the RRF (including REPowerEU) .................. 13
3.4. Disbursements of non-repayable support to programmes under the EU budget .......................................................................... 13
4. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS ANALYSIS ........................................................... 14
4.1. Revenue .......................................................................................... 14
4.2. Expenses ......................................................................................... 15
4.3. Assets ............................................................................................. 15
4.4. Liabilities ......................................................................................... 17
4.5. Net assets ........................................................................................ 18
4.6. UK withdrawal from the EU ................................................................. 18
5. BUDGETARY CONTINGENT LIABILITIES ...................................................... 20
5.1. Borrowing and lending activities .......................................................... 20
5.2. Budgetary guarantees ........................................................................ 26
5.3. Common Provisioning Fund ................................................................. 27
6. EU POLITICAL AND FINANCIAL FRAMEWORK, GOVERNANCE AND ACCOUNTABILITY ............................................................................. 29
6.1. Political and financial framework .......................................................... 29
6.2. Governance and accountability ............................................................ 30
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
4
1. KEY FIGURES AND HIGHLIGHTS OF THE YEAR
Consolidated financial statements
The consolidated financial statements of the EU comprise more than 50 entities (including the European
Parliament, the Council, the Commission and EU agencies). They are prepared on the basis of accrual- based accounting rules adopted by the Accounting Officer of the Commission, these rules being based on International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS).
As shown in the summarised balance sheet below and further detailed in the Financial Statements Analysis (Section 4), the most notable features of the 2025 EU consolidated financial statements were an increase in borrowing due to new issuance under the unified funding approach, an increase in
financial assets due to the continued implementation of NGEU and further financial support provided to
Ukraine, as well as an increase of the year-end cash balance due to a high level of disbursements planned for the beginning of 2026:
EUR billion
2025 2024 Change
ASSETS
Financial assets 386.1 328.3 57.8
Pre-financing 76.7 78.9 (2.2)
Receivables 34.1 31.7 2.3
Cash and cash equivalents 103.0 63.2 39.9
Property, plant and equipment, and other assets 17.5 16.3 1.2
Total 617.4 518.5 99.0
LIABILITIES
Post-employment benefits 91.1 93.1 (2.0)
Financial liabilities 740.8 601.9 138.9
Payables 65.0 55.4 9.6
Accruals 77.0 67.1 10.0
Other liabilities 2.6 9.8 (7.2)
Total 976.6 827.3 149.3
NET ASSETS
Reserves 0.9 1.0 0.0
Amounts to be called from Member States (360.1) (309.8) (50.3)
Total (359.2) (308.8) (50.3)
see Financial Statement Analysis, Section 4
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
5
The consolidated annual accounts presented here comprise:
1. Changes to the accounts resulting from the implementation of the annual budget 2025 and previously engaged commitments. Annual budget 2025 forms parts of the 2021-2027 multi- annual financial framework amounting to EUR 1.223 trillion in current prices (EUR 1.083 trillion in 2018 prices) combined. On 1 March 2024, a revision of the 2021-2027 multiannual financial framework came into force, enabling the EU budget to continue addressing the most pressing priorities while minimising the impact on national budgets, to the benefit of European citizens
and beyond.1
2. the NextGenerationEU (NGEU) recovery instrument adopted in June 2020. NGEU support was initially foreseen at up to EUR 806.9 billion in current prices (EUR 750 billion in 2018 prices). This envelope was later reduced to EUR 638.1 billion in current prices at the end of January 2026 (EUR 338 billion in RRF grants, EUR 217 billion in RRF loans and EUR 83.1 billion in top- ups of NGEU programmes). In addition, EUR 20 billion stemming from the auctioning of allowances under the Emissions Trading System (ETS) and EUR 2 billion in grants from the
Brexit Adjustment Reserve (BAR) have been added to the RRF grants envelope.
In April 2026, the Commission proposal for a targeted revision of the 2021-2027 multiannual financial framework was adopted to provide support to Ukraine in the form of a loan covered by the headroom and a borrowing cost subsidy funded via the Union budget, including through a new dedicated special instrument2.
On 16 July 2025, the Commission presented its proposal for the 2028-2034 multiannual financial framework.
— Section 2 of the highlights section presents the changes to the accounts resulting from implementation of the 2025 and earlier budgets.
— Section 3 provides an update on implementation of NGEU in 2025.
— Section 4 shows how these changes are reflected in the financial statements;
— Section 5 presents the implications for the contingent liabilities borne by the EU budget;
— Section 6 recalls the main elements of the governance and accountability framework.
1 The key elements include: EUR 50 billion for the Ukraine Facility, EUR 1.5 billion for the European Defence Fund and
EUR 9.6 billion for the Western Balkans, Southern Neighbourhood and beyond, as well as a reinforcement of the Flexibility Instrument to EUR 2 billion and of the Emergency Aid Reserve to EUR 1.5 billion to tackle new potential needs.
2 Ukraine Support Loan as part of the Commission comprehensive plan to provide EUR 90 billion in financial backing to Ukraine for 2026 and 2027.
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
6
The EU budget in 2025
Budget revenue
Commitment appropriations
EUR 224.4 billion revenue
EUR 212.1 billion implemented
to deliver EU policy objectives
see Section 2.1
see Section 2.2
Budgetary contingent liabilities at 31 December 2025: EUR 475.7 billion
EUR
155.4 bn
EUR
1.4 bn
EUR
3.2 bn
EUR
2.6 bn
EUR
40.8 bn
EUR
21.0 bn
EUR 224.4 billion revenue
Own resources
Surpluses, balances and adjustments
Administrative revenue
Financial revenue, default interest and fines
Budgetary guarantees, borrowing-and-lending operations
Revenue, contributions and refunds related to union policies
Total EUR 224.4
billion EUR
27.1 bn
EUR
65.9 bn EUR
12.4 bn
EUR
0.6 bn
EUR
57.7 bn
EUR
4.7 bnEUR
2.7 bn
EUR
19.6 bn
EUR
14.0 bn
EUR
6.4 bn
EUR
1.1 bn
EUR 212.1 billion implemented
to deliver EU policy objectives
Total EUR 212.1
billion
1. Single Market, Innovation and digital
2a. Economic, social and territorial cohesion
2b. Resilience and values (excluding RRF)
2b. Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF)
3. Natural Resources and Environment
4. Migration and Border Management
6. Neighbourhood and the World
5. Security and Defence
O. Outside MFF
7. European Public Administration
S. Solidarity mechanisms within and outside the Union (Special instruments)
Loans to Member States EUR 286.1 bn
Loans to third countries EUR 77.0 bn
Budgetary guarantees - ceiling EUR 112.6 bn
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
7
Key developments in 2025
Increase in EU-Bond issuance
see Section 5
Delivering NGEU objectives
Financial assistance to Ukraine
see Section 3
see Section 5
138.1
152.6
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180
31.12.2024
31.12.2025
EUR 152.6 bn for NGEU and financial assistance EUR billion
Source: Half-yearly report on the implementation of borrowing, debt management and related lending operations pursuant to Article 13 of Commission Implementing Decision C(2023)8010
46.4
93.5
141.6
197.5
237.5
18.0
45.2
79.2
108.7
155.9
7.2
23.3
42.3
66.9
75.4
71.6
162.0
263.1
373.0
468.8
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
400
450
500
2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
Total NGEU disbursements
increased to EUR 468.8 bn
Contributions to MFF programmes (net of recoveries)
Member State loans (RRF/REPowerEU)
Member State non-repayable support (RRF/REPowerEU)
EUR billion
4.4
11.6
29.0
42.1
7.2
18.0
13.1
28.2
4.4
11.6
29.6
42.1
70.3
0.0
10.0
20.0
30.0
40.0
50.0
60.0
70.0
2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
EU loan support to Ukraine
increased to EUR 70.3 bn
Outstanding Additional
EUR billion
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
8
2. SUMMARY OF BUDGET IMPLEMENTATION
2.1. Revenue
In the initial adopted EU budget, signed by the President of the European Parliament on 27 November 2024, total payment appropriations amounted to EUR 155 209 million and the amount to
be financed by own resources totalled EUR 151 161 million. The revenue and expenditure estimates in the initial budget are typically adjusted during the budgetary year by way of amending budgets. Adjustments in the GNI-based own resources ensure that budgeted revenue matches exactly budgeted expenditure. In accordance with the principle of equilibrium, budget revenue and expenditure (payment appropriations) must be in balance.
During 2025, three amending budgets were adopted. Taking them into account, the final adopted
revenue for 2025 amounted to EUR 161 163 million and the total financed by own resources amounted to EUR 154 322 million. The main factor driving the increase of Member States' contributions in 2025 was the increase of payment appropriations.
Title 1 : Own resources
The collection of traditional own resources was around 4% above the forecast amounts in the budget.
Member States' final VAT, GNI and Plastics payments corresponded closely to the final budgetary estimate. The differences between the forecast amounts and the amounts actually paid are due to the
differences between the euro rates used for drawing up the budget and the rates in force at the time when the Member States outside the euro area actually made their payments.
Title 2 : Surpluses, balances and adjustments
The surplus of the previous financial year amounted to EUR 1 345 million. This amount was inscribed in the budget 2025 through an amending budget and the own resources contributions from the Member States was reduced accordingly.
For the VAT and GNI balances, the rules are set out in Article 10b of the Making Available Regulation
(Council Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 609/2014). In the case of the Plastics balances the rules are stipulated in Article 9 of the Plastics Making Available Regulation (Council Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 2021/770).
According to these rules the total sum of the balances are calculated in order for the impact on the EU budget to be zero (‘netting system’) and the procedure does not entail a budgetary amendment. The Commission therefore directly requests the Member States to pay the net amounts in accordance with
the rules of the Making Available Regulation.
Title 3 : Administrative revenue
This title comprises mainly revenue from taxes and levies on the remuneration of staff.
Title 4 : Financial revenue, default interest and fines
The main part corresponds to the fines in connection with the implementation of the rules on competition.
Title 5 : Budgetary guarantees, borrowing and lending operations
This title has increased significantly with the advent of the NGEU. NGEU funds within this title are
assigned revenue. Title 5 covers revenue related to guarantees and interest and repayments of loans
granted. It also channels funds (for the NGEU non-repayable support under the Recovery and Resilience Facility and for reinforcement of MFF programmes) from assigned revenue that Member States receive under the European Union Recovery Instrument (EURI).
Title 6 : Revenue, contributions and refunds related to Union policies
This title concerns mainly revenue from financial corrections related to structural and agricultural funds (ESIF, EAGF and EAFRD). It also includes the participation of third countries in research programs, the
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
9
clearance of accounts in agricultural funds and other contributions and refunds to EU programs/activities.
A substantial part of this total is made up of assigned revenue, which gives rise to the entering of additional appropriations on the expenditure side.
Total 2025 budget revenue amounted to EUR 224 398 million:
2.2. Expenditure
2.2.1. Budget implementation
Adopted budget
In 2025, the fifth year of the MFF 2021-2027, the final adopted budget amounted to EUR 199.2 billion of commitment appropriations and EUR 161.2 billion of payment appropriations. In addition, EUR 27.1
billion of commitment appropriations were available as assigned revenue, out of which EUR 0.2 billion related to the NGEU, and EUR 1.8 billion of commitment appropriations were carried over from 2024. The payment appropriations related to 2025 assigned revenue amounted to EUR 85.9 billion, out of which EUR 43.8 billion related to the NGEU and EUR 3.9 billion of payment appropriations were carried over from 2024.
Implementation of commitment appropriations
Active monitoring of budget implementation and good cooperation between the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission brought about full implementation of the budget.
The implementation of the total commitment appropriations in 2025 amounted to EUR 212.1 billion:
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
10
— EUR 196.1 billion from the final adopted budget;
— EUR 1.6 billion from appropriations carried-over or made available again from 2024;
— EUR 14.5 billion from appropriations stemming from assigned revenue;
– of which EUR 39 million from NGEU.
Implementation of payment appropriations
The implementation of the total payment appropriations in 2025 amounted to EUR 216.4 billion:
— EUR 155.2 billion from the final adopted budget;
— EUR 3.6 billion from appropriations carried-over or made available again from 2024;
— EUR 57.6 billion from appropriations stemming from assigned revenue;
– of which EUR 41.7 billion from NGEU.
In cases allowed by the Financial Regulation3 and/or legal bases of specific programmes, the appropriations of the voted budget that were not implemented in 2025 were carried over to 2026: EUR 2.1 billion of commitment appropriations and EUR 6.1 billion of payment appropriations.
Likewise, EUR 12.4 billion of commitment appropriations of assigned revenue and EUR 28.3 billion of
payment appropriations of assigned revenue were carried over to 2026 in accordance with the Financial Regulation.
Total 2025 commitment appropriations implementation per MFF 2021-2027 heading were as shown below:
3 Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 September 2024 on the
financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union (recast), OJ L, 2024/2509, 26.9.2024.
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
11
The 2025 implementation for all types of appropriations (budget, carry-overs from previous year and assigned revenue) was 93% for commitments and 86% for payments. Implementation rates including the appropriations carried over to 2026 (in accordance with the Financial Regulation and/or legal bases) reached 99.5% for commitment appropriations and 100% for payment appropriations of the voted budget for 2025.
The NGEU appropriations for the non-repayable support were inscribed in full in 2021, i.e. EUR 421.1
billion in commitment appropriations. 2023 was the last year for which the related legal commitments could be entered into.
In 2025, the NGEU payment appropriations amounted to EUR 43.8 billion and the implementation reached 95.4%. The remaining amount of EUR 2.0 billion of payment appropriations was carried over to 2026.
2.2.2. Commitment appropriations definitively cancelled
Under the Conditionality Regulation, decommitments for a total of EUR 1 078 million (of which EUR 30 million under NGEU) were posted in the course of 2023 on commitments related to Hungary. By the end of 2025, the related commitment appropriations could not be reconstituted and were definitively
cancelled.
2.2.3. Outstanding commitments
Outstanding commitments (commonly referred to as RAL – reste à liquider), which correspond to amounts committed but not yet paid for, stood at EUR 501.1 billion at the end of 2025. The outstanding commitments decreased as compared to 2024 (by EUR 6.3 billion).
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
12
The main driver of the 2025 decrease of the RAL was the NGEU (non-repayable part) implementation,
contributing EUR 124.1 billion (24.9%) to the total RAL at the end of 2025.
2.2.4. Budget result
The budget result (surplus) increased from EUR 1.3 billion in 2024 to EUR 2.1 billion in 2025. The 2025 budget result is mainly impacted by the overimplementation of budgetary revenue on title 4 – Financial revenue, default interest and fines.
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
13
3. NGEU IMPLEMENTATION
3.1. Overview
At the end of 2025, the Commission had disbursed a total of EUR 468.8 billion in financial support. The majority of this amount, EUR 393.4 billion, was disbursed under the RRF (including support for
REPowerEU reforms and investments), with EUR 237.5 billion disbursed as non-repayable support and EUR 155.9 billion disbursed as financial loan support. A further EUR 75.4 billion (net of recoveries) was disbursed as MFF payments under existing programmes.
3.2. Disbursements of non-repayable support to Member
States under the RRF (including REPowerEU)
At the end of 2025, the total non-repayable support approved and legally committed amounted to EUR 359.9 billion. The total non-repayable support disbursed amounted to EUR 237.5 billion:
EUR billion
Member State
Total value
of grants
31.12.2025
Budgetary
commitments
31.12.2025*
Total
disbursed
31.12.2025
Austria 4.0 4.0 3.3
Belgium 5.0 5.0 3.0
Bulgaria 6.2 6.2 3.3
Croatia 5.8 5.8 4.7
Cyprus 1.0 1.0 0.5
Czechia 8.4 8.4 5.9
Denmark 1.6 1.6 1.1
Estonia 1.0 1.0 0.6
Finland 1.9 1.9 1.1
France 40.3 40.3 34.1
Germany 30.3 30.3 19.8
Greece 18.2 18.2 12.0
Hungary 6.5 6.5 0.1
Ireland 1.2 1.2 0.7
Italy 71.8 71.8 54.1
Latvia 2.0 2.0 1.1
Lithuania 2.3 2.3 1.1
Luxembourg 0.2 0.2 0.1
Malta 0.3 0.3 0.2
Netherlands 5.4 5.4 2.5
Poland 25.3 25.3 9.5
Portugal 16.3 16.3 10.4
Romania 13.6 13.6 6.4
Slovakia 6.4 6.4 4.0
Slovenia 1.6 1.6 1.1
Spain 79.9 79.9 55.1
Sweden 3.4 3.4 1.6
Total 359.9 359.9 237.5
* Budgetary commitments take into account all decommitments including those related to commitments made before 2025. Of the
total budgetary commitments, EUR 1.0 billion was committed in 2025.
During 2025, the Commission disbursed non-repayable support totalling EUR 40.1 billion. The main
disbursements were to Italy (EUR 7.6 billion) and Spain (EUR 7.1 billion), followed by Greece (EUR 3.5 billion) and France (EUR 3.3 billion).
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
14
3.3. Disbursements of loans under the RRF
(including REPowerEU)
At the end of 2025, the total financial loan support approved and covered by signed loan agreements amounted to EUR 277.2 billion. The total financial loan support disbursed amounted to EUR 155.9 billion:
EUR billion
Member State
Total granted
31.12.2025
Total signed at
31.12.2025
Total disbursed
31.12.2025
Total repaid
31.12.2025
Total outstanding
31.12.2025
Belgium 0.2 0.2 0.1 – 0.1
Croatia 4.3 4.3 1.7 – 1.7
Cyprus* 0.0 0.0 0.0 – 0.0
Czechia 0.3 0.3 0.2 – 0.2
Greece 17.7 17.7 11.4 – 11.4
Hungary 3.9 3.9 0.8 – 0.8
Italy 122.6 122.6 99.1 – 99.1
Lithuania 1.6 1.6 0.8 – 0.8
Poland 29.4 29.4 17.4 – 17.4
Portugal 5.6 5.6 3.4 – 3.4
Romania 7.8 7.8 4.3 – 4.3
Slovenia 0.5 0.5 0.5 – 0.5
Spain 83.2 83.2 16.3 – 16.3
Total 277.2 277.2 155.9 – 155.9
* A total loan support of EUR 0.2 billion was made available to Cyprus by means of Council Implementing Decision of 28 July 2021 to
support reforms and investments. Cyprus has requested to remove those reforms and investments and has not requested to use the
freed-up loan resources to support new measures or to increase the level of implementation of existing measures within its Recovery
and Resilience Plan. Therefore, no loan support is made available to Cyprus going forward, and the loan pre-financing already
disbursed, amounting to EUR 26.0 million, is repayable in line with the terms of the relevant loan agreement.
During 2025, the Commission provided new financial loan support for an amount of EUR 47.2 billion. The main disbursements were to Italy (EUR 23.4 billion) and Spain (EUR 15.9 billion), followed by Poland (EUR 4.0 billion). According to the loan agreements, the Member States will repay 5% of the disbursed amounts on an annual basis, starting 10 years after the disbursement date. This results in a repayment period from 2032 to 2055 for the loans disbursed up until 31 December 2025.
3.4. Disbursements of non-repayable support to programmes under the EU budget
At the end of 2025, the total amount of net payments disbursed to other programmes under the MFF stood at EUR 75.4 billion. This contribution, which is net of recoveries, mainly related to REACT-EU, which finances the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the European Social Fund (ESF, including FEAD):
EUR billion
MFF-Programme
Total
allocation 31.12.2025
Total
net commitments 31.12.2025
Total
net payments 31.12.2025
REACT-EU 50.6 50.6 50.4
- of which ERDF 30.0 30.0 29.9
- of which ESF (incl. FEAD) 20.6 20.6 20.5
Just Transition Fund 10.9 10.8 7.4
Rural Development (EAFRD) 8.1 8.1 6.0
InvestEU 6.1 6.1 4.9
Horizon Europe 5.4 5.4 5.2
RescEU 2.0 2.0 1.5
Total 83.1 83.0 75.4
During 2025, the Commission disbursed EUR 8.5 billion in payments to other MFF programmes, most of which to REACT-EU (EUR 4.1 billion).
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
15
4. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS ANALYSIS
4.1. Revenue
The consolidated revenue of the EU incorporates amounts related to exchange transactions and non- exchange transactions, the latter being the most significant. The five-year trend of the main non-
exchange revenue categories (comprising GNI resources, Traditional own resources, VAT resources, Plastics own resources, Fines and Recovery of expenses) is as follows:
Five-year trend of revenue from main non-exchange transactions*
*2021 to 2025 figures: excluding revenue relating to the UK’s withdrawal from the EU and Other revenue
As budget revenue should equal (or exceed) budget expenditure, the main driver in the revenue trend shown above is the payments made each year.
Main developments in 2025
In 2025, total revenue, comprising all revenue categories, amounted to EUR 202.5 billion, compared to EUR 175.7 billion in the previous year. The main developments explaining the increase of EUR 26.8 billion
or 15.3% were:
— Fines related revenue increased by EUR 1.3 billion mainly due to fines issued to companies;
— Financial revenue increased by EUR 2.6 billion mainly due to increased interest earned on loans;
— VAT contributions have increased from EUR 24.5 billion in 2024 to EUR 25.7 billion in 2025;
— Plastics own resources decreased from EUR 8.2 billion in 2024 to EUR 7.5 billion in 2025;
— Traditional own resources increased from EUR 20.6 billion in 2024 to EUR 23.4 billion in 2025;
and
— Revenue from GNI (gross national income), the primary element of the EU’s operating revenue, increased from EUR 95 billion in 2024 to EUR 106.3 billion in 2025. The increase of EUR 11.3 billion or 11.9%, is explained to a great extent by a rise of payment appropriations needs.
116.0 103.9 101.3
95.0 106.3
20.6
23.5 19.8
20.6
23.4
18.3
19.7 22.5
24.5
25.7
5.8
6.3 7.2 8.2
7.5 2.0
0.9 1.7 4.0
5.4 1.8
1.2 0.8 1.0
1.4
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
180
2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
GNI resources TOR VAT Plastics own resources Fines Recovery of expenses
EUR billion
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
16
4.2. Expenses
The main component of expenses recognised in the consolidated financial statements are expenses delegated to Member States under shared management, which includes the following funds: (i) European
Agricultural Guarantee Fund (EAGF), (ii) European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) and other rural development instruments, (iii) European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) & Cohesion Fund (CF), and (iv) European Social Fund (ESF). These funds made up EUR 106.3 billion or 41.3% of the total expenses of EUR 257.1 billion incurred in 2025 (2024: EUR 101.9 billion, 37.3% of the total expenses). The split of expenses delegated to Member States and their relative weights are presented below:
Main expenses delegated to Member States for the financial year 2025 (shared management)
The increase of expenses delegated to Member States (shared management) concerns mainly the ERDF and Cohesion Fund (by EUR 2.2 billion) where the activities continue to advance, as well as the European
Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD).
Expenses related to transfers including grants and budget support, decreased from EUR 98.8 billion in 2024 to EUR 78.8 billion in 2025. The decrease of EUR 19.9 billion is mainly due to the funding of non- repayable support granted under the NGEU’s RRF, which amounted to EUR 46.8 billion (2024:
EUR 65.8 billion) Despite this significant reduction in expenses, progress in the implementation of milestones and targets continues.
4.3. Assets
As at 31 December 2025 total assets amounted to EUR 617.4 billion (2024: EUR 518.5 billion). The increase is mainly due to further lending under the RRF programme and new loans issued to Ukraine
under the Ukraine Facility and MFA ULCM. The most significant assets on the EU balance sheet were financial assets other than cash and cash equivalents (EUR 386.1 billion), pre-financing (EUR 76.7 billion), receivables and recoverables (EUR 34.1 billon) and cash and cash equivalents (EUR 103 billion). Other assets, amounting to EUR 17.5 billion, mainly included property, plant and equipment and
intangible assets.
40.9 39%
17.0 16%
31.0 29%
17.3 16%
European Agricultural Guarantee Fund
European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development and other rural development instruments
European Regional Development Fund and Cohesion Fund
European Social Fund
Total EUR 106.3
billion
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
17
Composition of assets at 31 December 2025
The increase in total assets of EUR 99.0 billion or 19.1% from the previous year was mainly due to the following effects:
— Loans outstanding increased from EUR 283.6 billion in 2024 to EUR 333.4 billion in 2025. The increase of EUR 49.8 billion or 17.6% mainly reflects the issuance of further loans to Member
States under the RRF and REPowerEU (EUR 47.2 billion) and new loans under the Ukraine Facility and MFA programmes (EUR 10.1 billion and EUR 18.4 billion respectively), offset by EFSM and SURE repayments (EUR 4.9 billion and EUR 8.0 billion respectively) and an increase in impairment of EUR 14.4 billion primarily due to new Ukraine loans;
— Cash and cash equivalents increased from EUR 63.2 billion in 2024 to EUR 103.0 billion in 2025. The increase of EUR 39.9 billion or 63% is mainly due to the higher liquidity relating to the unified funding (EUR 33.9 billion in 2024 versus EUR 65.2 billion at the end of 2025), which
resulted from high level of disbursements planned for the beginning of 2026.
Pre-financing (legally committed advance payments)
In 2025, pre-financing, excluding other advances to Member States and contributions to the trust funds Bêkou and Africa, amounted to EUR 71.3 billion (2024: EUR 75.1 billion). The most significant movement relates to RRF prefinancing, which decreased from EUR 15.4 billion to EUR 10.2 billion in 2025, in line with the normal implementation of the programme, as no additional pre-financings were disbursed in
2025.
The level of pre-financing granted under MFF programmes is significantly influenced by the respective MFF cycle – for example at the beginning of an MFF period large advances are expected to be paid to Member States under cohesion policy and these amounts remain available to Member States until the closure of the programmes. An annual pre-financing is also paid out, which must be used within the year or be recovered the following year as part of the annual closure of the accounts cycle. The Commission
makes every effort to ensure that pre-financing is maintained at an appropriate level. A balance has to be
struck between ensuring sufficient funding for projects and the timely recognition of expenditure.
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
18
4.4. Liabilities
As at 31 December 2025 the total liabilities were EUR 976.6 billion (2024: EUR 827.3 billion). The increase is mainly driven by the borrowings taken out in 2025 under the unified funding approach. The
most significant liabilities were borrowings to finance loans to Member States and third countries (EUR 731.2 billion), pension obligations and other post-employment benefits liabilities (EUR 91.1 billion), accrued charges and deferred income (EUR 77.0 billion) and payables to third parties (EUR 65 billion).
Composition of liabilities at 31 December 2025
The increase of EUR 149.3 billion or 18.0% over the previous year was mainly due to the following effects:
— Borrowings increased from EUR 594.0 billion in 2024 to EUR 731.2 billion in 2025. The increase of EUR 137.2 billion or 23.1% mainly relates to the new issuance under the unified funding approach net of repayments (of EUR 148.3 billion) for RRF, the Ukraine Facility and MFA loans, less EFSM, SURE and BOP repayments of EUR 10.6 billion;
— Accrued charges and deferred income increased from EUR 67.1 billion in 2024 to EUR 77.0 billion in 2025. The increase of EUR 9.9 billion or 14.8% mainly relates to the RRF; and
— Payables increased from EUR 55.4 billion in 2024 to EUR 65.0 billion in 2025. The increase of EUR 9.6 billion or 17.3% is primarily related to ERDF,CF & ESF (increase of EUR 13.9 billion).
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
19
Total cost claims and invoices received and recognised in the Balance Sheet under the heading ‘Payables’
4.5. Net assets
The excess of liabilities over assets at 31 December 2025 stood at EUR 359.2 billion (2024:
EUR 308.8 billion). The most significant items that lead to this increase are additional borrowings under the unified funding approach (which are to be repaid up to 2055, see Section 5.1.1), an increase in policies implementation and related increase in commitment appropriations, the employee benefits liability (which is to be paid over several decades) as well as payments relating to the EAGF, the bulk of which was paid in the first quarter of 2026.
It should be noted that this excess of liabilities over assets does not mean that the EU institutions and bodies are in financial difficulties, rather it means that certain liabilities will be funded by future annual
budgets. Many expenses are recognised under accrual accounting rules in the current year although they may be actually paid in following years and funded using future budgets; the revenues related to these future fundings will only be accounted for in future periods.
4.6. UK withdrawal from the EU
Under the UK Withdrawal Agreement, the UK will continue to contribute to the EU budget and to benefit from pre-2021 EU programmes and expenditure as if it was a Member State. The UK will also receive back certain specified sums it paid into the EU budget or monies received by the EU budget linked to its period of membership. The EU reports twice a year to the UK on the amounts due and the UK pays these on a monthly basis. The reporting is updated each year based on actual figures.
The obligations under the Withdrawal Agreement create liabilities and receivables for the EU which have to be calculated and reflected in the EU’s annual accounts. They cover in particular the following areas:
— own resources (Article 136)
— outstanding commitments (Article 140)
— competition fines (Article 141)
— Union Liabilities (Article 142)
— contingent financial liabilities and financial instruments (Articles 143 & 144)
9.2 9.1 9.7 8.9
23.7
19.1
24.6 22.4 27.3
21.1
28.3
33.7 32.1
36.2
44.7
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
EUR billion
Cost claims/invoices excl. RRF (NGEU) RRF (NGEU)
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
20
— net assets of the European Coal & Steel Community (Article 145)
— EU investment in the European Investment Fund, EIF (Article 146)
— contingent liabilities concerning legal cases (Article 147).
EUR million
Article 140 Article 142 Other 31.12.2025 31.12.2024
Due from the UK 2 327 9 599 166 12 092 14 683
Due to the UK – – (1 331) (1 331) (1 922)
Total 2 327 9 599 (1 165) 10 761 12 762
Non-current 1 928 9 244 (915) 10 256 11 231
Current 399 355 (250) 505 1 530
As at 31 December 2025, the net receivable from the UK based on obligations resulting from the financial
provisions of the Withdrawal Agreement amounted to EUR 10 761 million (2024: EUR 12 762 million). The main elements of this receivable include the UK’s obligations under Article 142, relating to EU post- employment benefit liabilities (EUR 9 599 million) and Article 140, relating to outstanding budgetary commitments (EUR 2 327 million).
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
21
5. BUDGETARY CONTINGENT LIABILITIES
In the recent years, the EU has increasingly used financial instruments (such as loans, guarantees and equity investments), as a means to implement its policies and pursue EU objectives. For example, the loans by the EU to its Member States or partner countries aim at restoring financial stability or promoting economic recovery from crisis situations. The main objective of the EU guarantee programmes is boosting investments and enhancing access to finance to address market failures in the key policy areas.
When the EU provides support in the form of guarantees, it expects to boost investment by a multiple of its budgetary contributions through leveraging support of other financial institutions and investors.
When granting loans to third countries or providing guarantees, the EU budget may incur losses, when some events – that are not fully in the control of the EU – occur. As losses due to non-repayment by final beneficiaries are not likely to materialise in full, the EU does not hold assets for the entirely of those
potential liabilities4, but only up to the level necessary to cover expected losses and a sufficient safety buffer for unexpected losses. Nevertheless, should losses occur above the amounts provisioned, they would be covered by the Member States through future EU budgets. In this sense loans and budgetary guarantees create ‘budgetary contingent liabilities’ for the EU budget.
The EU regularly monitors the sustainability of its contingent liabilities and the adequacy of the assets provisioned held in the Common Provisioning Fund (CPF)5 (see Section 5.3 below).
At the end of 2025, the EU budgetary contingent liabilities totalled EUR 475.7 billion, of which EUR 363.1 billion related to the outstanding loans to sovereigns (EUR 359.4 billion nominal and EUR 3.7 billion accrued interest) and EUR 112.6 billion to the maximum amounts (ceilings) of the guarantees issued. Regarding the loans, EUR 286.1 billion related to loans to Member States and
EUR 77.0 billion to loans to third countries. The assets provisioned for loans to third countries and for guarantees amounted to EUR 27.4 billion.
The EU also incurs other liabilities, which are not contingent in nature, but which – due to their long-term nature – will only be financed by the Member States through future budgets. This mainly relates to the pension liability (EUR 91.1 billion as at 31 December 2025) and to the unified funding borrowings that financed RRF/REPowerEU grants and some other MFF programmes (EUR 312.9 billion as at 31 December 2025, see Sections 3.2 and 3.4).
5.1. Borrowing and lending activities
5.1.1. Borrowing
The Union borrows by issuing securities on international capital markets. The EU budget, ultimately,
guarantees all Union borrowings. Until 2020, borrowings were used only to finance lending activities, see Section 5.1.2. Following the introduction of the NGEU instrument, borrowings are also used to finance RRF/REPower non-repayable support, see Section 3.2.
4 Except for some guarantees provided under the financial instruments programmes of previous MFFs, which were
fully financed or provisioned from the EU budget. 5 See ‘Report from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on financial instruments, budgetary
guarantees, financial assistance and contingent liabilities’ issued annually by the Commission.
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
22
The funding approach
Until 2020, the Commission followed a ‘back to back’ approach, issuing a dedicated bond to fund a specific loan agreement. It transferred the money directly to the beneficiary country on the same terms and conditions (interest rate, maturity). The timing, volume and maturity of bond issuances were
determined by the needs of the beneficiary.
For the NGEU instrument, the Commission uses a diversified, pooled funding approach where the borrowings are not directly funding specific disbursements. Instead, the debt is issued according to semi-annual funding plans, with long-term bonds and short-term bills. The Commission uses auctions and syndications to issue these securities. It then passes on the costs, in line with the cost allocation methodology agreed with Member States6, to the beneficiaries for the loans and to the EU budget for the non-repayable support. This pooled funding approach offers a more flexible and coherent borrowing and
lending activity. It also offers better funding costs and allows the design of a better risk and compliance framework. This funding flexibility also requires a liquidity buffer for an efficient liquidity management.
Following the Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2022/2434 of the European Parliament and of the Council7 in December 2022, the Commission can use this approach for all future borrowings. In this way, the Macro
Financial Assistance (MFA)+ for Ukraine, the Ukraine Facility and other lending programmes can benefit from this flexible and cost-efficient debt management, creating a unified funding approach for all EU
borrowings.
The outstanding borrowings of the EU increased to a total amount of EUR 738.9 billion at 31 December 2025. This amount includes EUR 78.5 billion of NGEU Green Bonds. These issuances are underpinned by the NGEU Green Bond Framework, which is aligned with the Green Bond Principles of the International Capital Market Association (ICMA)8. Funds raised through NGEU Green Bonds finance climate-relevant measures from the national Recovery and Resilience plans (RRPs) under the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF).
The table below shows the repayment schedule for the outstanding EU borrowings (nominal in EUR billion) at 31 December 2025:
6 Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2022/9701. 7 Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2022/2434 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 6 December 2022 amending
Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 as regards the establishment of a diversified funding strategy as a general borrowing method (OJ L 319, 13.12.2022, p. 1).
8 European Commission, Directorate-General for Budget, Green bonds – Impact and allocation report – NGEU report 2023, Publications Office of the European Union, 2023, https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2761/302803.
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
23
UNIFIED BACK-TO-BACK BORROWINGS TOTAL FUNDING SURE EFSM MFA EURATOM
2026 69.9 8.0 6.2 0.1 0.0 84.2
2027 37.2 0.0 3.0 0.2 0.1 40.4
2028 55.6 10.0 2.3 0.2 0.1 68.2
2029 34.1 8.1 1.4 0.9 0.0 44.5
2030 27.7 10.0 0.0 0.1 0.1 37.9
2031 39.2 0.0 6.6 1.2 0.1 47.0
2032 30.3 0.0 3.0 0.7 0.0 34.1
2033 15.7 0.0 2.1 0.5 0.0 18.3
2034 39.7 0.0 0.0 0.7 0.0 40.5
2035 16.9 8.5 2.0 2.0 0.0 29.4
2036 0.0 9.0 5.8 1.3 0.0 16.1
2037 18.4 8.7 0.0 0.9 0.0 28.1
2038 17.0 0.0 1.8 0.3 0.0 19.1
2039 19.3 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.0 19.4
2040 6.0 7.0 0.0 0.5 0.0 13.5
2041 16.9 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 16.9
2042 13.3 0.0 3.0 2.0 0.0 18.3
2043 12.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 12.0
2044 14.4 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 14.4
2045 12.6 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 12.6
2046 0.0 5.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 5.0
2047 0.0 6.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 6.0
2048 15.3 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 15.3
2049 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
2050 17.0 10.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 27.0
2051 15.4 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 15.4
2052 13.9 0.0 0.0 0.5 0.0 14.4
2053 15.3 0.0 0.0 2.5 0.0 17.8
2054 17.3 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 17.3
2055 6.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 6.0
Total 596.5 90.4 37.1 14.7 0.3 738.9
The ‘unified funding’ finances the RRF/REPowerEU loans and non-repayable support as well as the Ukraine Facility, Western Balkans Facility, Moldova Facility and MFA loans signed as of 2023.
5.1.2. Lending
The Commission provides bilateral loans to Member States and third countries in accordance with decisions of the European Parliament and of the Council. In 2025, the Commission, acting on behalf of the EU, operated the following programmes under which it granted loans (in addition to RRF/REPower reported in Section 3.3):
— SURE assistance (Support to mitigate Unemployment Risks in an Emergency);
— European Financial Stabilisation Mechanism (EFSM) assistance;
— Macro-Financial Assistance (MFA);
— Ukraine Facility;
— Western Balkans Facility;
— Moldova Facility;
— Euratom; and
— Balance of Payment (BOP).
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
24
At 31 December 2025, the nominal amount of the loans in EUR billion were:
Total
signed Total undrawn
at year-end Total disbursed
at year-end Outstanding at year-end
SURE
Belgium 8.2 - 8.2 8.2
Bulgaria 1.0 - 1.0 1.0
Croatia 1.6 - 1.6 1.2
Cyprus 0.6 - 0.6 0.5
Czechia 4.5 - 4.5 4.5
Estonia 0.2 - 0.2 0.2
Greece 6.2 - 6.2 5.2
Hungary 0.7 - 0.7 0.7
Ireland 2.5 - 2.5 2.5
Italy 27.4 - 27.4 24.3
Latvia 0.5 - 0.5 0.4
Lithuania 1.1 - 1.1 0.9
Malta 0.4 - 0.4 0.3
Poland 11.2 - 11.2 11.2
Portugal 6.2 - 6.2 6.2
Romania 3.0 - 3.0 3.0
Slovakia 0.6 - 0.6 0.6
Slovenia 1.1 - 1.1 0.9
Spain 21.3 - 21.3 18.5
98.4 - 98.4 90.4
EFSM
Ireland 22.5 - 22.5 17.3
Portugal 24.3 - 24.3 19.8
46.8 - 46.8 37.1
MFA
Albania 0.2 - 0.2 0.2
Armenia 0.1 - 0.1 0.1
Bosnia Herzeg. 0.1 - 0.1 0.1
Georgia 0.1 - 0.1 0.1
Jordan 1.6 0.3 1.3 1.3
Kosovo 0.1 - 0.1 0.1
Kyrgyz Rep. 0.0 - 0.0 0.0
Moldova 0.4 - 0.4 0.4
Montenegro 0.1 - 0.1 0.1
North Macedonia 0.3 0.1 0.2 0.2
Tunisia 1.4 - 1.4 1.4
Ukraine MFA 12.2 - 12.2 11.0
Ukraine MFA+ 18.0 - 18.0 18.0
Ukraine MFA ULCM 18.1 - 18.1 18.1
Egypt 5.0 4.0 1.0 1.0
57.6 4.3 53.3 52.1
Western Balkan Facility
North Macedonia 0.5 0.5 0.0 0.0
Albania 0.7 0.6 0.1 0.1
Serbia 1.1 1.1 0.1 0.1
Montenegro 0.3 0.3 0.0 0.0
2.6 2.4 0.2 0.2
Moldova Facility
Moldova 1.5 1.2 0.3 0.3
Ukraine Facility
Ukraine 33.0 9.8 23.2 23.2
EURATOM
Energoatom, K2R4 Ukraine 0.4 - 0.4 0.3
RRF/REPowerEU 277.2 121.3 155.9 155.9
Total 517.4 139.0 378.5 359.4
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
25
SURE
SURE was established in 2020 to provide financial assistance to Member States who were experiencing, or were seriously threatened with, a severe economic disturbance caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The instrument complements the national measures taken by affected Member States.
The availability of the instrument ended at 31 December 2022 and there are no pending disbursements. The maturity of loans varies between 5 and 30 years.
EFSM
EFSM was created to provide financial assistance to all Member States experiencing or seriously threatened by a severe economic financial disturbance caused by exceptional occurrences beyond their control. This programme has expired and no additional loans can be drawn, except for specific tasks such as the lengthening of maturities of existing loans.
In 2025, Ireland repaid EUR 2.4 billion of EFSM loan due, while Portugal early repaid two loans for a total amount of EUR 2.5 billion. The underlying EU bonds were transferred to the unified funding pool.
MFA
The MFA programme is a form of financial assistance extended by the EU to partner countries outside the EU experiencing a balance of payments crisis. It takes the form of medium/long-term loans or grants, or a combination of these, and is only available to countries benefiting from an International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme.
Ukraine
In 2022 the European Parliament and the Council agreed three packages of financial assistance for
Ukraine9, totalling EUR 7.2 billion, to strengthen the immediate resilience of the country subsequent to
Russia’s unprovoked and unjustified war of aggression. All the loans had been disbursed to Ukraine by the end of 2022. The maturity of these loans to Ukraine varies between 10 to 30 years.
To continue the EU support for Ukraine, an MFA+ loan of EUR 18 billion was disbursed in 2023 under the Regulation (EU) 2022/2463 of the European Parliament and Council10. The loan was funded through the unified funding approach, whereas all previous MFA loans were funded under the back-to-back funding approach.
In October 2024, the EU adopted a new MFA for Ukraine and the Ukraine Loan Cooperation Mechanism (ULCM)11. Under the ULCM, extraordinary revenues from immobilised Russian sovereign assets are used to grant non-repayable support to Ukraine to assist the country in repaying new bilateral loans provided by the G7 partners and the EU under this initiative. Consequently, the EU signed a new MFA loan
agreement with Ukraine in December 2024 for an amount of EUR 18.1 billion, which was fully disbursed by the end of 2025.
At the end of 2025, the total MFA loans outstanding to Ukraine amounted to EUR 47.1 billion (nominal
amount).
Ukraine Facility
On 29 February 2024, the European Parliament and the Council adopted Regulation (EU) 2024/792 establishing the Ukraine Facility12. This instrument covers the years 2024 to 2027 and offers up to EUR 50 billion in financial support to Ukraine, including up to EUR 33 billion of sovereign loans. By
9 Decision (EU) 2022/313 of the European Parliament and the Council for EUR 1.2 billion providing emergency
assistance to Ukraine, Decision (EU) 2022/1201 of the European Parliament and the Council for EUR 1.0 billion providing exceptional assistance to Ukraine, Decision (EU) 2022/1628 of the European Parliament and the Council for EUR 5.0 billion providing exceptional assistance to Ukraine.
10 Regulation (EU) 2022/2463 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 December 2022 establishing an instrument for providing support to Ukraine for 2023 (macro-financial assistance +) (OJ L 322, 16.12.2022, p. 1).
11 Regulation (EU) 2024/2773 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 October 2024 establishing the Ukraine Loan Cooperation Mechanism and providing exceptional macro-financial assistance to Ukraine (OJ L, 28.10.2024).
12 Regulation (EU) 2024/792 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 February 2024 establishing the Ukraine Facility (OJ L, 2024/792, 29.2.2024).
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
26
31 December 2025, EUR 23.2 billion of loans have been disbursed to Ukraine. The Ukraine Facility
sovereign loans are funded through borrowings following the unified funding approach.
Reform and Growth Facility of the Western Balkans
Regulation (EU) 2024/1449 on establishing the Reform and Growth Facility for the Western Balkans13 was adopted in May 2024, while the first loans were disbursed in 2025. The facility is expected to provide up to EUR 4 billion in loans for 2025-2027, with payments conditioned upon the EU partner countries in the Western Balkans implementing specific socio-economic and fundamental reforms.
Reform and Growth Facility for the Republic of Moldova
Regulation (EU) 2025/535 establishing the Reform and Growth Facility for the Republic of Moldova14, was adopted in March 2025. The facility will support Moldova during the period from 2025 to 2027. It is expected to provide up to EUR 1.5 billion in loans, with the first disbursements made in 2025.
Euratom
The European Atomic Energy Community lends money to both Member States and non-Member States, and to entities of both, to finance projects relating to energy installations.
BOP
The BOP is an assistance programme designed for Member States outside the euro area that are experiencing difficulties regarding their balance of payments. In 2025 the last outstanding BOP loan was fully repaid by Latvia.
SAFE
On 27 May 2025, the Council of the European Union adopted the Security Action for Europe (SAFE)15 instrument designed to provide financial support to Member States to accelerate defence readiness by
common procurement. SAFE will provide up to EUR 150 billion in long-term loans to Member States planned to be disbursed in 2026–2030 and financed by the borrowings. EUR 43.7 billion of SAFE loans were signed and effective by 31 May 2026, of which EUR 6.6 billion disbursed.
Ukraine Support Loan
In February 2026, the European Parliament and the Council adopted Regulation (EU) 2026/46716, establishing the Ukraine Support Loan for a maximum amount of up to EUR 90 billion. Implementation of
the programme was subsequently enabled by the amendment to Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2020/2093 – which lays down the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) for the years 2021 to 2027 – following its adoption in April 2026. The related loan agreement was signed in May 2026 and the European
Commission plans to begin disbursements in June 2026.
Liquidity for unified funding
Under the unified funding strategy, a certain amount of proceeds from borrowings are kept in a bank account with the European Central Bank or invested in short-term investments. This liquidity buffer
ensures that sufficient funds are available to meet all upcoming disbursement obligations. In managing the liquidity the Commission takes into account expected disbursement needs and the opportunity costs of cash balances. At year-end 2025, the funds held in the liquidity buffer amounted to EUR 65.2 billion.
13 Regulation (EU) 2024/1449 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 May 2024 on establishing the
Reform and Growth Facility for the Western Balkans (OJ L, 2024/1449, 24.5.2024). 14 Regulation (EU) 2025/535 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 March 2025 establishing the Reform
and Growth Facility for the Republic of Moldova (OJ L, 2025/535, 21.3.2025). 15 Council Regulation (EU) 2025/1106 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 May 2025 establishing the
Security Action for Europe (SAFE) through the Reinforcement of the European Defence Industry Instrument (OJ L, 2025/1106, 28.5.2025).
16 Regulation (EU) 2026/467 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 February 2026 implementing enhanced cooperation on the establishment of the Ukraine Support Loan for 2026 and 2027 (OJ L, 2026/467, 26.2.2026).
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
27
5.1.3. Budgetary safeguards to ensure repayment of borrowings
Borrowings of the EU constitute direct and unconditional obligations of the EU and are guaranteed by the EU Member States. The borrowings undertaken to finance loans are intended to be repaid through timely collection of the principal and interest due on those loans.
Nevertheless, should a beneficiary country default on or delay their repayments, there are number of safeguards to ensure service of the EU debt, which are summarised in the table below. In the short term,
the borrowings will be repaid from the available treasury balance of the Commission. Next, borrowings related to the loans to third countries (except for MFA+ and Ukraine Facility loans) will be repaid from the assets held in the CPF, while in case of the MFA+, Ukraine Facility and loans to Member States, the Commission may call additional resources from the Member States up to the available own resources margin (‘budgetary headroom’). For some programmes, there are also guarantees provided by the Member States. As a consequence, investors are only exposed to the credit risk of the EU, not to that of
the beneficiary of the loans.
EU programme funded by borrowing System of protection
NGEU (RRF and REPowerEU) Budgetary headroom under the temporary own resources ceiling of the EU budget – an extra 0.6% of EU GNI above the own resources ceiling of the EU budget of 1.4% of EU GNI
SURE Guarantee provided by all EU Member States (25%) + budgetary headroom under the own resources ceiling of the EU budget of 1.4% of EU GNI
EFSM Budgetary headroom under the own resources ceiling of the
EU budget of 1.4% of EU GNI
MFA (standard) CPF (9% of the loan to the third country)
Exceptional MFA to Ukraine CPF (9% of the loan) + guarantees by all EU Member States (61%)
MFA+ to Ukraine Budgetary headroom under the own resources ceiling of the EU budget of 1.4% of EU GNI
MFA ULCM Budgetary headroom under the own resources ceiling of the EU budget of 1.4% of EU GNI
Ukraine Facility Budgetary headroom under the own resources ceiling of the EU budget of 1.4% of EU GNI
Western Balkans Facility CPF (9% of the loan to the third country)
Moldova Facility CPF (9% of the loan to the third country)
Euratom loans to third countries
(state-owned entities)
CPF (9% of the loan) and counter-guarantees by third
countries
5.2. Budgetary guarantees
Under this type of budget implementation, the EU provides guarantees to financial institutions (implementing partners) for their financing (lending) and investment (equity) operations to pursue its policy objectives.
The EU has issued guarantees under the following programmes:
— External lending mandate (ELM) guarantees granted to the European Investment Bank (EIB) for their lending operations outside EU, mainly to sovereign and sub sovereign beneficiaries;
— European Fund for Strategic Investment (EFSI) guarantee granted to the EIB Group for their
operations supporting additional investment in the EU and access to finance for SMEs;
— InvestEU guarantee provided to the EIB Group, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and several financial partners in the EU Member States, in order to mobilise private investments for the green and digital transition, innovation and social investments and skills. The InvestEU guarantee may be increased by EFTA and Member States contributions and counter guarantees;
— External Action Guarantee under NDICI Regulation providing guarantees both to the EIB, as well
as to several other counterparts, for their financing and investments outside Europe, both to the
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
28
public and private sector beneficiaries, with the objective of promoting sustainable investments in
the EU’s partner countries;
— European Fund for Sustainable Development (EFSD) guarantee issued to several counterparties with the aim to support investments in Africa and in the European Neighbourhood countries;
— Ukraine Guarantee issued under the Ukraine Facility regulation to several counterparties to boost investments for the recovery and reconstruction of Ukraine.
As at 31 December 2025, the nominal outstanding amount of those guarantees at the maximum level
granted to the implementing partners amounted to EUR 112.6 billion, of which EUR 77.6 billion relates to financing or investment operations signed by the implementing partners (InvestEU, NDICI and Ukraine guarantees are still in the investment period, during which the partners can include new operations under the guarantee).
The Member States and EEA countries may also contribute to the InvestEU programme. Until 31 December 2025, the EU signed contribution agreements with those countries for EUR 3.3 billion,
out of which EUR 2.6 billion relates to cash contributions and EUR 0.6 billion to counter-guarantees.
5.3. Common Provisioning Fund
In order to satisfy any guarantee calls to cover losses incurred by the implementing partners in a timely
manner, the EU provisions amounts from the budget. As of 2021, all assets provisioned are held in the CPF, which functions as a single portfolio, with assets mainly invested in debt securities. Currently, it
combines provisioning for all the EU budgetary guarantees and some financial assistance programmes. The resources of the CPF are allocated into compartments for the purpose of tracing the amounts relating to the contributing budgetary guarantees and financial assistance programmes.
At 31 December 2025, the Commission holds EUR 27.2 billion net assets in the CPF for the following
compartments:
21
25
28
34
4
1
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
Budgetary guarantees
EUR 113 bn ceiling at 31/12/2025
ELM guarantee EFSI guarantee
InvestEU guarantee NDICI external action guarantee
Ukraine guarantee EFSD guarantee
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
29
— Guarantee Fund for external actions – EUR 3.4 billion (covering ELM guarantees as well as pre-
2021 MFA and Euratom loans to third countries)
— EFSI – EUR 9.2 billion
— EFSD – EUR 0.8 billion
— InvestEU compartments – EUR 8.9 billion (including Member State and EEA countries cash contributions)
— NDICI EFSD+ – EUR 3.6 billion
— Ukraine Guarantee – EUR 0.6 billion
— MFA post-2020 loans and Western Balkans Facility – EUR 0.2 billion
— MFA loans to Ukraine – EUR 0.5 billion.
In addition, EUR 0.2 billion is held in the Commission’s central treasury as a liquidity buffer to cover immediate guarantee calls.
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
30
6. EU POLITICAL AND FINANCIAL FRAMEWORK,
GOVERNANCE AND ACCOUNTABILITY
The European Union (EU) is a Union on which the Member States confer competences to attain objectives they have in common. The Union is founded on the values of respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights, including the rights of persons belonging to minorities. These values are common to the Member States in a society in which pluralism, non-discrimination, tolerance, justice, solidarity and equality between women and men prevail.
6.1. Political and financial framework
EU Treaties
The overarching objectives and principles that guide the Union and the
European institutions are defined in the Treaties. The Union and the EU institutions may only act within the limits of the competences conferred by
the Treaties so as to attain the objectives set out therein and must do this in accordance with the principles17 of subsidiarity and proportionality. In order
to attain its objectives and carry out its policies, the Union provides itself with the necessary financial means. The Commission is responsible for promoting the general interest of the Union which includes executing the budget and managing programmes in cooperation with the Member States and in accordance with the principle of sound financial management.
The EU pursues the objectives established by the Treaty with various instruments, one of which is the EU
budget. Others are, for example, a common legislative framework or joint policy strategies.
Multiannual financial
framework and spending programmes
The policies supported by the EU budget are implemented in accordance with the multiannual financial framework (MFF) and corresponding sectoral
legislation defining spending programmes and instruments. These translate the EU’s political priorities into financial terms over a period long enough to be effective and to provide a coherent long-term perspective for beneficiaries
of EU funds and co-financing national authorities. Maximum annual amounts (ceilings) are set for EU expenditure as a whole and for the main categories of expenditure (headings). The sum of the ceilings of all headings gives the total ceiling for commitment appropriations. The MFF is adopted by the Council by unanimity of all Member States, with the consent of the European Parliament. The current 2021-2027 multiannual financial framework was adopted on 17 December 202018. The 2021-2027 multiannual financial framework is complemented by the temporary recovery instrument NextGenerationEU.
Annual budget
The annual budget is prepared by the Commission. The European Parliament
and the Council agree (usually by mid December) on the budget for the following year, based on the procedure of Article 314 TFEU. According to the principle of budgetary equilibrium, total revenue must equal total expenditure (payment appropriations) for a given financial year.
The main sources of funding of the EU budget are own resources revenues which are complemented by other revenues. There are four types of own resources: Traditional own resources (mainly custom duties), the own resource based on value added tax (VAT), the own resource based on non-recycled plastic packaging waste (introduced in 2021) and the own resource based on gross national income (GNI). Other revenues arising from the activities of the EU (e.g. competition fines) normally represent less than 10% of total revenue.
17 Under the principle of subsidiarity, the Union shall act only if and in so far as the objectives of the proposed action
cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States but can rather, by reason of the scale or effects, be better achieved at Union level. Under the principle of proportionality, the content and form of Union action shall not exceed what is necessary to achieve the objectives of the Treaties (see Article 5 TEU).
18 On 1st of February 2024, the European Council agreed on a mid-term revision of 2021-2027 MFF ceilings, following the Commission’s proposals COM(2023) 336.
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
31
Management modes
The EU budget is implemented in three management modes which determine
how the money is paid out and managed:
— Shared management: the vast proportion of the budget (around 3/4 of the budget) is managed under a system of shared management by the Commission in cooperation with the Member
States, notably in the areas of structural funds and agriculture.
— Direct management: the Commission also manages programmes itself and can delegate the implementation of specific programmes to executive agencies.
— Indirect management: Expenditure decisions can also be indirectly managed via other bodies within or outside the EU. The Financial Regulation and/or contribution agreements define the necessary control and reporting mechanisms by these entities and the supervision by the Commission where budget implementation tasks are entrusted to national agencies, the European
Investment Bank Group, third countries, international organisations (e.g. the World Bank or the United Nations) and other entities (e.g. EU decentralised agencies, Joint Undertakings).
Financial instruments and budgetary
guarantees
The traditional method of budget implementation of giving grants and subsidies is complemented by issuing financial instruments in the form of guarantees as well as equity and loans. Furthermore, the EU engages in borrowing and lending activities for specific financial assistance programmes in order to support Member States and third countries in the form of bilateral
loans financed from debt issued on the capital markets with the guarantee of the EU Budget. In December 2022, Parliament and the Council established the unified funding approach to EU borrowing, under which the Union will be issuing single branded ‘EU-Bonds’, rather than separately denominated bonds for individual programmes.
Financial Regulation
The Financial Regulation (FR)19 applicable to the general budget is a central
act in the regulatory architecture of the EU´s finances. It defines in detail the
financial rules applicable to the execution of the EU budget and the roles of the different actors involved in ensuring that the money is used soundly and achieves the objectives set. It also includes the specific provisions applicable
to financial instruments, budgetary guarantees and financial assistance.
6.2. Governance and accountability
6.2.1. Institutional structure
The EU has an institutional framework through which it aims to promote its values, advance its objectives, serve its interests, those of its citizens and those of the Member States, and ensure the
consistency, effectiveness and continuity of its policies and actions. The organisational structure consists of institutions, agencies and other EU autonomous bodies. The Financial Regulation, together with the applicable accounting rules, defines which of these entities are included in the EU consolidated accounts (please see Note 9 of the EU consolidated annual accounts for the list of entities included in the scope of consolidation).
The European Parliament, jointly with the Council, exercises legislative and budgetary functions. The Commission is politically accountable to the European Parliament. The Council also carries out policy-
making and coordinating functions within the general political direction and priorities of the Union set by the European Council.
The European Commission is the executive arm of the European Union. It promotes the Union’s general interest and takes appropriate initiatives to that end. It ensures the application of the Treaties and
oversees the application of Union law by Member States under the control of the Court of Justice of the European Union. It exercises coordinating, executive and management functions, executes the budget and manages programmes.
19 Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 September 2024 on the
financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union (recast), OJ L, 2024/2509, 26.9.2024.
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
32
The Commission implements the budget, in large part in cooperation with the Member States.20 Together,
they ensure that the appropriations are used in accordance with the principles of sound financial management. Regulations lay down the control and audit obligations of the Member States when they share the implementation of the budget and the resulting responsibilities. They also lay down the responsibilities and detailed rules for each of the EU’s institutions as concerns their own expenditure.
6.2.2. The Commission’s governance structure
The Commission’s governance arrangements and how these ensure that the Commission functions as a modern, accountable and performance-oriented institution are described in the Communication21 on Governance in the European Commission.
The Commission performs its functions under the leadership of the College of Commissioners, which sets priorities and takes overall political responsibility for the work of the Commission. As a College, the
Commission works under the political guidance of its President, who presents, as part of his or her nomination to the European Parliament the objectives he or she intends to pursue in the form of political
guidelines. The President decides on the internal organisation of the Commission, ensuring that it acts consistently, efficiently and as a collegiate body.
The College delegates the operational implementation of the budget and financial management to the Directors-General and Heads of Service who lead the administrative structure of the Commission. This decentralised approach creates an administrative culture that encourages civil servants to take responsibility for activities over which they have control and requires them to provide assurance as concerns the activities for which they are accountable.
Under the authority of the President and in close cooperation with the Member of the Commission in charge of budget, human resources and administration, and with the involvement of the Presidential and central services, the Corporate Management Board provides coordination, oversight, advice and strategic
orientations.
The internal arrangements define a coherent set of robust controls and management tools which allow the College of Commissioners to assume political responsibility for the work of the Commission.22
6.2.3. The Commission’s financial management
In the Commission, the roles and responsibilities in financial management are clearly defined (e.g. in the Financial Regulation and the Internal Rules23) and applied accordingly. As authorising officers by delegation, the Commission’s Directors-General and Heads of Service are responsible for the sound financial management of EU resources, compliance with the provisions of the Financial Regulation, risk management and establishing an appropriate internal control framework.
The responsibility of the Authorising Officers covers the entire management process, from determining what needs to be done to achieve the policy objectives set by the institution to managing the activities from both an operational and a sound financial management standpoint. Tasks can further be sub- delegated to Directors, Heads of Unit and others, who thereby become Authorising Officers by Sub- Delegation. Each authorising officer by delegation may rely on one or two directors in charge of risk management and internal control to oversee and monitor the implementation of internal control systems.
The Commission’s central services provide guidance and advice and promote best practices, including
through the work of the Corporate Management Board.
The Financial Regulation requires each authorising officer to prepare an annual activity report (AAR) detailing achievements, internal control and financial management activities during the year. The AAR includes a declaration that resources have been used based on the principles of sound financial
management and that control procedures are in place which provide the necessary guarantees
20 See Article 317 TFEU. 21 C(2020) 4240 of 24.6.2020. 22 As a result, the term 'European Commission' is used to denote both the institution – the College – formed by the
Members of the Commission, and its administration managed by the Directors-General of its departments (and heads of other administrative structures such as services, offices and executive agencies).
23 Since mid-2019 (further to the revised Article 12 of the Internal Rules) the management of the European Development Fund (EDF) is co-delegated among five departments (INTPA (DEVCO), ECHO, EAC, EACEA and JRC).
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
33
concerning the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions. The Annual Management and
Performance Report for the EU budget24 is the main instrument through which the College of Commissioners assumes political responsibility for the financial management of the EU budget.
The Accounting Officer of the Commission is centrally responsible for treasury management, recovery procedures, laying down accounting rules based on International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS), validating accounting systems and the preparation of the Commission's and consolidated annual
accounts of the EU. Furthermore, the Accounting Officer is required to sign the annual accounts declaring that they present fairly, in all material aspects, the financial position, the results of the operations and the cash flows of the Union. The annual accounts are adopted by the College of Commissioners. The Accounting Officer is an independent function and bears a major responsibility as regards financial reporting in the Commission.
The Internal Auditor of the Commission is likewise a centralised and independent function and provides
independent advice, opinions and recommendations on the quality and functioning of internal control
systems inside the Commission, EU agencies and other EU autonomous bodies.
The Audit Progress Committee ensures the independence of the Internal Auditor and monitors the quality of internal audit work and the follow-up given by the Commission services to internal and external audit recommendations, as well as to the European Court of Auditors’ discharge related findings and recommendations on the reliability of the annual consolidated EU accounts. The advisory role of the committee contributes to the overall further improvement of the Commission’s effectiveness and efficiency in achieving its goals and facilitates the College’s oversight of the Commission’s governance,
risk management, and internal control practices.
6.2.4. External audit and discharge procedure
In line with the principles of sound financial management, funds must be managed in an effective, efficient and economic manner. An accountability framework based on comprehensive reporting, external audit and political control exists to provide reasonable assurance that EU funds are spent in a proper
manner.
The European Parliament decides, after a recommendation by the Council, on whether or not to provide its final approval, known as ‘granting discharge’, on the way the Commission implemented the EU budget in a given year. The annual discharge procedure ensures that the Commission is held politically accountable for the implementation of the EU budget.
Every year the European Court of Auditors examines the reliability of the accounts, whether all revenue has been received and all expenditure incurred in a lawful and regular manner and whether the
financial management and the qualitative aspects of budgeting, including the performance dimension, have been sound. As from 2021, given the considerable importance of NextGenerationEU, the European
Court of Auditor’s opinion on the legality and regularity of expenditure under the traditional EU budget is complemented by a separate opinion on the legality and regularity of expenditure under the Recovery and Resilience Facility. The publication of the annual report of the European Court of Auditors is the starting point for the discharge procedure. The auditors also prepare special reports on specific spending or policy areas, or on budgetary or management issues.
The decision on the discharge is also based on the Commission’s integrated financial and accountability reporting25, on hearings of Commissioners in the European Parliament and on the replies provided to written questions addressed to the Commission.
24 https://ec.europa.eu/info/publications/integrated-financial-and-accountability-reporting_en.
25 The financial regulation (Art.253) requires the Commission to communicate to the European Parliament and the Council a set of financial and accountability reports, which constitute essential input for the annual “discharge procedure”, through which the European Parliament and the Council hold the Commission accountable for the way it manages the EU budget. The Integrated Financial and Accountability Reporting package consists of five reports on the implementation, performance, results, management and protection of the EU budget. IFAR on Europa website
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
34
NOTE ACCOMPANYING THE
CONSOLIDATED ACCOUNTS
The consolidated annual accounts of the European Union for the year 2025 have been prepared on the basis of the information presented by the institutions and bodies under Article 252(2) of the Financial Regulation applicable to the general budget of the European Union. I hereby declare that they were prepared in accordance with Title XIII of this Financial Regulation and with the accounting principles, rules and methods set out in the notes to the financial statements.
I have obtained from the accounting officers of these institutions and bodies, who certified its reliability,
all the information necessary for the production of the accounts that show the European Union's assets
and liabilities and budgetary implementation.
I hereby certify that based on this information, and on such checks as I deemed necessary to sign off the accounts of the European Commission, I have a reasonable assurance that the accounts present fairly, in all material aspects, the financial position, the results of the operations and the cashflows of the European Union.
Niall BOHAN
Accounting Officer of the Commission
18 June 2026
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
35
EUROPEAN UNION
FINANCIAL YEAR 2025
CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
AND EXPLANATORY NOTES26
26 It should be noted that due to the rounding of figures into millions of euros, some financial data in the tables below
may appear not to add-up.
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
36
CONTENTS
BALANCE SHEET ........................................................................................... 36
STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE ....................................................... 37
CASHFLOW STATEMENT ................................................................................. 38
STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN NET ASSETS ........................................................ 39
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS .......................................................... 40
1. SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES ..................................................... 41
2. NOTES TO THE BALANCE SHEET ............................................................. 59
3. NOTES TO THE STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE ......................... 98
4. CONTINGENT LIABILITIES AND ASSETS ................................................. 107
5. BUDGETARY AND LEGAL COMMITMENTS ................................................ 113
6. FINANCIAL RISK MANAGEMENT ............................................................ 118
7. RELATED PARTY DISCLOSURES ............................................................ 135
8. EVENTS AFTER THE BALANCE SHEET DATE ............................................ 137
9. SCOPE OF CONSOLIDATION ................................................................. 138
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
37
BALANCE SHEET
EUR million
Note 31.12.2025 31.12.2024
NON-CURRENT ASSETS
Intangible assets 2.1 1 135 1 095
Property, plant and equipment 2.2 14 756 13 713
Investments accounted for using the equity method 2.3 1 524 1 446
Financial assets 2.4 362 806 308 961
Pre-financing 2.5 38 971 40 861
Exchange receivables and non-exchange recoverables 2.6 12 663 13 272
431 856 379 347
CURRENT ASSETS
Financial assets 2.4 23 291 19 377
Pre-financing 2.5 37 775 38 058
Exchange receivables and non-exchange recoverables 2.6 21 404 18 465
Inventories 2.7 79 85
Cash and cash equivalents 2.8 103 041 63 163
185 591 139 148
TOTAL ASSETS 617 447 518 495
NON-CURRENT LIABILITIES
Pension and other employee benefits 2.9 (91 128) (93 096)
Provisions 2.10 (2 149) (2 280)
Financial liabilities 2.11 (644 018) (539 575)
(737 295) (634 951)
CURRENT LIABILITIES
Provisions 2.10 (464) (7 536)
Financial liabilities 2.11 (96 769) (62 328)
Payables 2.12 (65 037) (55 414)
Accrued charges and deferred income 2.13 (77 048) (67 091)
(239 319) (192 368)
TOTAL LIABILITIES (976 614) (827 319)
NET ASSETS (359 167) (308 824)
Reserves 2.14 941 986
Amounts to be called from Member States* 2.15 (360 108) (309 810)
NET ASSETS (359 167) (308 824)
* The European Parliament adopted a budget on 26 November 2025 which provides for the payment of the EU's short-term liabilities
from own resources to be collected by, or called up from, the Member States in the following year. Additionally, under Article 83 of
the Staff Regulations (Regulation (EEC, Euratom, ECSC) No 259/68 (OJ L 56, 4.3.1968, p.1) of 29 February 1968 as amended), the
Member States shall jointly guarantee the liability for pensions.
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
38
STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE
EUR million
Note 2025 2024
(reclassified)
REVENUE
Revenue from non-exchange transactions
GNI resources 3.1 106 342 95 037
Traditional own resources 3.2 23 436 20 587
VAT resources 3.3 25 728 24 547
Plastics own resources 3.4 7 524 8 227
Fines 3.5 5 370 4 039
Recovery of expenses 3.6 1 376 957
Other 3.8 18 572 10 673
188 348 164 068
Revenue from exchange transactions
Financial revenue 3.9 11 646 9 005
Other 3.10 2 500 2 592
14 146 11 597
Total Revenue 202 495 175 665
EXPENSES
Delegated to Member States 3.11
European Agricultural Guarantee Fund (40 914) (40 267) European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development and other rural development instruments (17 017) (14 779)
European Regional Development Fund and Cohesion Fund (31 032) (28 833)
European Social Fund (17 308) (18 037)
Other (4 514) (3 854)
Transfers including grants and budget support 3.12
Recovery & Resilience Facility (46 815) (65 787)
Other (32 025) (32 992)
Contribution agreements, including EU bodies 3.13 (13 200) (16 820)
Staff and pension costs 3.14 (15 954) (14 966)
Finance costs 3.15 (27 156) (27 226)
UK Withdrawal Agreement 3.7 (465) (315)
Procurement, administrative and other expenses 3.16 (10 733) (8 997)
Total Expenses (257 134) (272 873)
ECONOMIC RESULT OF THE YEAR (54 639) (97 208)
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
39
CASHFLOW STATEMENT
EUR million
2025 2024
Economic result of the year (54 639) (97 208)
Operating activities
Amortisation 212 191
Depreciation 1 123 1 194
(Increase)/decrease in loans (49 852) (36 703)
(Increase)/decrease in pre-financing 2 173 12 756
(Increase)/decrease in exchange receivables and non-exchange
recoverables (2 332) 3 463
(Increase)/decrease in inventories 6 (7)
Increase/(decrease) in pension and other employee benefits (1 968) 2 288
Increase/(decrease) in provisions (7 202) 6 481
Increase/(decrease) in financial liabilities (other than under the unified funding approach)
(11 575) (1 382)
Increase/(decrease) in payables 9 623 4 898
Increase/(decrease) in accrued charges and deferred income 9 958 (9 714)
Prior year budgetary surplus taken as non-cash revenue (1 348) (633)
Remeasurements in employee benefits liabilities (non-cash movement not included in statement of financial performance)
5 603 1 159
Other non-cash movements 40 27
Investing activities
(Increase)/decrease in intangible assets and property, plant and equipment
(2 418) (1 817)
(Increase)/decrease in investments accounted for using the equity method
(78) (80)
(Increase)/decrease in non-derivative financial assets at fair value through surplus or deficit
(7 432) (6 246)
(Increase)/decrease in derivative financial assets at fair value through surplus or deficit
(475) (19)
Financing activities
Increase/(decrease) in borrowings under the unified funding approach 150 460 144 900
NET CASHFLOW 39 878 23 547
Net increase/(decrease) in cash and cash equivalents 39 878 23 547
Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the year 63 163 39 616
Cash and cash equivalents at year-end 103 041 63 163
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
40
STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN NET ASSETS EUR million
Amounts to be called from Member States
Accumulated surplus/(deficit) Other reserves Net assets
BALANCE AS AT 31.12.2023 (213 221) 1 052 (212 169)
Remeasurements in employee benefits liabilities 1 159 – 1 159
Other 94 (66) 27
2023 budget result credited to Member States (633) – (633)
Economic result of the year (97 208) – (97 208)
BALANCE AS AT 31.12.2024 (309 810) 986 (308 824)
Remeasurements in employee benefits liabilities 5 603 - 5 603
Other 85 (45) 40
2024 budget result credited to Member States (1 348) - (1 348)
Economic result of the year (54 639) - (54 639)
BALANCE AS AT 31.12.2025 (360 108) 941 (359 167)
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
41
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Note that in the following tables amounts concerning the UK for MFFs up to the end of 2020 are still
shown under the heading 'Member States'. This is because although the UK withdrew from the EU on 1 February 2020, in accordance with the Withdrawal Agreement, it continued to have a financial relationship with the EU equivalent to that of a Member State for these periods.
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
42
1. SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES
1.1. LEGAL BASIS AND ACCOUNTING RULES
The accounts of the EU are kept in accordance with Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 September 2024 on the financial rules applicable to the general
budget of the Union (recast), OJ L, 2024/2509, 26.9.2024, referred to below as the ‘Financial Regulation’ (FR).
In accordance with Article 80 of the Financial Regulation, the EU prepares its financial statements on the basis of accrual-based accounting rules that are based on International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS). These accounting rules, adopted by the Accounting Officer of the Commission, have to be applied by all the institutions and EU bodies falling within the scope of consolidation in order to
ensure the internal consistency of the EU consolidated accounts.
Application of new and amended European Union Accounting Rules (EAR)
New EAR effective for annual periods beginning on or after 1 January 2025
EAR 1 ‘Financial Statements’
On 12 December 2025 the Accounting Officer of the European Commission adopted a targeted amendment of EAR 1 ‘Financial Statements’, which is effective for reporting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2025. The amendment introduced a principle-based approach to the definition of the segments
to be presented in the segment report, which is a mandatory component of the EU consolidated annual accounts and the individual annual accounts of the European Commission. Under the previous EAR 1, the definition of segments was linked to the categories of the EU’s multi-annual financial framework (MFF). The targeted amendment removed this link and defines segments generically in accordance with
IPSAS 18 ‘Segment Reporting’. Following the adoption of the targeted amendment, the structure of the Segment Report was revised to focus on fund destinations rather than fund sources (see Note 3.17).
New EAR adopted but not yet effective at 31 December 2025
EAR 8 ‘Leases’
On 15 April 2025 the Accounting Officer of the European Commission adopted the revised EAR 8 ‘Leases’, which is effective for reporting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2027. The revised EAR 8 has been updated in line with IPSAS 43 ‘Leases’ (including the amendment ‘Concessionary Leases and Other Arrangements Conveying Rights over Assets’). The main change as compared to the current EAR 8 is the introduction of a right-of-use recognition and measurement model, which requires lessees to recognise all
leases, including concessionary leases, on the balance sheet, unless the short-term or low-value exemption applies. The current distinction of leases as either operating leases or finance leases, with only the latter recognised on the balance sheet, will no longer be applicable. For lessors, the revised EAR 8
largely carries forward the existing accounting requirements, with additional guidance and clarifications. Consequently, the initial application of the revised EAR 8 is expected to result in the recognition of a considerable amount of former operating leases, with corresponding increases in right-of-use assets and lease liabilities, on the balance sheet. The impact of the revised EAR 8, including on concessionary leases
and other relevant arrangements, will continue to be assessed over the 2026 calendar year prior to the 1 January 2027 effective date.
EAR 1 ‘Financial Statements’
On 15 April 2025 the Accounting Officer of the European Commission adopted the amended EAR 1 ‘Financial Statements’, which is effective for reporting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2027. The objective of the amendment is to ensure a consistent classification of all borrowings within financing activities. Under the current EAR 1, borrowings related to leases, the acquisition of property, plant and
equipment and borrowings related to back-to-back operations are classified within operating activities.
Only borrowings related to the unified funding approach (see Note 2.11.1.1) are classified within financing activities. Under the revised EAR 1, financing activities will include all activities that result in changes on the size and composition of borrowings, without the above exceptions. Consequently, the initial application of the revised EAR 1 is expected to result in a shift from cash flows from operating
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
43
activities to cash flows from financing activities. The impact of the revised EAR 1 will continue to be
assessed over the 2026 calendar year prior to the 1 January 2027 effective date.
1.2. ACCOUNTING PRINCIPLES
The objective of financial statements is to provide information about the financial position, performance and cashflows of an entity that is useful to a wide range of users. For the EU as a public sector entity, the objectives are more specifically to provide information useful for decision-making, and to demonstrate the accountability of the entity for the resources entrusted to it. It is with these goals in mind that the present document has been drawn up.
The overall considerations (or accounting principles) to be followed when preparing the financial statements are laid down in EU accounting rule 1 ‘Financial Statements’ and are the same as those
described in IPSAS 1: fair presentation, accrual basis, going concern, consistency of presentation,
materiality, aggregation, offsetting and comparative information.
The qualitative characteristics of financial reporting are relevance, faithful representation (reliability), understandability, timeliness, comparability and verifiability.
1.3. CONSOLIDATION
Scope of consolidation
The consolidated financial statements of the EU comprise all significant controlled entities, joint arrangements and associates. The complete list of entities falling under the scope of consolidation, which now comprises 54 controlled entities and 1 associate (unchanged compared to 2024), can be found in
Note 9. Among the controlled entities are the EU institutions (including the Commission, but not the
European Central Bank) and the EU agencies (except those acting in the area of the common and foreign security policy). The European Coal and Steel Community in Liquidation (ECSC i.L.) is also considered as a controlled entity. The EU’s only associate is the European Investment Fund (EIF).
Entities falling under the scope of consolidation but immaterial to the EU consolidated financial statements as a whole need not be consolidated or accounted for using the equity method where to do so
would result in excessive time or cost to the EU. These entities are referred to as ‘Minor entities’ and are separately listed in Note 9. In 2025, 11 entities have been classified as minor entities (2024: 11 entities).
Controlled entities
In order to determine the scope of consolidation, the control concept is applied. Controlled entities are entities for which the EU is exposed, or has right, to variable benefits from its involvement and has the ability to affect the nature and amount of those benefits through its power over the other entity. This power must be presently exercisable and must relate to the relevant activities of the entity. Controlled
entities are fully consolidated. The consolidation begins at the first date on which control exists, and ends when such control no longer exists.
The most common indicators of control within the EU are: creation of the entity through founding treaties or secondary legislation, financing of the entity from the EU budget, the existence of voting rights in the governing bodies, audit by the European Court of Auditors and discharge by the European Parliament. An individual assessment for each entity is made in order to decide whether one or all of the criteria listed above are sufficient to result in control.
All material inter-entity transactions and balances between EU controlled entities are eliminated, while unrealised gains and losses on such transactions are not material and so have not been eliminated.
Joint arrangements
A joint arrangement is an agreement of which the EU and one or more parties have joint control. Joint control is the agreed sharing of control of an arrangement by way of a binding arrangement, which exists only when decisions about the relevant activities require the unanimous consent of parties sharing
control. Joint agreements can be either joint ventures or joint operations. A joint venture is a joint arrangement that is structured through a separate vehicle and whereby the parties that have joint control
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
44
of the arrangement have rights to the net assets of the arrangement. Participations in joint ventures are
accounted for using the equity method (see Note 1.5.4). A joint operation is a joint arrangement whereby the parties that have joint control of the arrangements have rights to the assets, and obligations for the liabilities, related to the arrangement. Participations in joint operations are accounted for by recognising in the EU’s financial statements its assets and liabilities, revenues and expenses, as well as its share of assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses jointly held or incurred.
Associates
Associates are entities over which the EU has, directly or indirectly, significant influence but not exclusive or joint control. It is presumed that significant influence exists if the EU holds directly or indirectly 20% or more of the voting rights. Participations in associates are accounted for using the equity method (see Note 1.5.4).
Non-consolidated entities whose funds are managed by the Commission
The funds of the Joint Sickness Insurance Scheme for staff of the EU, the European Development Fund and the Mutual Insurance Mechanism (MIM), previously known as the Participants Guarantee Fund (PGF),
are managed by the Commission on behalf of these entities. However, since these entities are not controlled by the EU, they are not consolidated in its financial statements.
1.4. BASIS OF PREPARATION
Financial statements are presented annually in accordance with Article 249 of the Financial Regulation. The accounting year begins on 1 January and ends on 31 December.
1.4.1. Currency and basis for conversion
Functional and reporting currency
The financial statements are presented in millions of euro, unless stated otherwise, the euro being the
EU’s functional currency.
Transactions and balances
Foreign currency transactions are translated into euro using the exchange rates prevailing on the dates of the transactions. Foreign exchange gains and losses resulting from the settlement of foreign currency transactions and from the re-translation at year-end exchange rates of monetary assets and liabilities denominated in foreign currencies are recognised in the statement of financial performance.
Different conversion methods apply to property, plant and equipment and intangible assets, which retain
their value in euro at the rate that applied on the date that they were purchased.
Year-end balances of monetary assets and liabilities denominated in foreign currencies are converted into euro on the basis of the European Central Bank (ECB) exchange rates applying on 31 December:
Euro exchange rates
Currency 31.12.2025 31.12.2024 Currency 31.12.2025 31.12.2024
BGN 1.9558 1.9558 RON 5.0968 4.9743
CZK 24.2370 25.1850 SEK 10.8215 11.459
DKK 7.4689 7.4578 CHF 0.9314 0.9412
GBP 0.8726 0.8292 JPY 184.09 163.06
HUF 385.1500 411.3500 USD 1.175 1.0389
PLN 4.221 4.275
1.4.2. Use of estimates
In accordance with IPSAS and generally accepted accounting principles, the financial statements necessarily include amounts based on estimates and assumptions by management based on the most
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
45
reliable information available. Significant estimates include, but are not limited to: amounts for employee
benefit liabilities, financial risk of accounts receivable and the amounts disclosed in the notes concerning financial instruments, impairment allowance for financial assets at amortised cost and for financial guarantee contract liabilities, accrued revenue and charges, provisions, degree of impairment of intangible assets and property, plant and equipment, net realisable value of inventories, contingent assets and liabilities. Actual results could differ from those estimates. Changes in estimates are reflected in the period in which they become known, if the change affects that period only, or that period and
future periods, if the change affects both.
1.4.3. Transitioning to new Corporate Financial and IT system (SUMMA)
The 2025 consolidated annual accounts are the first set of accounts prepared on the basis of financial information reported in the new financial IT system, SUMMA. Throughout the preparation of the annual accounts, systematic and rigorous controls have been implemented to ensure that financial information used accurately reflects the underlying transactions and is fully consistent with the applicable accounting
rules. During the year‑end closure process, management identified issues generated by the new system
which significantly affected the accounts, while additional issues were later identified by the external auditor. These required manual adjustments and reconciliation procedures. The implementation and refinement of the new financial system and the related controls will continue in future financial years. On the basis of this close monitoring and review of financial information at both input and output stage, the annual accounts provide, with reasonable assurance and in all material aspects, a fair presentation of the financial position, the results of the operations and the cashflows of the European Union.
1.5. BALANCE SHEET
1.5.1. Intangible assets
An intangible asset is an identifiable non-monetary asset without physical substance. An asset is identifiable if it is either separable (i.e. it is capable of being separated or divided from the entity, e.g. by being sold, transferred, licensed, rented, or exchanged, either individually or together with a related contract, identifiable asset or liability, regardless of whether the entity intends to do so), or arises from binding arrangements (including rights from contracts or other legal rights), regardless of whether those rights are transferable or separable from the entity or from other rights and obligations.
Acquired intangible assets are stated at historical cost less accumulated amortisation and impairment losses. Internally developed intangible assets are capitalised when the relevant criteria of the EU accounting rules are met and the expenses relate solely to the development phase of the asset. The capitalisable costs include all directly attributable costs necessary to create, produce, and prepare the asset to be capable of operating in the manner intended by management. Costs associated with research activities, non-capitalisable development costs and maintenance costs are recognised as expenses as incurred.
Intangible assets are amortised on a straight-line basis over their estimated useful lives (3-11 years). The estimated useful lives of intangible assets depend on their specific economic lifetime or legal lifetime determined by an agreement.
1.5.2. Property, plant and equipment
All property, plant and equipment are stated at historical cost less accumulated depreciation and impairment losses. Cost includes expenditure that is directly attributable to the acquisition, construction
or transfer of the asset.
Subsequent costs are included in the asset’s carrying amount or recognised as a separate asset, as appropriate, only when it is probable that future economic benefits or service potential associated with the item will flow to the EU and its cost can be measured reliably. Repairs and maintenance costs are charged to the statement of financial performance during the financial period in which they are incurred.
Land is not depreciated as it is deemed to have an indefinite useful life. Assets under construction are not depreciated, as these assets are not yet available for use. Depreciation on other assets is calculated using
the straight-line method to allocate their cost less their residual values over their estimated useful lives, as follows:
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
46
Type of asset Straight line depreciation rate
Buildings 4% to 10%
Space assets 8% to 25%
Plant and equipment 10% to 25%
Furniture and vehicles 10% to 25%
Computer hardware 25% to 33%
Other 10% to 33%
Gains or losses on disposals are determined by comparing proceeds less selling expenses with the carrying amount of the disposed asset and are included in the statement of financial performance.
Leases
A lease is an agreement whereby the lessor conveys to the lessee, in return for a payment or series of payments, the right to use an asset for an agreed period of time. Leases are classified as either finance
leases or operating leases.
Finance leases are leases where substantially all the risks and rewards incidental to ownership are transferred to the lessee. When entering a finance lease as a lessee, the assets acquired under the finance lease are recognised as assets and the associated lease obligations as liabilities as from the
commencement of the lease term. The assets and liabilities are recognised at amounts equal to the fair value of the leased property or, if lower, the present value of the minimum lease payments, each determined at the inception of the lease. Over the period of the lease term, the assets held under finance leases are depreciated over the shorter of the asset’s useful life and the lease term. The minimum lease payments are apportioned between the finance charge (the interest element) and the reduction of the outstanding liability (the capital element). The finance charge is allocated to each period during the lease term so as to produce a constant periodic rate of interest on the remaining balance of the liability, which
is presented as current/non-current, as applicable. Contingent rents are charged as expenses in the period in which they are incurred.
An operating lease is a lease other than a finance lease, i.e. a lease where the lessor retains substantially all the risks and rewards incidental to ownership of an asset. When entering into an operating lease as a lessee, the operating lease payments are recognised as an expense in the statement of financial performance on a straight-line basis over the lease term with neither a leased asset nor a leasing liability
presented in the balance sheet.
1.5.3. Impairment of non-financial assets
An impairment is a loss in the future economic benefits or service potential of an asset, over and above the systematic recognition of the loss of the asset's future economic benefits or service potential through amortisation or depreciation (as applicable). Assets that have an indefinite useful life are not subject to amortisation/depreciation and are tested annually for impairment. Assets that are subject to
amortisation/depreciation are tested for impairment whenever there is an indication at the reporting date
that an asset may be impaired. An impairment loss is recognised for the amount by which the asset’s carrying amount exceeds its recoverable (service) amount. The recoverable (service) amount is the higher of an asset’s fair value less costs to sell and its value in use.
Intangible assets and property, plant and equipment residual values and useful lives are reviewed, and adjusted if appropriate, at least once per year. If the reasons for impairments recognised in previous years no longer apply, the impairment losses are reversed accordingly.
1.5.4. Investments accounted for using the equity method
Participations in associates and joint ventures
Investments accounted for using the equity method are initially recognised at cost, with the initial
carrying amount subsequently being increased or decreased to recognise further contributions, the EU’s share of the surplus or deficit of the investee, any impairments and dividends. The initial cost together
with all movements give the carrying amount of the investment in the financial statements at the balance sheet date. The EU’s share of the investee’s surplus or deficit is recognised in the statement of financial
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
47
performance, and its share of investee’s movements in equity is recognised in the reserves within net
assets. Distributions received from the investment reduce the carrying amount of the asset.
If the EU's share of deficits of an investment accounted for using the equity method equals or exceeds its interest in the investment, the EU discontinues recognising its share of further losses (‘unrecognised losses’). After the EU’s interest is reduced to zero, additional losses are provided for and a liability is recognised only to the extent that the EU has incurred a legal or constructive obligation or made payments on behalf of the entity.
If there are indications of impairment, a write-down to the lower recoverable amount is necessary. The recoverable amount is determined as described under Note 1.5.3. If the reason for impairment ceases to apply at a later date, the impairment loss is reversed to the carrying amount that would have been determined had no impairment loss been recognised.
In cases where the EU holds 20% or more of an investment capital fund, it does not seek to exert significant influence. Such funds are therefore treated as financial instruments and categorised as
financial assets at fair value through surplus or deficit (‘FVSD’).
Associates and joint ventures classified as minor entities (see Note 1.3) are not accounted for under the equity method. EU contributions to those entities are accounted for as an expense of the period.
1.5.5. Financial assets
Classification at initial recognition
The classification depends on two criteria:
— The financial assets management model. This requires an assessment of how the EU manages
the financial assets to generate cash flows and to achieve its objectives and how it evaluates the
performance of financial assets.
— The asset contractual cash-flow characteristics. This requires an assessment of whether the contractual cash flows are solely payments of principal and interest on the principal outstanding. The interest is the consideration for the time value of money, credit risk and other basic lending risks and costs.
Following an assessment based on these criteria, the financial assets can be classified in three categories: Financial assets at amortised cost (AC), financial assets at fair value through net assets/equity (FVNA) or financial assets at fair value through surplus or deficit (FVSD).
Financial assets with contractual cash flows that represent solely principal and interest are classified depending on the entity’s management model. If the management model is to hold the financial assets in order to collect contractual cash flows, the financial assets are classified at AC. If the management model is to hold the financial assets both to collect contractual cash flows and to sell the financial assets, the
classification is FVNA. If the management model is different to these two models (e.g. the financial assets are held for trading or held in a portfolio managed and evaluated on a fair value basis), the financial assets are classified as FVSD.
Financial assets with contractual cash flows that do not represent only principal and interest, but introduce exposure to risks and volatility other than those present in a basic lending arrangement (e.g. changes in equity prices), are classified as FVSD regardless of the management model.
At initial recognition, the EU classifies the financial assets as follows:
(i) Financial assets at amortised cost
The EU classifies in this category:
— cash and cash equivalents (including reverse repurchase agreements);
— loans (including term deposits with original maturity of more than three months);
— exchange receivables, except for the financial guarantee contract receivable leg classified as financial asset at fair value through surplus or deficit.
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
48
These non-derivative financial assets meet two conditions: The EU’s management model is to hold them
in order to collect the contractual cash flows. Furthermore, on specified days, there are contractual cash flows that represent only principal and interest on the outstanding principal.
A reverse repurchase agreement (‘reverse repo’) is an agreement where one party buys securities from another party with the agreement to resell them later at an agreed upon price. The economic substance of this transaction is akin to a collateralised term deposit. The risks and rewards of the security remain with the transferor, while the transferee expects to receive back the principal and the contractual
interest. Accordingly, reverse repo transactions are accounted for at amortised cost. The EU enters into these transactions exclusively for the purpose of managing liquidity, taking advantage of the opportunity to place surplus cash holidings at attractive rates over a very short period not exceeding 3 months. Consequently, they are categorised as cash and cash equivalents.
Financial assets at amortised cost are included in current assets, except for those with maturity of more than 12 months from the reporting date.
(ii) Financial assets at fair value through net assets/equity
These non-derivatives financial assets have contractual cash flows that represent only principal and interest on the outstanding principal. In addition, the management model is to hold the financial assets both to collect contractual cash flows and to sell the financial assets.
Assets in this category are classified as current assets, if they are expected to be realised within 12 months from the reporting date.
The EU does not hold such assets at the end of this reporting period.
(iii) Financial assets at fair value through surplus or deficit
The EU classifies the following financial assets as FVSD because the contractual cash flows do not
represent only principal and interest on the principal:
— derivatives;
— equity investments and investments in money market funds or in pooled portfolio funds;
— other equity-type investments (e.g. risk capital operations).
In addition, the EU classifies the debt securities it holds as FVSD because the portfolios of debt securities
are managed and evaluated on a portfolio fair value basis (e.g. Common Provisioning Fund under Article 215 of the Financial Regulation).
Assets in this category are classified as current assets, if they are expected to be realised within 12 months from the reporting date.
Initial recognition and measurement
Purchases of financial assets at fair value through net assets/equity and at fair value through surplus or deficit are recognised on their trade date, i.e. the date on which the EU commits to purchase the asset.
Cash equivalents and loans are recognised when cash is deposited in a financial institution or advanced to borrowers.
Financial assets are initially measured at fair value. For all financial assets not carried at fair value through surplus or deficit, the transactions costs are added to the fair value at initial recognition. For financial assets carried at fair value through surplus or deficit the transaction costs are expensed in the statement of financial performance.
The fair value of a financial asset on initial recognition is normally the transaction price unless the
transaction is not at arm’s length, i.e. at no or at nominal consideration for public policy purposes. If that is the case, the difference between the fair value of the financial instrument and the transaction price is a
non-exchange component which is recognised as an expense in the statement of financial performance. In this case, the fair value of a financial asset is derived from current market transactions for a directly equivalent instrument. If there is no active market for the instrument, the fair value is derived from a valuation technique that uses available data from observable markets.
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
49
When a long-term loan that carries no interest or an interest below market conditions is granted, its fair
value can be estimated as the present value of all future cash receipts discounted using the prevailing market rate of interest for a similar instrument with a similar credit rating.
Loans granted under the Recovery and Resilience Facility and loans for financial assistance are initially measured at their nominal amount, with the transaction price considered the fair value of the loan. This is because:
— The ‘market environment’ for EU lending is very specific and different from the capital market
used to issue commercial or government debt. As lenders in these markets have the opportunity to choose alternative investments, the opportunity of doing so is factored into market prices. However, this opportunity for alternative investments does not exist for the EU, which is not allowed to invest money in the capital markets; it only borrows funds for the purpose of lending. This means that there is no alternative lending or investment option available to the EU for the sums borrowed. Thus, there is no opportunity cost and therefore no basis of comparison with market rates. In fact, the EU lending operation itself represents the market. Essentially, since the
opportunity cost ‘option’ is not applicable, the market price does not fairly reflect the substance of
the EU lending transactions. Therefore, it is not appropriate to determine the fair value of EU lending with reference to commercial or government bonds.
— Furthermore, as there is no active market or similar transactions to compare with, the interest rate to be used by the EU for fair valuing its lending operations should be the interest rate charged.
Subsequent measurement
Financial assets at amortised cost are subsequently measured at amortised cost using the effective interest method.
Financial assets at fair value through net assets/equity are subsequently measured at fair value. Gains and losses from changes in the fair value are recognised in the fair value reserve, except for foreign exchange translation differences on monetary assets, which are recognised in the statement of financial
performance.
Financial assets at fair value through surplus or deficit are subsequently measured at fair value. Gains and losses from changes in the fair value (including those stemming from foreign currency translation and any interest earned) are included in the statement of financial performance in the period in which they arise.
Fair value at subsequent measurement
The fair values of quoted investments in active markets are based on current bid prices. If the market for a financial asset is not active (and for unlisted securities and over-the–counter derivatives), the EU
establishes a fair value by using valuation techniques. These include the use of recent arm’s length transactions, reference to other instruments that are substantially the same, discounted cashflow analysis, option pricing models and other valuation techniques commonly used by market participants.
Investments in venture capital funds which do not have a quoted market price in an active market are valued at the attributable net asset value, which is considered as an equivalent of their fair value.
Impairment of financial assets
The EU recognises and measures an impairment loss for expected credit losses on financial assets that
are measured at amortised cost and at fair value through net assets/equity.
For assets at amortised cost, the asset’s carrying amount is reduced by the amount of the impairment loss which is recognised in the statement of financial performance. For assets at fair value through net assets/equity, the loss allowance is recognised in net assets/equity and does not reduce the carrying amount of the financial asset in the balance sheet. If, in a subsequent period, the amount of the impairment loss decreases, the previously recognised impairment loss is reversed through the statement
of financial performance.
The expected credit loss (ECL) is the present value of the difference between the contractual cash flows and the cash flows that the EU expects to receive. The ECL incorporates reasonable and supportable information that is available without undue cost or effort at the reporting date.
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
50
(a) Staging policies
The ECL is measured with a three stage model that takes into account probability-weighted default events during the lifetime of the financial asset and the evolution of credit risk since the origination of the financial asset. For loans, origination is the date of the irrevocable loan commitment.
The allocation to stages mainly depends on the counterparty’s credit rating. The staging model relies on a relative assessment of credit risk, that is, the EU may have different loans with the same counterparty in different stages, depending on the counterparty’s credit risk at origination. The EU, having a unique
institutional status, lends money to its Member States or to sovereigns in difficulty. As a result, the EU also applies a qualitative assessment of the credit risk based on monitoring the economic situation of borrowers in difficulty.
Stage 1 – No significant increase in credit risk
Loans to counterparties with credit ratings in the investment grade (i.e. between AAA (Aaa) and BBB-
(Baa3) on the S&P/Fitch (Moody’s) rating scale or an equivalent external or internal rating) at the reporting date, are considered low credit risk loans, and thus held in Stage 1, except if they are overdue
for more than 30 days (see Stage 2). In addition, any loans for which a significant increase in credit risk did not occur, as defined below, are classified to Stage 1. For the loans in Stage 1, the impairment allowance is measured at the level of the 12 month expected credit losses.
Stage 2 – Significant increase in credit risk (SICR)
In order to determine whether there has been a significant increase in the credit risk since origination, and thus whether a move to Stage 2 applies, the EU applies a combination of quantitative and qualitative assessments:
— all loans for which contractual payments are overdue by between 31 and 90 days, are moved to Stage 2;
— for counterparties with credit ratings between AAA (Aaa) and BB- (Ba3) at the initial recognition
date: Unless the low risk case (above in Stage 1) applies, the deterioration is considered significant if the difference between the rating at origination and that at the reporting date is equal or superior to 3 notches;
— for counterparties with credit ratings of B+ (B1) or B (B2) at initial recognition date: The deterioration is considered significant if the difference between the initial rating and the current rating is equal or superior to 2 notches;
— for counterparties with credit ratings of B- (B3) or lower (in CCC/Caa – C range) at the initial recognition date: The deterioration is considered significant if the difference between the initial rating and the current rating at the reporting date is equal or superior to 1 notch; and
— loans originated before the transition to the revised EAR 11 (i.e. 1 January 2021), for which no
information on the credit risk at initial recognition is available without undue cost and effort are classified to Stage 2.
For loans in Stage 2, the impairment allowance is measured at the level of lifetime expected credit losses.
Stage 3 – Credit impaired loans
Loans are classified in Stage 3 when they are 90 days past due or when one or more events occur after the loan origination that have a detrimental impact on the estimated future cash flows of that financial asset. For example, a loan is classified to Stage 3, if:
— it is becoming probable that a borrower will enter bankruptcy or other financial reorganisation;
— the borrower has a credit rating of D published by an external rating agency; and
— the borrower is in default under any financial obligation towards the EU, or in the case of loans for financial assistance, if the borrower is in default to any other international organisation financing the programme.
For loans in Stage 3, the impairment allowance is measured at the level of lifetime expected credit losses.
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
51
Purchased or originated as credit impaired (POCI)
The EU also holds POCI loans. These are defaulted loans where the EU paid a guarantee call to the implementing partner. For these loans, all rights have been subrogated to the EU. The EU recognises them on its balance sheet at fair value at initial recognition. The EU classifies them as POCI loans and calculates an impairment allowance based on the lifetime ECL. Under the relevant agreements between the EU and the implementing partners, recovery proceedings are carried out on behalf of the EU with the aim of recovering any sums due.
(b) Loans to sovereigns
The EU bases its assessment of loans’ impairment, in the context of the nature of the EU’s financing and its unique institutional status.
For the impairment of loans to non-Member States, the EU calculates the expected credit losses using external credit quality data, however taking into account its preferred creditor status, which reduces the
credit risk. For the calculation of the present value, the discount rate is the loan’s original effective interest rate. If a loan has a variable interest rate, the discount rate is the current effective interest rate
determined under the contract.
For loans to Member States, the EU has never incurred any impairment losses, nor faced any defaults on payments. For these loans, in addition to the preferred creditor status, the EU takes into account the relationships with its Member States. These two elements, in principle, guarantee the full recovery of the loans to Member States, on maturity. Therefore, the EU considers the expected credit losses from loans to Member States to be negligible, and a statistical approach to calculate expected credit losses as inappropriate for these loans. Thus no expected credit losses are recognised in the statement of financial
performance for the loans to Member States.
(c) Receivables
The EU measures the impairment loss at the amount of lifetime ECL, using practical expedients (e.g.
provision matrix).
(d) Cash and cash equivalents
The EU holds cash and cash equivalents in current bank accounts and term deposits of up to three
months. The cash is mainly held in banks with very high credit ratings (see Note 6.6), thus having very low default probabilities. Given the short duration and low default probabilities, the expected credit losses from cash and cash equivalents are negligible. As a result, no impairment allowance is recognised for cash equivalents.
Derecognition
Financial instruments are derecognised when the rights to receive cashflows from the investments have expired or the EU has transferred substantially all risks and rewards of ownership to another party. Any
difference between the book value at derecognition and the transaction price is recognised as gain or loss in the Statement of Financial Performance. Sales of financial assets at fair value through net assets/equity and through surplus or deficit are recognised on their trade date.
1.5.6. Inventories
Inventories are stated at the lower of cost and net realisable value. Cost is determined using the first-in, first-out (FIFO) method. The cost of finished goods and work in progress comprises raw materials, direct
labour, other directly attributable costs and related production overheads (based on normal operating capacity). Net realisable value is the estimated selling price in the ordinary course of business, less the costs of completion and selling expenses. When inventories are held for distribution at no charge or for a nominal charge, they are measured at the lower of cost and current replacement cost. Current replacement cost is the cost the EU would incur to acquire the asset on the reporting date.
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
52
1.5.7. Pre-financing amounts
Pre-financing is a payment intended to provide the beneficiary with a cash advance, i.e. a float. It may be split into a number of payments in accordance with the principle of sound financial management over a period laid down in the particular contract, decision, agreement or basic act. The float or advance is either used for the purpose for which it was provided during the period laid down in the agreement or it is repaid. If the beneficiary does not incur eligible expenditure, they have the obligation to return the pre-
financing to the EU. As the EU retains control over the pre-financing and is entitled to a refund for the ineligible part, the amount is presented as an asset.
Pre-financing is initially recognised on the balance sheet when cash is transferred to the recipient. It is measured at the amount of the consideration given. In subsequent periods, pre-financing is measured at the amount initially recognised on the balance sheet less the eligible expenses (including estimated amounts where necessary) incurred during the period.
Interest on pre-financing is recognised as it is earned in accordance with the relevant agreement. An
estimate of the accrued interest revenue, based on the most reliable information, is made at the end of the year and included in the balance sheet.
Other advances to Member States, which originate from reimbursement by the EU of amounts paid as advances by the Member States to their beneficiaries (including ‘financial instruments under shared management’), are recognised as assets and presented under the heading ‘Pre-financing’. Other advances to Member States are subsequently measured at the amount initially recognised on the balance sheet less a best estimate of the eligible expenses incurred by final beneficiaries, calculated on the basis
of reasonable and supportable assumptions.
The contributions to EU trust funds (as established under Article 238 of the Financial Regulation) not consolidated in the European Commission (i.e. trust funds Africa and Bêkou), or to other unconsolidated entities, are classified as pre-financing since their purpose is to give a float to the trust fund to allow it to finance specific actions determined by the trust fund’s objectives. The EU contributions to trust funds are
measured at the initial amount of the EU contribution less eligible expenses, including estimated amounts
where necessary, incurred by the trust fund during the reporting period and allocated to the EU contribution in accordance with the underlying agreement.
1.5.8. Exchange receivables and non-exchange recoverables
The EU accounting rules require a separate presentation of exchange and non-exchange transactions. To distinguish between the two categories, the term ‘receivables’ is reserved for exchange transactions, whereas for ‘non-exchange transactions’, i.e. when the EU receives value from another entity without
directly giving approximately equal value in exchange, the term ‘recoverables’ is used (e.g. recoverables from Member States related to own resources).
Receivables from exchange transactions are financial assets measured at amortised cost, except for
certain amounts of the financial guarantee contract receivable leg which are classified as financial assets at fair value through surplus or deficit (see Note 1.5.5).
Recoverables from non-exchange transactions are carried at fair value as at the date of acquisition less write-down for impairment. A write-down for impairment of recoverables from non-exchange transactions
is established when there is objective evidence that the EU will not be able to collect all amounts due according to the original terms of recoverables from non-exchange transactions. The amount of the write- down is the difference between the asset’s carrying amount and the recoverable amount. The amount of the write-down is recognised in the statement of financial performance. A general write-down, based on past experience, is also made for outstanding recovery orders not already subject to a specific write- down. Regarding the treatment of accrued revenue at the end of the year, see Note 1.5.14.
Amounts displayed and disclosed as recoverables from non-exchange transactions are not financial instruments, as they do not arise from a contract that would give rise to a financial liability or equity instrument. However, in the notes to the financial statements recoverables from non-exchange
transactions are disclosed together with receivables from exchange transactions where appropriate.
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
53
1.5.9. Cash and cash equivalents
Cash and cash equivalents are financial assets at amortised cost and include cash at hand, deposits held at call or at short notice with banks, reverse repos, and other short-term highly liquid investments with original maturities of three months or less and held for the purpose of meeting short term cash commitments and managing liquidity rather than for investment or other purposes.
1.5.10. Employee benefits
The EU provides a set of benefits (emoluments and social security) to employees. For accounting purposes these have to be classified into short-term and post-employment benefits.
Short-term employee benefits
Short-term employee benefits are those benefits due to be settled before 12 months after the end of the reporting period in which employees rendered the service, such as salaries, annual leave and paid sick leave, and other short-term allowances. Short-term employee benefits are recognised as an expense
when the related service is provided. A liability is recognised for the amount expected to be paid if the EU has a present legal or constructive obligation to pay as a result of past service provided by the employee and the obligation can be estimated reliably.
Post-employment benefits
The EU grants a set of post-employment benefits to employees, which include retirement, invalidity and survival pensions provided under the Pension Scheme of the European Officials, as well as health insurance coverage provided under the Joint Sickness Insurance Scheme (see Note 2.9). These benefits
are provided under a single plan – although split in two schemes – and they must be treated similarly so as to give a fair presentation of the situation and reflect the economic reality:
— Pension Scheme of European Officials (PSEO): The benefits granted under this notionally funded27 scheme relate to seniority, invalidity and survival, as well as, family allowances, death before retirement to those employees that work or worked in the EU Institutions, Agencies and other EU bodies or are survivors of deceased officials or pensioners. Staff contribute one third of the
expected cost of these benefits from their salaries.
— Joint Sickness Insurance Scheme (JSIS): Under this scheme, the EU provides health insurance coverage for staff of the European Commission, EU institutions, agencies and other bodies through the reimbursement of medical expenses. The benefits granted to the ‘inactives’ of this scheme (i.e. pensioners, orphans, etc.) are classified as post-employment benefits.
The EU also provides post-employment benefits to members and former members of the EU institutions via separate pension schemes. These are shown under the heading ‘Other retirement benefit schemes’.
Under these schemes the EU provides pension benefits to members of the Commission, European Court of Justice, Court of Auditors, Council, European Parliament, European Ombudsman, and the European
Data Protection Supervisor. The EU provides health coverage to the members of the EU institutions through the JSIS.
The above post-employment benefits qualify as defined benefit obligations of the EU and are calculated at each reporting date by estimating the amount of future benefit that employees have earned in the current and prior periods, discounting that amount and deducting the fair value of any plan assets. The
calculation of defined benefit obligation is carried out annually using the projected unit credit method. The present value of the defined benefit obligation is determined by discounting the estimated future cash outflows using interest rates of government bonds that are denominated in the currency in which the benefits will be paid, and that have terms to maturity approximating to the terms of the related pension liability.
27 The PSEO is a notional (virtual) fund with defined benefits in which staff’s contributions serve to finance their future
pensions. Although there is no actual investment fund, the amount that would have been collected by such a fund is considered to have been invested in the Member States’ long-term bonds and is reflected in the pension liability that is registered in the annual accounts of the European Union. Member States jointly guarantee the payment of the benefits pursuant to Article 83 of the Staff Regulations and Article 4 (3) of the Treaty on European Union (see COM(2018)829 for a detailed description of the scheme).
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
54
The post-employment benefits provided to EU staff are incorporated in a single plan comprising a pension
scheme (PSEO) and a sickness insurance scheme (JSIS), with the right to coverage under the JSIS scheme being dependent on having acquired the right to coverage under the PSEO scheme. Under the terms of this single plan, as set out in the Staff Regulation, certain entitlements, such as the right to a deferred and reduced pension under the PSEO scheme, are acquired after 10 years of service. However, the entitlements acquired under the single plan by the employee’s subsequent service are materially higher than those initial entitlements as reflected by subsequent annually accrued pension rights.
Therefore, in order to depict the economic substance of the underlying transaction required by the faithful representation qualitative characteristic of financial reporting as outlined in both EAR 1 and the IPSAS Conceptual Framework, the service cost incurred is accrued on a straight-line basis over staff’s estimated active service period, i.e. the period from the date when service by the employee first leads to benefits under the plan (whether or not the benefits are conditional on further service) until the date when further service by the employee will lead to no material amount of further benefits under the plan, other than from further salary increases. This approach is applied consistently to the benefits provided for under the
single plan.
Remeasurements in the net defined benefit liabilities comprise actuarial gains and losses and the return on plan assets, and are recognised immediately in net assets.
The EU recognises the net interest expense (income) and other expenses related to the defined benefit plans in the statement of financial performance within the heading ‘Staff and pension costs’.
When benefits provided are changed or curtailed, the resulting change in benefits that relates to past service or the gain or loss on curtailment is recognised immediately in the statement of financial
performance. Gains and losses on settlement are recognised when the settlement occurs. Past service cost is recognised immediately in the statement of financial performance, unless the changes are conditional on the employees remaining in service for a specified period of time.
1.5.11. Provisions
Provisions are recognised when the EU has a present legal or constructive obligation towards third parties
as a result of past events, it is more likely than not that an outflow of resources will be required to settle the obligation, and the amount can be reliably estimated. Provisions are not recognised for future operating losses. The amount of the provision is the best estimate of the expenses expected to be required to settle the present obligation at the reporting date. Where the provision involves a large number of items, the obligation is estimated by weighting all possible outcomes by their associated probabilities (‘expected value’ method).
Provisions for onerous contracts are measured at the present value of the lower of the expected cost of
terminating the contract and the expected net cost of continuing with the contract.
1.5.12. Financial liabilities
Financial liabilities are classified as financial liabilities at fair value through surplus or deficit, financial liabilities carried at amortised cost, or as financial guarantee contract liabilities.
Borrowings
Borrowings are composed of borrowings from credit institutions and debts evidenced by certificates (EU
Bonds, EU deposits and EU Bills). They are recognised initially at fair value, being their issue proceeds (fair value of consideration received) net of transaction costs incurred, then subsequently carried at amortised cost using the effective interest method; any difference between proceeds, net of transaction costs, and the redemption value is recognised in the statement of financial performance over the period of the borrowings using the effective interest method. The transaction costs incurred by the EU and then recharged to the beneficiary of the loan are immaterial and are directly recognised in the statement of
financial performance.
Borrowings are classified as non-current liabilities, except for maturities less than 12 months after the balance sheet date.
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
55
Financial liabilities at fair value through surplus or deficit
These include derivatives where the fair value is negative. They follow the same accounting treatment as financial assets at fair value through surplus or deficit, see Note 1.5.5.
This category comprises guarantees given by the EU to financial institutions on equity investments. These guarantees are classified as derivative financial instruments and accounted for as a financial asset or financial liability at fair value through surplus or deficit since they do not meet the definition of a financial guarantee liability. The EU financial asset or liability is measured based on the value of the underlying
investments.
Financial guarantee contract liabilities
The EU recognises a financial guarantee contract (FGC) liability when it enters into a contract that requires the EU to make specified payments to reimburse the guarantee holder for a loss it incurs because a specified debtor fails to make payment when due in accordance with the original or modified
terms of a debt instrument. Where the guarantee contract requires the EU to make payments in response to price changes to financial instruments or changes to other underlyings, the guarantee contract is a
derivative i.e. a financial liability at fair value through surplus or deficit. All other guarantee contracts are accounted for as financial provisions.
FGC liabilities are initially recognised at fair value. This equals the net present value of the premium receivable, if it is at market terms. When no guarantee premium is charged or where the consideration is not fair value, the fair value is determined based on the quoted prices in an active market for FGCs directly equivalent to that entered into the financial guarantee liability, if available, or using a valuation technique. If no reliable measure of fair value can be determined either by direct observation of an active
market or through another valuation technique, the financial guarantee contract liability is initially measured at the amount of the lifetime expected credit losses.
The subsequent measurement depends on the evolution of the credit risk exposure from the financial guarantee, which is monitored by allocating the FGC to stages. The key risk indicator for the allocation of
FGC to stages is the credit rating of the guaranteed debt. The staging model compares the credit rating at origination to the credit rating at the reporting date.
If there is no significant increase in credit risk (‘stage 1’), financial guarantee liabilities are measured at the higher of the 12 months expected credit losses and the amount initially recognised less, when appropriate, cumulative amortisation. If there is a significant increase in credit risk (‘stage 2’), financial guarantee liabilities are measured at the higher of the lifetime expected credit losses and the amount initially recognised less, when appropriate, cumulative amortisation.
The staging criteria for guaranteed debt in financial guarantee contracts covering a single debt instrument are the same as those for financial assets at amortised cost (see Note 1.5.5).
The staging criteria for the guaranteed debt in portfolio guarantees follow the same staging criteria as for financial assets at amortised cost with the following exceptions:
— the weighted average credit rating of the guaranteed portfolio, or rating of the guarantee, is considered for the staging criteria, and not the rating of individual debt instruments separately.
— for guarantees with a credit rating between AAA (Aa1) and BB- (Ba3) at initial recognition date: the deterioration is considered significant if the difference between the rating at origination and that at the reporting date is equal or superior to 2 notches.
— for guarantees with a credit rating between B+ (B1) or lower at initial recognition date: the deterioration is considered significant if the difference between the rating at origination and that at the reporting date is equal or superior to 1 notch.
Alternatively, if the credit ratings are not available but there is an estimation of the expected annual claims at initial recognition, the actual level of claims compared to the initial estimate is also considered a reasonable risk indicator for the assessment of significant increase in credit risk (SICR).
In addition to the above criteria, the EU may apply a qualitative assessment of the SICR, based on additional, reasonable and justified, information available.
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
56
FGC originated before the transition to the revised EAR 11 (i.e. before 1 January 2021) for which no
information on the credit risk at initial recognition is available without undue cost and effort are classified to Stage 2.
Classification to Stage 3 and POCI does not apply to FGC.
Financial guarantee contracts are classified as current liabilities, except if the EU has an unconditional right to defer the settlement of the liability for at least 12 months after the reporting date.
Contributions with conditions
EU trust funds that are considered as part of the Commission’s operational activities (i.e. trust funds Madad and Colombia) are accounted for in the Commission accounts and further consolidated in the EU annual accounts. Contributions from other donors to these trust funds fulfil the criteria of revenues from non-exchange transactions under conditions. They are presented as financial liabilities until the conditions attached to the contributions transferred are met, i.e. eligible costs are incurred by the trust fund. The
trust fund is required to finance specific projects and return remaining funds at the time of winding-up. At the balance sheet date, the outstanding contribution liabilities are measured at contributions received
less the expenses incurred by the trust fund, including estimated amounts when necessary. For reporting purposes, the net expenses are allocated to the contributions of other donors in proportion to net contributions paid as at 31 December. This allocation of contributions is only indicative. When the trust fund is wound up, the actual distribution of the remaining resources will be decided by the trust fund board.
The same measurement principles apply to the external contributions to the EU programmes, if such contributions are received with the condition to use the resources as stipulated in the contribution
agreements or otherwise to return them to the contributor.
1.5.13. Payables
A significant amount of the payables of the EU are unpaid cost claims from beneficiaries of grants or other EU funding (non-exchange transactions). They are recorded as payables for the requested amount when the cost claim is received. Upon verification and acceptance of the eligible costs, the payables are
valued at the eligible amount.
Payables arising from the purchase of goods and services are recognised at invoice reception for the original amount and the corresponding eligible expenses are entered in the accounts when the supplies or services are delivered and accepted by the EU.
1.5.14. Accrued and deferred revenue and charges
Transactions and events are recognised in the financial statements in the period to which they relate. At
year-end, if an invoice is not yet issued but the service has been rendered, the supplies have been
delivered by the EU or a contractual agreement exists (e.g. by reference to a treaty), an accrued revenue will be recognised in the financial statements. In addition, at year-end, if an invoice is issued but the services have not yet been rendered or the goods supplied have not yet been delivered, the revenue will be deferred and recognised in the subsequent accounting period.
Expenses are also accounted for in the period to which they relate. At the end of the accounting period, accrued expenses are recognised based on an estimated amount of the transfer obligation of the period.
Accrued expenses are calculated in accordance with detailed operational and practical guidelines issued by the Commission which aim to ensure that the financial statements provide a faithful representation of the economic and other phenomena they purport to represent. By analogy, if a payment has been made in advance for services or goods that have not yet been received, the expense will be deferred and recognised in the subsequent accounting period.
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
57
1.6. STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE
1.6.1. Revenue
REVENUE FROM NON-EXCHANGE TRANSACTIONS
The vast majority of the EU’s revenue relates to non-exchange transactions as follows:
GNI-based resources, VAT and Plastics own resources
Revenue is recognised for the period for which the Commission sends out a call for funds to the Member States claiming their contribution. The revenue is measured at its ‘called amount’. As VAT, GNI and Plastics own resources are based on estimates of the data for the budgetary year concerned, they may be revised since changes occur until the final data are issued by the Member States. The effect of a change
in estimate is included when determining the net surplus or deficit for the period in which the change occurred.
Traditional own resources
Recoverables from non-exchange transactions and related revenues are recognised when the relevant monthly ‘A’ statements (including duties collected and amounts due that are guaranteed and not contested) are received from the Member States. At the reporting date, revenue collected by the Member
States for the period but not yet paid to the Commission is estimated and recognised as accrued revenue. The quarterly ‘B’ statements (including duties neither collected nor guaranteed, as well as guaranteed amounts that have been contested by the debtor) received from the Member States are recognised as revenue less the collection costs to which they are entitled. In addition, a value reduction is recognised for the amount of the estimated recovery gap.
Fines
Revenue from fines is recognised when the EU’s decision imposing a fine has been adopted and it is
officially notified to the addressee. After the decision to impose a fine, the fined entities have two months from the date of notification:
— either to accept the decision, in which case they must pay the fine within the time limit laid down and the amount is definitively collected by the EU; or
— not to accept the decision, in which case they challenge it in accordance with EU law.
Even if appealed, the fine must be paid within the three month time limit, as the appeal does not have suspensory effect (Article 278 TFEU). The cash received is used to clear the recoverable. However,
subject to the agreement of the Commission’s Accounting Officer, the undertaking may present a bank guarantee for the amount instead. In that case the fine remains as a recoverable. If neither cash nor a guarantee is received and there are doubts about the undertaking’s solvency, a value reduction on the
entitlement is recognised.
If the undertaking appeals against the decision, and has already provisionally paid the fine, the amount is disclosed as a contingent liability, or, if it appears probable that the General Court may not rule in favour
of the EU, a provision is recognised to cover this risk. If a guarantee is given instead, the outstanding recoverable is written down.
The accumulated interest received by the Commission on the bank accounts where received payments are deposited is recognised as revenue, and any contingent liability is increased accordingly.
Since 2010, all provisionally cashed fines are managed by the Commission in a specifically created fund (BUFI) and invested in financial instruments.
Accounting treatment of the budgetary surplus of the previous year
Article 18 (1) of the Financial Regulation provides that the budgetary surplus of a given financial year shall be entered in the budget for the following financial year as revenue. In the Statement of Financial Performance, this revenue is recognised within ‘Other revenue from non-exchange transactions’ (see
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
58
Note 3.8), with a corresponding entry in the ‘Amounts to be called from Member States’, a component of
Net Assets (see Note 2.15).
REVENUE FROM EXCHANGE TRANSACTIONS
Revenue from the sale of goods and services is recognised when the significant risk and rewards of ownership of the goods are transferred to the purchaser. Revenue associated with a transaction involving the provision of services is recognised by reference to the stage of completion of the transaction at the reporting date.
Interest revenue and expense
Interest revenue and expense are recognised in the statement of financial performance using the effective interest method. This is a method of calculating the amortised cost of a financial asset or a financial liability and of allocating the interest revenue or interest expense over the relevant period. When calculating the effective interest rate, the EU estimates cashflows considering all contractual terms of the
financial instrument (for example prepayment options) but does not consider future credit losses. The calculation includes all fees and interest rate points paid or received between parties to the contract that
are an integral part of the effective interest rate, transaction costs and all other premiums or discounts.
Once a financial asset or a group of similar financial assets is considered credit impaired (‘stage 3’), the interest revenue is recognised using the rate of interest to discount the future cashflows for the purpose of measuring the impairment loss.
Revenue from dividends
Revenue from dividends and similar distributions is recognised when the right to receive payment is established.
Revenue and expense from financial assets through surplus or deficit
This refers to the fair value gains (revenue) and fair value losses (expense) from these financial assets, including those stemming from foreign exchange translation. For interest-bearing financial assets, this also includes interest. See also Note 3.9. Revenue from financial guarantee contracts
The revenue from financial guarantee contracts (guarantee premium) is recognised over the time the EU
stands ready to compensate the holder of the financial guarantee contract for the credit loss it may incur. The amortisation schedule applied takes into account the passage of time and the volume of the guaranteed exposure. Revenue from financial guarantee contracts include also amortisation of financial guarantee contracts liability in cases when the guarantee was provided at no or nominal consideration.
1.6.2. Expenses
Expenses from non-exchange transactions account for the majority of the EU’s expenses. They relate to
transfers to beneficiaries and can be of three types: (i) entitlements, (ii) transfers under agreement and discretionary grants, as well as (iii) contributions and donations.
Transfers are recognised as expenses in the period during which the events giving rise to the transfer occurred, as long as the nature of the transfer is allowed by the relevant regulation (Financial Regulation, Staff Regulations, or other regulation) or an agreement has been signed authorising the transfer, any eligibility criteria have been met by the beneficiary, and a reasonable estimate of the amount can be made.
When a request for payment or cost claim is received and meets the recognition criteria, it is recognised as an expense for the eligible amount. At year-end, incurred eligible expenses due to the beneficiaries but not yet reported are estimated and recorded as accrued expenses.
Expenses from exchange transactions arising from the purchase of goods and services are recognised when the supplies are delivered and accepted by the EU. They are valued at their original invoice amount. Furthermore, at the balance sheet date, expenses related to the service delivered during the
period for which an invoice has not yet been received or accepted are estimated and recognised in the statement of financial performance.
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
59
1.7. CONTINGENT ASSETS AND LIABILITIES
1.7.1. Contingent assets
A contingent asset is a possible asset that arises from past events and whose existence will be confirmed only by the occurrence or non-occurrence of one or more uncertain future events not wholly within the control of the EU. A contingent asset is disclosed when an inflow of economic benefits or service potential is probable.
1.7.2. Contingent liabilities
A contingent liability is a possible obligation that arises from past events and whose existence will be
confirmed only by the occurrence or non-occurrence of one or more uncertain future events not wholly
within the control of the EU, or a present obligation that arises from past events but is not recognised, either because it is not probable that an outflow of resources embodying economic benefits or service potential will be required to settle the obligation, or in the rare circumstance where the amount of the obligation cannot be measured with sufficient reliability. A contingent liability is disclosed unless the possibility of an outflow of resources embodying economic benefits or service potential is remote.
1.8. CASHFLOW STATEMENT
Cashflow information is used to provide a basis for assessing the ability of the EU to generate cash and cash equivalents, and its needs to utilise those cashflows.
The cashflow statement is prepared using the indirect method. This means that the economic result for the financial year is adjusted for the effects of transactions of a non-cash nature, any deferrals or
accruals of past or future operating cash receipts or payments, and items of revenue or expense associated with investing cashflows.
Cashflows arising from transactions in a foreign currency are recorded in the EU’s reporting currency (euro), by applying to the foreign currency amount the exchange rate between the euro and the foreign currency at the date of the cashflow.
The cashflow statement reports cashflows during the period classified by operating, investing and financing activities.
Operating activities are the activities of the EU other than investing or financing activities. As such, they account for the majority of the activities carried out by the EU.
Investing activities are the acquisition and disposal of intangible assets and property, plant and
equipment and of other investments which are not included in cash equivalents. Investing activities do
not include loans granted to beneficiaries as they are part of the general objectives and thus daily operations of the EU. The objective is to show the real investments made by the EU.
Financing activities are activities that result in changes in the size and composition of borrowings other than those granted to beneficiaries on a back-to-back basis or for the acquisition of property, plant and equipment (which are included under operating activities).
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
60
2. NOTES TO THE BALANCE SHEET
ASSETS
2.1. INTANGIBLE ASSETS
EUR million
Gross carrying amount at 31.12.2024 2 257
Additions 267
Disposals (70)
Transfer between asset categories 0
Other changes –
Gross carrying amount at 31.12.2025 2 455
Accumulated amortisation at 31.12.2024 (1 162)
Amortisation charge for the year (213)
Amortisation written back 1
Disposals 54
Transfer between asset categories 0
Other changes (1)
Accumulated amortisation at 31.12.2025 (1 320)
Net carrying amount at 31.12.2025 1 135
Net carrying amount at 31.12.2024 1 095
The net carrying amount at year-end 2025 of EUR 1 135 million mainly includes internally generated
software already operational (EUR 405 million), internally generated software under construction (EUR 354 million) as well as acquired software (EUR 375 million).
2.2. PROPERTY, PLANT AND EQUIPMENT
The space assets category covers operational fixed assets related to the EU space programmes: the Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS), i.e. Galileo and European Geostationary Navigation Overlay
System (EGNOS), Governmental Satellite Communication (GOVSATCOM), Secure connectivity programme and the Copernicus European Earth observation programme. Assets of the space systems which are not yet operational are included under the heading ‘Assets under construction’. The assets related to the EU space programmes are being built with the assistance of the European Space Agency
(ESA).
For Galileo, the constellation currently includes 30 satellites. The Galileo operational fixed assets, covering both satellites and ground installations, amounted to EUR 2 630 million at 31 December 2025, net of accumulated depreciation (2024: EUR 2 987 million). The remaining assets under construction total EUR 2 592 million (2024: EUR 2 145 million).
Regarding Copernicus, 10 satellites are operational with 22 satellites and instruments under construction. The total value of Copernicus operational fixed assets is EUR 845 million (2024: EUR 492 million), net of
accumulated depreciation. A further EUR 3 645 million related to Copernicus satellites is recognised as assets under construction (2024: EUR 3 520 million).
Fixed assets related to the EGNOS ground infrastructure of EUR 182 million (2024: EUR 160 million) are also included under the heading ‘Space assets’. In addition, EGNOS assets under construction amount to EUR 346 million (2024: EUR 345 million).
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
61
The European Union Governmental Satellite Communications (GOVSATCOM) programme aims to provide
secure, resilient and cost-efficient satellite communications capabilities to security and safety critical missions and governmental operations managed by the EU and its Member States, including national security actors and EU Agencies and institutions. GOVSATCOM assets under construction amount to EUR 9 million (2024: EUR 0).
The secure connectivity programme has two main aims:
— to ensure worldwide access to secure governmental satellite communication services for the
protection of critical infrastructures, surveillance, external actions and crisis management;
— to enable the private sector to provide commercial services, such as making available high-speed broadband and seamless connectivity throughout the European Union.
Secure connectivity assets under constructions amount to EUR 454 million (2024: EUR 0).
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
62
Property, plant and equipment
EUR million
Land and Buildings
Space assets
Plant and Equipment
Furniture and Vehicles
Computer Hardware
Other Finance
leases Assets under construction
Total
Gross carrying amount at 31.12.2024 6 528 9 056 483 255 714 308 2 075 6 528 25 945
Additions 44 1 23 13 76 14 5 2 029 2 205
Disposals (9) (113) (24) (37) (87) (35) (2) (0) (306)
Transfer between asset categories 73 811 0 (0) 0 2 – (886) (0)
Other changes (3) – 0 0 1 0 – – (2)
Gross carrying amount at 31.12.2025 6 630 9 755 482 231 705 292 2 079 7 671 27 843
Accumulated depreciation at 31.12.2024 (4 106) (5 417) (423) (177) (575) (225) (1 309) (12 232)
Depreciation charge for the year (145) (777) (24) (17) (75) (18) (75) (1 131)
Depreciation written back 0 – 0 (0) 8 1 – 8
Disposals 8 96 23 36 76 30 2 270
Transfer between asset categories (0) – (0) (0) 0 0 – 0
Other changes 2 – (0) 0 (0) (0) – 1
Accumulated depreciation at 31.12.2025
(4 240) (6 098) (425) (161) (566) (214) (1 382) (13 086)
NET CARRYING AMOUNT AT 31.12.2025 2 390 3 657 57 70 138 77 696 7 671 14 756
NET CARRYING AMOUNT AT 31.12.2024 2 420 3 639 60 76 139 84 766 6 528 13 713
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
63
2.3. INVESTMENTS ACCOUNTED FOR USING THE EQUITY METHOD
The participation of the EU, represented by the Commission, in the European Investment Fund (EIF) is treated as an associate using the equity method of accounting. The EIF is the EU's financial institution specialising in providing risk capital and guarantees to Small and Medium-sized Entities (SMEs). The EIF
operates as a private-public partnership, whose members are the European Investment Bank (EIB), the EU and a group of financial institutions.
At 31 December 2025, the EU holds 29.7% of ownership interests in the EIF (2024: 29.7%) and 29.7% of the voting rights (2024: 29.7%). In accordance with its statutes, the EIF is required to allocate at least 20% of its annual net result to a statutory reserve, until the aggregate reserve amounts to 10% of subscribed capital. This reserve is not available for distribution.
The table below shows the current year’s movement of the EU’s participation in the EIF.
EUR million
European Investment Fund
Participation at 31.12.2024 1 446
Contributions –
Dividends received (8)
Share of net result 69
Share in the net assets 16
Participation at 31.12.2025 1 524
EIF summarised financial information:
EUR million
31.12.2025 31.12.2024
Total EIF Total EIF
Assets 9 023 7 789
Liabilities (3 896) (2 923)
Surplus/(deficit) 233 280
The reconciliation of the above summarised financial information to the carrying amount of the interest held in the EIF is as follows:
EUR million
31.12.2025 31.12.2024
Net assets of the associate 5 127 4 866
EC ownership interests in EIF 29.7% 29.7%
Carrying amount 1 524 1 446
The EU, represented by the Commission, has paid in 20% of its subscribed shares in the EIF capital at 31 December 2025, the uncalled amount is as follows:
EUR million
Total EIF capital EU subscription
Total share capital 7 370 2 190
Paid-in (1 474) (438)
Uncalled 5 896 1 752
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
64
2.4. FINANCIAL ASSETS
EUR million
Note 31.12.2025 31.12.2024
Non-current
Financial assets at amortised cost 2.4.1 314 887 269 903
Financial assets at fair value through surplus or deficit 2.4.2 47 919 39 058
362 806 308 961
Current
Financial assets at amortised cost 2.4.1 18 545 13 677
Financial assets at fair value through surplus or deficit 2.4.2 4 746 5 700
23 291 19 377
Total 386 097 328 338
2.4.1. Financial assets at amortised cost
EUR million
Note 31.12.2025 31.12.2024
Loans to Member States and third countries 2.4.1.1 332 821 283 114
Other loans 2.4.1.2 611 466
Total 333 432 283 580
Non-current 314 887 269 903
Current 18 545 13 677
2.4.1.1. Loans to Member States and third countries
EUR million
31.12.2025 31.12.2024
Loans to Member States 286 301 251 457
Loans to third countries 46 520 31 656
Total at 31.12.2025 332 821 283 114
Non-current 314 764 269 782
Current 18 056 13 332
Loans to Member States
EUR million
RRF SURE EFSM BOP Total
Total at 31.12.2024 110 120 98 839 42 297 201 251 457
New loans (nominal) 47 218 – – – 47 218
Repayments – (8 000) (4 900) (200) (13 100)
Changes in carrying amount 876 (135) (15) (1) 726
Total at 31.12.2025 158 215 90 705 37 382 – 286 301
Non-current 155 904 82 594 30 818 – 269 316
Current 2 310 8 111 6 564 – 16 985
The nominal value of loans to Member States at 31 December 2025 is EUR 283.4 billion (2024: EUR 249.2 billion), out of which EUR 155.9 billion refer to the NGEU loans for RRF and REPowerEU.
In this table, and in the table for loans to third countries further below, the line ‘Changes in carrying amount’ corresponds to the change in accrued interest and the change in premiums/discounts (new
premiums/discounts and amortisation).
The programmes SURE, EFSM and BOP have been implemented on a ‘back-to-back’ basis. This means that the loans were financed by equivalent borrowings, with the same terms and conditions. The
maturities are the same, the issue premiums/discounts and the costs are recharged to the loan beneficiary. At maturity, the loan beneficiary reimburses the Commission and the Commission repays the
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
65
borrowing. For the RRF loans financed by NGEU there is no back-to-back relationship between the terms
of the loans and the borrowings. These loans are funded from the unified funding approach, explained in Note 2.11.1.1.
RRF
The RRF is a temporary instrument, established in 2021, to help the Member States’ economies recover from the coronavirus pandemic and become resilient to green and digital transitions. Under the EU Recovery Instrument (NGEU), the Commission borrows funds, which the RRF uses to finance Member
States’ reforms and investments. These have to be in line with EU priorities and have to address the challenges identified in country-specific recommendations under the European Semester framework of economic and social policy coordination. The financing can be either a loan (repayable support) or a grant (non-repayable support, see Note 2.5). The Member States can receive financing up to a previously agreed allocation for loans and grants. To benefit from the support, the Member States have to submit their national recovery and resilience plans to the European Commission. Each plan sets out the reforms and investments to be implemented by the end of 2026, defining clear milestones and targets to be
analysed by the European Commission and approved by the European Council. The RRF loans can be
disbursed until 31 December 2026, but only after the achievement of the agreed milestones and targets.
In 2023, the RRF Regulation was amended and enabled the Member States to add a REPowerEU chapter to their national recovery and resilience plans. The Member States can finance investments and reforms in order to achieve the REPowerEU objectives. The financing can also be with loans, using RRF loan resources not yet requested by the Member States. The heading RRF in the table above thus includes the REPowerEU loans as well.
As at 31 December 2025, the signed loan agreements were EUR 277.2 billion (comparing to EUR 290.9 billion at the end of 2024, the amount decreased due to reductions of some loan agreements). EUR 155.9 billion of loans have been disbursed and is outstanding at the end of 2025.
Support to mitigate Unemployment Risks in an Emergency (SURE)
SURE provided financial assistance aiming to maintain people in work and support jobs affected by the coronavirus pandemic. The availability of the instrument ended on 31 December 2022. The loans
disbursed as of 31 December 2024 were EUR 98.4 billion (nominal value) and there were no pending disbursements. In 2025, the Member States repaid EUR 8 billion of SURE loans.
European Financial Stabilisation Mechanism (EFSM)
The EFSM enabled the granting of financial assistance to a Member State in financial difficulties. The programme has expired except for specific transactions such as the maturity extension of the loans. In 2025, Ireland repaid EUR 2.4 billion of EFSM loan due. Portugal requested early repayment of two loans for a total amount of EUR 2.5 billion. The repayment of the loans was executed at market price of the
underlying bonds. This operation resulted in derecognition gains or losses on loans (see Notes 3.9 and 3.15). The underlying EU bonds were transferred to the unified funding pool (see Note 2.11.1.1).
Balance of Payments (BOP)
This is a policy-based financial instrument that provides medium-term financial assistance to Member
States that have not adopted the euro. In 2025 the last outstanding BOP loan was fully repaid by Latvia.
Loans to third countries
EUR million
MFA Ukraine Facility
EURATOM Western Balkans Facility
Moldova Facility
Total
Total at 31.12.2024 23 831 7 623 203 – – 31 656
New loans (nominal) 18 366 10 052 – 184 289 28 891
Repayments (20) – – – – (20)
Changes in carrying amount
247 104 (0) 3 4 358
Changes in impairment (9 164) (5 206) 4 (0) (0) (14 366)
Total at 31.12.2025 33 260 12 573 207 187 293 46 520
Non-current 32 505 12 264 206 184 289 45 448
Current 754 310 0 3 4 1 072
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
66
The nominal value of loans to third countries at 31 December 2025 was EUR 76.0 billion (2024:
EUR 47.2 billion).
In this table, the line ‘Changes in impairment’ corresponds to the remeasurement of the expected credit losses as at 31 December 2025. The line ‘Changes in carrying amount’ corresponds to the change in accrued interests and the change in premiums/discounts (new premiums/discounts and amortisation).
The Euratom programme operates on a ‘back to back’ basis.
Until the end of 2022, the MFA loans were funded using the back to back approach, whereas with the
implementation of the MFA+ programme in 2023, new loans under the MFA are mainly implemented using the unified funding approach explained in Note 2.11.1.1. Any new programmes such as the Ukraine, Western Balkans and Moldova facilities are also funded with the unified funding approach.
Macro-Financial Assistance
The MFA refers to loans for financial assistance to partner countries experiencing a balance of payment
crisis.
The total nominal exposure of MFA loans outstanding at year end amounted to EUR 52.1 billion (2024:
EUR 33.7 billion), out of which EUR 47.1 billion was to Ukraine (2024: EUR 29.0 billion).
As at 31 December 2025, the impairment allowance for MFA loans was EUR 19.4 billion (2024: EUR 10.2 billion), out of which EUR 19.3 billion for loans to Ukraine (2024: EUR 10.1 billion). While all amounts due in 2025 from Ukraine were paid on time and at the moment of preparation of the annual accounts there are no overdue payments, in accordance with the accounting rules, the impairment reflects the life-time expected credit losses estimated with a particular prudence due to significant uncertainties involved.
In October 2024, Regulation (EU) 2024/277328 was adopted establishing the Ukraine Loan Cooperation Mechanism (ULCM) and authorising a new MFA for Ukraine. Under the ULCM, extraordinary revenues originating from immobilised Russian sovereign assets are used to grant non-repayable support to Ukraine with the objective to assist the country in repaying bilateral loans provided by the G7 partners and the EU under this initiative. The EU signed the MFA loan agreement with Ukraine in December 2024
for an amount of EUR 18.1 billion. The loan was fully disbursed in 2025. As the MFA loan under ULCM was
irrevocably committed at the end of 2024, a provision for expected credit losses of EUR 7.1 billion was recognised (see also note 2.10). In 2025, this provision was reversed and an impairment allowance of EUR 8.7 billion was recognised instead, reducing the value of the loan.
In 2025, the EU granted EUR 740 million (2024: EUR 763 million) of interest rate subsidies to Ukraine for the interest accrued on the exceptional MFA and MFA+ loans. This constitutes a modification of the loan’s terms (see also Notes 3.15 and 6.6), and is included under the ‘Changes in carrying amount’ in the table above.
As at 31 December 2025, there were EUR 4.3 billion undrawn amounts conditionally committed under signed MFA loan agreements (2024: EUR 95 million).
Ukraine Facility loans
The Ukraine Facility Regulation29 is an instrument adopted in 2024 that offers up to EUR 50 billion in financial support to Ukraine, including up to EUR 33 billion of sovereign loans, to be disbursed by the end of 2027. EUR 23.2 billion of loans have been disbursed to Ukraine by the end of 2025 (2024: EUR 13.1 billion).
The impairment allowance recognised on those loans totals EUR 10.9 billion as at 31 December 2025 (2024: EUR 5.7 billion). There are EUR 9.8 billion undrawn amounts from signed loan agreements at year end (2024: EUR 19.9 billion) conditionally committed upon meeting policy conditions.
European Atomic Energy Community loans (Euratom)
The European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom) lends money to both Member States and non- Member States, and to entities of both, to finance projects relating to energy installations.
As at 31 December 2025, there are no outstanding amounts relating to Member States. The total
28 Regulation (EU) 2024/2773 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 October 2024 establishing the
Ukraine Loan Cooperation Mechanism and providing exceptional macro-financial assistance to Ukraine (OJ L, 28.10.2024).
29 Regulation (EU) 2024/792 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 February 2024 establishing the Ukraine Facility (OJ L, 29.2.2024), hereafter referred to ‘Ukraine Facility Regulation’.
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
67
outstanding amount relates to loans to Energoatom, guaranteed by the Ukrainian state. For these loans
an impairment allowance of EUR 94 million has been recognised (2024: EUR 98 million). There are no undrawn amounts from signed loan agreements.
Reform and Growth Facility of the Western Balkans
The Regulation (EU) 2024/1449 on establishing the Reform and Growth Facility for the Western Balkans30 (hereafter referred to as ‘Western Balkans Facility’) was adopted in May 2024, with the first financial operations occurring in 2025. The Facility is expected to provide up to EUR 4 billion in loans in 2025-
2027, with payments conditioned upon the EU partner countries in the Western Balkans implementing specific socio-economic and fundamental reforms.
By 31 December 2025, EUR 2.6 billion of loans were signed with North Macedonia, Albania, Serbia and Montenegro, of which EUR 184 million have been disbursed. At year-end, EUR 2.4 billion remains conditionally committed, subject to the fulfillment of policy conditions.
Reform and Growth Facility for the Republic of Moldova
The Regulation (EU) 2025/535 establishing the Reform and Growth Facility for the Republic of Moldova31
(hereafter referred to as ‘Moldova Facility’), was adopted in March 2025. The facility will support Moldova during the period from 2025 to 2027 and is expected to provide up to EUR 1.5 billion in loans.
The loan agreement for EUR 1.5 billion was signed in 2025. EUR 289 million has been disbursed by 31 December 2025, while EUR 1.2 billion remains undrawn at year-end.
EU budget guarantee for loans to Member States and third countries
The EU budget guarantees the borrowings issued by the EU which finance the loans to Member States and third countries. If there would be unpaid loan amounts in the future, the EU budget may have to
repay the related borrowing amounts.
For more details, see Note 6.7.
UK obligations arising from its departure from the EU
In accordance with Article 143 of the Withdrawal Agreement, the UK shall be liable to the Union for its share of contingent financial liabilities related to the loans for financial assistance (EFSM, MFA, BOP and Euratom) approved/decided by the withdrawal date, 31 January 2020. Article 143 requires that in case of
a default under a loan for financial assistance that has been approved before the withdrawal date, the UK would be liable to the Union for its share of payments made by the Union under the defaulted operation, unless this could be covered by the UK share of provisioning held in the Guarantee Fund for external actions compartment of the CPF where this is relevant (i.e. MFA and Euratom loans in third countries) – see Note 4.1.1.
The EU’s outstanding contingent liability relating to the above loans for financial assistance amounted to
EUR 53.9 billion as at the withdrawal date. Following repayments since that date, the value of these loans
covered by the EU guarantee at 31 December 2025 is EUR 42.2 billion – the UK’s share of this is EUR 5.3 billion.
2.4.1.2. Other loans
These include 3 types of loans:
a) Loans granted from EU budget programmes (e.g. the Agriculture and Electrification Financing initiatives and the EU Employment and Social Innovation programme). These loans total EUR 85 million as at 31 December 2025 (2024: EUR 75 million).
b) Subrogated loans: These are loans disbursed by the EIB and guaranteed by the EFSI and ELM
programmes. The loans defaulted, the Commission paid the guarantee calls and therefore holds
30 Regulation (EU) 2024/1449 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 May 2024 on establishing the
Reform and Growth Facility for the Western Balkans (OJ L, 2024/1449, 24.5.2024). 31 Regulation (EU) 2025/535 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 March 2025 establishing the Reform
and Growth Facility for the Republic of Moldova (OJ L, 2025/535, 21.3.2025).
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
68
the recovery rights. As a result the loans are now recognised on the EU balance sheet.
At 31 December 2025, the Commission holds the recovery rights for EUR 1.0 billion of such loans, including accrued interests (2024: EUR 1.0 billion). However, after taking into account the expected credit losses, the amount recognised on the balance sheet is EUR 45 million (2024: EUR 51 million).
c) Term deposits of EUR 481 million (2024: EUR 340 million) with maturity of over 3 months that do not meet the definition of cash equivalents.
2.4.2. Financial assets at fair value through surplus or deficit (FVSD)
EUR million
Note 31.12.2025 31.12.2024
Financial assets at FVSD non-derivatives 2.4.2.1 51 080 43 648
Financial assets at FVSD derivatives 2.4.2.2 1 585 1 110
Total 52 665 44 758
Non-current 47 919 39 058
Current 4 746 5 700
2.4.2.1. Financial assets at FVSD non-derivatives
Financial assets at FVSD non-derivatives by type
EUR million
31.12.2025 31.12.2024
Debt securities 40 462 34 465
MMFs, ETFs and investments in pooled portfolios 6 812 5 975
Other equity investments 3 796 3 201
Loans 9 8
Total 51 080 43 648
Non-current 46 350 37 948
Current 4 730 5 700
Debt securities are mainly sovereign and corporate bonds. They are held in the funds (portfolios) managed by the Commission (mainly CPF and the Budget Fines Fund (BUFI)) or by the EIB on behalf of the EU (mainly Horizon 2020 (H2020) and the Innovation Fund). The portfolios’ performance is evaluated on a fair value basis (market value). As at 31 December 2025, the market value of securities lent within the securities lending programmes amounts to EUR 6.0 billion (EUR 5.8 billion in 2024). Those securities
lent are not derecognised from the EU’s balance sheet as the risks and rewards are still held by the EU.
Money market funds (MMFs) are mutual funds that invest in short-term debt securities (e.g. the EIB
unitary fund). The exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are investment funds that are traded on stock exchanges. They track indices and hold assets such as stocks, bonds, currencies and futures contracts. The investments in pooled portfolios are the EU funds of Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) and H2020 programmes pooled together with Member States’ funds from the NER 300 programme. They are used to provide guarantees to the EIB’s financing and investment operations.
The ‘Other equity investments’ mainly refer to investing EU budget money – via implementing partners – in venture capital or other types of investment funds for pursuing EU policy objectives: for example, enhancing access to finance for start up SMEs, research and innovation as well as infrastructure both inside and outside the EU.
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
69
Financial assets at FVSD non-derivatives by programme
EUR million
31.12.2025 31.12.2024 Common Provisioning Fund 27 018 23 174 Innovation Fund 13 265 10 616
Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe 4 286 3 968 BUFI investments 2 662 2 141 ECSC i.L. 1 187 1 206 Connecting Europe Facility 683 716 EU SME Equity Facilities 433 453 EBRD 309 188 European Fund for South East Europe 250 243
EEAS local staff pension plan 152 128 Green for Growth Fund 152 128 Energy Efficiency Finance Facility 104 103 Other 581 586
Total 51 080 43 648
Non-current 46 350 37 948 Current 4 730 5 700
Common Provisioning Fund (CPF)
The EU gives guarantees to financial partners for losses on equity investments and loans (see Note 4.1 for EU budgetary guarantees). In accordance with the legal acts, the EU budget gradually sets money aside in order to pay to the partners any losses covered by these guarantees. The EU budget also sets
money aside to repay the borrowings in case of defaults on loans under MFA, Euratom, Western Balkans and Moldova Facility.
In compliance with the Financial Regulation, the Commission has set up the CPF to manage, in one common portfolio, the money it sets aside (‘provisioning’). The monies are invested in debt securities, money market funds and ETFs. In addition to the EU budget provisioning, the CPF receives recoveries
from defaulted operations, the returns on its investments and the EU’s remuneration from the financial partners. The CPF may also receive voluntary contributions from Member States and other contributors
that are – in this way – increasing the available EU budget guarantees.
The CPF allocates the incoming contributions into compartments depending on the contributing programme. The legal acts of the programmes set out the necessary provisioning for the guarantees provided. The EU budget pools these individually provisioned funds in the CPF so as to optimise the asset management.
As at 31 December 2025, the CPF’s non-derivative financial assets at FVSD increased as the InvestEU, NDICI and Ukraine guarantees are building up the necessary provisions but also due to treasury gains of
EUR 0.8 billion. The total non-derivative financial assets at FVSD assets were EUR 27.0 billion, out of which EUR 22.8 billion were invested in debt securities, and EUR 3.9 billion in ETFs.
Innovation Fund (IF)
The Innovation Fund establishes a system for the trading of greenhouse gas emission allowances within the Union. The purpose is to use the revenue to support innovation in low-carbon technologies and processes in certain economic sectors. The Innovation Fund receives the revenue from the progressive
monetisation of 530 million of allowances and also any unspent funds from the 300 million allowances available for NER300 programme (see Note 3.8). The EIB manages the monies, until they are used for the intended purpose, and invests them in debt securities. The increase in 2025 is mainly due to incoming auctioning revenues.
Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe
Under the EU Regulation establishing Horizon 2020 – the Framework Programme for Research and Innovation (2014-2020) – new financial instruments have been established in order to enhance access to
finance to entities engaged in research and innovation (R&I). These instruments are:
— The InnovFin Loan and Guarantee Service for R&I under which the Commission shares the financial risk related to a portfolio of new financing operations entered into by the EIB;
— The InnovFin SME Guarantee and the SME Initiative Uncapped Guarantee Instrument (SIUGI) – guarantees facilities managed by the EIF, providing guarantees and counter-guarantees to
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
70
financial intermediaries for new portfolios of loans (under SIUGI the Commission shares the
financial risk related to the guarantee given with Member States, EIF and EIB);
— The InnovFin Equity Facility for R&I providing for investments in venture capital funds which are managed by the EIF; and
— The EIC Fund (European Innovation Council Fund) which provides equity financing to accelerate innovation and market deployment actions. The EIC fund is funded from the Horizon Europe and H2020 programmes.
BUFI investments
The Commission has established the Budget Fines fund (‘BUFI’) for managing the money it provisionally receives for fines issued to companies which are under appeal. Until the final court decision on a given fine, the Commission invests the money in debt instruments.
ECSC i.L.
The ECSC Treaty expired on 23 July 2002 and all the ECSC assets were transferred to the European Union. They were earmarked for research in the sectors associated with the coal and steel industries, for
example breakthrough technologies that lead to near-zero-carbon steelmaking. The Commission invests the monies in debt securities, until they are granted for research purposes.
Connecting Europe Facility
Pursuant to Regulation (EU) No 1316/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council32, the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) debt instrument has been established with the objective to facilitate infrastructure projects’ access to financing in the sectors of transport, telecommunications and energy. It is managed by the EIB under an agreement with the EU. It offers risk sharing for debt financing in the
form of senior and subordinated debt or guarantee as well as support for project bonds guaranteed by the EU.
EU SME Equity Facilities
These are equity instruments financed by the COSME, CIP and MAP programmes and the Growth and Employment Initiative, under the trusteeship of the EIF, supporting the creation and financing of EU SMEs in their early (start-up) and growth stages by investing in suitable specialised venture capital funds.
European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
The EU holds a financial investment in the capital of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). In 2025, the EU increased its subscription, purchasing additional 12 102 shares at par value of EUR 10 000 per share. The total payment of EUR 121 million is to be made in equal instalments over five years, with first instalment paid in 2025. As at 31 December 2025, the Commission holds 102 146 shares (2024: 90 044 shares), representing 3.04% of the total subscribed share capital. In total, the EU subscribed for EUR 1 021 million of the EBRD’s share capital, out of which EUR 713 million is
currently uncalled.
Fair value hierarchy of non-derivative financial assets at FVSD
EUR million
Type of financial asset 31.12.2025 31.12.2024
Level 1: Quoted prices in active markets 44 447 37 559
Level 2: Observable inputs other than quoted prices 3 150 3 098
Level 3: Valuation techniques with inputs not based on observable market data
3 483 2 991
Total 51 080 43 648
During the period, there were no transfers between level 1 and level 2 of the fair value hierarchy.
32 Regulation (EU) No 1316/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 2013 establishing the
Connecting Europe Facility, amending Regulation (EU) No 913/2010 and repealing Regulations (EC) No 680/2007 and (EC) No 67/2010 Text with EEA relevance (OJ L 348, 20.12.2013, p. 129).
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
71
Reconciliation of non-derivative financial assets measured using valuation techniques with inputs not
based on observable market data (level 3)
EUR million
Fair value movements
Opening balance at 1.1.2025 2 991
Investments during the period 699
Capital repayments (97)
Revenues settled (19)
Gains or losses for the period in surplus or deficit (90)
Transfers into level 3 –
Transfers out of level 3 –
Other –
Closing balance at 31.12.2025 3 483
2.4.2.2. Financial assets and liabilities at FVSD derivatives
Financial assets and liabilities at FVSD derivatives by type
EUR million
Type of derivative 31.12.2025 31.12.2024
Notional amount
Fair Value Asset
Fair Value Liability
Notional amount
Fair Value Asset
Fair Value Liability
Guarantee on equity portfolio 6 951 1 568 (52) 6 057 1 110 (60)
FX derivatives 1 910 17 (9) 2 417 – (38)
Total 8 861 1 585 (62) 8 474 1 110 (98)
Non-current 1 569 (9) 1 110 (13)
Current 17 (53) – (84)
Guarantees on equity portfolios
The heading ‘Guarantee on equity portfolio’ comprises guarantees given by the EU to financial institutions on portfolios of equity investments. These guarantees are classified as derivative financial instruments and accounted for as a financial asset or financial liability at FVSD since they do not meet the definition of a financial guarantee liability – see Note 1.5.12. The EU financial asset or liability is measured based on the value of the underlying investments.
The total amount represents mainly the EFSI guarantee given by the EU to the EIB Group with underlying equity investments disbursed by the EIB and EIF amounting to EUR 3.6 billion (2024: EUR 3.8 billion). The fair value of the EU guarantee on the EFSI equity portfolios totalled EUR 1.4 billion (2024: EUR 1.1 billion).
Foreign exchange derivatives
The EU enters into foreign currency forward contracts in order to hedge the foreign currency risk related
to USD denominated debt securities held in the CPF. Under the foreign currency forward contracts, the EU delivers the contractually agreed notional amount in foreign currency (‘pay leg’), as presented in the table above, and will receive the notional amount in EUR (‘receive leg’) at the maturity date.
This heading also includes the effect of foreign currency risk hedging activities under the InvestEU guarantee and cases where the EU guarantees foreign currency risk.
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
72
Fair value hierarchy of derivative financial assets and liabilities
EUR million
Type of derivative 31.12.2025 31.12.2024
Fair Value
Asset Fair Value
Liability Fair Value
Asset Fair Value
Liability
Level 1: Quoted prices in active markets – – – –
Level 2: Observable inputs other than quoted prices
17 (7) – (27)
Level 3: Valuation techniques with inputs not based on observable market data
1 568 (55) 1 110 (71)
Total 1 585 (62) 1 110 (98)
During the period, there were no transfers between level 1 and level 2. Derivatives in fair value level 3 include mainly guarantees on equity portfolios.
Reconciliation of derivative financial assets and liabilities measured using valuation techniques with inputs not based on observable market data (Level 3)
EUR million
Fair value movements
Opening balance asset/(liability) as at 1.1.2025 1 039
Guarantee call claims paid 164
Guarantee calls returned (44)
Revenues from guarantee settled (154)
Gains or losses for the period in surplus or deficit 507
Transfers into level 3 –
Transfers out of level 3 –
Other (0)
Closing balance at 31.12.2025 1 513
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
73
2.5. PRE-FINANCING
EUR million
Note 31.12.2025 31.12.2024
Non-current
Pre-financing 2.5.1 36 000 39 093
Other advances to Member States 2.5.2 2 933 1 682
Contribution to Trust Funds 38 85
38 971 40 861
Current
Pre-financing 2.5.1 35 298 35 969
Other advances to Member States 2.5.2 2 477 2 089
37 775 38 058
Total 76 746 78 919
The level of pre-financing in the various programmes must be sufficient to ensure the necessary funding
for the beneficiary to initiate and advance the project, while also safeguarding the financial interests of the EU and taking into consideration legal, operational and cost-effectiveness constraints.
2.5.1. Pre-financing
EUR million
Gross amount Cleared via accruals Net amount at
31.12.2025
Member States
EAFRD & other rural development instruments
3 605 (1 625) 1 980
ERDF & CF 29 858 (17 052) 12 805
ESF 9 997 (6 560) 3 438
RRF (NGEU) 13 626 (3 392) 10 234
Other 21 022 (10 041) 10 981
EFTA and third countries 3 772 (2 710) 1 062
Private and public bodies 82 761 (61 415) 21 346
Other recipients 17 397 (7 943) 9 454
Total 182 038 (110 740) 71 299
Non-current 36 000 36 000
Current 146 038 (110 740) 35 298
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
74
EUR million
Gross amount Cleared via accruals Net amount at
31.12.2024
Shared management
EAFRD & other rural development instruments
3 885 (840) 3 045
ERDF & CF 25 859 (16 476) 9 384
ESF 9 437 (6 258) 3 180
Other 14 220 (4 836) 9 384
53 402 (28 409) 24 992
Direct Management
Implemented by:
Commission 34 727 (14 289) 20 438
of which RRF (NGEU) 18 930 (3 541) 15 389
EU executive agencies 40 693 (25 586) 15 107
Trust funds 508 (429) 79
75 928 (40 304) 35 624
Indirect Management
Implemented by:
Other EU agencies & bodies 5 281 (2 814) 2 467
Third countries 1 843 (1 103) 739
International organisations 13 171 (8 839) 4 333
Other entities 19 295 (12 389) 6 906
39 590 (25 144) 14 446
Total 168 920 (93 858) 75 062
Non-current 39 093 – 39 093
Current 129 826 (93 858) 35 969
Pre-financing represents money paid out, and thus the implementation of payment appropriations. As explained in Note 1.5.7, these are advances and so not yet expensed. Thus while pre-financing reduces outstanding RAL (see Note 5.1) it represents expenses still to be accepted and recognised in the statement of financial performance.
Regarding the pre-financing to Member States in the cohesion area (ERDF, CF, ESF) the increase is mainly linked to the new pre-financing payments that took place in 2025 and amounted to EUR 5.6 billion.
The pre-financing to Member States reported in “other” line concerns mainly the Just Transition fund (EUR 6.2 billion) and the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (EUR 1 billion).
The non-repayable support concerning the RRF instrument, which was reported under Direct management pre-financing in 2024, was EUR 10.2 billion net at year-end (2024: EUR 15.4 billion). The
decrease is in line with the normal implementation of the programme, as no additional pre-financings were disbursed in 2025.
With regards to the pre-financing to public bodies (EUR 17.5 billion) and private bodies (EUR 10.5
billion) paid by the Commission, the most significant amounts relate to the Research area (EUR 10.9 billion), the Neighbourhood, Development and Cooperation Instrument and its precursors (EUR 5 billion), Erasmus+ (EUR 4.6 billion) and the Connecting Europe Facility (EUR 1.2 billion).
Guarantees received in respect of pre-financing
These are guarantees that the Commission requests in certain cases from beneficiaries that are not Member States when making advance payments (pre-financing). There are two values to disclose for this
type of guarantee, the ‘nominal’ and the ‘on-going’ values. For the nominal value, the generating event is linked to the existence of the guarantee. For the on-going value, the guarantee’s generating event is the pre-financing payment made against the guarantee, then reduced by subsequent clearings. At 31
December 2025 the nominal value of guarantees received in respect of pre-financing amounted to EUR 1.1 billion.
Certain pre-financing amounts paid out under the 7th Research Framework Programme for research and technological development (FP7) and under the Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe Programmes are
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
75
effectively covered by the Mutual Insurance Mechanism (MIM), previously known as the Participants
Guarantee Fund (PGF). The MIM is a mutual benefit instrument set up to cover the risks relating to non- payment of amounts by the beneficiaries during the implementation of the indirect actions under those programmes. All participants of indirect actions receiving a grant from the EU contribute 5% of the maximum EU contribution to the MIM's capital, which is invested in the financial markets by the Commission in order to generate interest. The interest may be used to cover debts not honoured by a defaulting participant towards the Union. At the end of the indirect action the contributions are paid back
to the participants. The EU (represented by the Commission) acts as an executive agent of the participants of the MIM, but the fund is owned by the participants. The MIM is thus a separate entity that is not consolidated in these EU annual accounts.
At 31 December 2025, pre-financing amounts covered by the MIM totalled EUR 3.0 billion (2024: EUR 3.0 billion). The MIM’s total assets, including financial assets managed by the Commission, amounted to EUR 3.2 billion (2024: EUR 3.2 billion).
2.5.2. Other advances to Member States
EUR million
31.12.2025 31.12.2024 Advances to Member States for financial instruments under shared management
3 750 1 889
Aid Schemes 1 659 1 883
Total 5 409 3 772
Non-current 2 933 1 682
Current 2 477 2 089
Advances to Member States for financial instruments under shared management
Under the framework of the European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF) programmes, it is possible to make advance payments from the EU budget to Member States so as to allow them to contribute to
financial instruments (i.e. loans, equity investments or guarantees). These financial instruments are set up and managed under the responsibility of the Member States, not the Commission. Nevertheless, monies that are unused by these instruments at year-end remain the property of the EU (as with all pre- financing) and are thus treated as an asset on the EU’s balance sheet.
For cohesion area, out of EUR 3 740 million paid, it is estimated that EUR 3 661 million was unused at 31 December 2025.
For rural development, EUR 89 million remained unused at year-end.
Aid Schemes
Similar to the above, reimbursed amounts corresponding to advances paid by the Member States for various aid schemes (state aid, market measures of EAGF or investment measures of EAFRD) that were not used at year-end are recorded as assets (advances) on the EU's balance sheet. The Commission has estimated the value of these advances based on information provided by the Member States; the resulting amounts are included under the Aid Schemes sub-heading above. In 2025, an amount of EUR
1 397 million relates to agriculture and rural development. For cohesion policy the unused amounts at year-end were estimated at EUR 263 million and relate to the MFF 2021-2027.
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
76
2.6. EXCHANGE RECEIVABLES AND NON-EXCHANGE RECOVERABLES
EUR million
Note 31.12.2025 31.12.2024
Non-current
Recoverables from non-exchange transactions 2.6.1 10 878 11 541
Receivables from exchange transactions 2.6.2 1 786 1 731
12 663 13 272
Current
Recoverables from non-exchange transactions 2.6.1 18 952 16 529
Receivables from exchange transactions 2.6.2 2 452 1 936
21 404 18 465
Total 34 068 31 736
2.6.1. Recoverables from non-exchange transactions
EUR million
Note 31.12.2025 31.12.2024
Non-current
Member States 2.6.1.1 597 275
UK Withdrawal Agreement 2.6.1.2 10 256 11 231
Accrued income and deferred charges 2.6.1.4 0 10
Other recoverables 24 25
10 878 11 541
Current
Member States 2.6.1.1 5 097 4 667
UK Withdrawal Agreement 2.6.1.2 505 1 530
Fines imposed on companies 2.6.1.3 10 964 9 152
Accrued income and deferred charges 2.6.1.4 2 269 1 085
Other recoverables 117 94
18 952 16 529
Total 29 830 28 070
2.6.1.1. Recoverables from Member States
EUR million
31.12.2025 31.12.2024
TOR A accounts 3 652 3 277
TOR separate accounts 868 849
Own resources to be received – 139
Impairment (535) (553)
Other – –
Own resources recoverables 3 985 3 712
European Agricultural Guarantee Fund (EAGF) 1 802 1 534
European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) and other rural development instruments
222 127
Impairment (607) (741)
EAGF and rural development recoverables 1 417 920
Pre-financing recovery 21 16
VAT paid and recoverable 56 53
Other recoverables from Member States 215 242
Total 5 694 4 943
Non-current 597 275
Current 5 097 4 667
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
77
The non-current amounts due from Member States relate mainly to non-executed conformity clearance
decisions for the European Agricultural Guarantee Fund (EAGF) as well as for the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD). The amounts related to these decisions are being recovered in annual instalments.
Own resources recoverables
The 'A accounts' refer to the monthly statements in which the Member States communicate the established traditional own resources (TOR) entitlements. The table lists the ‘A accounts’ amounts that
have not yet been paid to the Commission. TOR are mainly customs duties collected by Member States on behalf of the Commission.
The 'A accounts' have tended to have a level in the range of EUR 3 to 4 billion at year-end. In 2025, the amounts declared by the Member States are around the usual level. The final amount reflects to a great extent the customs duties established in November and December 2025.
Concerning the United Kingdom infringement case (Infringement No 2018/2008), on 8 March 2022, the Court issued the related judgement and confirmed that the UK had infringed its obligations to protect the
Union budget. The case originated in a 2017 OLAF report, that found that importers in the UK had evaded a large amount of customs duties by using fictitious and false invoices and incorrect customs value declarations at the time of importation.
The Commission assessed the judgment, and particularly the comments of the Court with respect to the determination of the amounts due. Following a detailed analysis, the UK paid both principal and late interest amounts between 2022 and 2023 (EUR 1.6 billion for the principal and EUR 1.4 billion for late interest before the reduction of the UK share).
Applying the same parameters for the calculation of the estimated TOR losses due for textiles and footwear imported from China at significantly understated value, Member States paid under reservation an amount of EUR 1.9 billion during 2021 and 2022. Following the closure of the undervaluation file regarding the UK in 2023, the Commission has been recalculating in cooperation with Member States
their respective final amounts due in accordance with the Court ruling case C-213/19. In 2024 and 2025, the final amounts of principal and interest due have been agreed with several Member States and the
respective cases have been closed. Clarifications with some Member States are still ongoing to establish the final amounts due. By 31 December 2025, the accounts are adjusted downward by EUR 0.24 billion that reflects the revenue correction.
The late payment interest due in relation to these cases is currently estimated to be EUR 0.3 billion at 31 December 2025 (see Note 2.6.2).
‘Separate accounts’ refers to established entitlements that have not been included in the 'A accounts', because they have not been recovered by Member States and no security (i.e. guarantee) has been
provided (or security has been provided but the amounts are contested). These entitlements are subject to impairment based on information provided every year by the Member States. The impairment amounts represent generally a similar percentage of the principal amount at each year-end.
EAGF and Rural Development recoverables
This item primarily covers the amounts owed by Member States at 31 December 2025, as declared and certified by the Member States as at 15 October 2025. An estimation is made for the recoverables arising after this declaration and up to 31 December 2025. The Commission also estimates a write-down for the
amounts owed by beneficiaries that are unlikely to be recovered. The fact that such an adjustment is made does not mean that the Commission is waiving future recovery of these amounts. A deduction of 20% is also included in the adjustment and corresponds to what Member States are allowed to retain to cover administrative costs.
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
78
2.6.1.2. UK Withdrawal Agreement
The ‘Agreement on the withdrawal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community’ (ref. 2019/C 384 I/01) (the ‘Withdrawal Agreement’ or ‘WA’) signed between the EU and the UK lays down various financial obligations for both parties. As at 31 December 2025, the net receivable from the UK based on these obligations amounted to EUR 10 761 million (2024: EUR 12 762 million), of which EUR 505 million is to be received within the 12 months following the reporting date (2024: EUR 1 530 million):
EUR million
Article 140 Article 142 Other 31.12.2025 31.12.2024
Due from the UK 2 327 9 599 166 12 092 14 683
Due to the UK – – (1 331) (1 331) (1 922)
Total 2 327 9 599 (1 165) 10 761 12 762
Non-current 1 928 9 244 (915) 10 256 11 231
Current 399 355 (250) 505 1 530
Amount owed by the UK – Change against previous year
The decrease of the net receivable of EUR 2 001 million (from EUR 12 762 million at end 2024 to EUR
10 761 million at end 2025) is mainly due to the net payments received in 2025 (EUR 1 535 million) as well as a non-cash adjustment of EUR 465 million. This non-cash adjustment, which is booked as a net expense, is due to:
⎯ the decrease of the amount owed by the UK under Article 142 for its share of the outstanding valuations for PSEO and JSIS (EUR 529 million);
⎯ the decrease of the amount owed by the UK under Article 140 (EUR 142 million) due to additional offsetting positions (EUR 58 million) and the adjustment of the estimated non-implementation (EUR
84 million); ⎯ the amounts owed to the UK under Articles 143 and 144 WA (EUR 198 million and EUR 43 million,
respectively); ⎯ the net decrease of the amount owed by the UK for legal cases under Article 147 (EUR 5 million),
comprising the amount owed by the UK for its share of the net amounts paid in 2025 of EUR 7 million and the decrease of the estimated amount owed by the UK for legal cases not yet resolved of EUR 12
million);
counterbalanced by
⎯ the amount owed by the UK under Article 142 for its share of the net payments made from the Union budget in 2025 to the beneficiaries of the PSEO and to JSIS (EUR 326 million);
⎯ the decrease of the amount owed to the UK under Article 141 due to a reduction of the measurement base of the UK’s share in fines (EUR 109 million); and
⎯ the increase of the amount owed by the UK under Article 136 due to the update of estimates and
additional amounts (EUR 17 million).
Amount to be paid within 12 months following the reporting date
The amount of EUR 505 million to be paid by the UK within the 12 months following the reporting date comprises the remainder of the September 2025 invoice (EUR 338 million), the 2026 April invoice (EUR 78 million, including an expected adjustment of EUR 27.9 million related to Article 140), and the portion of the estimated September 2026 invoice payable in October to December 2026 (EUR 89 million):
EUR million
Remainder September 2025
invoice
April 2026
invoice
Estimate
September 2026 invoice
(Oct.-Dec.portion) Total
Article 136 9 122 130
Article 140 406 (136) 129 399
Article 141 (95) (50) (146)
Article 142 18 326 11 355
Article 143 (198) (198)
Article 144 (43) (43)
Article 147 7 7
Total 338 78 89 505
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
79
UK share (Article 139)
According to Article 139, the UK's share of the financial obligations arising out of the WA is a percentage calculated as the ratio between the own resources made available by the UK in the years 2014 to 2020 and the own resources made available during that period by all Member States and the UK as adjusted by the amount communicated to the Member States before 1 February 2022. The final UK share has been calculated as being 12.431681219587700%.
Payments under the Withdrawal Agreement
The payment mechanism to be applied to the obligations provided for between the two parties is laid out in Article 148. In summary, the EU invoices the net amounts due from the UK in April and September of each year and the UK pays these on a monthly basis. The amounts reported in April of a given year are to be paid in four equal monthly instalments from June to September of that year. The amounts reported in September are to be paid in eight equal monthly instalments from October of that year to May of the following year. Since some amounts reported are necessarily based on forecasts and estimates, the
reporting is updated each year based on actual figures.
In 2025 the net amount reported to the UK under Article 136, and Articles 140 to 147, was EUR 754 million (2024: EUR 377 million), of which EUR 213 million was reported in April 2025 and EUR 541 million was reported in September 2025 (2024: EUR 1 414 million (payable to the UK) and EUR 1 791 million (payable by the UK), respectively).
The total payments received in 2025 amounted to EUR 1 535 million (2024: EUR 2 391 million). Of this amount, EUR 1 120 million related to the remainder of the September 2024 report and was paid by the UK in five equal instalments in the period from January to May 2025 (2024: EUR 3 133 million), EUR 213
million related to the 2025 April report and was paid by the UK in four equal monthly instalments in the period from June to September 2025 (2024: EUR 1 414 million, paid to the UK), and EUR 203 million related to the 2025 September report and was paid by the UK in three equal instalments in the period October to December 2025 (2024: EUR 672 million).
EUR million
Remainder of September 2024
report:
(due and paid from January to May
2025)
April 2025 report:
(due and paid from June to
September 2025)
September 2025 report:
(due and paid
from October to December 2025)
Total payments
in 2025
Article 140 1 119 599 244 1 963
Article 142 18 305 11 334
Article 136 13 – 5 18
Article 147 – 69 – 69
1 150 973 260 2 384
Article 136 – (126) – (126)
Article 141 (31) (343) (57) (431)
Article 143 – (191) – (191)
Article 144 – (58) – (58)
Article 145 – (37) – (37)
Article 146 – (7) – (7)
(31) (760) (57) (848)
Total 1 120 213 203 1 535
The remaining balance of the September 2025 invoice at the end of the year, amounting to EUR 338
million, is payable by the UK in five equal monthly instalments in the period January to May 2026 (2024:
EUR 1 120 million).
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
80
Article 140 – Outstanding commitments
The UK has committed to pay to the EU its share of the outstanding budgetary commitments at 31 December 2020 (the ‘Brexit RAL’), as adjusted by the requirements of Article 140. At 31 December 2025, the total amount recognised as a receivable amounted to EUR 2 327 million (2024: EUR 4 432 million), of which EUR 399 million is payable within the 12 months following the year-end. The following table presents the main movements between the total amount recognised as a receivable at 31 December 2024 and the total amount recognised as a receivable at 31 December 2025:
EUR million
Amount owed by the UK at 31.12.2024 4 432
Net financial corrections related to 2014-2020 or previous programme periods (including adjustment of 2025 deductions)
(58)
Own resources infringement procedures (0)
Net payments received from the UK in 2025 (1 963)
Adjustment of estimated non-implementation (84)
Amount owed by the UK at 31.12.2025 2 327
Non-current 1 928
Current 399
The year-on-year decrease of the total amount recognised as a receivable amounted to EUR 2 104 million (2024: EUR 3 909 million) and was mainly due to the payments received from the UK in 2025.
The amount to be paid within 12 months from the reporting date (EUR 399 million) comprises the remaining balance of the September 2025 invoice (EUR 406.5 million) payable by the UK in the period from January to May 2026, the amount invoiced in April 2026 (EUR 136.3 million, including an expected adjustment of EUR 27.9 million) payable to the UK in the period from June to September 2026, and the
part of the estimated amount to be invoiced in September 2026 payable by the UK in the period from October to December 2026 (EUR 128.9 million).
The amount invoiced in April 2026 is composed of EUR 200.6 million relating to the UK’s share of the estimated RAL implementation in 2026, a negative amount of EUR 336.4 million (including an expected adjustment of EUR 27.9 million) relating to the adjustment of the UK’s share of the RAL due to implementation in 2025, and a negative amount of EUR 0.5 million relating to own resources infringement procedures.
The estimated amount to be invoiced in September 2026 and payable in the period October to December 2026 is made up of EUR 150.4 million relating to the UK’s share of the estimated RAL implementation in 2026 and a negative amount of EUR 21.6 million relating to the UK’s share of the estimated net financial corrections related to 2014-2020 or previous programme periods (including the adjustment of the 2025 deductions).
The estimated non-implementation has been adjusted by EUR 84 million to reflect the decommitments in 2025 as well as the future decommitments of the remaining stock of Brexit-RAL as estimated at year-end
2025.
Article 142 – Union liabilities at end 2020
The UK has committed to pay the EU its share of Union liabilities at end 2020 with the exception of liabilities: (a) with corresponding assets and (b) relating to the operation of the budget and the management of own resources (including amounts already covered by the outstanding commitments, see Article 140 above). The main amount here concerns the EU post-employment benefit liabilities (pensions
and sickness insurance) existing at 31 December 2020.
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
81
Outstanding 2020 liabilities under Article 142 (6)
EUR million
Pension Scheme
of European Officials
Joint Sickness Insurance
Scheme 31.12.2025 31.12.2024
Outstanding 2020 liabilities 68 944 4 326 73 271 77 529
UK Share 8 571 538 9 109 9 638
PSEO/JSIS contributions 315 12 326 305
Total 8 885 550 9 435 9 943
Non-current 8 571 538 9 109 9 638
Current 315 12 326 305
According to the default payment mode laid out in Article 142 (6), the UK contributes annually to the net payments made from the Union budget in the preceding year to each beneficiary of the Pension Scheme of European Officials (PSEO) and to the related contribution of the Union budget to the Joint Sickness
Insurance Scheme (JSIS) for each beneficiary or person who benefits through a beneficiary. The contributions are payable in four monthly instalments from June to September of the respective year.
The UK’s share of the net payments made from the Union budget in 2025 to the beneficiaries of the PSEO
and to JSIS amounted to EUR 315 million and EUR 12 million, respectively. These amounts were communicated to the UK as part of the April 2026 invoice (and thus will be payable by the UK in four equal monthly instalments in the period from June to September 2026).
In addition, at 31 December 2025 the outstanding 2020 UK liabilities under Article 142 (6), relating to the PSEO and the JSIS amounted to EUR 8 571 million and EUR 538 million, respectively (2024: EUR 9 023 million and EUR 615 million). It is noted that while actuarial losses (or gains) from changes in actuarial assumptions impact the present value of the outstanding 2020 liabilities calculated on the basis
of IPSAS 39/EAR 12, they do not change either the amount of benefits that will have to be actually paid by the EU, or, by implication, the UK contributions to these payments as due under the default settlement mechanism set out in Article 142 (6).
Outstanding 2020 liabilities under Article 142 (5)
According to Article 142 (5), the UK contributes to the liabilities relating to the other retirement (pension) schemes as they were recorded in the consolidated EU accounts for the 2020 financial year in 10 instalments starting on 31 October 2021 (with each annual instalment payable in eight monthly
instalments from October to May the following year). These liabilities in the consolidated annual accounts of the Union for the 2020 financial year amounted to EUR 2 344 billion, resulting in a UK share at 31 December 2020 of EUR 291 million. Taking into account the amounts received from the UK up until the end of 2025, totalling EUR 127 million, the outstanding UK’s share of the other retirement (pension) schemes had decreased to EUR 164 million at 31 December 2025, of which EUR 29 million is to be paid within the 12 months following the year-end.
For more information regarding the employee benefit schemes, please see Note 1.5.10 and Note 2.9.
Other articles
EUR million
31.12.2025 31.12.2024
Due from the UK:
Article 136 133 8
Article 147 33 107
166 116
Due to the UK:
Article 141 (1 090) (1 630)
Article 143 (198) (191)
Article 144 (43) (58)
Article 145 – (37)
Article 146 – (7)
(1 331) (1 922)
Total (1 165) (1 806)
Non-current (915) (1 040)
Current (250) (766)
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
82
Article 136 – Provisions applicable in relation to own resources
Article 136 lays down the provisions applicable after 31 December 2020 in relation to own resources. The UK is entitled to receive its share or obliged to pay its share, as the case may be, where own resources relating to the financial years up to and including 2020 are to be made available, corrected or subject to adjustments after 31 December 2020. Thus, the UK is subject to any adjustments to VAT and GNI own resources that relate to the financial years up to and including 2020. However, these VAT and GNI adjustments will only be made if decided upon no later than 31 December 2028.
In accordance with Article 136 of the Withdrawal Agreement, the UK authorities continue to send monthly A account statements providing a summary of the amounts of traditional own resources due to the EU budget. These amounts (minus applicable retention rate) are included in the total amounts of the subsequent invoice referred to in Article 148 (2) of the Withdrawal Agreement (see next paragraph). If those amounts are paid late, interest is due under Article 12 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 609/2014.
The UK is therefore required to pay the traditional own resources collected by them after
28 February 2021, but relating to the years 2020 and earlier. Their share of the total made available is to
be deducted from this amount. The separate account for traditional own resources must be fully liquidated at 31 December 2025. Thus the UK will make available a share, calculated according to Article 136(3)f, of the outstanding amounts at that date that are not subject to European Commission inspection findings.
The net outstanding amount due from the UK at 31 December 2025 is EUR 133 million (2024: EUR 8 million), of which EUR 130 million will have to be paid by the UK within the 12 months following the year- end and EUR 2 million afterwards.
EUR million
Amount due to (-)/from (+) the UK at 31.12.2024 8
Adjustment of estimate for amounts invoiced in 2025 14
Payments made to the UK in 2025 107
VAT and GNI adjustments (balances exercise 2024) (12) Interest on late payment of UK traditional own resources and VAT own resources 5
Share of the pending TOR in the UK separate account by 31 December 2025 4
UK net traditional own resources after 28 February 2021 3
VAT and GNI adjustments (balances exercise 2025) 2
Amount due to (-)/from (+) the UK at 31.12.2025 133
Non-current 2
Current 130
The amount presented under 'VAT and GNI adjustments (balances exercise 2024)' corresponds to the difference between the actual April 2026 invoice (EUR 109 million) and the estimate already included in
the Brexit receivable at year-end 2024 (EUR 121 million).
The amount presented under the line items ‘Interest on late payment of UK traditional and VAT own resources’, ‘Share of the pending TOR in the UK separate account by 31 December 2025’, and ‘UK net traditional own resources after 28 February 2021’ corresponds to the further amounts invoiced in April 2026.
The amount presented under 'VAT and GNI adjustments (balances exercise 2025)' corresponds to the estimated amount to be invoiced in April 2027.
Article 141 – Fines
The UK is entitled to its share of fines decided before 31 December 2020 and also those decided upon by the Union after 31 December 2020 in a procedure referred to in Article 92(1) when these become definitive. The amount of UK relevant fines which were outstanding at 31 December 2025 is EUR 7.6
billion (2024: EUR 8.9 billion). The net decrease in these fines was EUR 1.3 billion (EUR 0.0 of fines issued in 2025 less EUR 0.4 billion of fines confirmed and paid, reduced or cancelled by court decisions less EUR 0.9 billion increase in impairment). The UK’s share of the UK relevant fines outstanding at 31 December 2025 is EUR 0.9 billion (2024: EUR 1.1 billion), out of which an amount of EUR 89 million will
be included in the September 2026 invoice and paid to the UK in the period October 2026 to May 2027.
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
83
In addition, the UK is entitled to its share of definitive fines which were no longer outstanding at 31
December 2025 (EUR 46 million, to be included in the September 2026 invoice and paid to the UK in the period October 2026 to May 2027) and its share of definitive fines that were invoiced in September 2025 but not yet paid at year-end (EUR 95 million, to be paid to the UK in the period January to May 2026). The total UK’s share of fines thus amounts to EUR 1.09 billion (2024: EUR 1.6 billion), of which EUR 146 million is to be paid within the 12 months following the reporting date (2024: EUR 431 million).
Articles 143 – Contingent financial liabilities: loans for financial assistance, EFSI, EFSD & ELM
Under this article the UK shall be liable to fund its share of the contingent liabilities of the EU in relation to its borrowing, lending and guarantee activities should these crystallise and should they not be covered by existing guarantee funds – see Note 4.1 for the related contingent liabilities. The EU will refund to the UK amounts which the UK has already contributed to guarantee funds and which are no longer needed. The UK also has a right to the reflows from operations for which it shares the liability. At 31 December 2025 the amount to be paid to the UK, all within the next 12 months, is EUR 198.3 million (2024: EUR 190.6 million). This amount comprises the UK share of the recoveries and net revenues collected in 2025
(EUR 129.3 million), the excess in provisioning (EUR 42.6 million) and the revenue from asset management (EUR 26.5 million). It also comprises minus EUR 41 thousand of adjustments identified during the agreed-upon review procedures: adjustment for amount of outflows covered by the inflows generated by operations for ELM (EUR 49) and adjustments between 'pre-Brexit' and 'post-Brexit' inflows and outflows covered by the inflows generated by operations for EFSI (EUR 1,246); adjustment of the 2024 split of amounts of outstanding 'pre-Brexit' and 'post-Brexit' guaranteed operations for EFSI (minus EUR 41,899).
Articles 144 – Financial instruments
Under this article, the EU has committed to refund to the UK its share of the reflows stemming from financial operations approved by the withdrawal date, as well as its share of the disbursements made to financial operations approved after the withdrawal date. At 31 December 2025 the amount to be paid to the UK, all within the next 12 months, is EUR 42.7 million (2024: EUR 57.9 million).
Article 145 – European Coal and Steel Community in Liquidation (ECSC i.L.)
The UK is entitled to its share of the net assets of ECSC i.L. at 31 December 2020, to be paid back in five instalments on 30 June each year, starting in 2021. The net assets of the ECSC i.L. at 31 December 2020 amounted to EUR 1.5 billion, of which the UK’s share is EUR 184 million. Following the payment of the fifth and last instalment of EUR 37 million in 2025, at 31 December 2025 the UK has repaid all its obligations in relation to this article.
Article 146 – Investment in the European Investment Fund (EIF)
The UK is entitled to its share of the EU’s investment in the paid-in share capital of the EIF at 31
December 2020, to be paid back in five instalments on 30 June each year, starting in 2021. The EU’s investment in the EIF paid-in share capital at 31 December 2020 was EUR 267 million of which the UK’s share is EUR 33 million. Following the payment of the fifth and last instalment of EUR 6.6 million in 2025,
at 31 December 2025 the UK has repaid all its obligations in relation to this article.
Article 147 – Legal cases
The UK has committed to contribute its share of EU payments arising from legal cases concerning the financial interests of the Union which become due, provided the facts that constitute the subject matter
of those cases occurred no later than 31 December 2020. Taking into account the provisions and accruals at year-end, as well as actual payments made and received by the EU for legal cases in 2025, the UK will have to pay an estimated EUR 33 million (2024: EUR 107 million), of which EUR 7 million is to be paid within 12 months of the reporting date.
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
84
2.6.1.3. Recoverables from fines imposed on companies
EUR million
31.12.2025 31.12.2024
Recoverable from fines gross amount 15 604 12 247
Provisional payments (2 823) (2 161)
Impairment (1 817) (934)
Total 10 964 9 152
Non-current – –
Current 10 964 9 152
Fines imposed on companies include competition fines and other fines. Fined companies who have launched or are planning to launch an appeal have an option to either make provisional payments or to provide bank guarantees to the Commission. For the total outstanding fines at year-end that are not
covered by provisional or definitive payments, EUR 10 729 million (2024: EUR 7 091 million) of
guarantees have been received as coverage.
Payments received from fined companies are held either as investments (see Note 2.4.2.1) or on bank accounts (see Note 2.8).
The amounts written down due to impairment reflect the Commission's case-by-case assessment of those fines not cashed or not covered by a guarantee, which the Commission expects not to recover, as well as cases reduced by the Courts.
Revenue from fines imposed on companies for the year totalled EUR 4 808 million (see Note 3.5) while
expenses, i.e. reductions of fines by Court decisions, totalled EUR 214 million (see Note 3.16).
A contingent liability of EUR 2 035 million is disclosed for the possibility of having to pay back provisionally paid amounts to fined companies who are appealing or have the right to appeal the fines
imposed on them – see Note 4.2.1.
2.6.1.4. Accrued income and deferred charges
EUR million
31.12.2025 31.12.2024
Accrued income 1 679 756
Deferred charges relating to non-exchange transactions 591 339
Total 2 269 1 095
Non-current 0 10
Current 2 269 1 085
Accrued income includes EUR 0.3 billion (2024: EUR 0.4 billion) that the Commission expects to recover
in the area of cohesion as a result of the examination and acceptance of the annual accounts submitted by the Member States.
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
85
2.6.2. Receivables from exchange transactions
EUR million
31.12.2025 31.12.2024
Non-current
Financial guarantee receivable 1 359 1 324
Late payment interest 319 323
Other receivables 108 84
1 786 1 731
Current
Financial guarantee receivable 293 306
Customers 349 302
Impairment on receivables from customers (154) (136)
Deferred charges relating to exchange transactions 411 363
Late payment interest 801 761
Other 753 339
2 452 1 936
Total 4 238 3 666
The financial guarantee contract (FGC) receivable represents the future remuneration the EU expects to receive for guarantees given. The majority of the EU guarantees are non-remunerated or priced below
the market rate. Therefore, the FGC receivable is significantly smaller than the FGC liability (see Note 2.11.2). Out of the total amount of EUR 1 651 million of the FGC receivable as at 31 December 2025, EUR 1 564 million is classified as financial assets at FVSD (fair value level 3). Compared to the opening balance as at 1 January 2025 of EUR 1 629 million, the FGC receivable has increased in total by EUR 22 million due to EUR 264 million higher guarantee premiums expected to be received in the future net of EUR 242 million guarantee premiums received during the year.
The late payment interest concerns mainly own resources cases and accrued interest on fines covered by
guarantees provided by fined companies. The non-current amount (EUR 0.3 billion) relates to the cases still ongoing with the Member States mentioned under Note 2.6.1.1.
2.7. INVENTORIES
EUR million
31.12.2025 31.12.2024
Scientific materials 58 66
Other 22 19
Total 79 85
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
86
2.8. CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS
EUR million
Note 31.12.2025 31.12.2024
Accounts with Treasuries and Central Banks 31 755 24 059
Current accounts 1 816 808
Imprest accounts 7 10
Transfers (cash in transit) 0 –
Other term deposits – –
Bank accounts for budget implementation 2.8.1 33 579 24 877
Accounts with Central Banks 23 596 33 926
Term deposits 23 516 –
Reverse repo transactions 18 115 –
Liquidity for unified funding 2.8.2 65 227 33 926
Financial instruments 2.8.3 2 975 2 758
Fines 2.8.4 237 134
Other institutions, agencies and bodies 988 1 439
Trust funds 35 30
Total 103 041 63 163
2.8.1. Bank accounts for budget implementation
This heading covers the funds which the Commission keeps in its bank accounts in each Member State and EFTA country (treasury or central bank), as well as in commercial bank current accounts, imprest accounts and petty cash accounts.
The Commission’s cash balances follow a cyclical pattern: inflows of resources (e.g., revenue collections) are typically followed by expenditures. This timing mismatch causes the balances to fluctuate throughout the year. A key feature of this cycle is that a significant portion of the year-end cash balance is used in
early January to cover a major payment, primarily for expenditure under the European Agricultural Guarantee Fund (EAGF).
The difference in cash balance available at end 2025 compared to 2024 was mainly due to a higher carry- over of payment appropriations, notably for the European Solidarity Fund to cater for payments to several disaster-struck countries, the revenues collected from the auctioning of ETS allowances to finance the Social Climate Fund Plans starting in 2026, and a higher amount than budgeted of Traditional Own Resources. In addition, there was a somewhat slower pace in certain expenditures than forecasted.
2.8.2. Liquidity for unified funding
Under the unified funding strategy, part of the proceeds from borrowings is either kept as cash or invested in short-term investments in order to serve the upcoming disbursement obligations.
A reverse repurchase transaction is a cash lending operation agreed by the EU with a counterparty for a fixed period at a fixed interest rate. The length of the transaction is 7 or 14 days. As a collateral, the EU receives highly liquid bonds for the limited duration of the reversed repo operation (EUR 18.1 billion as at
31 December 2025). Since the risks and rewards of the collateral remain with the transferor, it is not recognised on the EU balance sheet.
The increased cash and cash equivalents balances at the end of 2025 are due to disbursements planned for the beginning of 2026 to finance the RRF and SAFE programmes.
2.8.3. Financial instruments
Amounts shown under this heading primarily concern cash equivalents managed by fiduciaries on behalf of the Commission for the purpose of implementing financial instrument programmes funded by the EU
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
87
budget: EUR 2.0 billion as at 31 December 2025, of which EUR 0.8 billion relates to the EIC Fund – see
Note 2.4.2.1. It also includes EUR 0.8 billion cash equivalents (term deposits and short term commercial papers) belonging to the Innovation Fund managed by the EIB – see Note 2.4.2.1. This heading does not cover the CPF related liquidity buffer (EUR 0.2 billion as at 31 December 2025), which is held in the Commission’s central treasury. Cash belonging to financial instruments can only be used by the programmes concerned.
2.8.4. Fines
This is cash received in connection with fines issued by the Commission to companies for which the case is still open. Where an appeal has been lodged or when it is unknown if an appeal will be made by the fined company, the underlying amount is shown as contingent liability in Note 4.2.1. Since 2010, all provisionally cashed fines to companies have been managed by the Commission in the BUFI fund and invested in financial instruments categorised as financial assets at FVSD non-derivatives (see Note 2.4.2), with some of the fund assets being cashed at year-end.
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
88
LIABILITIES
2.9. PENSION AND OTHER EMPLOYEE BENEFITS
2.9.1. Net employee benefit scheme liability
EUR million
Pension Scheme of European
Officials
Other retirement
benefit schemes
Joint Sickness Insurance
Scheme
31.12.2025 Total
31.12.2024 Total
Defined Benefit Obligation 83 998 1 887 5 721 91 605 93 557
Plan assets N/A (11) (467) (477) (461)
Net liability 83 998 1 876 5 254 91 128 93 096
The total employee benefits liability has remained relatively stable, the small decrease being primarily driven by a decrease in the net liability of the Joint Sickness Insurance Scheme (JSIS). This is due to an updated value of the trend of medical costs in the JSIS which has led to actuarial gains due to changes in
the financial assumptions, thus reducing the total liability. Additionally, a very small decrease in the net liability was observed in the Pension Scheme of European Officials (PSEO), the largest scheme in place. The actuarial gains resulting from the increase in the PSEO real discount rate in the year were partially netted off by losses due to actuarial assumptions related to salary changes (see Notes 2.9.2 and 2.9.4). It must be noted, however, that while an increase or a decrease in the real discount rate impacts the size of the liability at year-end, it does not change the amount of benefits that will have to be actually paid from the EU budget to the beneficiaries in future years. The additional decrease in the net PSEO liability
due to actuarial gains from experience was netted off by an increase due to the annual current service cost and interest cost (unwinding of the liability discounting), reducing further the impact of the actuarial gains due to changes in the financial assumptions on the total liability (see Note 2.9.2).
Pension Scheme of European Officials
This defined benefit obligation represents the present value of expected future payments that the EU is required to make, so as to settle the pension obligations resulting from employee service in the current
and prior periods. The scheme is ongoing, and as such, all payments required to be made from the scheme on an annual basis are included in the EU budget each year.
In accordance with Article 83 of the Staff Regulations, the payment of the benefits provided for in the staff pension scheme constitutes a charge to the EU budget. The scheme is notionally funded, and the Member States guarantee the payment of these benefits collectively. A compulsory pension contribution is deducted from the basic salaries of active members, currently 13.1%. These contributions are treated as budget revenue of the year and contribute to the funding of EU expenditure in general, see also Note
3.8.
The liabilities of the pension scheme were assessed on the basis of the number of PSEO staff (active staff, retirees, former active staff now on invalidity and dependants of deceased staff) at 31 December 2025 and on the rules of the Staff Regulations applicable at this date. This valuation was carried out in accordance with the accounting provisions of IPSAS 39 (and therefore also EU accounting rule 12).
Other retirement benefit schemes
This refers to the liability relating to the pension obligations towards Members and former Members of the
Commission, the European Court of Justice and the Court of Auditors, the Council, the European Ombudsman and the European Data Protection Supervisor. Also included under this heading are liabilities relating to the pensions of Members of the European Parliament.
Joint Sickness Insurance Scheme
In addition to the above retirement benefit schemes, a valuation is made for the estimated liability that the EU has regarding the Joint Sickness Insurance Scheme (JSIS) in relation to healthcare costs, which
must be paid during post-activity periods (net of their contributions). As stated in Note 1.5.10, the calculation of this liability takes account of the full active service period, ensuring that both the pension and the sickness insurance schemes of the staff’s post-employment plan are accounted for consistently.
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
89
Taking into account the obligation to faithfully present the economic substance of the underlying situation
as required by both EAR and IPSAS, IPSAS 39 has not been interpreted in a stricter sense when attributing the benefits to the periods of service. If the service cost were to be accrued for the JSIS scheme fully over 10 years for all officials, as opposed to the period of active service of the employee, the impact of such an approach on the defined benefit obligation at year-end would be an increase of EUR 0.8 billion. However, as already indicated, this stricter approach would not be compatible with the qualitative characteristic of faithful representation, and thus would not be deemed to provide reliable information in
accordance with EAR 1 and the IPSAS Conceptual Framework. This estimate is highly sensitive to the evolution of current staff administrative status (in particular, the number of fixed-term contract members assumed to become officials in the future).
2.9.2. Movement in present value of employee benefits defined benefit obligation
The present value of the defined benefit obligation is the discounted expected future payments required to settle the obligation resulting from employee service in the current and prior periods.
An analysis of the current year movement in the defined benefit obligation is presented below:
EUR million
Pension Scheme
of European Officials
Other retirement
benefit schemes
Joint Sickness Insurance
Scheme
Total
Present value as at 31.12.2024 84 765 1 942 6 850 93 557
Recognised in statement of financial performance
Current Service Cost 2 874 77 241 3 192
Interest cost 2 794 63 226 3 083
Recognised in net assets
Remeasurements in employee benefits
liabilities
Actuarial (gains)/losses from experience
(1 498) 17 (202) (1 683)
Actuarial (gains)/losses from
demographic assumptions 237 6 15 259
Actuarial (gains)/losses from financial assumptions
(2 608) (134) (1 270) (4 012)
Other
Benefits paid (2 567) (84) (140) (2 791)
Present value as at 31.12.2025 83 998 1 887 5 721 91 605
Current service cost is the increase in the present value of the defined benefit obligation arising from current members' service in the current year.
Interest cost refers to the increase during the period in the present value of the defined benefit obligation
because the benefits are one period closer to settlement.
Actuarial gains and losses from experience refer to the effects of differences between what was expected according to the assumptions made in the previous year for 2025 and what really occurred in 2025. This item also reflects the impact of newcomers (staff members present in the current exercise but not in the previous one).
Actuarial gains and losses from changes in the values of the actuarial assumptions (demographic
variables such as employee turnover and mortality and financial variables such as discount rates and expected salary increases) arise when the estimated values of those assumptions are updated in order to reflect the underlying conditions.
Benefits (for example, pensions or medical cost reimbursements) are paid during the year according to
the rules of the scheme. These benefits paid lead to a decrease in the defined benefit obligation.
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
90
2.9.3. Plan assets
EUR million
Other retirement benefit schemes
Joint Sickness Insurance Scheme
Total
Present value as at 31.12.2024 23 438 461
Net movement in plan assets (12) 29 17
Present value as at 31.12.2025 11 467 477
2.9.4. Actuarial assumptions – employee benefits
The principal actuarial assumptions used in the valuation of the two main employee benefit schemes of the EU are shown below:
2025 2024
Pension Scheme of European Officials
Nominal discount rate 3.8% 3.3%
Expected inflation rate 2.0% 2.0%
Real discount rate 1.8% 1.3%
Expected rate of future salary increases 1.4% 1.3%
Retirement age 63/64/66 63/64/66
Joint Sickness Insurance Scheme
Nominal discount rate 3.8% 3.3%
Expected inflation rate 2.0% 2.0%
Real discount rate 1.8% 1.3%
Expected rate of future salary increases 1.4% 1.3%
Medical cost trend rates 0.9% 1.6%
Retirement age 63/64/66 63/64/66
Mortality rates for 2025 are based on the updated EU Civil Servants Life Table – EULT 2023, incorporating a dynamic trend over the next 18 years.
The nominal discount rate is determined as the value of the Euro zero-coupon yield (with a maturity of 17 years as of December 2025 for the PSEO, and 17 years for the Joint Sickness Insurance Scheme). The inflation rate used is the expected inflation rate over the equivalent period: the break-even inflation is
retrieved by comparing the yields of inflation-linked and regular government bonds of the main European financial markets. The real discount rate is calculated from the nominal discount rate and the expected long-term inflation rate.
2.9.5. Sensitivity analysis
The sensitivity analysis is based on simulations, which change, everything else being equal, the value of the concerned assumptions.
Pension Scheme of European Officials sensitivity
A ten basis point (0.1%) change in the assumed real discount rate would have the following effects:
EUR million
2025 2024
Increase 0.1% Decrease 0.1% Increase 0.1% Decrease 0.1%
Defined benefit obligation (1 436) 1 474 (1 516) 1 558
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
91
A ten basis point (0.1%) change in expected salary increases would have the following effects:
EUR million
2025 2024
Increase 0.1% Decrease 0.1% Increase 0.1% Decrease 0.1%
Defined benefit obligation 1 439 (1 404) 1 514 (1 476)
A one-year change in assumed retirement age would have the following effects:
EUR million
2025 2024
One year increase One year decrease One year increase One year decrease
Defined benefit obligation (751) 1 078 (799) 1 109
Joint Sickness Insurance Scheme sensitivity
A ten basis point change in assumed medical cost trend rates would have the following effects:
EUR million
2025 2024
Increase 0.1% Decrease 0.1% Increase 0.1% Decrease 0.1%
The aggregate of the current service cost and interest cost components of net periodic post-
employment medical costs
11 (10) 11 (11)
Defined benefit obligation 131 (127) 166 (162)
A ten basis point (0.1%) change in the assumed nominal discount rate would have the following effects:
EUR million
2025 2024
Increase 0.1% Decrease 0.1% Increase 0.1% Decrease 0.1%
Defined benefit obligation (96) 99 (130) 133
A ten basis point (0.1%) change in expected salary increases would have the following effects:
EUR million
2025 2024
Increase 0.1% Decrease 0.1% Increase 0.1% Decrease 0.1%
Defined benefit obligation (26) 25 (27) 26
A one-year change in assumed retirement age would have the following effects:
EUR million
2025 2024
One year increase One year decrease One year increase One year decrease
Defined benefit obligation (150) 161 (185) 197
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
92
2.10. PROVISIONS
EUR million
Amount at
31.12.2024 Additional provisions
Unused amounts reversed
Amounts used
Transfer between
categories
Change in estimation
Amount at 31.12.2025
Legal cases:
Agriculture 204 9 (178) – – – 35
Other 100 149 (8) (59) – 0 182
Nuclear site dismantlement
1 796 – – (53) – 137 1 880
Financial 7 082 1 (7 081) (0) – – 3
Other 633 164 (206) (17) – (61) 514
Total 9 816 323 (7 473) (129) – 76 2 613
Non-current 2 280 58 (181) (22) (63) 76 2 149
Current 7 536 265 (7 292) (107) 63 – 464
Provisions are reliably estimated amounts, arising from past events, that will probably have to be paid by the EU budget in the future.
Financial provisions
In 2024, the EU has recognised EUR 7.1 billion of provisions for ECL on irrevocable loan commitment for MFA ULCM loan. The loan was fully disbursed to Ukraine in 2025, thus the provision was reversed and instead an impairment allowance was recognised as at 31 December 2025 – see Note 2.4.1.1.
Legal cases
This is the estimate of amounts that will probably have to be paid out after the year-end in relation to a number of on-going legal cases. The Agriculture amounts relate to legal actions of Member States against conformity clearance decisions for the EAGF and the EAFRD.
Nuclear site dismantlement
As of 2017 the basis for the provision was updated as per the ‘JRC Decommissioning & Waste
Management Programme Strategy (D&WMP) – Updated in 2017’. The review of the strategy, along with budget and staff needs, was conducted together with the independent D&WMP Expert Group. It represents the best available estimate of the budget and staff needed to complete the decommissioning of the JRC sites of Geel, Karlsruhe and Petten. For the Ispra site, a revised cost estimate for decommissioning activities was developed in 2025 and is reflected in the provision.
In accordance with the EU accounting rules, this provision is indexed for inflation and then discounted to its net present value (using the euro swap curve). At 31 December 2025, this resulted in a provision of
EUR 1 880 million, split between amounts expected to be used in 2026 (EUR 45 million) and afterwards (EUR 1 834 million).
It must be noted that major uncertainties, inherent to the long term planning of nuclear decommissioning, could affect this estimate, which could significantly increase in the future. The main sources of uncertainty are related to the end state of the decommissioned site, nuclear materials, waste management and disposal aspects, incomplete or lacking definition of national regulatory frames, complicated and time-consuming licensing processes and future developments of the decommissioning
industrial market.
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
93
2.11. FINANCIAL LIABILITIES
EUR million
Note 31.12.2025 31.12.2024
Non-current
Financial liabilities at amortised cost 2.11.1 643 928 539 522
Financial liabilities at fair value through surplus or deficit 2.4.2.2 9 13
Financial guarantee liabilities 2.11.2 81 39
644 018 539 575
Current
Financial liabilities at amortised cost 2.11.1 89 069 55 904
Financial liabilities at fair value through surplus or deficit 2.4.2.2 53 84
Financial guarantee liabilities 2.11.2 7 647 6 340
96 769 62 328
Total 740 787 601 903
2.11.1. Financial liabilities at amortised cost
EUR million
Note 31.12.2025 31.12.2024
Borrowings 2.11.1.1 731 224 594 028
Other financial liabilities 2.11.1.2 1 773 1 398
Total 732 997 595 426
Non-Current 643 928 539 522
Current 89 069 55 904
2.11.1.1. Borrowings
EUR million
Unified
Funding SURE EFSM BOP MFA Euratom Total
Total at 31.12.2024 437 628 98 839 42 297 201 14 762 301 594 028
New borrowings - nominal 221 526 – – – – – 221 526
Repayments (73 266) (8 000) (2 400) (200) (20) – (83 886)
Changes in carrying amount
(300) (135) (15) (1) 7 (0) (443)
Other movements 2 500 – (2 500) – – – –
Total at 31.12.2025 588 088 90 705 37 382 – 14 749 301 731 224
Non-current 514 099 82 594 30 818 – 14 495 300 642 305
Current 73 989 8 111 6 564 – 255 0 88 919
The nominal amount of borrowings as at 31 December 2025 was EUR 738.9 billion (2024: EUR 601.3 billion). The majority of these borrowings were long-term bond issuances, except for unified
funding where short-term EU-Bills of EUR 36.8 billion (2024: EUR 23.1 billion) were also outstanding at year-end. The net new borrowing in 2025 was EUR 137.6 billion (nominal).
The amounts borrowed for SURE, EFSM, Euratom and MFA loans signed before 2023 are ‘back-to-back’ transactions, which means that the EU issues a dedicated bond to fund a specific loan agreement at the same terms and conditions – see Note 2.4.1.1.
The ‘unified funding’ finances the RRF (including REPowerEU) loans and non-repayable support, as well as
the Ukraine, Western Balkans and Moldova facilities and MFA loans signed as of 2023. The Commission
uses a pooled funding approach where the individual borrowings are not directly funding specific disbursements. Instead, the debt is issued according to an annual borrowing plan, with long term bonds
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
94
and short-term bills. The Commission uses auctions and syndications to issue these securities. It then
passes on the costs, in line with the cost allocation methodology agreed with Member States, to the Member States and other beneficiary countries for the loans and to the EU budget for the non-repayable support. This funding flexibility also requires a liquidity buffer for an efficient liquidity management, see Note 2.8.2. In the context of the unified funding strategy, the Union issues short-term EU-Bills (3 to 12 months), which may be repaid during the same or following year. The line ‘Repayments’ refers to EUR 55.3 billion of such short-term borrowings.
The line ‘Changes in carrying amount’ corresponds to the change in accrued interest and to the changes in premiums/discounts (new premiums/discounts and amortisation).
The line ‘Other movements’ relates to a transfer of EUR 2.5 billion of bonds (nominal) from the EFSM programme to the unified funding following the early repayment of two loans by Portugal – see Note 2.4.1.1.
The repayment of the above borrowings is ultimately guaranteed by the EU budget – see Note 2.4.1.1.
2.11.1.2. Other financial liabilities
EUR million
31.12.2025 31.12.2024
Non-current
Finance lease liabilities 511 605
Buildings paid for in instalments 244 283
Contributions with conditions 617 234
Other 251 134
1 623 1 256
Current
Finance lease liabilities 90 79
Buildings paid for in instalments 57 55
Contributions with conditions 3 8
Other – –
150 142
Total 1 773 1 398
Finance lease liabilities
EUR million
Future amounts to be paid
< 1 year 1-5 years > 5 years Total Liability
Land and buildings 87 256 248 592
Other fixed assets 3 6 – 9
Total at 31.12.2025 90 263 248 601
Interest element 20 64 59 143
Total future minimum lease payments at 31.12.2025
110 327 308 744
Total future minimum lease payments at 31.12.2024
102 361 393 856
The lease and building related amounts above will have to be funded by future budgets.
Contributions with conditions relate to contributions from Member States and other donors to the EU programmes, in particular to InvestEU (see Note 4.1.1), whereby the EU has an obligation to return any unused funds to the contributor.
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
95
2.11.2. Financial guarantee liabilities
EUR million
31.12.2025 31.12.2024
Financial guarantee
receivable (Note 2.6.2)
Financial guarantee
liability
Financial guarantee
receivable (Note 2.6.2)
Financial guarantee
liability
EU budgetary guarantee programmes
EIB ELM guarantees 11 1 806 19 1 862
EFSI guarantee 1 248 1 307 1 345 1 402
EFSD guarantee 9 89 7 192
InvestEU guarantee 276 1 841 190 1 606
NDICI EU guarantee 60 915 30 582
Ukraine guarantee 24 1 248 10 61
1 629 7 205 1 600 5 707
EU financial instrument programmes
COSME – 219 – 304
Horizon 2020 4 126 6 198
Other 18 179 23 171
22 523 29 673
Total 1 651 7 729 1 629 6 379
Non-current 1 359 81 1 324 39
Current 293 7 647 306 6 340
The EU applies the gross presentation of the financial guarantee contracts, where the revenues yet to be
received under the guarantee are recognised as a financial guarantee receivable leg (presented under the exchange receivables heading – see Note 2.6.2) and a financial guarantee liability is also recognised
representing the EU liability for coverage of the future guarantee claims.
While, the ELM and EFSI financial guarantee liabilities remain significant, the guarantees under new programmes in this MFF, namely InvestEU, NDICI, and Ukraine guarantee started in 2024, continue to increase due to signatures of new operations by the EU implementing partners (see also Note 4.1.1).
Except for the EFSI guarantee, where the EU is entitled to an expected remuneration – recognised as a financial guarantee receivable – covering to a large extent the liability, for the remaining programmes the expected revenues are covering only a small fraction of the guarantee. This is due to a high share of EU
subsidisation for those programmes, in particular those provided for higher-risk financing to SMEs or to the innovation sector, as well as guarantees for projects in developing countries.
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
96
2.12. PAYABLES
EUR million
Gross
Amount Adjustments
Net Amount at 31.12.2025
Gross Amount
Adjustments Net Amount
at 31.12.2024 Cost claims and invoices received from:
Member States
EAFRD & other rural development instruments
1 892 – 1 892 269 (0) 269
ERDF & CF 13 463 (2 250) 11 213 6 036 (2 258) 3 778
ESF 8 720 (557) 8 164 2 156 (447) 1 708
RRF (NGEU) 22 707 (1 646) 21 061 28 016 (724) 27 292
Other 1 463 (217) 1 247 1 824 (318) 1 506
Private and public entities 1 187 (15) 1 172 1 957 (334) 1 623
Total cost claims and invoices received
49 433 (4 684) 44 749 40 258 (4 082) 36 176
EAGF 15 344 N/A 15 344 15 086 N/A 15 086
Own resources payables 47 N/A 47 – N/A –
Sundry payables 4 344 N/A 4 344 3 624 N/A 3 624
Other 553 N/A 553 528 N/A 528
Total 69 721 (4 684) 65 037 59 496 (4 082) 55 414
Payables include invoices and cost claims received but not yet paid at year-end. They are initially recognised at the time of the reception of the invoices or cost claims for the requested amounts. The
payables are subsequently adjusted to reflect only the amounts accepted following review of costs, and the amounts estimated to be eligible. The amounts estimated to be non-eligible are included in the column ‘Adjustments’; the largest amounts concern the structural actions.
The decrease in RRF payables by EUR 6.2 billion indicates that there were less payment requests received towards the end of the year for which the assessment of milestones and targets was still pending.
The increase in EAFRD payables is due to 2025 being the final year of implementation of the previous programming period, with most programmes having reached the 95% ceiling. As a result, reimbursement
of the related cost claims is suspended, which is reflected in the higher level of payables.
The increase in payables in the cohesion area is due to a higher number of cost claims having been received for payment by 31 December compared to the previous year, for which eligibility verification and payment were still pending.
The CPR (Common Provisions Regulations (EU) 1303/201333 and (EU) 2021/106034 of the European Parliament and of the Council) applicable to the Structural Funds (ERDF and ESF), the Cohesion Fund and
to the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) foresees that the EU budget is protected by means
of a systematic retention on the interim payments made. By February following the end of the CPR accounting year (1 July – 30 June), the control cycle is complete, both through management verifications by the managing authorities and audits by the audit authorities. The Commission examines the assurance documents and the accounts provided by the relevant authorities in the Member States. The payment / recovery of the final balance is made only after this assessment is finalised and the accounts are accepted. The amount retained according to this provision at end 2025 totalled EUR 11.2 billion. A part of
this amount (EUR 1.3 billion) is estimated as being non-eligible on the basis of the information provided by the Member States in their accounts and is also included in the column ‘Adjustments’.
33 Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 December 2013 laying down
common provisions on the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund, the Cohesion Fund, the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund and laying down general provisions on the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund, the Cohesion Fund and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund and repealing Council Regulation (EC) No 1083/2006 (OJ L 347, 20.12.2013, p. 320).
34 Regulation (EU) 2021/1060 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 June 2021 laying down common provisions on the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund Plus, the Cohesion Fund, the Just Transition Fund and the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund and financial rules for those and for the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund, the Internal Security Fund and the Instrument for Financial Support for Border Management and Visa Policy (OJ L 231, 30.6.2021, p. 159).
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
97
Own Resources Payables
Own resources payables refer to Member States EU budget contributions to be reimbursed at year-end. Amending budgets are implemented according to Article 10a (3) of Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 609/2014. The balance at 31 December 2025 was due to the adoption of the amending budget No 3/2025 on 26 November 2025. According to this legal provision, the resulting amounts were returned to the Member States on the first working day of January 2026.
2.13. ACCRUED CHARGES AND DEFERRED INCOME
EUR million
31.12.2025 31.12.2024
Accrued charges 76 785 66 792
Deferred income 197 159
Other 66 140
Total 77 048 67 091
The split of accrued charges is as follows:
EUR million
31.12.2025 31.12.2024
RRF (NGEU) 12 688 4 371
EAGF 25 337 25 586
EAFRD and other rural development instruments 15 786 17 374
ERDF and CF 3 670 3 101
ESF 2 929 2 318
Other 16 376 14 042
Total 76 785 66 792
Accrued charges refer to recognised expenses for which the Union has still to receive cost claims. The biggest movement concerns RRF, where the increase is reflecting the pace of implementation of this
instrument, as the estimate is based on the short term payments forecast. For EAFRD, Member States declared higher expenditures under programmes from the previous MFF period, as it was the final year of implementation, leading to a decrease in accruals.
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
98
NET ASSETS
2.14. RESERVES
The amount of the EU reserves are EUR 941 million (EUR 986 million in 2024). This amount relates primarily to the reserves of the ECSC i.L., totalling EUR 533 million (EUR 593 million in 2024) for the assets of the Research Fund for Coal and Steel, which were created in the context of the winding-up of
the ECSC i.L. This also relates to the reserve fund of the European Union Intellectual Property Office, ensuring the continuity of its operations, amounting to EUR 292 million (EUR 293 million in 2024).
2.15. AMOUNTS TO BE CALLED FROM MEMBER STATES
EUR million
Amounts to be called from Member States at 31.12.2024 309 810
2024 budget result credited to Member States 1 348
Remeasurements in employee benefits liabilities (5 603)
Other (85)
Economic result of the year 54 639
Total amounts to be called from Member States at 31.12.2025 360 108
This amount represents that part of the expenses incurred by the EU up to 31 December that must be funded by future budgets. Many expenses are recognised under accrual accounting rules in the year N although they may be actually paid in year N+1 (or later) and therefore funded using the budget of year N+1 (or later). The inclusion in the accounts of these liabilities coupled with the fact that the corresponding amounts are financed from future budgets, results in liabilities greatly exceeding assets at
the year-end. The most significant amounts to be highlighted concern the borrowings in relation to non-
repayable support taken out under NGEU, EAGF activities and employee benefit liabilities.
It should also be noted that the above has no effect on the budget result – budget revenue should always equal or exceed budget expenditure and any excess of revenue is returned to Member States.
The remeasurements in employee benefits liabilities relate to actuarial gains and losses arising from the actuarial valuation of these liabilities. The considerable increase of the amounts to be called from Member States in the past years is primarily
due to the borrowings in relation to non-repayable support taken out under NGEU in this period.
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
99
3. NOTES TO THE STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL
PERFORMANCE
REVENUE
REVENUE FROM NON-EXCHANGE TRANSACTIONS: OWN RESOURCES
3.1. GNI RESOURCES
Own resources revenue is the primary element of the EU's operational revenue. GNI (gross national
income) revenue is the most significant of the four categories of own resources. A uniform percentage is levied on the GNI of each Member State. The GNI revenue balances revenue and expenditure, i.e. it funds the part of the budget that is not covered by other sources of income. The increase of GNI revenue in 2025 compared to 2024 is explained to a great extent by a rise of the payment appropriations needs.
3.2. TRADITIONAL OWN RESOURCES
Traditional own resources relate mainly to customs duties where Member States retain, by way of collection costs, 25% of the amounts, so the above figures are net of this deduction. The level of import
duties reflects essentially the combination of fluctuations in the value of imports from outside the EU and changes in the common tariff, which has been lowered on many occasions following the negotiations within the World Trade Organisation (WTO), and specific agreements granting tariff preferences to certain trading partners or to certain products. The level thus depends also on the general economic situation,
the level of world prices and the impact of exchange rates.
3.3. VAT RESOURCES
The VAT own resource is calculated based on Member States’ VAT bases, which are harmonised for this purpose in accordance with EU rules. A uniform call rate of 0.30 % applies to each Member State’s total amount of VAT receipts collected for all taxable supplies divided by the weighted average VAT rate. The
VAT base is capped at 50 % of each Member State’s GNI.
3.4. PLASTICS OWN RESOURCES
A uniform call rate of EUR 0.80 per kilogram applies to the weight of plastic packaging waste generated in each Member State that is not recycled. The plastic packaging waste that is not recycled in a given year is calculated as the difference between the plastic packaging waste generated and the plastic packaging waste recycled in that year in a Member State. Bulgaria, Czechia, Estonia, Greece, Spain, Croatia, Italy, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia and Slovakia are entitled to specific annual lump sum reductions in their respective plastics own resource contributions. This relatively new own resource was introduced in 2021 with the entry into force of the
new Own Resources Decision (Council Decision (EU, Euratom) 2020/2053)35.
35 Council Decision (EU, Euratom) 2020/2053 of 14 December 2020 on the system of own resources of the European
Union and repealing Decision 2014/335/EU, Euratom (OJ L 424, 15.12.2020, p. 1).
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
100
REVENUE FROM NON-EXCHANGE TRANSACTIONS:
TRANSFERS
3.5. FINES
Revenue of EUR 5 370 million (2024: EUR 4 039 million) relates mainly to fines the Commission has imposed on companies for breaching EU competition rules (EUR 3 971 million) and other fines imposed on companies (EUR 837 million).
3.6. RECOVERY OF EXPENSES
EUR million
2025 2024
Expenses delegated to Member States 1 291 755
Grants 34 157
Contributions/Delegation agreements 50 44
Other 1 -
Total 1 376 957
This heading mainly represents the recovery orders issued by the Commission that are cashed or offset against (i.e. deducted from) subsequent payments recorded in the Commission's accounting system. The recovery orders are issued so as to recover expenditure previously paid out from the EU budget. Recoveries are based on controls, audits or eligibility analysis and therefore, these operations protect the EU budget from expenditure incurred in breach of law.
Recovery orders issued by Member States to beneficiaries of EAGF expenditure, as well as the variation of accrued income estimations from the previous year-end to the current year-end, are also included.
The amounts included in the above table represent revenue earned through the issuance of recovery orders. For this reason, these figures cannot and do not show the full extent of the measures taken to protect the EU budget, particularly for cohesion policy where specific mechanisms are in place to ensure the correction of ineligible expenditure, most of which do not involve the issuance of a recovery order.
The EU budget is also protected by withdrawals of expenditure and recoveries of pre-financing. Recoveries linked to expenses delegated to Member States make up the bulk of the total:
Agriculture: EAGF and rural development
In the framework of the EAGF and the EAFRD, amounts accounted for as revenue of the year under this heading are financial corrections of the year and reimbursements declared by Member States and recovered during the year, as well as the net increase in the outstanding amounts declared by Member
States to be recovered at year-end concerning fraud and irregularities.
Cohesion policy
The main amounts related to cohesion policy are amounts that the Commission expects to recover from the Member States. The recovery will be made following the examination and acceptance of the annual accounts submitted by the Member States in early 2026. The amounts to be recovered represent essentially the difference between amounts initially declared as eligible during the accounting year and the amounts confirmed as eligible in the annual accounts of the Member States. A low amount means that the controls in place at Member State level enabled the detection of ineligible amounts early in the
process.
3.7. UK WITHDRAWAL AGREEMENT
This revenue relates to the net amounts owed by the UK under the Withdrawal Agreement signed following its departure from the Union in 2020 (see Note 2.6.1.2), adjusted each year in accordance with the requirements of the Agreement. In 2025, there was no revenue resulting fom the UK Withdrawal Agreement; instead an expense of EUR 465 million was recognised.
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
101
3.8. OTHER REVENUE FROM NON-EXCHANGE
TRANSACTIONS
EUR million
2025 2024
Contributions from Member States:
Innovation Fund 2 614 2 297
RePowerEU 6 360 5 869
Social Climate Fund 3 668 -
External aid 1 001 671
Invest EU 58 207
Staff taxes and contributions 1 882 1 754
Contribution from other entities to the EC 3 293 524
Contribution from EFTA, third countries and accession countries 4 874 4 527
Transfer of assets – 307
Budgetary adjustments (5 811) (6 169)
Adjustment of provisions 459 426
Other 175 261
Total 18 572 10 673
Contributions from Member States to the Innovation Fund are revenues relating mainly to the sale of emission allowances that are to be used to support innovation in low-carbon technologies. The increase compared to 2024 is linked mainly to an increase in the carbon price. The auctioning revenue generated under the ETS allowances was also used to provide additional support to Member States through REPowerEU chapters (EUR 6.4 billion) as well as to finance the Social Climate Fund, which will provide financial support to Member States for the measures and investments included in their Social Climate Plans for the period 2026-2032 (EUR 3.7 billion). Contributions from Member States for external aid
include primarily the interest rate contributions for the MFA+ loans to Ukraine (EUR 0.6 billion).
Staff taxes and contributions revenue relate primarily to the deductions from staff salaries. Retirement contributions and income tax represent the substantial amounts within this category.
Contributions from EFTA countries amount to EUR 1.5 billion and contributions from third countries and accession countries mainly include financial contributions to Horizon Europe (EUR 2.8 billion).
The budgetary adjustment is mainly linked to the adjustments in the VAT and GNI-based own resources
from previous financial years. With this operation, the Commission redistributes the total VAT and GNI balances, positive or negative, to the Member States in accordance with their GNI key. The slight increase is mainly linked to higher budget surplus from the previous year partially offset by higher amounts to be re-distributed for GNI, VAT and Plastics own resources.
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
102
REVENUE FROM EXCHANGE TRANSACTIONS
3.9. FINANCIAL REVENUE
EUR million
2025 2024
Interest on:
Loans 5 720 4 129
Cash & cash equivalents 1 823 1 726
Late payments 237 224
Borrowings 217 228
Other 39 38
Revenue from FGCs 1 245 971
Gains on financial assets or liabilities at FVSD:
Non-derivatives 1 357 1 490
Derivatives 772 165
Derecognition gain from loans 24 –
Dividends 9 31
Other 202 4
Total 11 646 9 005
Interest revenue on late payments stems mainly from fines and own resources contributions due and not paid on time.
The interests on loans have increased mainly because of new loans under RRF/REPowerEU, MFA and
Ukraine Facility. For RRF/REPower the interests were EUR 3.1 billion in 2025 compared to EUR 2.0 billion
in the previous year. There were new disbursements in 2025 and the disbursements of the second half of 2024 earned a full year’s interest in 2025. For MFA the interests were EUR 1.1 billion compared to EUR 0.8 billion in 2024. The increase mainly comes from MFA ULCM disbursements of 2024.For Ukraine Facility the interests were EUR 0.5 billion, comparing to EUR 0.2 billion in 2024, where disbursements only started during the second semester.
Interest revenue from cash and cash equivalents consists mainly of EUR 1.6 billion of interest on the
liquidity holdings for the unified funding (placements on bank account held at the ECB, short-term deposits and reverse repo transactions) - see Note 2.8.2.
Interest revenue from borrowings are mainly related to SURE and results from the negative effective interest rates for certain past issuances.
Revenue from financial guarantee contracts relates primarily to the amortisation of the financial guarantee liabilities. It can be interpreted as a release of the EU from guarantee liabilities for the period
the EU was standing ready to compensate the holders of the guarantees for their credit losses. Thus, the
revenue recognition for financial guarantees reflects the passage of time and the guaranteed volume. The amortisations apply to both types of guarantees, those which are remunerated and those for which the EU charges no or nominal remuneration (see Note 2.11.2). Out of the remunerated guarantees, the most significant is the EFSI guarantee provided to the EIB for the Infrastructure and Innovation Window (‘IIW’) debt portfolio and combined with InvestEU debt portfolios (see Note 4.1.1). In 2025, the revenue earned by the EFSI guarantee in relation to those combined debt portfolios amounted to EUR 202 million.
The revenue related to financial guarantee contracts of EUR 1 245 million is offset by impairment losses for financial guarantee liabilities amounting to EUR 1 199 million relating to: guarantee calls net of recoveries of EUR 683 million and unrealised impairment losses of EUR 516 million (see Notes 3.15 and 6.6). In addition, the EU has subsidised financial guarantee programmes for EUR 1 942 million by charging no or below market rate guarantee premiums (see Note 3.15). In total, the net result from financial guarantee programmes is a deficit of EUR 1 896 million.
The gain from non-derivative financial assets at FVSD mainly refers to the CPF (EUR 0.8 billion) and the
Innovation Fund (EUR 0.3 billion). The interest rate cuts have impacted positively the fair value of the securities.
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
103
The derecognition gain on loans relates to an early repayment of EUR 1.8 billion EFSM loan by Portugal at
the market value of the underlying bond – see Note 2.4.1.1.
3.10. OTHER REVENUE FROM EXCHANGE TRANSACTIONS
EUR million
2025 2024
Fee revenue for rendering of services (agencies) 927 855
Foreign exchange gains 490 325
Sales of goods 64 58
Share of net result of EIF 69 83
Fixed assets related revenue 230 907
Other 720 364
Total 2 500 2 592
Fee revenue for rendering of services mainly includes marketing authorisation fees charged by the European Medicines Agency and trademark fees collected by the European Union Intellectual Property Office.
EXPENSES
3.11. DELEGATED TO MEMBER STATES
EUR million
2025 2024
European Agricultural Guarantee Fund 40 914 40 267
European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development and other rural development instruments
17 017 14 779
European Regional Development Fund and Cohesion Fund 31 032 28 833
European Social Fund 17 308 18 037
Other 4 514 3 854
Total 110 784 105 770
The increase concerns cohesion policy (ERDF, CF) where almost all expenses (EUR 28.1 billion) relate to the 2021- 2027 programming period, with activities continuing to advance. There has also been an increase in expenditures declared under the CAP strategic plans, which continue their progression.
Other expenses mainly relate to the Just Transition Fund (EUR 1.4 billion), the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EUR 0.8 billion), Asylum and Migration (EUR 0.6 billion), as well as the European Union Solidarity Fund (EUR 0.8 billion).
3.12. TRANSFERS INCLUDING GRANTS AND BUDGET SUPPORT
EUR million
2025 2024
Recovery & Resilience Facility 46 815 65 787
Other 32 025 32 992
Total 78 841 98 779
Despite the significant decrease in RRF expenses, the implementation of milestones and targets continues to progress.
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
104
The rest of the expenses related to transfers concern the implementation of Research Policy (EUR 10
billion) and External Actions, which include the Neighbourhood Development and International Cooperation Instrument and its precursors (EUR 3.1 billion), as well as the Humanitarian aid operations (EUR 1.1 billion). A further EUR 4.6 billion relates to the Connecting Europe Facility, the common infrastructure fund to deploy smart networks in the area of transport, energy and telecommunications.
3.13. CONTRIBUTION AGREEMENTS
EUR million
2025 2024
Contributions 13 200 16 820
Total 13 200 16 820
Expenses related to contribution agreements concern mainly the Neighbourhood, Development and
Cooperation Instrument and its precursors (EUR 4.5 billion), the space programmes (EUR 3.2 billion), Erasmus+ (EUR 2.9 billion) and the Research Policy (EUR 1.9 billion).
3.14. STAFF AND PENSION COSTS
EUR million
2025 2024
Staff costs 9 679 9 070
Pension costs 6 275 5 896
Total 15 954 14 966
Pension costs represent elements of the movements that have arisen following the actuarial valuation of
the employee benefits liabilities other than those recognised in net assets. They do not therefore represent actual pension payments of the year, which are significantly lower at EUR 2.8 billion.
3.15. FINANCE COSTS
EUR million
2025 2024
Interest expenses:
Borrowings 14 037 9 780
Loans 148 159
Finance leases 26 31
Other 42 32
FGCs – subsidised remuneration 1 942 1 156
Net impairment losses on:
Financial guarantee contracts 1 199 474
Loans, loan commitments and receivables 8 066 14 134
Loss on financial assets or liabilities at FVSD:
Non-derivatives 170 153
Derivatives 153 252
Modification loss 1 131 763
Derecognition loss on loans 94 –
Funding costs guaranteed 119 151
Other 28 140
Total 27 156 27 226
The EUR 4.3 billion increase in the borrowing expenses stems from the unified funding activities, for
which the interests were EUR 12.7 billion compared to EUR 8.4 billion in the previous year. The reasons for this are new borrowings in 2025 and due to the fact that the issuances of the second semester 2024, beared a full year’s interest in 2025.
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
105
The interest expense on loans is the result of certain SURE transactions, where funds borrowed at times
of negative interest rates, were lent ‘back-to-back’ to the Member States, with the same terms and conditions.
For more details on expenses related to financial guarantees (FGC), see Note 3.9.
The net impairment losses on loans, loan commitments and receivables mainly relate to the ECL on the Ukraine Facility and MFA ULCM loans disbursed in 2025. See Notes 2.4.1.1 and 6.6.
The modification loss relates to the interest rate subsidy granted to Ukraine for the MFA+, exceptional
MFA and Ukraine Facility loans – see Note 2.4.1.1.
The derecognition loss on loans relates to an early repayment of EUR 0.7 billion EFSM loan by Portugal at the market value of the underlying bond – see Note 2.4.1.1.
The funding costs guaranteed are costs born by the implementing partners to fund equity investments
guaranteed by the EU. Based on the guarantee agreements, the EU guarantees these costs, together with the associated equity investments.
3.16. PROCUREMENT, ADMINISTRATIVE AND OTHER EXPENSES
EUR million
2025 2024
Administrative, IT and other expenses 6 687 3 956
Fixed assets related expenses and Land and buildings management expenses
2 164 2 662
Foreign exchange losses 621 282
Operating lease expenses 589 560
Adjustment of provisions 458 415
Reduction of fines by Court decision 214 1 123
Total 10 733 8 997
Administrative, IT and other expenses primarily include consultancy expenses (EUR 1.5 billion), IT related expenses (EUR 1.3 billion) and various running costs (EUR 2.3 billion), for example office supplies,
events, conferences and communication expenses.
Line ‘Reduction of fines by Court decision’ shows a lower amount in 2025 compared to 2024 as fines of relatively smaller amounts were cancelled in 2025 compared to 2024 (where a EUR 432 million fine was written off because the Commission withdrew the fining decision imposed on Illumina / Grail in a merger proceeding, and a EUR 684 million fine imposed in 2009 on Intel was partially written-off as a result of a Court of Justice decision issued in October 2024).
The aggregate amount of research and development expenditure recognised as an expense during 2025 is as follows:
EUR million
2025 2024
Research costs 468 479
Non-capitalised development costs 127 119
Total 594 598
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
106
3.17. SEGMENT REPORTING BY MAIN SPENDING AREAS EUR million
Agricultural
Funds
Cohesion and other
Structural Funds
RRF and financial activities
Research & Innovation
External action
Green Transition and Public
Health
Other policies * Total EC Other EU
Institutions and Agencies
Total EU
GNI resources – – – – – – 106 342 106 342 – 106 342 Traditional own resources – – – – – – 23 436 23 436 – 23 436 VAT – – – – – – 25 728 25 728 – 25 728 Plastics own resources – – – – – – 7 524 7 524 – 7 524 Fines – – – 358 – 101 4 912 5 370 – 5 370 Recovery of expenses 948 348 – 21 12 0 37 1 365 10 1 376 UK Withdrawal Agreement – – – – – – – – – – Other 319 3 792 6 360 3 884 593 2 952 (4 590) 13 310 5 262 18 572
Non-Exchange Revenue 1 268 4 139 6 360 4 262 605 3 053 163 389 183 077 5 272 188 348
Financial revenue 0 1 16 506 1 844 (258) 340 (6 856) 11 579 68 11 646 Other (5) (4) 142 344 183 (40) 823 1 443 1 057 2 500
Exchange Revenue (5) (3) 16 649 2 188 (74) 300 (6 033) 13 021 1 125 14 146
Total revenue 1 263 4 136 23 009 6 450 531 3 353 157 355 196 098 6 397 202 495
Expenses delegated to Member States
EAGF (40 914) – – – – – – (40 914) – (40 914) EAFRD & other (17 017) – – – – – – (17 017) – (17 017) ERDF & CF – (31 032) – – – – – (31 032) – (31 032) ESF – (17 308) – – – – – (17 308) – (17 308) Other – (3 081) – – – – (1 432) (4 514) – (4 514)
Transfers incl. grants and budget support
– – –
RRF – – (46 815) – – – – (46 815) – (46 815) Other (38) (203) (1 489) (18 938) (5 901) (104) (1 615) (28 289) (3 737) (32 025) Contribution agreements, including EU bodies
(124) (546) 197 (5 159) (7 190) (526) (5 988) (19 337) 6 137 (13 200) Staff a d pension costs 3 1 – (3) (0) 1 (10 695) (10 694) (5 260) (15 954)
Finance costs (7) 0 (22 718) (1 658) (1 943) (1) (773) (27 100) (56) (27 156)
UK Withdrawal Agreement – – – – – – (465) (465) – (465)
Procurement, admin.and other exp.
(54) (141) (62) (2 260) (1 027) (316) (3 563) (7 423) (3 310) (10 733)
Total expenses (58 152) (52 311) (70 888) (28 018) (16 062) (946) (24 531) (250 907) (6 226) (257 134)
Economic result of the year
(56 889) (48 174) (47 879) (21 568) (15 531) 2 407 132 825 (54 810) 171 (54 639)
* Revenue presented under ‘Other policies’ mainly includes revenue from the EU’s own resources which falls under the universality principle and is used without distinction to
finance all expenditure entered in the Union’s annual budget.
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
107
3.18. RECLASSIFICATION OF COMPARATIVE FIGURES IN THE STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE
As from the 2025 annual accounts, the main expenses in the Statement of financial performance are presented in a new structure, focusing on the type of instrument rather than the type of budget implementation (Shared Management, Direct Management, Indirect Management). As required by EU accounting rules, the 2024 comparative figures have been reclassified accordingly. The impact of the reclassification is illustrated below:
EUR million
Implemented by
Shared Mgmt.
Direct Mgmt.
Indirect Management
Member
States
Commission, executive
agencies and trust funds
Other EU agencies and
bodies
Third countries
and international
organisations Other
entities
Staff and pension
costs Finance
costs
UK Withdrawal Agreement
Other expenses
Total 2024 expenses
(reclassified)
Delegated to Member States (105 770) (105 770)
Transfers including grants and budget support
RRF (65 787) (65 787)
Other (32 992) (32 992) Contribution agreements including EU bodies
(194) (4 388) (6 639) (5 599) (16 820)
Staff and pension costs (14 966) (14 966)
Financial costs (27 226) (27 226)
UK Withdrawal Agreement (315) (315) Procurement, administrative and other expenses
2 (8 999) (8 997)
Total expenses (105 770) (98 971) (4 388) (6 639) (5 599) (14 966) (27 226) (315) (8 999) (272 873)
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
108
4. CONTINGENT LIABILITIES AND ASSETS
Contingent liabilities are possible future payment obligations for the EU that may arise due to past events or legally binding commitments taken but which will depend on future events not wholly under the control of the EU. They relate mainly to guarantees given and to legal risks. All contingent liabilities, except those relating to fines, guarantees and financial instruments up to the level they are covered by funds (see Note 2.4.2.1), would be financed, should they fall due, by the EU budget (and thus the EU Member States) in the years to come.
4.1. Guarantees given by the EU budget
4.1.1. Guarantees given under the EU budgetary guarantee programmes (nominal)
EUR million
31.12.2025
Guarantees given Assets provisioned* Ceiling Signed Disbursed
EIB ELM guarantees 20 880 20 880 16 826 3 529
EFSI guarantee 25 119 21 449 19 982 9 234
EFSD guarantee 583 573 451 809
InvestEU guarantee 28 469 15 519 6 010 8 912
NDICI external action guarantee 33 965 16 461 2 949 3 583
Ukraine Guarantee 3 540 2 699 1 181 614
Total 112 556 77 580 47 399 26 681
* The EUR 3.5 billion of assets provisioned for the EIB ELM guarantees also cover loans and related borrowings under legacy MFA and
Euratom (see Note 2.4.1.1).
EUR million
31.12.2024
Guarantees given Assets provisioned* Ceiling Signed Disbursed
EIB ELM guarantees 25 772 25 772 19 184 3 400
EFSI guarantee 25 373 22 998 21 033 8 941
EFSD guarantee 759 667 521 785
InvestEU guarantee 27 042 11 769 3 468 6 802
NDICI external action guarantee 30 173 11 228 1 341 2 943
Ukraine Guarantee 790 172 132 202
Total 109 909 72 606 45 678 23 073
* The EUR 3.4 billion of assets provisioned for the EIB ELM guarantees also cover loans and related borrowings under legacy MFA and
Euratom (see Note 2.4.1.1).
The above tables show the extent of the exposure of the EU budget to possible future payments linked to guarantees given to the EIB group or other financial institutions. Disbursed amounts represent the amounts already given to final beneficiaries, while signed amounts include these disbursed monies plus
agreements already signed with beneficiaries or financial intermediaries but not yet disbursed at year-end (EUR 30.2 billion). The ceiling represents the total guarantee that the EU budget, and thus its Member States, have committed to cover, since in order to disclose the maximum exposure faced by the EU at 31 December 2025, operations authorised to be signed but not yet signed (EUR 35.0 billion) must be included.
Budgetary guarantee programmes are backed by provisions gradually built up from the budget and kept
in the CPF as a liquidity cushion to cover future guarantee calls (see Note 2.4.2.1). Please refer to Note 6.2 for the measures put in place to ensure that the provisioning is sufficient to cover the guarantee calls
in the medium term. Any losses incurred under the budgetary guarantee programmes, above the provisioning set aside, would need in any case to be covered by future budgets. For the InvestEU Member State compartment, the EU also receives counter guarantees from the Member States and EEA countries (see below).
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
109
EIB ELM guarantees
The EU budget guarantees loans signed and granted by the EIB from the EIB's own resources to third countries. At 31 December 2025 the amount of loans outstanding and covered by the EU guarantee totalled EUR 16 826 million. The EU budget guarantees:
— EUR 16 680 million via the Guarantee Fund for external actions compartment of the CPF; and
— EUR 146 million directly for loans granted to Member States before accession.
Included in the guarantees given as at 31 December 2025 are EUR 0.7 billion of signed but undisbursed
loans for which future disbursements are conditional on approval by the EU (EUR 2.1 billion in 2024). The reduction since 2024, is partially due to the transfer of certain operations from the ELM to the Ukraine Guarantee.
The EU ELM guarantee relating to loans granted by the EIB is limited to 65% of the outstanding balances
for agreements signed after 2007 (mandates 2007-2013 and 2014-2021). For agreements made before 2007, the EU guarantee is limited to a percentage of the ceiling of the credit lines authorised, in most cases 65% but also 70%, 75% or 100%. Where the ceiling is not reached, the EU guarantee covers the
full amount.
With Decision (EU) 2018/412 of the European Parliament and of the Council36, a private sector lending mandate for projects directed to the long term economic resilience of refugees, migrants, host and transit communities under the EIB Resilience Initiative (‘ERI’) was set-up. The Union budget is remunerated for the risk taken in relation to guarantees granted for EIB financing operations under the ERI Private Mandate, which explains the premium receivable for the ELM guarantee, which is otherwise a non- remunerated guarantee (see Note 2.11.2).
The ELM 2014-2020 mandate, which expired in 2021, was the last mandate under the Guarantee Fund for external actions. The new EIB mandate is covered by the External Action Guarantee set up by the NDICI Regulation.
EU guarantee payments are made from the Guarantee Fund for external actions compartment of the CPF. During 2025, the recoveries received exceeded the guarantee calls by EUR 0.3 million (2024: EU paid EUR 11 million guarantee calls net of recoveries).
European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI) guarantee
EFSI is an initiative that aims to increase the risk bearing capacity of the EIB Group by enabling the EIB to extend its investments in the EU. The objective of EFSI is to support additional investments in the EU and access to finance for small companies. The EU budget provides a guarantee of up to EUR 26 billion (‘EFSI EU guarantee’) under an agreement between the EU and the EIB, hereinafter referred to as the ‘EFSI Agreement’, in order to protect the EIB from potential losses it may suffer from its financing and investment operations.
The EFSI operations are conducted within two windows: the Infrastructure and Innovation Window (IIW)
implemented by the EIB (EFSI EU guarantee of EUR 19 250 million) and the SME Window (SMEW) implemented by the EIF (EFSI EU guarantee of EUR 6 750 million), both of which have a debt portfolio and an equity portfolio. The EIF acts under an agreement with the EIB on the basis of an EIB guarantee, which itself is counter-guaranteed by the EFSI EU Guarantee under the EFSI Agreement. In order to enhance the efficiency of EU Guarantee and to increase its risk bearing capacity, a combination of two EFSI debt portfolios with InvestEU became effective in 2022. Any guarantee calls, recoveries and
revenues are distributed between the EFSI and the InvestEU Guarantee based on effective guaranteed allocations.
The EU and the EIB have distinct roles within EFSI. EFSI is established within the EIB, who finance the operations (debt and equity investments) and, to do this, borrow the necessary funds on the capital markets. The EIB Group takes the investment decisions independently and manages the operations in accordance with its rules and procedures. The EU provides the guarantee for those operations, and
covers losses incurred by the EIB up to the ceiling of this guarantee.
36 Decision (EU) 2018/412 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 March 2018 amending Decision No
466/2014/EU granting an EU guarantee to the European Investment Bank against losses under financing operations supporting investment projects outside the Union (OJ L 76, 19.3.2018, p. 30).
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
110
As the control criteria and accounting requirements for consolidation under the EU accounting rules (and
IPSAS) are not met, the related guaranteed assets are not accounted for in the consolidated annual accounts of the EU.
The EU guarantee granted to the EIB Group under EFSI is accounted for as a financial guarantee liability in respect of the IIW debt portfolio and the SMEW debt portfolio (see Note 2.11.2) and as a derivative (financial asset or liability at fair value through surplus or deficit) for both equity portfolios (see Note 2.4.2.2). The EFSI guarantee given includes operations of the COSME, H2020, CCS LGF and EaSI
programmes for the part covered by the EFSI EU guarantee under the SMEW debt portfolio.
During 2025, EUR 296 million of net guarantee calls were paid out from the EFSI compartment of the CPF, including some guarantee calls incurred in previous years but temporarily covered by the EU revenues held on the EFSI settlement account at the EIB (2024: EUR 151 million).
European Fund for Sustainable Development (EFSD)
The European Fund for Sustainable Development, established by the EFSD Regulation37, is an initiative aiming to support investments in Africa and the European Neighbourhood as a means to contribute to the
achievement of sustainable development and to address specific socio-economic root causes of migration. Under the EFSD Regulation, the EU was authorised to make available guarantees of EUR 1.5 billion (further increased by external contributions) to implementing partners for their investment and financing operations, in order to reduce their investment risks. The EFSD Guarantee is backed by the CPF – see Note 2.4.2.1.
For one of the EFSD guarantee agreements (where the EU guarantees the capital adequacy of a currency hedging fund for an amount of EUR 145 million), in case of a guarantee call the EU holds
a reimbursement right to receive shares of the fund worth the amount paid.
NDICI external action guarantee
Regulation (EU) 2021/947 of the European Parliament and of the Council38, established the
Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument – Global Europe, including the European Fund for Sustainable Development Plus (the ‘EFSD+’) and the External Action Guarantee, for the period of the 2021-2027 MFF. The objective of EFSD+ is to promote sustainable investments in the
EU’s partner countries.
The External Action Guarantee supports the EFSD+ operations covered by budgetary guarantees, macro- financial assistance and loans to third countries. It is backed by the CPF – see Note 2.4.2.1.
As at 31 December 2025, budgetary guarantee agreements were effective for a total outstanding ceiling of EUR 34.0 billion, of which EUR 26.6 billion relates to guarantees provided to the EIB for their external lending to sovereign and sub-sovereign counterparts under NDICI Investment Windows 1 and 2 (successors of ELM).
For one of the NDICI guarantee agreements (where the EU guarantees the capital adequacy of a currency
hedging fund for an amount of EUR 150 million), in case of a guarantee call the EU holds a reimbursement right to receive shares of the fund worth the amount paid.
InvestEU guarantee
In 2025, the EU adopted the revised InvestEU Regulation as part of the Omnibus II package. Under the revision, the EU budgetary guarantee was increased by EUR 2.9 billion, raising the total from EUR 26.2 billion to EUR 29.1 billion.
This EU guarantee supports private and public investments in four policy areas: sustainable infrastructure, research innovation and digitalisation, small and medium-sized companies, and social
37 Regulation (EU) 2017/1601 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 September 2017 establishing the
European Fund for Sustainable Development (EFSD), the EFSD Guarantee and the EFSD Guarantee Fund (OJ L 249, 27.9.2017)
38 Regulation (EU) 2021/947 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 June 2021 establishing the Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument – Global Europe, amending and repealing Decision No 466/2014/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council and repealing Regulation (EU) 2017/1601 of the European Parliament and of the Council and Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 480/2009, (OJ L 209, 14.6.2021, p. 1).
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
111
investment and skills. Several financial partners like national promotional banks are receiving the EU
guarantee. They support investments by providing loans, guarantees or equity capital. For example, the implementing partners can provide loans to SMEs, participate in equity funds or give guarantees to commercial banks for loans they disburse. The Commission can also allocate EU budget from other EU programmes to the InvestEU Fund, for example from the HERA Invest (health), the European Space programme or the Catalyst (innovation).
To create a capital buffer for the losses from guaranteed investments, the Commission is gradually
setting money aside (‘provisioning’) from the EU budget into the CPF. The InvestEU Regulation has set the provisioning rate at 40% of the EU guarantee.
The EU guarantee can be further increased, in addition to the EUR 29.1 billion mentioned above, with the backing from Member States and EEA countries. They can contribute money from their Cohesion Policy, RRF funds or national budgets. For the Member States, the provisioning is set on a case by case basis, while the additional EU guarantee backed from EEA countries is 40% provisioned with cash contributions. The cash from Member States and EEA countries is kept in the CPF. The non-provisioned amount is
covered with counter guarantees from the Member States and the EEA countries. At 31 December 2025, there were agreements with eight Member States and two EEA countries for EUR 3.3 billion, out of which EUR 2.6 billion is to be backed by cash contributions and EUR 0.6 billion with counter guarantees. This amounts were used to sign EUR 3.3 billion of additional guarantee agreements with several implementing partners to date.
During 2025, EUR 272 million of net guarantee calls were paid out from the InvestEU compartments of the CPF (2024: EUR 140 million).
Ukraine guarantee
Following the Ukraine Facility Regulation, the EU has established the Ukraine Guarantee for a maximum guarantee capacity of EUR 7.8 billion, to boost investments for the recovery and reconstruction of Ukraine.
As at 31 December 2025, eight budgetary guarantee agreements were signed and effective for the total cover limit of EUR 3.5 billion.
UK obligations arising from its departure from the EU
In accordance with Article 143 of the Withdrawal Agreement, the UK shall be liable to the Union for its share of contingent financial liabilities related to EFSI, EFSD and the EIB external lending mandate operations approved by the withdrawal date, 31 January 2020. Article 143 requires that in case of a guarantee call for a financial operation that has been approved before the withdrawal date, the UK would be liable to the Union for its share of payments made by the Union under those operations, unless this could be covered by the UK share of provisioning held in the guarantee fund where this is relevant.
For EIB ELM loans, the value of the EU budgetary guarantee at the withdrawal date, for the operations approved by the withdrawal date, was EUR 33.7 billion. At 31 December 2025 this had changed to EUR
17.3 billion (2024: EUR 20.6 billion). The UK share of this contingent liability at 31 December 2025 is thus EUR 2.1 billion (31 December 2024: EUR 2.6 billion). As stated above however, any default on these loans is first covered by the Guarantee Fund for external actions compartment of the CPF and amounts would only be called from the UK if the UK provisioning for this fund, of EUR 244 million at 31 December 2025, was not sufficient.
With respect to EFSI operations, the value of the EU budgetary guarantee at the withdrawal date, for the operations approved by the withdrawal date, was EUR 23.5 billion. At 31 December 2025 this remained at EUR 16.7 billion (2024: EUR 17.0 billion). The UK share of this contingent liability at 31 December 2025 is thus EUR 2.1 billion. Any guarantee calls under EFSI are first covered by the EFSI guarantee fund compartment of the CPF and amounts would only be called from the UK if the UK provisioning for this fund, of EUR 443 million at 31 December 2025, was not sufficient.
As no operations had been approved by the implementing partners in relation to the EFSD Guarantee before the withdrawal date, the UK has no obligations here.
The UK share of the payments made in 2025 for the operations approved on or after the withdrawal date and up to 31 December 2020 amounted to EUR 98 million (EUR 97 million for EFSI and EUR 1 million for ELM), reducing correspondingly the UK provisioning. The amount due to the UK in 2025 is EUR 198.3 million (see Note 2.6.1.2).
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
112
4.1.2. Guarantees given under EU financial instrument programmes (nominal)
EUR million
31.12.2025 31.12.2024
Horizon 2020 2 027 2 145
Connecting Europe Facility 644 649
COSME 236 378
Other 536 471
Total 3 443 3 642
The amounts in the above table present the outstanding nominal amounts of the guarantees given under the EU financial instruments programmes.
As outlined in Article 213(1) FR, the budgetary expenditure linked to a financial instrument and the
financial liability of the EU shall in no case exceed the amount of the relevant budgetary commitment made for it, thus avoiding contingent liabilities for the budget. In practice, it means that these liabilities have a counterpart on the asset side of the balance sheet or are covered by the outstanding budgetary commitments not yet expensed.
The COSME Loan Guarantee Facility (LGF) consists primarily of capped guarantees for portfolios of higher risk debt financing (mainly loans) offered by financial intermediaries to SMEs. The COSME LGF is implemented by the EIF on behalf of the EU.
For more details on Horizon 2020 and the Connecting Europe Facility see also Note 2.4.2.1.
UK obligations arising from its departure from the EU
With regard to the EU’s contingent liabilities for amounts approved by the withdrawal date in relation to EU financial instruments, including those above, should any of these contingencies crystalise, they would
be covered by the EU budget using monies held on fiduciary accounts. Thus, in principle, no amounts would be called from the UK other than its share in the budgetary RAL as outlined under Article 140 of the WA – see Note 2.6.1.2.
4.2. Contingent liabilities relating to legal cases
4.2.1. Legal cases in the area of fines
At 31 December 2025, the contingent liabilities relating to fines amounted to EUR 2 336 million (2024: EUR 2 178 million). This amount includes fines imposed on companies (EUR 2 035 million, see Note 2.6.1.3) and fines imposed on Member States (EUR 301 million) that have been provisionally paid and
for which either an appeal has been lodged or for which it is unknown whether an appeal will be made.
The contingent liability will be maintained until a judgement by the Court of Justice of the European Union is delivered or until the expiry of the period for appeal. Interest earned on provisional payments is included in the economic result of the year and also as a contingent liability to reflect the uncertainty of the Commission’s title to these amounts. Should the EU lose any of the cases relating to fines imposed, the amounts that have been provisionally received will be returned to the companies or Member States without budgetary impact. The amount of fines is only recognised as budgetary revenue when the fines
are definitive (Article 107 FR).
4.2.2. Other legal cases
EUR million
31.12.2025 31.12.2024
Agriculture 617 77
Other 157 67
Total 774 144
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
113
Agriculture
These are contingent liabilities towards the Member States connected with EAGF and rural development conformity decisions pending judgement of the Court of Justice. The determination of the final amount of the liability and the year in which the effect of successful appeals will be charged to the budget will depend on the length of the procedure before the Court.
Other legal cases
This heading relates to actions for damages currently being brought against the EU, other legal disputes
and the estimated legal costs. It should be noted that in an action for damages under Article 340 TFEU, the applicant must demonstrate a sufficiently serious breach by the institution of a rule of law intended to confer rights on individuals, real harm suffered by the applicant, and a direct causal link between the unlawful act and the harm.
UK obligations arising from its departure from the EU
Under Article 147 of the WA, the United Kingdom shall be liable for its share of the payments required to discharge the contingent liabilities of the Union that become due in relation to legal cases concerning the
financial interests of the Union, provided that the facts forming the subject matter of those cases occurred no later than 31 December 2020. The estimated maximum UK exposure here is EUR 80.6 million (2024: EUR 15 million). For legal cases where it is considered probable that amounts will be paid from the EU budget (see Note 2.10), the UK share is included as part of the overall amount due from the UK – see details under Note 2.6.1.2.
4.3. CONTINGENT ASSETS
EUR million
31.12.2025 31.12.2024
Guarantees received:
Performance guarantees 253 275
Other guarantees 4 5
Other contingent assets 13 15
Total 269 295
Performance guarantees are requested to ensure that beneficiaries of EU funding meet the obligations of their contracts with the EU.
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
114
5. BUDGETARY AND LEGAL COMMITMENTS
This note provides information on the budgetary process and future funding needs and not on liabilities existing as at 31 December 2025.
The Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) agreed by the Member States defines the programmes and sets out the heading ceilings for commitment appropriations and the total for payment appropriations within which the EU may enter into budgetary and legal commitments, and ultimately make payments for a period of 7 years – see Table 3.2 in the notes to the budgetary implementation reports.
Legal commitments correspond to programmes, projects, agreements or contracts signed, thus legally
binding the EU. A legal commitment is the act whereby the authorising officer enters or establishes an obligation (for the EU) which results in a charge (Article 2 (39) FR).
A budgetary commitment is in principle made before the legal commitment, but for some multiannual
programmes/projects it is the reverse, the relevant budgetary commitments being made in annual instalments, over several years, when the basic act so provides for. For example, for cohesion, Article 86 of the Common Provisions Regulation (CPR) (Regulation (EU) 2021/1060) provides that the decision of the Commission adopting a programme shall constitute a legal commitment within the meaning of the
Financial Regulation but that the budgetary commitments of the Union in respect of each programme shall be made in annual instalments for each fund during the period between 1 January 2021 and 31 December 2027. Other legal bases may contain similar provisions. For this reason, there are amounts that the EU has legally committed to pay, but where the budgetary commitment has not yet been made – see Note 5.2 below.
If the budgetary commitment has been made but the subsequent payments are not yet made, the
amount of outstanding commitments is called ‘Reste à Liquider’ (RAL). This can represent programmes or projects, often multiannual, which are signed and for which payments will only be made in later years. They represent payment obligations for future years. As the financial statements are prepared on an accrual basis, whereas the budgetary implementation reports are prepared on a cash basis, part of the
overall amount unpaid (RAL) has already been expensed and is recognised as a liability on the balance sheet (see Notes 2.12 and 2.13). The calculation of these expenses is made based either on cost claims/invoices received or on the estimated implementation of a programme or project where no claims
have been notified yet to the EU by the reporting date. Once the payments relating to the RAL are made, the liability on the balance sheet is derecognised. The part of the RAL not expensed yet is not included under liabilities but is instead disclosed below, see Note 5.1.
The disclosures below thus represent amounts at 31 December 2025 that the EU has committed to pay based on the fulfilment of the contractual agreements and which are therefore intended to be funded by future EU budgets.
EUR million
Note 31.12.2025 31.12.2024 Outstanding budgetary commitments not yet expensed 5.1 380 780 428 588
Significant legal commitments 5.2 180 699 257 256
Total 561 479 685 844
5.1. OUTSTANDING BUDGETARY COMMITMENTS NOT YET EXPENSED
EUR million
31.12.2025 31.12.2024
Outstanding budgetary commitments not yet expensed 380 780 428 588
The amount disclosed above is the budgetary RAL (‘Reste à Liquider’) of EUR 501 084 million (see
table 6.4 in the budgetary implementation reports), less related amounts that have been included as liabilities on the balance sheet and as expenses in the statement of financial performance. The budgetary
RAL is an amount representing the open commitments for which payments and/or decommitments have not yet been made. This is the normal consequence of the existence of multiannual programmes.
It should be noted that outstanding pre-financing advances at 31 December 2025 totalled EUR 78.3 billion – see Note 2.5. This represents budgetary commitments that have been paid, decreasing
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
115
the RAL, but where the amounts paid are still considered as belonging to the EU and not to the
beneficiary, until the relevant contractual obligations are fulfilled. They are thus, like the RAL disclosed above, not yet expensed.
5.2. SIGNIFICANT LEGAL COMMITMENTS
EUR million
31.12.2025 31.12.2024
Economic, Social and Territorial Cohesion 113 279 177 459
Natural Resources and Environment 30 946 46 659
Migration and Border Management 4 657 4 153
Security and Defence 377 520
ITER 10 291 9 898
Connecting Europe Facility 9 043 7 313
Innovation Fund 4 779 521
Space Programmes 1 838 2 672
Ukraine Facility 837 2 270
HorizonEU 365 519
Secure Connectivity Programme 253 631
Fisheries agreements 133 234
NDICI 120 –
RESCUE 91 106
Operating lease commitments 2 997 2 721
Other contractual commitments 692 856
RRF non-repayable support commitments – 558
EURATOM – 166
Total 180 699 257 256
* As of 2025, the Secure Connectivity Programme is presented separately from the Space Programmes, and thus the
2024 amount is also split accordingly.
These amounts reflect the long-term legal commitments that were not covered by commitment appropriations in the budget at year-end. These binding obligations will be budgeted and paid in future years.
Certain important programmes (see below) may be implemented by annual instalments according to Article 112 (2) FR. This allows the EU to make legal commitments (sign grant agreements, delegation agreements and procurement contracts) in excess of the available commitment appropriations of a given year. Therefore a substantial amount of the overall allocation for the current MFF may be already committed. This applies in particular for the programmes described below:
Funds under shared management
These are legal obligations that the EU has committed to pay when adopting the operational programmes related to shared management. The decision of the Commission adopting an operational programme constitutes a financing decision within the meaning of Article 110 FR and once notified to the Member State concerned, it represents a legal commitment within the meaning of that Regulation.
Article 86 (2) of the Common Provisions Regulation (CPR) for shared management funds states:
‘The budgetary commitments of the Union in respect of each programme shall be made by the Commission in annual instalments for each Fund during the period between 1 January 2021 and 31
December 2027’.
The amounts disclosed on the first four lines of the table above relate to the Heading 2A (Economic, Social and Territorial Cohesion), Heading 3 (Natural Resources and Environment), Heading 4 (Migration
and Border Management) and Heading 5 (Security and Defence) of the MFF 2021-2027. They represent the outstanding amounts that the EU will commit budgetarily and then pay after 31 December 2025.
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
116
ITER – International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor
These commitments are intended to cover the construction costs of the ITER facilities. The EU (Euratom) contribution to ITER International is given through the Fusion for Energy Agency, including also the contributions from Member States and from Switzerland. ITER was created to manage and to encourage the exploitation of the ITER facilities, to promote public understanding and acceptance of fusion energy, and to undertake any other activities that are necessary to achieve its purpose. ITER involves the EU together with various other countries.
Connecting Europe Facility (CEF2)
The CEF2 provides financial assistance to trans-European networks in order to support projects of common interest in the sectors of transport, telecommunications and energy infrastructures. The legal commitments for the CEF programme cover an implementation period running from 2021 until 2027 for CEF Energy and CEF Transport (with a possibility to be extended). The legal basis of these commitments is the Regulation (EU) 2021/115339 with article 4.5 stating that ‘Budgetary commitments for actions
extending over more than one financial year may be broken down into annual instalments, over two or
more years’.
Innovation Fund
The Directive 2023/95940, amending Directive 2003/87/EC establishing a system for greenhouse gas emission allowance trading within the Union and Decision (EU) 2015/1814 concerning the establishment and operation of a market stability reserve for the Union greenhouse gas emission trading system, provides in its article 10 Paragraph 8 that ‘Budgetary commitments for actions extending over more than one financial year may be broken down into annual instalments over several years.’ This provision is
applicable for the new actions signed as from 2024, including the actions financed through calls for proposal or within a competitive bidding mechanism.
Space Programmes
The space programme includes the following components: Galileo, EGNOS, Copernicus, Govsatcom and SSA. The most significant are Galileo, which is developing the European Global Navigation Satellite System, and Copernicus, which is related to the European Earth observation. These commitments are
made for the period until 2027. Based on Regulation (EU) 2021/696 of the European Parliament and of the Council41, the Commission signed contribution agreements with the European Space Agency (ESA), EUMETSAT, Mercator and the European Centre for Medium Range weather forecasts. Article 11.6 of Regulation (EU) 2021/696 authorises the use of annual instalments.
Ukraine Facility non-repayable support commitments
The Ukraine Facility was set up to support Ukraine in addressing its financing gap and recovery, reconstruction and modernisations needs. It was established by Regulation (EU) 2024/792 of the
European Parliament and of the Council for the period 2024 to 2027. Pursuant to Article 6 (1) of Regulation (EU) 2024/79242, the resources for the implementation of the Facility shall be available
through the Ukraine Reserve mobilised in the framework of the annual budgetary procedure in accordance with Article 10b of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2020/2093. This appropriation finances support under three pillars (Ukraine Plan, Ukraine Investment Framework, Union Accession Assistance and Related Support Measures) in accordance with the indicative distribution laid down in the Regulation. In 2025 there was an additional financial contribution made by Sweden – of SEK 750 000 000 (equivalent to
EUR 67 million) – which increased the total non-repayable contribution from EUR 5.27 billion to EUR 5.337 billion. Addendum 1 to the UA Financing Agreement signed in November 2025 – in the form of
39 Regulation (EU) 2021/1153 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 7 July 2021 establishing the
Connecting Europe Facility and repealing Regulations (EU) No 1316/2013 and (EU) No 283/2014 (OJ L 249, 14.7.2021, p. 38).
40 Directive (EU) 2023/959 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 10 May 2023 amending Directive 2003/87/EC establishing a system for greenhouse gas emission allowance trading within the Union and Decision (EU) 2015/1814 concerning the establishment and operation of a market stability reserve for the Union greenhouse gas emission trading system (OJ L 130, 16.5.2023, p. 134).
41 Regulation (EU) 2021/696 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 28 April 2021 establishing the Union Space Programme and the European Union Agency for the Space Programme and repealing Regulations (EU) No 912/2010, (EU) No 1285/2013 and (EU) No 377/2014 and Decision No 541/2014/EU (OJ L 170, 12.5.2021, p. 69).
42 Regulation (EU) 2024/792 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 February 2024 establishing the Ukraine Facility (OJ L, 2024/792, 29.2.2024).
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
117
exchange of letters – reflected the new aggregate principal amount of EUR 5.337 billion for the period
2024-2027.
Horizon Europe
These are amounts committed to the Horizon Europe programme for upstream secure connectivity activities, upstream and downstream activities for the various space components. These commitments are made for the period until 2027. Based on Regulation (EU) 2021/69543, the Commission signed a contribution agreement with ESA. Article 12.8 of the Regulation authorises the use of annual instalments.
Secure Connectivity Programme
The Secure Connectivity Programme aims to improve EU communication services by developing and operating a multi-orbital connectivity infrastructure, based on a public-partnership model. It will ensure the provision of worldwide secure, flexible, and resilient satellite communication services to the Union and Member States governmental entities. In this respect, based on Regulation (EU) 2023/588) of the
European Parliament and of the Council44, a concession contract was awarded to a grouping of companies.
Fisheries agreements
These represent commitments entered into with third countries for operations under international fisheries agreements up to 2032. The commitments made are based on Council decisions for each third country and are considered specific international treaties with multiannual rights and obligations.
The Neighbourhood, Development, and International Cooperation Instrument (NDICI)
The main instrument of the European Union for external action for the 2021-2027 period. The funds are used for improvement of satellite communication services in some 3rd countries via a purchase of
commercial services under the concession contract. The framework for contracts is established by
Regulation (EU) 2021/947.
RESCEU
RescEU is a European reserve of response assets and capabilities established under the Union Civil Protection Mechanism, as part of the 2019 legislative revision of Decision No 1313/2013/EU45. The RescEU reserve was set up to act as a last resort when national capacities and those capacities
committed in the European Civil Protection Pool are not able to ensure an effective response to the various kinds of disasters. The European Union finances those response capacities as a preparedness measure to make them available in case of need for response operations under the Union Civil Protection Mechanism. The priority domains of developing capacities under RescEU are the areas of aerial forest- firefighting, chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear incidents, emergency medical response, as well as transport and logistics.
RRF non-repayable support commitments
The RRF is a key programme of NGEU, the EU Recovery Instrument. It was established by Regulation (EU) 2021/24146 which finances reforms and investments in Member States from the start of the coronavirus pandemic in February 2020 until 2026. Article 23 of Regulation (EU) 2021/241 authorises the use of annual instalments. In 2023, the RRF was amended by Regulation (EU) 2023/435 to provide additional support to Member States through REPowerEU chapters for reforms and investments fostering independence, security and sustainability of the Union’s energy supply.
43 Regulation (EU) 2021/695 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 28 April 2021 establishing Horizon
Europe – the Framework Programme for Research and Innovation, laying down its rules for participation and dissemination, and repealing Regulations (EU) No 1290/2013 and (EU) No 1291/2013 (OJ L 170, 12.5.2021, p. 1).
44 Regulation (EU) 2023/588 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 March 2023 establishing the Union Secure Connectivity Programme for the period 2023-2027 (OJ L 179, 17.3.2023, p. 1).
45 Decision No 1313/2013/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 December 2013 on a Union Civil Protection Mechanism (OJ L 347, 20.12.2013, p. 924).
46 Regulation (EU) 2021/241 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 February 2021 establishing the Recovery and Resilience Facility (OJ L 57, 18.2.2021, p. 17).
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
118
EURATOM
EURATOM is a programme based on Council Regulation (Euratom) 2021/76547. Article 4 of the regulation foresees the use of the annual instalments.
The general objective of the Programme is to pursue nuclear research and training activities, with an emphasis on the continuous improvement of nuclear safety, security and radiation protection, as well as to complement the achievement of Horizon Europe’s objectives inter alia in the context of the energy transition. The Euratom Programme provides research grants through competitive calls for proposals and
to named beneficiaries.
Operating lease commitments
Minimum amounts committed to be paid according to the underlying contracts during the remaining term of these lease contracts are as follows:
EUR million
Minimum lease payments
< 1 year 1- 5 years > 5 years Total
Buildings 490 1 183 1 267 2 939
IT materials and other equipment 14 37 7 58
Total 504 1 220 1 273 2 997
In March 2019, in the context of the United Kingdom’s notification of its intention to withdraw from the EU, and as a result of Regulation (EU) 2018/171848, the seat of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) was relocated from London to Amsterdam. On 2 July 2019, the Agency reached an agreement with its landlord and since then has sublet its premises to a subtenant under conditions that are consistent with the ones of the headlease, including the sublease term that extends until the expiry of EMA’s headlease
in June 2039.
The amounts disclosed in the table above include EUR 328 million still due under the headlease contract.
Other contractual commitments
The amounts included under this disclosure correspond to amounts committed to be paid during the term of the contracts. The most significant amount included here relates to a building contract (JMO2) of the Commission in Luxembourg (EUR 328 million).
47 Council Regulation (Euratom) 2021/765 of 10 May 2021 establishing the Research and Training Programme of the
European Atomic Energy Community for the period 2021-2025 complementing Horizon Europe – the Framework Programme for Research and Innovation and repealing Regulation (Euratom) 2018/1563 (OJ L 167I, 12.5.2021, p. 81).
48 Regulation (EU) 2018/1718 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 November 2018 amending Regulation (EC) No 726/2004 as regards the location of the seat of the European Medicines Agency (OJ L 291, 16.11.2018, p. 3).
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
119
6. FINANCIAL RISK MANAGEMENT
The EU's financial risk management disclosures cover several key areas:
— The Commission's borrowing and lending activities for financial assistance through programmes like NGEU, EFSM, BOP, MFA, SURE, Ukraine Facility, Western Balkan Facility, Moldova Facility and Euratom.
— The Commission's treasury operations to execute the EU budget.
— Assets held in funds like the CPF, the ECSC i.L., and the BUFI portfolio.
— Financial instrument programmes.49
— EU budgetary guarantee programmes.
6.1. TYPES OF FINANCIAL RISK
The EU faces financial risks from its financial instruments:
Market risk: This is the uncertainty of investment value due to changes in market prices. It includes risks such as:
— Currency risk: Changes in exchange rates can affect the EU's operations and investments.
— Interest rate risk: Higher interest rates can lower the value of certain investments, like bonds.
— Other price risk: This includes various factors (other than interest rates and foreign exchange rates) that can affect investment values, such as changes in market prices or factors specific to
individual investments.
Credit risk: This is the risk that a borrower won’t pay back a loan or meet their contractual obligations, leading to default events like delayed payments or bankruptcy.
Liquidity risk: This is the risk that an EU entity won’t have enough money or assets to meet its financial obligations.
6.2. RISK MANAGEMENT POLICIES
Measurement of financial instruments
The following classes of financial assets and liabilities are not measured at fair value: cash and cash equivalents, loans at amortised cost, exchange receivables other than financial guarantee contract
receivables when classified to financial assets at FVSD, borrowings, financial guarantee contracts and other financial liabilities measured at amortised cost. The carrying amount of those financial assets and liabilities is considered to be a reasonable approximation of their fair value.
Risk Governance for borrowing, debt management and related lending operations, budgetary guarantees and asset management operations
The EU's risk management framework is designed to protect the Union's financial and reputational interests, while ensuring the sound management of its borrowing and lending operations, its budgetary
guarantees, financial instruments and its asset management operations. Although the European Commission is not a financial institution, it employs advanced risk management practices tailored to the EU's unique structure and programme requirements. The primary goal of the framework is to safeguard the Union's financial interests and maintain the integrity, transparency, and trustworthiness of its operations.
The framework, developed by the Chief Risk Officer (CRO), includes key policies such as the High-Level
Risk and Compliance Policy, the Market and Funding Liquidity Risk Policy, and the Operational Risk
49 Throughout this note, the term ‘financial instrument programmes’ refer to the ‘financial instruments’ as defined in
the FR Article 2(30).
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
120
Management Policy. The CRO sets hard and soft risk limits and Key Risk Indicators to monitor and
evaluate risks.
Regular risk reports ensure compliance with limits, highlight risk exposures, and propose mitigation strategies. A ‘three lines of defence’ model strengthens governance by segregating powers, defining authority, and clarifying roles in risk management and control.
Supported by the Risk and Compliance Committee, the CRO implements the risk management framework via internal policies and procedures. This committee advises the CRO on risk-related matters.
The adoption of the Commission Decision (EU, Euratom) 2025/36950 reasserted and expanded the CRO's responsibilities to oversee:
— Loans provided directly by the Union, whether provisioned or not.
— Union’s budgetary guarantees covering operations on the basis of guarantee agreements with the
implementing partners.
— Debt issuance and debt management operations including related liquidity management operations.
— Asset management operations and tasks related to the function of asset management designated services for outsourced portfolios management.
The CRO enjoys autonomy in carrying out their tasks and responsibilities, and reports to the Member of the College responsible for the Budget as per the Commission Implementing Decision (EU, Euratom) 2023/2825. This ensures independence in executing assigned tasks and responsibilities.
Borrowing and lending activities
The EU does not borrow money to fund its operational expenditure, except for the borrowing related to
the NGEU.
The EU's borrowing and lending operations are managed in accordance with relevant regulations, decisions, and internal guidelines. Detailed manuals govern activities such as borrowings and loans, and the relevant units continuously assess financial and operational risks while ensuring compliance.
Historically, the EU's lending operations were financed through ‘back-to-back’ borrowings, which minimised open interest rate or currency risks. However, as of 2021 the EU mainly borrows money under
a unified funding approach.
The unified funding approach, originally developed for NGEU programme, utilises various funding instruments and techniques to meet both long- and short-term funding needs. This includes the issuance of EU-branded bonds, replacing the previous practice of separate issuances for each programme. Since December 2022, this strategy has been expanded to MFA+ loans for Ukraine, in 2024 to Ukraine Facility programme and MFA loans, in 2025 to MFA ULCM loans to Ukraine, Western Balkan Facility and Moldova
Facility programmes. The usage of unified funding approach is enhancing flexibility and cost efficiency
and is the only funding approach to be used for future loan disbursements.
Treasury
The rules and principles for the management of the Commission's treasury operations are laid down in Council Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 609/201451, as amended by Council Regulations (EU, Euratom) 2016/80452 and (EU, Euratom) 2022/61553 referred hereafter to the ‘Council Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 609/2014’) and in the Financial Regulation. The following main principles apply:
50 Commission Decision (EU, Euratom) No 2025/369 of 21 February 2025 establishing the role of the Chief Risk Officer
overseeing the financial risk arising from the Union’s financial operations (OJ L, 2025/369, 25.2.2025). 51
Council Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 609/2014 of 26 May 2014 on the methods and procedure for making available the traditional, VAT and GNI-based own resources and on the measures to meet cash requirements (Recast) (OJ L 168, 7.6.2014, p. 39–52).
52 Council Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2016/804 of 17 May 2016 amending Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 609/2014 on the methods and procedure for making available the traditional, VAT and GNI-based own resources and on the measures to meet cash requirements (OJ L 132, 21.5.2016, p. 85-94).
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
121
— Own resources are paid by the Member States into accounts opened for this purpose in the name
of the Commission with the treasury or national central bank.
— Own resources are paid by Member States in their own national currencies, while the Commission's payments are mostly denominated in EUR.
— Bank accounts opened in the name of the Commission may not be overdrawn.
— Funds held in bank accounts denominated in currencies other than EUR are either used for payments in the same currencies or periodically converted into EUR.
In addition to the own resource accounts, other bank accounts are opened by the Commission with central banks and commercial banks for the purpose of executing payments and receiving receipts other than the Member State contributions to the budget.
Treasury and payment operations are highly automated and rely on modern information systems. Procedures are applied to guarantee system security, segregate duties, and ensure compliance with the
FR, internal control standards, and audit principles.
Guidelines and procedures regulate the management of the Commission's treasury and payment
operations, aiming to limit operational and financial risk and ensure adequate control. These guidelines cover areas such as payment execution, cash management, cash flow forecasting and business continuity. Compliance with them is monitored regularly.
Asset management
The control of the various risks related to the asset management activities is based on dedicated governance and working procedures adopted following benchmarking with the highest standards adopted by peer international institutions. These procedures, which were subject to various internal and external
audits, ensure the achievement of a sound asset management.
The Commission has put in place the appropriate governance to review and approve technical and
strategic decisions in relation to asset management operations. The asset management operations are supervised by two committees: The Risk Committee, composed of representatives of DG BUDG and the Asset Management Board, composed of representatives of DG BUDG, DG ECFIN and DG FISMA. Technical decisions are discussed and approved in the Risk Committee, while strategic decisions are endorsed by
the Risk Committee and Asset Management Board before final approval of the Director General of DG BUDG, in agreement with the Accounting Officer. The asset management governance guarantees clear delegation of decision-making and lines of accountability and adequate segregation of duties between Front Office, Risk Management and Back Office. The compliance procedures provide the framework for adequate rules for codes of conduct to manage potential personal conflicts of interest as well as rules to manage risks of insider trading.
The Asset Management Guidelines and internal investment restrictions provide a solid internal control
framework to ensure the safeguarding of assets. Securities are kept with our custodians in accordance with market best practices, while cash and deposits are placed with highly rated financial institutions. The safeguarding of financial assets is also assured by segregation of duties between the team responsible for
initiation of securities deals and the back-office team responsible for their settlement and bank accounts reconciliation. An additional layer of control is assured by the accounting team during the monthly closure reconciliation process when the portfolio of securities is reconciled with the security custodian’s statement. Any settlement discrepancies and late payments caused by counterparties are followed by the
bank accounts reconciliation and back-office teams.
For the monitoring of the respect of the control framework, an exhaustive set of performance and risk metrics for the assets under management is reported periodically to the relevant stakeholders.
The asset management guidelines, risk and investment strategies define certain limits and restrictions to limit the exposure to credit risk of the portfolio, which is limited to investment grade, except for EU Member States exposure.
53 Council Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2022/615 of 5 April 2022 amending Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 609/2014 in
order to enhance predictability for Member States and to clarify procedures for dispute resolution when making available the traditional, VAT and GNI based own resources (OJ L 115, 13.4.2022, p. 51–58).
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
122
Common Provisioning Fund
The CPF is managed according to the asset management guidelines set by the Commission, as per Decision C(2020)1896 of 25 March 202054. The Director General of DG BUDG is responsible for managing the CPF's financial assets.
The CPF's objective is to ensure the necessary liquidity to meet all required outflows, such as guarantee calls, fully and promptly, and to provide capital preservation over the investment horizon of the fund, with a high confidence level.
The CPF portfolio is designed to be highly diversified across different asset classes, geographical areas, issuers, and maturities, in accordance with the asset management guidelines. As at 31 December 2025, the portfolio included investments in money market instruments, bonds, as well as corporate bonds and equity ETFs.
As the sole counterparty for all outstanding currency forwards as at 31 December 2025 is the Bank for
International Settlements, no credit enhancements, such as collateral, netting agreements or guarantees are put in place as of this date. The maximum exposure to credit risk for foreign exchange derivatives
having a positive fair value at the end of the reporting period is equal to the carrying amount on the balance sheet.
Fines
Provisionally paid fines: BUFI portfolio
Fines imposed and provisionally paid are invested in the BUFI portfolio.
The Commission manages the BUFI portfolio in accordance with internal asset management guidelines and procedures. The objectives of the asset management activities are to:
— Ensure that the funds are easily available when needed;
— Reduce risks associated with financial markets; aim to deliver a return that is in line with the BUFI Benchmark, while preserving the nominal amount for the fines.
In line with the asset management guidance as updated in December 2025 investments in the BUFI
portfolio are restricted to:
— Term deposits.
— Money market instruments and money market funds.
— Debt instruments, such as bonds, bills and notes.
— Collective investment undertakings including exchange-traded funds which invest in equity or in debt instruments where maximum losses cannot exceed amounts invested.
— Repurchase agreements and reverse repurchase agreements.
— Securities lending operations.
Financial guarantees received
The Commission holds significant amounts of guarantees issued by financial institutions in relation to fines imposed on companies breaching EU rules (see Note 2.6.1.3). These guarantees are provided by
fined companies as an alternative to making provisional payments.
The Commission manages these guarantees in compliance with its internal risk management policy. This policy ensures that financial and operational risks are regularly identified and evaluated, and that compliance with internal policies and procedures is checked on a regular basis.
54 Commission Decision of 25 March 2020 on the asset management guidelines of the common provisioning fund 2020/C 131/03 (OJ C
131, 22.4.2020, p. 3–11).
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
123
EU budgetary guarantee programmes
The FR has implemented several safeguards to protect the EU budget against financial risks created by budgetary guarantees. These safeguards can be grouped into four main categories:
(a) Measures to limit contingent liabilities
The EU guarantee is capped in a clearly defined manner, and the financial liability cannot exceed the amount of the budgetary guarantee authorised by its basic act. The contingent liability generated by a budgetary guarantee can only exceed the financial assets provided to cover the EU financial liability if this
is provided for in the underlying basic act and under specific conditions.
The desired risk profile of the operations/financial products guaranteed by the EU is determined ex-ante, i.e. before the signature of the guarantee agreements.
(b) Measures concerning the selection of implementing partners
Budgetary guarantee programmes are implemented with reliable, pillar-assessed partners. These partners commit to using their own resources, ensuring alignment of interests with the EU.
(c) Measures to ensure adequate ex-ante budgetary capacity to absorb guarantee calls
Budgetary guarantee programmes are backed by provisioned assets kept in the CPF. The provisioning rate is set in the basic act of each programme to allow the programming of budgetary appropriations to constitute a provision that would allow the absorption of losses without budgetary disruption. The Commission ensures annually that the provisioning rate is adequate and aligned with the FR principles and financial programming.
(d) Measures to deal with realised losses exceeding ex-ante estimation
The FR includes two early warning thresholds (50% and 30% of the provisioning rate remaining
available). These thresholds allow the Commission to anticipate potential exhaustion of the provisioning and evaluate whether to propose additional provisioning. In case of temporary additional liquidity needs, procedures are in place, including transfers between CPF compartments, use of central treasury liquidity, and use of available budgetary space.
Financial instruments programmes
The EU's budget has relied on financial instrument programmes for many years. These programmes are
used to finance riskier final recipients who have difficulty obtaining funding from commercial lenders/investors. The Commission delegates the implementation of these programmes to the EIB Group or other financial institutions through agreements with the Commission. See Note 2.4.2.1 for examples of these.
Once a financial contribution to a financial instrument is committed, the necessary funds are transferred
to a fiduciary account opened by the financial institution in its name but on behalf of the Commission or to the relevant CPF compartment for financial instruments in the form of guarantees used in blending
operations. The financial institution may use these funds to provide loans, issue debt instruments, invest in equity instruments, or cover guarantee calls.
The risk associated with these financial instruments is limited to the ceiling set out in the underlying agreements, which is the budgeted amount foreseen for the instrument. As the Commission often bears the first loss, it is likely that some losses to the EU budget will occur.
The Commission's agreements with financial institutions include strict conditions and obligations to ensure proper management and reporting of EU funds. The proceeds from financial instruments are
generally reimbursed to the EU budget.
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
124
6.3. CURRENCY RISK
Financial instruments exposure of the EU to currency risk at year-end – net position
EUR million
31.12.2025
USD RON PLN SEK Other EUR Total
Financial assets
Financial assets at AC* 51 5 – – 7 548 611
Financial assets at FVSD
Non-derivatives 1 558 – – 18 124 49 380 51 080
Derivatives (1 122) 87 134 93 164 2 229 1 585
Receivables** 138 8 84 2 159 3 351 3 742
Cash and cash equivalents 219 594 1 480 612 1 517 98 619 103 041
845 694 1 698 725 1 972 154 127 160 060
Financial liabilities
Financial guarantee liability (469) (51) (77) (9) (110) (7 012) (7 729)
Financial liabilities at FVSD (6) 221 – – (3) (273) (62)
(475) 170 (77) (9) (114) (7 285) (7 790)
Total 369 864 1 621 715 1 858 146 842 152 269
EUR million
31.12.2024
USD RON PLN SEK Other EUR Total
Financial assets
Financial assets at AC* 40 5 – – 7 414 466
Financial assets at FVSD
Non-derivatives 2 148 – – 45 120 41 336 43 648
Derivatives – – – – – 1 110 1 110
Receivables** 72 1 17 1 111 3 039 3 240
Cash and cash equivalents 111 258 573 314 966 60 941 63 163
2 371 264 590 360 1 204 106 839 111 628
Financial liabilities
Financial guarantee liability (518) (36) (59) (12) (112) (5 643) (6 379)
Financial liabilities at FVSD (1 712) 285 76 75 138 1 040 (98)
(2 230) 248 17 63 26 (4 603) (6 477)
Total 141 512 607 423 1 230 102 237 105 151 * Excluding loans to Member States and third countries. ** Excluding deferred charges.
If the EUR had strengthened or weakened against other currencies by 10%, then it would have had the
following impact on the economic result:
EUR million
FX Rate Increase (+)/
Decrease (-)
2025
USD RON PLN SEK
+10% (34) (79) (147) (65)
-10% 41 96 180 79
EUR million
FX Rate Increase (+)/
Decrease (-)
2024
USD RON PLN SEK
+10% (13) (47) (55) (38)
-10% 16 57 67 47
Borrowing and lending activities
Since all financial assets and liabilities of the EU are currently in EUR, the EU is not exposed to foreign currency risk.
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
125
Treasury
Own resources paid by Member States in currencies other than EUR are kept on the own resource’s accounts. When these funds are needed for payments, they are converted into EUR. In some cases, they are directly used for payments in the same currencies.
The Commission also holds accounts in EU currencies other than EUR, such as USD and GBP, with commercial banks to execute payments in these currencies. These accounts are replenished as needed, which mitigates the currency risk.
When miscellaneous receipts are received in currencies other than EUR, they are either transferred to Commission accounts in the same currencies or converted into EUR and transferred to accounts in EUR.
Imprest accounts in currencies other than EUR are replenished based on estimated short-term payment needs and are kept within their respective ceilings.
Fines
All fines imposed, paid, or provisionally covered are in EUR, eliminating any foreign currency risk when they are held in the BUFI Fund.
Budgetary guarantees
Budgetary guarantees are typically capped at a maximum amount in EUR. However, some underlying operations may be denominated in other currencies, such as USD or local currencies, in which case the EU may also cover FX losses.
The Commission considers currency risk when determining the provisioning needs for budgetary guarantees.
Common Provisioning Fund
The CPF operates in both EUR and USD. To manage currency risk, the CPF enters into foreign exchange forward contracts to hedge the market value of its USD investments, with the limit for maximum unhedged foreign exchange exposure set at 1% of the total portfolio value within the benchmark and annual strategy allocations, as defined in the relevant financial instruments.
The CPF uses this hedging strategy to adjust or reverse the hedged position accordingly, as needed. However, the CPF does not hedge currency risk for subrogated loans (see Note 2.4.1.2) that are carried
in their original currency, which expose the EU to currency risk. For these loans, there are no activities to compensate for foreign currency variations, due to uncertainty relating to the loans' repayment timing.
6.4. INTEREST RATE RISK
The following table shows how a 1% change in interest rates (+/- 100 basis points) would affect the EU's economic result for debt securities, money market funds and ETFs.
EUR million
Increase (+) / decrease (-)
in basis points Economic result
2025: Financial assets at FVSD +100 (1 448)
-100 1 536
2024: Financial assets at FVSD +100 (1 172)
-100 1 246
The sensitivity of a bond portfolio to interest rate changes increases with its duration. The duration of the main asset portfolios managed by the Commission is outlined below.
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
126
Borrowing and lending activities
Due to its borrowing and lending activities, the EU has significant interest-bearing assets and liabilities. For the legacy financial assistance instruments under back-to-back approach there is no interest rate risk since the borrowings are offset by equivalent loans at the same terms and conditions.
For the unified funding approach interest rate risk is covered by implementing procedures and mechanisms that mitigate the risk. The underlying principle of the unified funding approach is to allocate the cost of funding and related costs to loan beneficiaries and the EU budget in a transparent, most cost-
effective and equitable way, based on daily interest calculations. The unified funding is based on the principle of full allocation of cost, so any interest cost coming from borrowing instruments, cash holding, or other investment instruments are fully reallocated and invoiced to loan beneficiaries as cost of funding or liquidity management costs.
The costs of funding are allocated to loan beneficiaries based on the outstanding amount of loans. Funding costs not allocated to loans or non-repayable support are invoiced to loan beneficiaries and the
EU budget in the form of liquidity management costs, which can be positive or negative depending on the
evolution of interest rates applied on cash balances.
Under the unified funding approach, cash is held in an EU funding pool to maintain a defined safety buffer allowing for disbursements within short time, while avoiding excess balances. The safety buffer consists of cash at bank, money market term deposits with national banks and state owned financing agencies as well as reverse repurchase transactions with a duration of 7 or 14 days (see Note 2.8.2). The cash is mainly kept at the ECB where the euro money market short-term interest rate minus 20 basis points applies to any outstanding cash balance. Any revenues from cash holding and other investment
instruments are part of liquidity management cost invoicing.
Treasury
The Commission has measures in place to ensure that interest earned on its bank accounts regularly reflects market interest rates and their possible fluctuations.
Own resources accounts are protected from any costs as they are free of any charge or interest in accordance with Article 9.1 of Council Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 609/2014.
Accounts opened with Member States treasuries for own resources receipts are non-interest bearing and free of charge. Accounts held with national central banks (own resources and other) may be remunerated at the official rates applied by each institution.
The Commission adapts its cash management procedures according to current market interest conditions. A safety cash buffer is held on central deposit accounts based on a weekly funding from own resources accounts to cover payment needs for the implementation of the budget while avoiding excess balances.
Overnight balances held on commercial and central bank accounts earn interest daily, based on variable
market rates with a contractual margin (positive or negative) applied.
Fines
The provisionally cashed fines are invested in a portfolio of long-term bonds with an average portfolio duration of 1.81 years.
Common Provisioning Fund
The CPF portfolio has a total average duration of 3.56 years.
ECSC i.L.
The ECSC i.L. amounts are invested in a long-term bond portfolio with an average duration of 3.83 years.
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
127
6.5. OTHER PRICE RISK
As at 31 December 2025, the EU is exposed to equity risk from various investments, including:
— Non-quoted equity investments (such as venture capital and other investment funds);
— Money market funds (such as the EIB Unitary Fund);
— ETFs;
— Investments in pooled portfolios (see Note 2.4.2.1).
The EU is also exposed to equity risk through guarantees covering non-quoted equity and quasi equity investments, which are treated as derivatives at fair value through surplus or deficit (see Note 2.4.2.2).
Equity price risk is the risk that the fair values of equity investments change due to fluctuations in equity
prices and/or the value of guaranteed equity investments.
The effect on surplus or deficit of a 10% value increase or decrease of the above-mentioned instruments would be as follows:
EUR million
10% (10)%
Equity investments 380 (380)
MMFs, ETFs and investments in pooled portfolios 681 (681)
Guarantees on equity* 695 (695)
Total at 31.12.2025 1 756 (1 756)
Equity investments 320 (320)
MMFs, ETFs and investments in pooled portfolios 598 (598)
Guarantees on equity* 606 (606)
Total at 31.12.2024 1 523 (1 523) *The risk of guarantees on equity is based on the notional amount that is covered by the guarantee.
The EU invests in or guarantees unquoted assets, whose values are not publicly available. These assets are typically implemented by entrusted entities, which are experts in the industry and regularly assess and monitor their value.
6.6. CREDIT RISK
Maximum credit risk exposure
EUR million
31.12.2025 31.12.2024
Financial assets
Loans 333 432 283 580
Cash and cash equivalents 103 041 63 163
Exchange receivables* 3 742 3 240
Financial assets at FVSD - debt securities 40 462 34 465
Financial assets at FVSD - derivatives 1 585 1 110
Financial assets at FVSD - loans 9 –
Guarantees given and loan commitments
FGCs 65 474 60 857
Loan commitments 24 18 193
Total 547 771 464 607
*Excluding deferred charges.
In addition, the EU is indirectly exposed to the credit risk through its investments in MMFs, corporate bond ETFs and pooled portfolios of debt securities (see Note 2.4.2.1), which may impact their prices (see
Note 6.5).
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
128
Loans: credit quality
EUR million
31.12.2025
Stage 1 Stage 2 Stage 3 POCI Total
Credit rating
Prime and high grade 33 176 – – – 33 176
Upper medium grade 102 243 – – – 102 243
Lower medium grade 151 363 – – – 151 363
Non-investment grade (incl. default) 4 340 72 630 28 21 77 019
Gross carrying amount 291 122 72 630 28 21 363 801
Minus loss allowance (12) (30 357) (24) 24 (30 369)
Net carrying amount 291 110 42 273 4 45 333 432
EUR million
31.12.2024
Stage 1 Stage 2 Stage 3 POCI Total
Credit rating
Prime and high grade 35 593 – – – 35 593
Upper medium grade 87 005 – – – 87 005
Lower medium grade 129 200 – – – 129 200
Non-investment grade (incl. default) 3 593 44 139 14 27 47 773
Gross carrying amount 255 391 44 139 14 27 299 571
Minus loss allowance (31) (15 969) (14) 24 (15 991)
Net carrying amount 255 360 28 170 (1) 51 283 580
The risk categories mentioned above are in principle based on the rating scales of external rating agencies. These categories correspond to:
— Prime and high grade: Moody’s P-1, Aaa – Aa3; S&P A-1+, A-1, AAA – AA -; Fitch F1+, F1, AAA – AA- and equivalent;
— Upper medium grade: Moody’s P-2, A1 – A3; S&P A-2, A+ – A-; Fitch F2, A+ – A- and equivalent;
— Lower medium grade: Moody’s P-3, Baa1 – Baa3, S&P A-3, BBB+ – BBB-; Fitch F3, BBB+ – BBB-
and equivalent;
— Non-investment grade: Moody’s not prime, Ba1 – C; S&P B, C, D, BB+ – D; Fitch B, C, D, BB+ – D and equivalent.
The EU uses these rating categories as a reference point for financial instruments and commercial banks. However, the EU may keep amounts in a particular risk category even if a rating agency has downgraded
the counterparty, after making its own analysis of individual cases.
The loans in the non-investment grade are mainly financial assistance loans to third countries in financial difficulties. All loans to Member States are in investment grade and in Stage 1. The loans in Stage 2 include mainly the MFA, MFA+, Ukraine Facility, MFA ULCM and Euratom loans to Ukraine. The POCI loans are subrogated loans from the ELM programmes.
Borrowing and lending activities
In case of default by debtors, the Commission may draw on the assets held in the CPF to service any
debt due related to MFA loans (except MFA+ and MFA ULCM loans), Euratom loans to third countries and policy-based loans provided under Western Balkans and Moldova Facilities.
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
129
Loans provided to Ukraine under the exceptional MFA programme (EUR 6 billion disbursed in 2022) are
firstly covered by their compartment in the CPF, and then also by additional EUR 3.7 billion of Member States’ guarantees, which are considered as credit enhancement for those loans and thus reduce an impairment allowance recognised in relation to those loans.
The MFA ULCM loan to Ukraine is expected to be repaid by Ukraine from flows of extraordinary revenues stemming from the immobilised Russian sovereign assets granted to Ukraine as a non-repayable support under the ULCM mechanism. In 2025 the Union collected and granted to Ukraine EUR 622 million. This
amount is placed on the dedicated bank account at year-end and will be solely used to service the MFA - thus reduces credit losses expected from that loan.
The Commission manages exposure to credit risk for Euratom loans by obtaining state guarantees, which total EUR 300 million on 31 December 2025 (2024: EUR 300 million).
Loans provided to Member States under the SURE instrument are underpinned by a system of voluntary guarantees from Member States, amounting to 25% of the maximum ceiling available for the related
financial assistance.
For any credit losses on the loans to Member States, MFA+, MFA ULCM and Ukraine Facility the Commission may call upon Member States, while respecting the own resources ceilings (‘the budgetary headroom’; see Note 6.7).
Loans: Movement in impairment loss allowance
EUR million
Stage 1 Stage 2 Stage 3 POCI Total
Loss allowance at 01.01.2025 31 15 969 14 (24) 15 991
Transfer to Stage 1 1 (1) – – –
Transfer to Stage 2 (1) 1 – – –
Transfer to Stage 3 – (1) 1 – –
New loans 2 13 483 4 – 13 488
Derecognitions - repayments (0) (1) (0) – (2)
Derecognitions - write offs – – (3) – (3)
Loss allowance remeasurement (22) 907 (0) – 885
Other 2 2 8 – 11
Loss allowance at 31.12.2025 12 30 357 24 (24) 30 369
The additional impairment loss allowance on Stage 2 loans is mainly due to new loans to Ukraine disbursed under the Ukraine Facility and MFA ULCM (see Note 2.4.1.1) and to an update of the risk parameters applied in the credit risk estimates.
In 2025, the EU granted EUR 1.1 billion (2024: EUR 763 million) of interest rate subsidies to Ukraine for
interest accrued on some of the exceptional MFA loans, MFA+ and Ukraine Facility loans. The amortised cost before modification was EUR 37.7 billion (2024: EUR 17.3 billion). This modification of the contractual terms was accounted for as a modification loss in the statement of financial performance (see Note 3.15). The interest rate subsidy did not have a significant impact on the credit risk assessment, and the loans continued to be classified as Stage 2 as at 31 December 2025.
Please refer to Note 1.5.5 for the EU staging policies for loans.
Loans: ECL measurement
The EU uses a probability-weighted estimation to measure expected credit losses. This involves estimating the difference between contractual cash flows and expected cash flows.
The EU uses three credit risk parameters for this estimation:
— Probability of default (PD): This is a percentage that represents the likelihood of a counterparty defaulting on its financial obligation, either over the next 12 months or over the remaining
lifetime of the obligation.
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
130
— Loss given default (LGD): This is a percentage that shows the expected cash shortfall, taking into
account recoveries and collaterals.
— Exposure at default (EAD): This is the outstanding exposure (amount) at the time of a default.
The EU takes into account its de facto preferred creditor status when estimating the LGD on sovereign exposures.
The estimated cash flows over the expected life of the financial asset are discounted at the effective interest rate.
The EU considers reasonable and justified forward-looking information, available without undue cost and effort, and adjusts the model parameters when necessary.
Cash and cash equivalents: credit quality
EUR million
31.12.2025 31.12.2024
Credit rating
Premium and high grade 101 584 57 251
Upper medium grade 821 4 161
Lower medium grade 533 1 722
Non-investment grade 104 28
Gross carrying amount 103 041 63 163
Minus loss allowance - –
Net carrying amount 103 041 63 163
Treasury
Most of the Commission's treasury resources are kept on own resource accounts opened by Member States for the payment of their own resource’s contributions, mainly GNI, VAT and TOR. These accounts
are held with Member States' treasuries or national central banks, which carry the lowest credit (or counterparty) risk for the Commission.
For the portion of the Commission's treasury resources held with commercial banks, accounts are replenished on a just-in-time basis, managed automatically by the treasury cash management system. Cash levels in each commercial account are maintained to ensure the total overnight amount consistently stays below the respective counterparty exposure limits.
Specific guidelines are applied for the selection of commercial banks to further minimise counterparty risk
to which the Commission is exposed. These guidelines include:
— Selecting commercial banks through calls for tender, with a minimum long-term credit rating of S&P A- or equivalent.
— Monitoring ratings and defining a maximum exposure on each financial institution, taking into account the creditworthiness and capitalisation of the financial sector entity.
— Holding imprest accounts with local banks selected by a simplified tendering procedure in delegations outside the EU, with rating requirements depending on the local situation. To limit
risk exposure, balances on imprest accounts are kept at the lowest possible levels, regularly replenished, and the applied ceilings are reviewed on a yearly basis.
Liquidity held under unified funding
Under the unified funding approach, sufficient cash is held to meet all upcoming disbursement needs and maintain a defined safety buffer, while avoiding any excess balances. The cash is placed on a bank account at the ECB, in money market short-term deposits with national central banks or state owned
financing agencies, or is invested in reverse repurchase agreements secured by liquid bonds. Thus, the
credit risk of the liquidity buffer is very low.
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
131
Receivables: credit quality
EUR million
Not due Past due Past due Past due Past due Total
0-30 days 31-90 days 91 days -
1 year > 1 year
Gross carrying amount 2 063 18 22 52 179 2 335
Minus loss allowance (5) (3) (9) (24) (115) (156)
Net carrying amount at
31.12.2025 2 058 15 14 28 64 2 178
Gross carrying amount 1 508 15 33 27 207 1 789
Minus loss allowance (5) (2) (3) (13) (115) (138)
Net carrying amount at 31.12.2024
1 502 13 30 14 92 1 652
The amounts in this table do not include deferred charges and the FGC receivable leg measured at FVSD (see Note 2.6.2), as they are
not subject to the impairment requirements.
Financial assets at FVSD – debt securities: credit quality
Common Provisioning Fund
The weighted average credit rating of the CPF portfolio is A (S&P or equivalent).
Provisionally cashed fines: BUFI portfolio
The weighted average credit rating of the portfolio is A (S&P or equivalent).
Financial guarantees received
The risk management policy applied for the acceptance of financial guarantees ensures a high credit quality for the Commission. This policy includes:
— Defining a maximum credit exposure based on a financial sector entity's credit rating and capital level, as reported in its IFRS financial statements.
— Regularly reviewing the compliance of outstanding guarantees with the policy requirements.
ECSC i.L.
The weighted average credit rating of the portfolio is A- (S&P or equivalent).
Financial assets at FVSD – derivatives: credit quality
The EU's derivative assets mainly relate to guarantees on equity portfolios. The credit risk is limited to counterparty risk. The guarantee on equity will be settled mainly with the EIB Group, which has a rating of AAA, reducing the credit risk.
The sole counterparty for all outstanding currency forwards as of 31 December 2025 is the Bank for International Settlements. As a result, no credit enhancements, such as collateral or guarantees, are
needed.
Financial guarantee contracts: credit quality
EUR million
31.12.2025 31.12.2024
Stage 1 Stage 2 Total Stage 1 Stage 2 Total
Long-term rating
Prime and high grade 19 1 20 1 – 1
Upper medium grade 69 12 81 5 – 5
Lower medium grade 108 2 109 137 – 137
Non-investment grade 39 396 25 813 65 209 34 912 25 746 60 658
Managed on collective basis / not rated
10 45 55 10 47 56
Total 39 602 25 872 65 474 35 064 25 793 60 857
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
132
Financial guarantee contracts: Movement in the loss allowance
EUR million
Stage 1 Stage 2 Total
Loss allowance at 01.01.2025 1 930 2 075 4 005
Transfer to Stage 2 (48) 48 –
Transfer to Stage 1 28 (28) –
Additions 377 1 257 1 634
Release of guarantees (340) (2) (342)
Remeasurement 397 107 504
Loss allowance at 31.12.2025 2 345 3 456 5 800
Financial guarantee liability carrying amount at 31.12.2025
4 061 3 668 7 729
* Transfers from and to stage 1 / stage 2 are measured at the opening balance impairment allowance, whereas the changes of the
amount arising from the change of the stage (i.e. measuremet at 12-months or lifetime ECL) are part of re-measurement.
The increase of the loss allowance for guarantees in Stage 2 in 2025 was mainly due to new operations signed under the Ukraine Guarantee (see Note 4.1.1).
Out of the outstanding ECL for guarantees in Stage 2 of EUR 3.5 billion as at 31 December 2025, EUR 1.7 billion relates to the ELM guarantees (see Note 4.1.1). This includes EUR 0.9 billion lifetime ECL
for the EIB exposure in Ukraine (EUR 3.4 billion outstanding EIB loans to counterparts in Ukraine guaranteed by the EU).
Please refer to the Note 1.5.12 for the EU staging policies for financial guarantee contracts.
Budgetary guarantees
The EU is mainly exposed to credit risk through the operations it guarantees. When the credit quality of
the underlying operations deteriorates, default events become more likely and calls on EU guarantees may also increase.
To monitor and manage this risk, the Commission relies on a Credit Risk Model that assesses potential losses. The model uses inputs from implementing partners and combines them with expert judgment to derive a risk assessment that is coherent with the transaction and relevant economic circumstances.
6.7. LIQUIDITY RISK
Maturity analysis of non-derivative financial liabilities by remaining contractual maturity
EUR million
Undiscounted contractual cash-flows Carrying
amount
< 1 year 1-5 years > 5 years Total
Borrowings (98 561) (240 053) (578 604) (917 217) (731 224)
Payables (65 037) – – (65 037) (65 037)
Other (180) (608) (1 157) (1 944) (1 773)
Total at 31.12.2025 (163 777) (240 661) (579 760) (984 199) (798 034)
Borrowings (61 589) (201 152) (468 669) (731 410) (594 028)
Payables (55 414) – – (55 414) (55 414)
Other (168) (560) (850) (1 578) (1 398)
Total at 31.12.2024 (117 171) (201 711) (469 519) (788 401) (650 839)
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
133
Maturity analysis of derivative financial liabilities by remaining contractual maturity
EUR million
Undiscounted contractual cash-flows Carrying
amount < 1 year 1-5 years > 5 years Total
Derivative pay leg (1 184) (11) – (1 195) Derivative receive leg 1 138 7 – 1 145
Net cash flows at 31.12.2025 (46) (4) – (50) (48)
Derivative pay leg (1 779) (7) (4) (1 790) Derivative receive leg 1 691 – – 1 691
Net cash flows at 31.12.2024 (88) (7) (4) (99) (98)
Maturity analysis of financial guarantee contracts issued by earliest period in which the guarantee could be called
EUR million
Maximum amount of guarantee Carrying
amount < 1 year 1-5 years > 5 years Total
FGCs at 31.12.2025 (63 617) (1 637) (13 966) (79 220) (7 729)
FGCs at 31.12.2024 (64 115) (2 211) (10 271) (76 597) (6 379)
Maturity analysis of undrawn loan commitments
EUR million
Maximum amount of undrawn loan commitment
Carrying
amount
< 1
year
1-5
years
> 5
years Total
Undrawn loan commitments at 31.12.2025 – 15 9 24 3
Undrawn loan commitments at 31.12.2024 18 152 41 – 18 193 7 082
Borrowing activities
The EU's first recourse for repaying borrowings is the timely collection of related financial assistance and NGEU loan repayments. However, additional safeguards are in place in case of payment defaults or payment delays by borrowers.
The Commission has established a short-term temporary measure called budgetary cover, which provides liquidity to cover payment of obligations arising from back-to-back financial assistance programmes.
For the loans to third countries under MFA (except MFA+ and MFA ULCM), Euratom, Western Balkans Facility and Moldova Facility the CPF provides a liquidity reserve. This reserve may be used to repay related borrowings.
If the available assets in the reserve are insufficient to cover actual losses, the Commission will activate measures to provide additional resources, such as temporary use of Commission's treasury liquidity,
temporary transfers, or additional expenditure from the EU budget.
Loans provided to Ukraine under the exceptional MFA programme are covered by their compartment in CPF, as well as by additional Member States guarantees (see Note 6.6).
For loans disbursed and borrowings issued under the unified funding approach, the Commission may apply active cash management and short-term borrowing to service EU debts. Management of liquidity risk under this approach requires implementation of liquidity management procedures and dedicated
tools to monitor and manage liquidity on a daily basis.
The Commission may also call resources from Member States up to the own resources ceiling to service EU debts. The own resources decision fixes the ceiling for own resources to cover annual appropriations for payments at 1.40% of Member States' Gross National Income (GNI), plus an additional temporary increase of 0.6 percentage points exclusively for NGEU. The 2025 budget included a total of own resources of 0.83% of EU GNI to finance the expenditure. This means that on 31 December 2025 there
existed an available margin of 1.17% to cover its liabilities.
Finally, loans provided to Member States under the SURE instrument are underpinned by a system of voluntary guarantees from Member States, amounting to 25% of the maximum ceiling available for the related financial assistance. Before calling on these guarantees, the Commission is expected to examine
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
134
the scope for drawing on the margin available under the own resources ceiling for payment
appropriations.
The undrawn loan commitments as at 31 December 2024 mainly relate to the MFA loan under ULCM for EUR 18.1 billion (see Note 2.4.1.1). This loan was fully disbursed in 2025.
Treasury
The EU's budget principles ensure that overall cash resources for a given year are always sufficient for the execution of all payments.
The total Member States’ contributions together with miscellaneous revenue equal the amount of payment appropriations for the budgetary year. However, Member States' contributions are received in 12 monthly instalments throughout the year, based on the adopted budget, while payments are subject to operational needs.
Member States' contributions relating to amending budgets approved in a given month (N) only become available on the first working day of the month N+1 or N+2, while the related payment appropriations are immediately available.
To ensure that available treasury resources are always sufficient to cover payments to be executed in any given month, procedures regarding regular cash forecasting are in place. Own resources or additional funding can be called up in advance from Member States if needed, up to certain limits and under conditions foreseen in the Council Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 609/2014.
In addition to these procedures, automated cash management tools ensure that sufficient liquidity is available on each of the Commission's bank accounts, as part of the Commission's daily treasury operations.
Fines
The BUFI fund is managed to maintain a sufficient level of liquidity and mobilisation to meet short-term commitments. The portfolio is composed of mostly highly liquid securities that can be easily sold to meet cash outflows. The share of cash, cash equivalents and securities maturing within 1 year is approximately 41%.
Budgetary guarantees
The EU's maturity analysis for financial guarantees uses a prudent approach, allocating the maximum guarantee amount to the earliest period in which the guarantee could be called. However, the probability of the EU being called for the entire amount in the first period is remote, and the expected loss is often lower than the guarantee ceiling. Therefore, the liquidity risk needs to be considered in conjunction with the carrying amount of the guarantee liabilities.
A key objective of the risk management framework is to ensure that the EU budget can honour its
obligations without disrupting the normal implementation of the budget. This includes mitigating the
liquidity risk related to budgetary guarantees, which is the risk of insufficient funds to fulfil payment obligations in a timely manner.
To address this risk, each budgetary guarantee is backed by sufficient provisioning paid into the CPF to ensure timely payment of guarantee calls. The EU regularly monitors the adequacy of the provisioning rate for each budgetary guarantee programme and reports annually on whether the amounts are sufficient to cover the risk for the next five years with a defined level of certainty.
In addition, the EU has safeguard procedures in place, including temporary transfers between CPF
compartments and the use of central treasury liquidity, to ensure sufficient liquidity is available when needed.
Common Provisioning Fund
The CPF is managed to ensure that its assets have a sufficient degree of liquidity and mobilisation to meet short-term commitments. The portfolio is composed of liquid assets that can be easily sold to meet cash outflows if needed. Approximately 10% of the portfolio is made up of cash, cash equivalents, and
securities maturing within 1 year.
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
135
The settlement of derivative contracts is gross and based on their contractual maturity. If necessary,
obligations are honoured by selling USD-denominated assets or through a swap transaction, which may result in a cash outflow due to foreign exchange differences.
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
136
7. RELATED PARTY DISCLOSURES
7.1. RELATED PARTIES
The related parties of the EU are the EU consolidated entities, associates and the key management personnel of these entities. Transactions between these entities take place as part of the normal
operations of the EU and as this is the case, no specific disclosure requirements are necessary for these transactions in accordance with the EU accounting rules.
7.2. KEY MANAGEMENT ENTITLEMENTS
For the purposes of presenting information on related party transactions concerning the key management
personnel of the EU, such persons are shown here under five categories:
Category 1: the Presidents of the European Council, the Commission and the Court of Justice of the European Union
Category 2: the Vice-president of the Commission and High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and the other Vice-presidents of the Commission
Category 3: the Secretary-General of the Council, the Members of the Commission, the Judges and Advocates General of the Court of Justice of the European Union, the President and Members of the General Court, the Ombudsman and the European Data Protection Supervisor
Category 4: the President and Members of the European Court of Auditors
Category 5: the highest-ranking civil servants of the Institutions and Agencies
A summary of their entitlements is given below – further information can be found in the Staff
Regulations published on the Europa website which is the official document describing the rights and obligations of all officials of the EU. Key management personnel have not received any preferential loans from the EU.
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
137
KEY MANAGEMENT FINANCIAL ENTITLEMENTS
EUR
Entitlement (per employee) Category 1 Category 2 Category 3 Category 4 Category 5
Basic salary (per month) 35 860.91 32 482.71 -
33 782.02 25 986.17 -
29 234.44 28 065.06 -
29 884.10 16 523.41 -
25 986.17
Residential/Expatriation allowance 15% 15% 15% 15% 0-4%-16%
Family allowances:
Household (% salary) 2% + 241.21 2% + 241.21 2% + 241.21 2% + 241.21 2% + 241.21
Dependent child 527.06 527.06 527.06 527.06 527.06
Pre-school 128.76 128.76 128.76 128.76 128.76
Education, or 357.63 357.63 357.63 357.63 357.63
Education outside place of work 715.26 715.26 715.26 715.26 715.26
Presiding judges allowance N/A N/A 1 111.04 N/A N/A
Representation allowance 1 943.34 1 248.97 832.83 N/A N/A
Annual travel costs N/A N/A N/A N/A Reimbursed
Transfers to Member State:
Education allowance* Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
% of salary* 5% 5% 5% 5% 5%
% of salary with no cc max 25% max 25% max 25% max 25% max 25%
Representation expenses Reimbursed Reimbursed Reimbursed N/A N/A
Taking up duty:
Installation expenses 71 721.82 64 965.42 -
67 564.04
51 972.34 -
58 468.88
56 130.12 -
59 768.20 Reimbursed
Family travel expenses Reimbursed Reimbursed Reimbursed Reimbursed Reimbursed
Moving expenses Reimbursed Reimbursed Reimbursed Reimbursed Reimbursed
Leaving office:
Resettlement expenses 35 860.91 32 482.71 -
33 782.02 25 986.17 -
29 234.44 28 065.06 -
29 884.10 Reimbursed
Family travel expenses Reimbursed Reimbursed Reimbursed Reimbursed Reimbursed
Moving expenses Reimbursed Reimbursed Reimbursed Reimbursed Reimbursed
Transition (% salary)** 40% - 65% 40% - 65% 40% - 65% 40% - 65% N/A
Sickness insurance Covered Covered Covered Covered Covered
Pension (% salary, before tax) Max 70% Max 70% Max 70% Max 70% Max 70%
Deductions:
Community tax 8% - 45% 8% - 45% 8% - 45% 8% - 45% 8% - 45%
Sickness insurance (% salary) 1.7% 1.7% 1.7% 1.7% 1.7%
Special levy on salary 7% 7% 7% 7% 6-7%
Pension deduction N/A N/A N/A N/A 13.10%
Number of persons at year-end 3 8 93 27 116
* with correction coefficient (“cc”) applied
** paid for the first 3 years following departure
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
138
8. EVENTS AFTER THE BALANCE SHEET DATE
At the date of signature of these accounts no material issues had come to the attention of, or were reported to, the Accounting Officer of the Commission that would require separate disclosure under this section. The accounts and related notes were prepared using the most recently available information and this is reflected in the information presented.
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
139
9. SCOPE OF CONSOLIDATION
A. CONTROLLED ENTITIES (54)
1. Institutions and consultative bodies (11)
Council of the European Union European Data Protection Supervisor
Court of Justice of the European Union European Economic and Social Committee
European Commission European External Action Service
European Committee of the Regions European Ombudsman
European Council European Parliament
European Court of Auditors
2. EU Agencies AND Other Bodies (41)
2.1. Executive Agencies (6)
European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA)
European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency (EISMEA)
European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA)
European Research Council Executive Agency (ERCEA)
European Health and Digital Executive Agency (HaDEA) European Research Executive Agency (REA)
2.2. Decentralised Agencies and Other Bodies (35)
Agency for Support for the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC Office)
European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO)
Community Plant Variety Office (CPVO) European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA)
European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU- OSHA)
European Training Foundation (ETF)
European Banking Authority (EBA) European Union Agency for Asylum (EUAA)
European Border and Coast Guard Agency (FRONTEX) European Union Agency for Criminal Justice
Cooperation (Eurojust) European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC)
European Union Agency for Cybersecurity (ENISA)
European Centre for the Development of Vocational
Training (CEDEFOP)
European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights
(FRA)
European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (EUROPOL)
European Environment Agency (EEA) European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Training (CEPOL)
European Fisheries Control Agency (EFCA) European Union Agency for Railways (ERA)
European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) European Union Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER)
European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (Eurofound)
European Union Agency for the Operational Management of Large-Scale IT Systems in the Area
of Freedom, Security and Justice (eu-LISA)
European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE) European Union Agency for the Space Programme
(EUSPA) European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA)
European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA)
European Joint Undertaking for ITER and the Development of Fusion Energy (Fusion for Energy)
European Union Drugs Agency (EUDA)
European Labour Authority (ELA) European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO)
European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) Translation Centre for the Bodies of the European Union (CdT)
European Medicines Agency (EMA)
3. Other controlled entities (2)
European Coal and Steel Community in Liquidation (ECSC i.L.)
European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT)
B. ASSOCIATES (1) European Investment Fund (EIF)
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
140
MINOR ENTITIES
The entities listed below have not been consolidated using the equity method in the 2025 EU consolidated financial statements on the basis of immateriality:
MINOR ENTITES (11)
Chips Joint Undertaking (Chips JU)
Circular Bio-based Europe Joint Undertaking (CBE JU)
Clean Aviation Joint Undertaking (CAJU)
Clean Hydrogen Joint Undertaking (Clean H2 JU)
Europe’s Rail Joint Undertaking (EU-RAIL JU)
European Cybersecurity Competence Centre (ECCC)
European High Performance Computing Joint Undertaking (EuroHPC JU)
Global Health EDCTP3 Joint Undertaking (GH EDCP3 JU)
Innovative Health Initiative Joint Undertaking (IHI JU)
Single European Sky ATM Research 3 Joint Undertaking (SESAR 3 JU)
Smart Networks and Services Joint Undertaking (SNS JU)
The annual accounts of the above entities are publicly available on their respective websites.
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
141
BUDGETARY IMPLEMENTATION REPORTS
AND EXPLANATORY NOTES
It should be noted that due to the rounding of figures into millions of euros, some financial data in the
tables below may appear not to add-up.
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
142
CONTENTS
EU BUDGET RESULT .............................................................................. 142
STATEMENTS OF COMPARISON OF BUDGET AND ACTUAL AMOUNTS ............. 143
NOTES TO THE BUDGETARY IMPLEMENTATION REPORTS ............................ 145
3.1. THE EU BUDGET FRAMEWORK ........................................................... 145
3.2. MULTIANNUAL FINANCIAL FRAMEWORK 2021-2027 .............................. 145
3.3. MFF DETAILED HEADINGS (PROGRAMMES) ......................................... 148
3.4. NextGenerationEU ........................................................................... 148
3.5. ANNUAL BUDGET ............................................................................ 149
3.6. REVENUE ....................................................................................... 151
3.7. CALCULATION OF THE BUDGET RESULT .............................................. 152
3.8. RECONCILIATION OF ECONOMIC RESULT WITH BUDGET RESULT .......... 154
IMPLEMENTATION OF THE 2025 EU BUDGET ............................................. 156
IMPLEMENTATION OF EU BUDGET REVENUE .............................................. 157
5.1. SUMMARY OF THE IMPLEMENTATION OF EU BUDGET REVENUE .............. 157
IMPLEMENTATION OF EU BUDGET EXPENDITURE ....................................... 158
6.1. MFF: BREAKDOWN & CHANGES IN COMMITMENT & PAYMENT
APPROPRIATIONS............................................................................ 158
6.2. MFF: IMPLEMENTATION OF COMMITMENT APPROPRIATIONS .................. 159
6.3. MFF: IMPLEMENTATION OF PAYMENT APPROPRIATIONS ........................ 160
6.4. MFF: MOVEMENTS IN OUTSTANDING COMMITMENTS (RAL) ................... 161
6.5. MFF: OUTSTANDING COMMITMENTS BY YEAR OF ORIGIN ...................... 162
6.6. DETAILED MFF: BREAKDOWN AND CHANGES IN COMMITMENT AND PAYMENT APPROPRIATIONS............................................................................ 163
6.7. DETAILED MFF: IMPLEMENTATION OF COMMITMENT APPROPRIATIONS ... 169
6.8. DETAILED MFF: IMPLEMENTATION OF PAYMENT APPROPRIATIONS ......... 179
6.9. DETAILED MFF: MOVEMENTS IN OUTSTANDING COMMITMENTS (RAL) .... 187
6.10. DETAILED MFF: OUTSTANDING COMMITMENTS BY YEAR OF ORIGIN .... 192
IMPLEMENTATION OF THE BUDGET BY INSTITUTION .................................. 197
7.1. IMPLEMENTATION OF BUDGET REVENUE ............................................ 197
7.2. IMPLEMENTATION OF COMMITMENT APPROPRIATIONS ......................... 199
7.3. IMPLEMENTATION OF PAYMENT APPROPRIATIONS ................................ 200
IMPLEMENTATION OF THE AGENCIES' BUDGETS ........................................ 201
8.1. BUDGET REVENUE ........................................................................... 201
8.2. COMMITMENT AND PAYMENT APPROPRIATIONS BY AGENCY .................. 202
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
143
EU BUDGET RESULT
EUR million
Note 2025 2024
a Revenue for the financial year 224 398 250 609
b Payments against current year appropriations (212 797) ( 244 309)
c Payment appropriations carried over to year N+1 (6 087) ( 3 848)
d Cancellation of unused appropriations carried over from year N-1 273 334
e Evolution of assigned revenue (B)-(A) (3 579) ( 1 486)
Unused appropriations at the end of current year (A) 28 271 24 692
Unused appropriations at the end of previous year (B) 24 692 23 206
f Exchange rate differences for the year (130) 44
Budget result 2 078 1 345
The budget result of the EU is returned to the Member States in the following year through deduction against their amounts due for that year. It is calculated in accordance with Article 1(1) of Council Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 608/2014 laying down implementing measures for the system of own resources. More information can be found under Section 3.7 Calculation of the budget result.
a. Revenue for the financial year: table 5.1 “Summary of the implementation of EU Budget Revenue”, column 8 “Total Revenue”.
b. Payments against current year appropriations: table 6.3 “MFF – Implementation of Payment appropriations”, column 2 “Payments made from adopted budget and column 4 “Payments made from assigned revenue”.
c. Payment appropriations carried over to year N+1: table 6.3 “MFF – Implementation of Payment
appropriations”, column 7 automatic carry-overs plus column 8 carry-over by decision.
d. Cancellation of unused payment appropriations carried over from year N-1: takes into account the amount of payment appropriations carried over (automatically and on decision) at the end of previous year and the current year’s “Payments made from carryovers” as in column 3 of table 6.3 “MFF – Implementation of Payment appropriations”.
e. Evolution of the total assigned revenue appropriations at year-end: calculates the difference of
the amount of assigned revenue appropriations at the end of previous year (plus) and the
amount of assigned revenue appropriations at the end of the current year (as in column 8 of table 6.3 “MFF – Implementation of Payment appropriations” - minus) to obtain the net variation of assigned revenue in the current year.
f. Exchange rate differences include realised and non-realised exchange rate differences.
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
144
STATEMENTS OF COMPARISON OF BUDGET AND
ACTUAL AMOUNTS
Budget revenue
EUR million
Title Initial
adopted budget
Final adopted budget
Entitlement s
established Revenue
1 Own Resources 151 161 154 322 155 448 155 418
2 Surpluses, Balances And Adjustments – 1 345 1 362 1 362
3 Administrative Revenue 2 425 2 425 3 272 3 226
4 Financial Revenue, Default Interest And Fines 183 1 659 18 874 2 618
5 Budgetary Guarantees, Borrowing-And-Lending
Operations – – 40 815 40 766
6 Revenue, Contributions And Refunds Related To Union
Policies 1 440 1 412 24 016 21 008
Total 155 209 161 163 243 787 224 398
of which Next Generation EU (NGEU) - - 40 219 40 213
Budget expenditure: commitments by multiannual financial
framework (MFF) heading
EUR million
MFF Heading Initial adopted
budget Final adopted
budget Total appropr.
available
Commitm ents made
1 Single Market, Innovation and Digital 21 480 21 539 30 466 27 095
2 Cohesion, Resilience and Values 77 980 77 979 80 804 78 884
3 Natural Resources and Environment 56 731 56 700 58 961 57 658
4 Migration and Border Management 4 791 4 645 5 338 4 738
5 Security and Defence 2 633 2 633 2 742 2 666
6 Neighbourhood and the World 16 308 16 892 20 828 19 645
7 European Public Administration 12 845 12 766 15 115 13 955
O Outside MFF 4 320 4 320 11 767 6 409
S Solidarity mechanisms within and outside the Union
(Special instruments) 2 349 1 766 2 085 1 065
Total 199 438 199 239 228 104 212 116
of which Next Generation EU (NGEU) – – 232 39
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
145
Budget expenditure: payments by multiannual financial framework (MFF) heading
MFF Heading Initial adopted
budget Final adopted
budget Total appropr.
available Payments
made
1 Single Market, Innovation and Digital 20 461 20 255 34 035 24 483
2 Cohesion, Resilience and Values 44 445 47 141 96 601 92 306
3 Natural Resources and Environment 52 092 56 039 61 329 59 589
4 Migration and Border Management 3 204 3 564 4 386 3 819
5 Security and Defence 2 143 1 839 1 947 1 872
6 Neighbourhood and the World 14 426 15 010 18 469 17 170
7 European Public Administration 12 845 12 766 16 133 13 767
O Outside MFF 3 274 2 805 15 994 2 319
S Solidarity mechanisms within and outside the Union
(Special instruments) 2 320 1 744 2 063 1 048
Total 155 209 161 163 250 956 216 373
of which Next Generation EU (NGEU) – – 43 760 41 739
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
146
NOTES TO THE BUDGETARY IMPLEMENTATION
REPORTS
3.1. THE EU BUDGET FRAMEWORK
The budgetary accounts are kept in accordance with the Financial Regulation (FR). The general budget is
the instrument which provides for and authorises the Union's revenue and expenditure every year, within the ceilings and other provisions laid down in the MFF in line with the legislative acts concerning multiannual programmes adopted under that framework.
3.2. MULTIANNUAL FINANCIAL FRAMEWORK 2021-2027
EUR million in current prices
2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 Total
1. Single Market, Innovation and Digital
20 919
21 878
21 727
21 598
21 596
22 210
20 991
150 919
2. Cohesion, Resilience and Values
6 364
67 806
70 137
73 289
75 697
67 523
70 128
430 944
2a. Economic, social and territorial cohesion
1 769
61 345
62 939
64 683
66 361
56 593
58 484
372 174
2b. Resilience and Values
4 595
6 461
7 198
8 606
9 336
10 930
11 644
58 770
3. Natural Resources and Environment
56 841
56 965
57 295
57 449
57 336
57 100
57 316
400 302
Of which: Market related expenditure and direct payments
40 368
40 639
40 693
40 603
40 529
40 542
40 496
283 870
4. Migration and Border Management
1 791
3 360
3 814
4 020
4 871
5 103
5 619
28 578
5. Security and Defence
1 696
1 896
1 946
2 380
2 617
2 810
3 080
16 425
6. Neighbourhood and the World
16 247
16 802
16 329
16 331
16 303
15 614
16 071
113 697
7. European Public Administration
10 635
11 058
11 419
11 773
12 124
12 506
12 959
82 474
Of which: Administrative expenditure of the institutions
8 216
8 528
8 772
9 006
9 219
9 464
9 786
62 991
TOTAL COMMITMENT APPROPRIATIONS
114 493 179 765 182 667 186 840 190 544 182 866 186 164 1 223 339
TOTAL PAYMENT APPROPRIATIONS
163 496 166 534 162 053 142 601 175 378 201 170 195 246 1 206 478
as a percentage of GNI
1.18% 1.12% 0.99% 0.81% 0.95% 1.04% 0.98% 1.01%
Council Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2020/2093 laying down the 2021-2027 MFF was adopted on 17 December 202055. The above table shows the MFF ceilings at current prices as adopted in the technical adjustment for the MFF 2021-2027 for 202656, in accordance with the fixed annual deflator of 2% set out in Article 4 (2) of the MFF Regulation. As stipulated in the Council Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2020/2093
laying down the 2021-2027 MFF, for commitment appropriations the amounts are split per Heading; for payment appropriations the ceilings only apply at total level. 2025 was the fifth financial year covered by
the MFF 2021-2027.
55 Council Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2020/2093 of 17 December 2020 laying down the multiannual financial framework
for the years 2021 to 2027, OJ L 433I, 22.12.2020, p. 11. 56 Technical adjustment of the financial framework for 2026 in accordance with Article 4 of Council Regulation (EU,
Euratom) 2021/365 laying down the multiannual financial framework for the years 2021 to 2027, COM(2025) 800 final, 4.6.2025.
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
147
Following the political agreement on the Mid-term revision of the 2021-2027 MFF reached in the
European Council of 1 February and with the European Parliament on 6 February 2024, the revised MFF Regulation57 was adopted on 29 February 2024. The mid-term revision reinforced the EU budget for the period 2024-2027 by EUR 64.6 billion, of which EUR 33 billion in loans, in a number of priority areas including support to Ukraine, the setting-up of the strategic technologies for Europe platform (STEP), the creation of the mechanism to cover additional costs to fund the Next Generation EU recovery instrument, arising from higher interest rates as well as the additional funding for migration
management and international partnerships, and the reinforcement of some special instruments. The Solidarity and Emergency Aid Reserve (SEAR) is split as of 1 January 2024 into two separate instruments (the European Solidarity Reserve and the Emergency Aid Reserve). To integrate the impact of the Mid- term revision on the Annual Budget for 2024, Amending Budget 1/2024 was adopted58.
The overall ceiling for commitment appropriations for 2025 was EUR 190 544 million, whilst the corresponding ceiling for payment appropriations was EUR 175 378 million.
Pursuant to Article 312 (3) TFEU, the MFF determines the amounts of the annual ceilings for commitment
appropriations by category of expenditure (‘headings’) and of the annual ceilings for payment appropriations. MFF headings correspond to the Union’s major sectors of activity. An explanation of the various headings of the 2021-2027 MFF is given below.
The MFF 2021-2027 amounts to EUR 1 223 billion (EUR 1 083 billion in 2018 prices), including the European Development Fund (EDF). In addition, NextGenerationEU provides an additional amount of EUR 806.9 billion (EUR 750 billion in 2018 prices) up to 2023 in commitments and 2026 in payments. This initial amount has been adjusted to EUR 698.3 billion, as the total available loan support was not fully
requested by the Member States.
For the annual budget procedure, the budget nomenclature is further structured by policy ‘clusters’, providing further clarity on how individual spending programmes contribute to the Union’s policy goals.
Heading 1 – Single Market, Innovation and Digital
This heading includes key EU programmes supporting the areas of research and innovation, digital transformation, strategic infrastructure, strengthening the single market and strategic space projects.
Programmes under this heading include Horizon Europe, the InvestEU Fund, Connecting Europe Facility, the Single market programme and the European space programme.
Programmes receiving contributions from NGEU (external assigned revenue) under this heading: Horizon Europe and InvestEU Fund.
Heading 2 – Sustainable growth: natural resources
This heading is divided in two sub-headings: Economic, social and territorial cohesion (2a), and Resilience and values (2b).
Spending under this heading aims at strengthening the resilience and cohesion between the EU Member States. The funding helps reduce disparities in and between EU regions, and within and across Member States, and promotes sustainable territorial development (European Regional Development Fund, Cohesion Fund, European Social Fund Plus). It also supports the Union’s solidarity and cooperation in preparedness and response to disasters (Union Civil Protection Mechanism and RescEU). In addition, programmes under this heading seek to make the EU more resilient to present and future challenges by investing in the green and digital transition, young people (Erasmus), health (EU4Health) and action to
protect EU values (Justice, Rights and Values) and promote cultural diversity (Creative Europe).
This heading includes the RRF, powered by the vast majority of the funding provided by NGEU over the period 2021-2023. Other programmes receiving contributions from NGEU (external assigned revenue) under this heading: REACT-EU, Union Civil Protection Mechanism (RescEU). For a more detailed overview of the RRF activities, consult sections on the NGEU 3 and 4 of the Financial Highlights of the Year.
57 as last amended by Council Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 2024/765 of 29 February 2024, OJ L series, 2024/765,
29.2.2024, p.1. 58 AB 1/2024, OJ L, 2024/1430, 5.6.2024.
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
148
Heading 3 – Natural Resources and Environment
Expenditure under this heading invests in sustainable agriculture (common agricultural policy) and fisheries and maritime policy (European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund), as well programmes dedicated to environmental protection and climate action (LIFE programme, Just Transition Fund).
Programmes receiving contributions from NGEU (external assigned revenue) under this heading: rural development, Just Transition Fund.
Heading 4 – Migration and Border Management
The programmes (Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund, Integrated Border Management Fund) and the decentralised agencies (such as the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex) and the European Union Agency for Asylum) financed under this heading seek to tackle the challenges linked to migration and the management of the EU’s external borders and to the safeguarding of the asylum
system within the EU.
Heading 5 – Security and Defence
This heading reflects the increased need for cooperation at Union level to address security threats and
increase its strategic autonomy. It includes programmes whose role is to improve the security and safety of Europe’s citizens (Internal Security Fund), to strengthen Europe’s defence capacities (European Defence Fund), and to provide the tools needed to respond to internal and external security challenges.
Heading 6 – Neighbourhood and the World
Programmes under this heading reinforce the EU socio-economic impact in its neighbourhood, in developing countries and the rest of the world. The new NDICI- Global Europe instrument merges several former EU external financing instruments, including cooperation with African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP)
countries previously financed by the European Development Fund. The heading also includes assistance for countries preparing for accession to the EU (Pre-accession assistance) and the Union’s Humanitarian Aid programme.
Heading 7 - European Public Administration
This heading covers administrative expenditure for all institutions, pensions and the European Schools.
S - Special instruments
Flexibility mechanisms in the EU budget enable the EU to mobilise the necessary funds to react to unforeseen events such as crisis, natural disasters and emergency situations. Their scope, financial allocation and operating modalities are provided for in the MFF Regulation and the Inter Institutional
Agreement. They ensure that budgetary resources can respond to evolving priorities, so that every euro is used where it is most needed.
In the annual budgetary nomenclature and implementation, they are identified as special instruments (‘S’), as they can be mobilised over and above the MFF expenditure ceilings, both for commitment and
payment appropriations.
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
149
3.3. MFF DETAILED HEADINGS (PROGRAMMES)
The headings of the MFF are further broken down into detailed headings, corresponding to the main spending programmes (e.g. Horizon 2020, Erasmus+ etc.). Underlying legal bases for budget
implementation are adopted at this programme level. Programmes are the commonly used structure for reporting on implementation and results. Tables by programme are shown in the budgetary implementation reports (see tables 6.6 - 6.10 below).
3.4. NextGenerationEU
With a budget of EUR 420.8 billion for the non-repayable support, NGEU has a major impact on the total EU annual budgets 2021 through to 2026 and on their implementation. In 2021, this amount has been
fully inscribed as assigned revenue appropriations. All commitments for the non-repayable support were entered by 31 December 2023 and will be honoured by payments by 31 December 2026, in accordance with the Articles 3 (4) and 3 (9) of the EURI Regulation59.
For a comprehensive overview of the NGEU activities, consult Section 3 of the Financial Highlights of the Year.
59 Council Regulation (EU) 2020/2094 of 14 December 2020 establishing a European Union Recovery Instrument to
support the recovery in the aftermath of the COVID-19 crisis.
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
150
3.5. ANNUAL BUDGET
The budget adoption procedure is laid down in Article 314 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU. The following diagram presents the deadlines as well as the steps of the budget adoption.
1) In practice, the three institutions endeavour to present their respective documents earlier in the year in order to smooth the process.
2) The Conciliation Committee is composed of the members of the Council or their representatives and an equal number of members representing the European Parliament. The Commission takes part in the Conciliation Committee’s proceedings and takes all the necessary initiatives to reconcile the positions of the European Parliament and the Council.
3) The European Parliament approves the joint text and then, within 14 days of the Council’s
rejection, decides (by a majority of its component members and 3/5 of the votes cast) to confirm
all or some of its amendments.
The budget structure for the Commission consists of administrative and operational appropriations. The other Institutions have only administrative appropriations. Furthermore, the budget distinguishes between two types of appropriations: non-differentiated and differentiated. Non-differentiated appropriations are used to finance operations of an annual nature (which comply with the principle of annuality). Differentiated appropriations are used in order to reconcile the principle of annuality with the
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
151
need to manage multiannual operations. Differentiated appropriations are split into commitment and
payment appropriations:
— commitment appropriations: cover the total cost of the legal obligations, entered into for the current financial year, for operations extending over a number of years. However, budgetary commitments for actions extending over more than one financial year may be broken down over several years, into annual instalments, where the basic act so provides.
— payment appropriations: cover expenditure arising from commitments entered into in the current
financial year and/or earlier financial years.
In the accounts, the types of funding are grouped into two main items:
— Final adopted budget appropriations; and
— Additional appropriations containing:
– Carry-overs from previous year (the Financial Regulation allows, for a limited number of cases, to carry unspent amounts from the previous year into the current year); and
– Assigned revenue arising from reimbursements, contributions from third parties/countries to EU programmes and work performed for third parties; these are assigned directly to the
corresponding expenditure budget lines and constitute the third pillar of funding.
All funding types together form the available appropriations.
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
152
3.6. REVENUE
3.6.1. Own resources revenue
The vast majority of revenue comes from own resources, which consist of the following categories:
(1) Traditional own resources (TOR): accounted for around 14% of own resources revenue in 2025.
(2) Value added tax (VAT) based resource: accounted for around 17% of own resources revenue in 2025.
(3) Resource based on plastic packaging waste that is not recycled: accounted for around 5% of own
resources revenue in 2025.
(4) Gross national income (GNI) based resource: accounted for around 64% of own resources
revenue in 2024.
Council Decision (EU, Euratom) 2020/2053 of 14 December 2020 on the system of own resources of the EU (Own Resources Decision 2020) specifies the categories of own resources and lays down the methods for their calculation. This decision entered into force on 1 June 2021 and was applied retroactively from 1 January 2021.
The Own Resources Decision 2020 stipulates that the total amount of own resources allocated to the
Union to cover annual appropriations for payments shall not exceed 1.40% of the sum of all the Member States’ GNIs. In addition, the decision empowers the Commission on an exceptional basis to borrow temporarily up to EUR 750 billion in 2018 prices on the capital markets on behalf of the Union to address
the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic through the recovery instrument NextGenerationEU. The own resources ceiling for appropriations for payments will be increased temporarily by 0.6 percentage points to cover all liabilities resulting from this borrowing.
As from 2021, ‘other revenue’ of the EU budget includes the financial contributions from the United
Kingdom resulting from the financial settlement under the UK Withdrawal Agreement.
3.6.2. Traditional own resources (TOR)
TOR consist of customs duties levied on imports from third countries, which are collected by Member States on behalf of the EU. However, Member States retain 25% to cover their collection costs. All established TOR amounts must be entered in one of the following accounts kept by the competent authorities:
In the ordinary accounts provided for in Article 6(3) of Council Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 609/2014: all amounts recovered or guaranteed.
In the separate accounts provided for in the same Article: all amounts not yet recovered and/or not guaranteed; amounts guaranteed but challenged may also be entered in this account.
Member States must book TOR to the Commission’s account via their treasury or national central bank no later than the first working day after the 19th day of the second month following the month in which the entitlement was established (or recovered in the case of the separate account).
3.6.3. Value added tax (VAT)
The VAT own resource is calculated based on Member States’ VAT bases, which are harmonised for this purpose in accordance with EU rules. A uniform call rate of 0.30% applies to each Member State’s total amount of VAT receipts collected for all taxable supplies divided by the weighted average VAT rate. The VAT base is capped at 50% of each Member State’s GNI.
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
153
3.6.4. Non-recycled plastic packaging waste
A uniform call rate of EUR 0.80 per kilogram applies to the weight of plastic packaging waste generated in each Member State that is not recycled. The plastic packaging waste that is not recycled in a given year is calculated as the difference between the plastic packaging waste generated and the plastic packaging waste recycled in that year in a Member State. Bulgaria, Czechia, Estonia, Greece, Spain, Croatia, Italy, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia and
Slovakia are entitled to specific annual lump sum reductions in their respective plastics own resource contributions.
3.6.5. Gross national income (GNI)
The resource based on gross national income (GNI) is used to finance that part of the budget that is not
covered by other revenue sources. A uniform call rate is levied on each Member State’s GNI, which is established in accordance with EU rules.
3.6.6. Gross reduction
For the period 2021-2027, the following Member States benefit from a gross reduction in their annual GNI-based contributions; EUR 565 million for Austria, EUR 377 million for Denmark, EUR 3 671 million for Germany, EUR 1 921 million for the Netherlands and EUR 1 069 million for Sweden. These gross reductions are measured in 2020 prices and financed by all Member States.
3.6.7. Adjustments to own resources of previous financial years
VAT and GNI-based resources are determined on the basis of forecasts of the relevant bases made when the draft budget is prepared. These forecasts are subsequently revised and updated during the budget year concerned, by means of an amending budget. Differences between the amounts due by the Member States with reference to the actual bases, and the amounts actually paid on the basis of the (revised) forecasts, either positive or negative, are called by the Commission from the Member States for the first working day of March of the third year following the budget year concerned. Corrections may still be
made to the actual VAT and GNI bases during the subsequent four years, unless a reservation is issued. These reservations represent potential claims on the Member States for uncertain amounts, as their financial impact cannot be accurately estimated. When the exact amount can be determined, the corresponding VAT and GNI-based resources are called either in connection with the VAT and GNI balances exercise or by individual calls for funds.The forecast of the plastics-based own resource is adjusted in a similar way. However, the differences between the amounts due by the Member States
according to their annual statements with the outturn data, and the amounts actually paid on the basis of the (revised) forecasts, either positive or negative, are called by the Commission from the Member States
for the first working day of June of the third year following the budget year concerned. Corrections may still be made to the actual bases during the subsequent five years, unless a reservation is issued.
3.7. CALCULATION OF THE BUDGET RESULT
The budget result of the EU is returned to the Member States during the following year through deduction of their amounts due for that year.
The amounts of own resources entered in the accounts are those credited during the course of the year to the accounts opened in the Commission's name by the governments of the Member States. Revenue comprises also, in the case of a surplus, the budget result for the previous financial year. The other
revenue entered in the accounts is the amount actually received during the course of the year.
For the purposes of calculating the budget result for the year, expenditure comprises payments made against the year's appropriations plus any of the appropriations for that year that are carried over to the following year. Payments made against the year's appropriations means payments that are made by the Accounting Officer by 31 December of the financial year. For the EAGF, payments are those effected by the Member States between 16 October N-1 and 15 October N, provided that the Accounting Officer was
notified of the commitment and authorisation by 31 January N+1. EAGF expenditure may be subject to a conformity decision following controls in the Member States.
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
154
In accordance with Article 1(1) of Regulation No 608/2014 laying down implementing measures for the
system of own resources, the budget result represents the difference between:
– total revenue received for the financial year; and
– total payments made against current year's appropriations plus the total amount of that year's appropriations carried over to the following year.
The following are added to or deducted from the resulting figure:
– the net balance of cancellations of payment appropriations carried over from previous years and any payments which, because of fluctuations in the euro rate, exceed non-differentiated appropriations carried over from the previous year;
– the evolution of assigned revenue; and
– the net exchange rate gains or losses recorded during the year.
Appropriations carried over from the previous financial year in respect of contributions by and work for third parties, which by definition never lapse, are included as additional appropriations for the financial year. This explains the difference between carryovers from the previous year in the year N budget implementation reports and those carried over to the following year in the year N-1 budget
implementation reports. Commitment appropriations made available again following the repayment of payments on account are disregarded when calculating the budget result.
Payment appropriations carried over include automatic carry-overs and carry-overs by decision. The cancellation of unused payment appropriations carried over from the previous year comprises the cancellations of appropriations carried over automatically and by decision.
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
155
3.8. RECONCILIATION OF ECONOMIC RESULT WITH BUDGET RESULT
EUR million
2025 2024
ECONOMIC RESULT OF THE YEAR (54 639) (97 208)
Revenue
Entitlements established in current year but not yet collected (5 188) (6 773)
Entitlements established in previous years and collected in current year 3 339 9 925
Entitlements collected not to be treated as revenue in the economic result 42 358 83 953
Accrued revenue (net) (1 284) (723)
39 225 86 382
Expenses
Accrued expenses (net) 45 735 10 599
Expenses prior year paid in current year (10 067) (2 220)
Net-effect pre-financing (11 778) (11 678)
Payment appropriations carried over to next year (6 296) (4 031)
Payments made from carry-overs & cancellation of unused payment appropriations
478 1 711
Movement in provisions (3 485) 9 948
Other 3 075 7 757
17 662 12 086
Economic result Agencies and ECSC i.L. (170) 85
BUDGET RESULT OF THE YEAR 2 078 1 344
In accordance with the Financial Regulation, the economic result of the year is calculated on the basis of accrual accounting principles and the EU Accounting Rules, while the budget result is based on modified cash accounting rules. As the economic result and the budget result cover the same underlying transactions – the exception being the other (non-budgetary) sources of revenue and expenditure of the agencies and the ECSC i.L. which are included in the economic result only – the reconciliation of the economic result of the year with the budget result of the year serves as a useful consistency check.
Reconciling items – Revenue
The actual budgetary revenue for a financial year corresponds to the revenue collected from entitlements established in the course of the year and amounts collected from entitlements established in previous
years. Therefore the entitlements established in the current year but not yet collected are to be deducted from the economic result for reconciliation purposes as they do not form part of budgetary revenue. On the contrary the entitlements established in previous years and collected in current year must be added to the economic result for reconciliation purposes. Some entitlements collected are not to be treated as
revenue in the economic result and must also be added for reconciliation purposes. They are mostly related to Next Generation EU financing.
The accrued revenue mainly consists of amounts related to financial corrections, own resources, interests and dividends. Only the net effect, i.e. accrued revenue for current year minus reversal accrued revenue from previous year, is taken into consideration.
Reconciling items – Expenditure
The accrued expenses mainly consists of accruals made for year-end cut-off purposes, i.e. eligible
expenses incurred by beneficiaries of EU funds but not yet reported to the Commission. Only the net- effect, i.e. accrued expenses for current year minus the reversal of accrued expenses from the previous year, is taken into consideration. Payments made in the current year relating to invoices registered in prior years are part of current year's budgetary expenditure and therefore must be added to the economic result for reconciliation purposes. Due to the adoption of a new financial IT system in 2025, a temporary methodology has been used for this year that can result in some transfers between these two
categories.
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
156
The net effect of pre-financing is the combination of (1) the new pre-financing amounts paid in the
current year and recognised as budgetary expenditure of the year and (2) the clearing of the pre- financing through eligible costs accepted during the current year. The latter represent an expense in accrual terms but not in the budgetary accounts since the payment of the initial pre-financing had already been considered as a budgetary expenditure at the time of its payment.
As well as the payments made against the year's appropriations, the appropriations for that year that are carried forward to the next year also need to be taken into account in calculating the budget result for
the year (in accordance with Article 1(1) of Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 608/2014). The same applies for the budgetary payments made in the current year from carry-overs from previous years, and the cancellation of unused payment appropriations.
The movement in provisions relates to year-end estimates made in the financial statements (employee benefits mainly) that do not impact the budgetary accounts. Other reconciling amounts comprise different elements such as asset amortisation/depreciation, asset acquisitions, capital lease payments and financial
participations for which the budgetary and accrual accounting treatments differ.
Reconciling item – Economic result Agencies and ECSC i.L.
The budget result of the year is a non-consolidated figure and does not include the other (non-budgetary) sources of revenue and expenditure of the consolidated agencies and the ECSC i.L. (see note 6). To reconcile the economic result of the year – a consolidated figure which includes these amounts – with the budgetary result of the year, the whole consolidated economic result of the year of the agencies and the ECSC i.L. is presented as a reconciling item.
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
157
IMPLEMENTATION OF THE 2025 EU BUDGET
Please see Section 2, “Summary of budget implementation" in the Financial Highlights of the Year for explanatory notes on the 2025 budget implementation for revenue and expenditure, outstanding commitments and budget result.
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
158
IMPLEMENTATION OF EU BUDGET REVENUE
5.1. SUMMARY OF THE IMPLEMENTATION OF EU BUDGET REVENUE
EUR million
Income
appropriations Entitlements established Revenue
Revenue as % of
budget
Out- standing
Title Initial
adopted budget
Final adopted budget
Current year
Carried over
Total
On entitle-
ments of current year
On entitle- ments carried
over Revenue
1 Own Resources 151 161 154 322 155 417 32 155 448 155 414 4 155 418 101 % 30
2 Surpluses, Balances And Adjustments – 1 345 1 362 – 1 362 1 362 – 1 362 101 % –
3 Administrative Revenue 2 425 2 425 3 228 44 3 272 3 200 26 3 226 133 % 45
4 Financial Revenue, Default Interest And Fines 183 1 659 5 722 13 152 18 874 1 388 1 230 2 618 158 % 16 256
5 Budgetary Guarantees, Borrowing-And-Lending Operations
– – 40 771 44 40 815 40 722 44 40 766 49
6 Revenue, Contributions And Refunds Related To Union Policies
1 440 1 412 21 024 2 992 24 016 18 960 2 048 21 008 1 487 % 3 008
TOTAL 155 209 161 163 227 523 16 264 243 787 221 046 3 352 224 398 139 % 19 389
DETAIL TITLE 1: Own Resources
Income
appropriations Entitlements established Revenue
Revenue as % of
budget
Out- standing
Chapter Initial
adopted budget
Final adopted budget
Current year
Carried over
Total
On entitle-
ments of current year
On entitle- ments carried
over Revenue
1 1 Levies And Other Duties Provided For Under The Common Organisation Of The Markets In Sugar
– (0) (0) – – – (0)
1 2 Customs Duties And Other Duties 21 082 22 179 23 037 32 23 068 23 034 4 23 038 104 % 30
1 3 Own Resource Based On Value Added Tax 24 395 23 815 23 860 – 23 860 23 860 – 23 860 100 % –
1 4 Own Resource Based On Gross National Income
98 563 101 480 101 682 – 101 682 101 682 – 101 682 100 % (0)
1 6 Gni Lump-Sum Reductions Granted To Certain Member States And Their Financing
– – (25) – (25) (25) – (25) –
1 7 Own Resource Based On Non-Recycled Plastic Packaging Waste
7 121 6 848 6 863 – 6 863 6 863 – 6 863 100 % –
TOTAL 151 161 154 322 155 417 32 155 448 155 414 4 155 418 101 % 30
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
159
IMPLEMENTATION OF EU BUDGET EXPENDITURE
6.1. MFF: BREAKDOWN & CHANGES IN COMMITMENT & PAYMENT APPROPRIATIONS
EUR million
Commitment appropriations Payment appropriations
Budget appropriations Additional
appropriations Total
appropr. available
Budget appropriations Additional appropriat.
Total appropr. available
MFF Heading Initial
adopted budget
Amendin g
budgets &
transfers
Final adopted budget
Carry- overs
Assigned revenue
Initial adopted budget
Amendin g
budgets &
transfers
Final adopted budget
Carry- overs
Assigned revenue
1 2 3=1+2 4 5 6=3+4+5 7 8 9=7+8 10 11 12=9+10
+11
1 Single Market, Innovation and Digital
21 480 59 21 539 116 8 810 30 466 20 461 (205) 20 255 107 13 673 34 035
2 Cohesion, Resilience and Values 77 980 (1) 77 979 0 2 825 80 804 44 445 2 696 47 141 1 897 47 563 96 601
3 Natural Resources and Environment 56 731 (32) 56 700 366 1 894 58 961 52 092 3 948 56 039 375 4 914 61 329
4 Migration and Border Management 4 791 (146) 4 645 – 693 5 338 3 204 360 3 564 28 794 4 386
5 Security and Defence 2 633 0 2 633 – 109 2 742 2 143 (304) 1 839 6 103 1 947
6 Neighbourhood and the World 16 308 584 16 892 970 2 966 20 828 14 426 584 15 010 116 3 343 18 469
7 European Public Administration 12 845 (79) 12 766 1 2 348 15 115 12 845 (79) 12 766 927 2 440 16 133
O Outside MFF 4 320 (0) 4 320 31 7 415 11 767 3 274 (469) 2 805 121 13 069 15 994
S Solidarity mechanisms within and outside the Union (Special instruments)
2 349 (584) 1 766 310 9 2 085 2 320 (576) 1 744 310 9 2 063
TOTAL 199 438 (199) 199 239 1 795 27 070 228 104 155 209 5 953 161 163 3 887 85 907 250 956
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
160
6.2. MFF: IMPLEMENTATION OF COMMITMENT APPROPRIATIONS
EUR million
Total
appropr. available
Commitments made Appropriations carried
over to 2026
Appropriations lapsing
MFF Heading
from final
adopted budget
from carry- overs
from assigned revenue
Total %
from final
adopted budget
from assigned revenue
Total
from final
adopted budget
from carry- overs
from assigned revenue
Total
1 2 3 4 5=2+3+4 6=5/1 7 8 9=7+8 10 11 12 13=10+ 11+12
1 Single Market, Innovation and Digital
30 466 21 532 116 5 446 27 095 89 % 0 3 362 3 362 7 (0) 2 9
2 Cohesion, Resilience and Values 80 804 76 865 0 2 019 78 884 98 % (1) 776 776 1 113 1 30 1 144
3 Natural Resources and Environment
58 961 56 472 192 995 57 658 98 % 391 705 1 096 11 (0) 195 206
4 Migration and Border Management
5 338 4 644 – 94 4 738 89 % – 599 599 0 – 0 1
5 Security and Defence 2 742 2 620 – 46 2 666 97 % 12 63 75 0 – 0 0
6 Neighbourhood and the World 20 828 16 218 929 2 498 19 645 94 % 682 468 1 151 0 32 0 32
7 European Public Administration 15 115 12 707 1 1 247 13 955 92 % 0 1 099 1 099 59 (0) 3 62
O Outside MFF 11 767 4 269 31 2 110 6 409 54 % 51 5 306 5 357 0 1 – 1
S Solidarity mechanisms within and outside the Union (Special instruments)
2 085 755 310 – 1 065 51 % 997 1 998 14 – 7 21
Sum: 228 104 196 083
1 580 14 454 212 116 93 % 2 133 12 379 14 512 1 206 33 237 1 476
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
161
6.3. MFF: IMPLEMENTATION OF PAYMENT APPROPRIATIONS
EUR million
Total
appropr. available
MFF Heading
from final
adopted budget
from carry- overs
from assigned revenue
Total %
from final
adopted budget
from assigned revenue
Total
from final
adopted budget
from carry- overs
from assigned revenue
Total
1 2 3 4 5=2+3+
4 6=5/1 7 8 9=7+8 10 11 12
13=10+ 11+12
1 Single Market, Innovation and Digital
34 035 20 128 96 4 258 24 483 72 % 107 9 414 9 521 20 10 0 31
2 Cohesion, Resilience and Values
96 601 45 231 1 895 45 180 92 306 96 % 1 906 2 377 4 283 4 2 6 11
3 Natural Resources and Environment
61 329 55 799 200 3 590 59 589 97 % 399 1 323 1 722 16 0 0 17
4 Migration and Border Management
4 386 3 560 19 239 3 819 87 % 3 554 557 1 9 0 10
5 Security and Defence 1 947 1 814 5 52 1 872 96 % 22 51 73 3 0 0 3
6 Neighbourhood and the World 18 469 14 444 89 2 637 17 170 93 % 584 706 1 290 7 2 0 9
7 European Public Administration
16 133 11 775 847 1 144 13 767 85 % 932 1 291 2 222 59 80 5 144
O Outside MFF 15 994 1 693 113 514 2 319 15 % 1 120 12 555 13 675 0 0 – 0
S Solidarity mechanisms within and outside the Union (Special instruments)
2 063 729 310 9 1 048 51 % 1 015 – 1 015 0 0 – 0
TOTAL 250 956 155 173 3 575 57 624 216 373 86 % 6 087 28 271 34 358 110 104 12 226
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
162
6.4. MFF: MOVEMENTS IN OUTSTANDING COMMITMENTS (RAL)
EUR million
MFF Heading
Commit. carried forward from prev.
year
Commit. made during the year
Variations on Commitments carried
forward Payments
Total commitm. outstanding at end of
the year
1 2 3 4 5=1+2+3+4
1 Single Market, Innovation and Digital 51 164 27 095 (583) (24 482) 53 194
2 Cohesion, Resilience and Values 344 088 78 884 (275) (92 361) 330 336
3 Natural Resources and Environment 50 867 57 658 (263) (59 544) 48 718
4 Migration and Border Management 5 754 4 738 (0) (3 809) 6 683
5 Security and Defence 4 445 2 666 (1) (1 872) 5 239
6 Neighbourhood and the World 42 097 19 645 (443) (17 170) 44 129
7 European Public Administration 1 011 13 955 (65) (13 767) 1 134
O Outside MFF 7 899 6 409 (410) (2 319) 11 578
S Solidarity mechanisms within and outside the Union (Special instruments)
53 1 065 – (1 048) 71
TOTAL 507 378 212 116 (2 039) (216 371) 501 084
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
163
6.5. MFF: OUTSTANDING COMMITMENTS BY YEAR OF ORIGIN
EUR million
MFF heading <2018 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 Total
1 Single Market, Innovation and Digital 617 411 1 430 2 551 2 771 4 555 6 282 15 261 19 315 53 194
2 Cohesion, Resilience and Values 1 368 225 538 1 061 878 13 776 52 352 190 270 69 869 330 336
3 Natural Resources and Environment 2 507 907 896 946 275 2 859 3 882 19 889 16 558 48 718
4 Migration and Border Management 72 47 97 553 69 110 679 1 920 3 138 6 683
5 Security and Defence 27 55 78 125 364 410 725 1 367 2 089 5 239
6 Neighbourhood and the World 1 032 943 1 047 1 370 2 908 6 392 7 312 10 589 12 534 44 129
7 European Public Administration 1 51 1 083 1 134
O Outside MFF 8 287 3 291 11 578
S Solidarity mechanisms within and outside the Union (Special instruments)
– 0 71 71
Total 5 623 2 588 4 086 6 605 7 265 28 101 71 232 247 636 127 948 501 084
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
164
6.6. DETAILED MFF: BREAKDOWN AND CHANGES IN COMMITMENT AND PAYMENT APPROPRIATIONS
EUR million
Commitment appropriations Payment appropriations
Budget appropriations Additional
appropriations
Total appropr. available
Budget appropriations Additional
appropriations
Total appropr. available
MFF Heading Initial
adopted budget
Amendin g
budgets &
transfers
Final adopted budget
Carry- overs
Assigned revenue
Initial adopted budget
Amendin g
budgets &
transfers
Final adopted budget
Carry- overs
Assigned revenue
1 2 3=1+2 4 5 6=3+4+ 5
7 8 9=7+8 10 11 12=9+1 0+11
1 Horizon Europe 12 762 1 12 763 116 6 334 19 213 11 119 3 11 122 67 9 936 21 125
Euratom Research and Training Programme 288 (1) 287 0 118 405 264 (3) 261 18 135 414
International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER)
487 – 487 – 4 490 642 – 642 1 4 647
Other actions – – – – 629 629 – – – – 413 413
Pilot projects and preparatory actions 10 – 10 – 0 10 20 (4) 17 – 0 17
InvestEU Fund 378 – 378 – 916 1 294 530 (29) 501 1 1 991 2 493
Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) - Transport 1 674 1 1 675 – 70 1 745 2 398 (2) 2 396 1 48 2 445
Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) - Energy 927 (1) 926 – 71 996 708 25 733 1 70 804
Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) - Digital 226 0 226 – 4 230 183 (10) 173 0 3 177
Digital Europe Programme 1 097 (0) 1 097 – 92 1 189 1 136 (83) 1 053 6 96 1 154
Decentralised agencies 231 (2) 230 – 10 240 231 (2) 230 – 10 240
Other actions – 1 1 – 168 169 – 1 1 – 226 227
Pilot projects and preparatory actions 9 (0) 9 – 0 9 13 (0) 13 – 0 13
Actions financed under the prerogatives of the Commission and specific competences conferred to the Commission
25 1 26 0 4 29 24 3 27 – 3 30
Single Market Programme (incl. SMEs) 613 1 614 0 48 663 615 88 704 7 69 780
EU Anti-Fraud Programme 27 0 27 0 1 28 31 (2) 29 – 1 30
Cooperation in the field of taxation (Fiscalis) 39 (0) 39 – 1 40 31 12 43 0 1 44
Cooperation in the field of customs (Customs) 138 60 198 – 10 208 113 31 144 0 10 153
Decentralised agencies 154 (2) 152 – 12 165 154 (2) 152 – 12 164
Other actions 7 (0) 7 – 1 8 8 (0) 7 – 0 8
Pilot projects and preparatory actions 13 – 13 – – 13 13 (2) 11 – – 11
European Space Programme 2 051 (0) 2 051 – 317 2 368 1 983 (159) 1 823 4 640 2 467
Decentralised agencies 80 – 80 – 3 83 80 – 80 – 3 83
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
165
EUR million
Commitment appropriations Payment appropriations
Budget appropriations Additional
appropriations
Total appropr. available
Budget appropriations Additional
appropriations
Total appropr. available
MFF Heading Initial
adopted budget
Amendin g
budgets &
transfers
Final adopted budget
Carry- overs
Assigned revenue
Initial adopted budget
Amendin g
budgets &
transfers
Final adopted budget
Carry- overs
Assigned revenue
Pilot projects and preparatory actions 45 – 45 – – 45 16 (10) 6 – – 6
Union Secure Connectivity 196 – 196 – – 196 150 (61) 89 0 – 89
Total Heading 1: Single Market, Innovation and Digital
21 480 59 21 539 116 8 810 30 466 20 461 (205) 20 255 107 13 673 34 035
2 European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) 40 455 2 40 457 – 410 40 867 21 327 (488) 20 839 0 2 555 23 394
Cohesion Fund (CF) 7 053 (2) 7 052 – 233 7 285 3 078 2 445 5 523 0 233 5 756
Cohesion Fund (CF), contribution to the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) - Transport
1 668 – 1 668 – 21 1 688 1 303 46 1 350 – 14 1 364
Pilot projects and preparatory actions 4 – 4 – 0 4 2 (0) 2 – 0 2
European Social Fund Plus (ESF+) 17 184 0 17 184 – 105 17 288 7 550 693 8 243 1 2 722 10 966
Pilot projects and preparatory actions 2 – 2 – – 2 0 0 0 – 0 1
Support to the Turkish-Cypriot Community 35 – 35 – 0 36 34 6 40 0 0 41
European Recovery and Resilience Facility (incl. Technical Support Instrument)
126 (5) 121 – 560 681 125 (5) 120 2 40 222 40 344
Protection of the euro against counterfeiting (the `Pericles IV programme')
1 – 1 – 0 1 1 (0) 1 – 0 1
Financing cost of the European Union Recovery Instrument (EURI)
4 967 0 4 967 – 144 5 111 4 967 0 4 967 1 863 145 6 976
Union Civil Protection Mechanism (RescEU) 211 0 211 0 38 250 108 25 133 – 314 446
EU4Health 583 0 583 – 27 609 585 (52) 532 4 21 557
Instrument for emergency support within the Union (ESI)
– – – – 1 1 1 (1) – – 26 26
Decentralised agencies 286 0 286 – 26 312 273 1 274 – 25 299
Pilot projects and preparatory actions – – – – – – – – – – – –
Actions financed under the prerogatives of the Commission and specific competences conferred to the Commission
12 3 16 – – 16 12 1 13 – – 13
Employment and Social Innovation 109 (2) 107 – 9 116 76 3 78 1 11 91
Erasmus+ 3 969 (0) 3 969 – 1 135 5 105 3 766 31 3 797 18 1 151 4 966
European Solidarity Corps (ESC) 147 0 147 – 74 221 133 5 138 3 78 220
Creative Europe 352 (0) 352 – 21 373 347 (23) 324 2 23 350
Justice 42 (0) 42 0 1 43 38 4 41 1 1 43
Rights and Values 236 1 238 – 2 240 188 3 191 1 2 194
Decentralised agencies 324 – 324 – 12 336 322 (1) 321 – 12 333
Other actions 9 (0) 9 – 0 9 7 2 9 – 0 9
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
166
EUR million
Commitment appropriations Payment appropriations
Budget appropriations Additional
appropriations
Total appropr. available
Budget appropriations Additional
appropriations
Total appropr. available
MFF Heading Initial
adopted budget
Amendin g
budgets &
transfers
Final adopted budget
Carry- overs
Assigned revenue
Initial adopted budget
Amendin g
budgets &
transfers
Final adopted budget
Carry- overs
Assigned revenue
Pilot projects and preparatory actions 19 – 19 – 0 19 26 (1) 25 – 0 25
Actions financed under the prerogatives of the Commission and specific competences conferred to the Commission
186 1 186 – 5 191 176 2 178 – 5 183
Total Heading 2: Cohesion, Resilience and Values
77 980 (1) 77 979 0 2 825 80 804 44 445 2 696 47 141 1 897 47 563 96 601
3 European Agricultural Guarantee Fund (EAGF) 39 976 0 39 976 366 995 41 338 40 031 (16) 40 014 367 995 41 377
European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD)
13 226 – 13 226 0 343 13 569 10 497 3 912 14 409 0 1 964 16 373
European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund (EMFAF)
946 (0) 946 – 23 969 661 8 668 1 2 671
Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Agreements (SFPA) and Regional Fisheries Management Organisations (RFMO)
157 (40) 117 – – 117 141 (30) 111 – – 111
Decentralised agencies 30 – 30 – 1 32 30 – 30 – 1 32
Pilot projects and preparatory actions 1 – 1 – – 1 5 (2) 4 – – 4
Programme for Environment and Climate Action (LIFE)
776 6 782 (0) 9 791 596 78 675 8 7 690
Just Transition Fund 1 514 – 1 514 – 86 1 600 6 (3) 3 – 1 432 1 436
Public sector loan facility under the Just Transition Mechanism (JTM)
– – – – 428 428 25 – 25 – 503 528
Decentralised agencies 77 (6) 71 – 9 79 77 (6) 71 – 9 79
Pilot projects and preparatory actions 2 – 2 – – 2 5 (1) 4 – – 4
Actions financed under the prerogatives of the Commission and specific competences conferred to the Commission
26 8 35 – – 35 16 9 25 – – 25
Total Heading 3: Natural Resources and Environment
56 731 (32) 56 700 366 1 894 58 961 52 092 3 948 56 039 375 4 914 61 329
4 Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund 1 869 48 1 917 – 243 2 159 1 165 42 1 207 2 241 1 450
Decentralised agencies 234 (48) 186 – 9 195 234 (38) 196 – 9 205
Integrated Border Management Fund (IBMF) - Instrument for border management and visa (BMVI)
1 235 – 1 235 – 369 1 603 462 357 819 1 471 1 291
Integrated Border Management Fund (IBMF) - Instrument for financial support for customs control equipment (CCEi)
147 (146) 0 – 0 0 56 (48) 8 24 – 32
Decentralised agencies 1 307 – 1 307 – 73 1 380 1 287 47 1 334 – 73 1 407
Total Heading 4: Migration and Border Management
4 791 (146) 4 645 – 693 5 338 3 204 360 3 564 28 794 4 386
5 Internal Security Fund (ISF) 337 (0) 337 – 51 388 227 16 244 1 51 296
Nuclear decommissioning (Lithuania) 75 – 75 – – 75 90 – 90 – – 90
Nuclear Safety and decommissioning (incl. For Bulgaria and Slovakia)
70 (0) 70 – 0 70 91 (28) 63 2 – 64
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
167
EUR million
Commitment appropriations Payment appropriations
Budget appropriations Additional
appropriations
Total appropr. available
Budget appropriations Additional
appropriations
Total appropr. available
MFF Heading Initial
adopted budget
Amendin g
budgets &
transfers
Final adopted budget
Carry- overs
Assigned revenue
Initial adopted budget
Amendin g
budgets &
transfers
Final adopted budget
Carry- overs
Assigned revenue
Decentralised agencies 288 – 288 – 10 298 288 2 290 – 10 300
Pilot projects and preparatory actions – – – – – – – 1 1 – – 1
Actions financed under the prerogatives of the Commission and specific competences conferred to the Commission
23 (0) 23 – 0 24 22 (0) 22 – 0 22
European Defence Fund (Research) 404 (14) 390 – 10 400 314 (27) 287 1 8 296
European Defence Fund (Non Research) 1 030 (31) 999 – 28 1 027 702 (157) 545 2 19 566
Military Mobility 252 – 252 – 0 252 137 – 137 0 0 137
Short-term Defence instrument on common procurement
40 – 40 – 1 41 100 (40) 60 – 3 63
Defence Industrial Reinforcement Instrument – – – – 8 8 120 (70) 50 – 11 61
European Defence Industry Programme 2 (2) – – – – 2 (2) – – – –
Pilot projects and preparatory actions – – – – – – – – – – – –
Union Secure Connectivity 111 47 158 – – 158 50 1 51 – – 51
Total Heading 5: Security and Defence 2 633 – 2 633 – 109 2 742 2 143 (304) 1 839 6 103 1 947
6 Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument - Global Europe ( NDICI - Global Europe )
10 891 20 10 911 736 645 12 292 9 672 121 9 793 70 919 10 782
European Instrument for International Nuclear Safety Cooperation (INSC)
44 0 44 1 21 66 38 17 54 1 14 69
Humanitarian Aid (HUMA) 1 944 625 2 569 – 19 2 588 1 860 610 2 470 6 16 2 493
Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) 394 (0) 393 – 36 429 394 6 399 1 38 439
Overseas Countries and Territories (OCT) (including Greenland)
73 – 73 2 34 108 76 (15) 61 4 25 90
MFA+ 0 0 0 – 591 591 0 0 0 – 679 680
Ukraine Loan Cooperation Mechanism – – – – 1 535 1 535 – – – – 1 535 1 535
Other actions 148 (60) 88 – 1 89 108 (61) 47 – 1 48
Pilot projects and preparatory actions – – – – – – – – – – – –
Union Secure Connectivity 50 – 50 – – 50 – – – – – –
Actions financed under the prerogatives of the Commission and specific competences conferred to the Commission
96 (1) 95 – 1 95 92 (4) 88 – 0 88
Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA III) 2 170 (0) 2 170 129 85 2 384 2 086 (90) 1 995 11 115 2 122
Reform and Growth Facility for Western Balkans
499 (0) 499 101 – 600 101 0 101 23 – 124
Total Heading 6: Neighbourhood and the World
16 308 584 16 892 970 2 966 20 828 14 426 584 15 010 116 3 343 18 469
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
168
EUR million
Commitment appropriations Payment appropriations
Budget appropriations Additional
appropriations
Total appropr. available
Budget appropriations Additional
appropriations
Total appropr. available
MFF Heading Initial
adopted budget
Amendin g
budgets &
transfers
Final adopted budget
Carry- overs
Assigned revenue
Initial adopted budget
Amendin g
budgets &
transfers
Final adopted budget
Carry- overs
Assigned revenue
7 Staff Pensions 2 795 (5) 2 790 – 312 3 102 2 795 (5) 2 790 – 312 3 102
(Pensions of former Members) European Parliament
22 (3) 19 – – 19 22 (3) 19 – – 19
(Pensions of former Members) European Council and Council
1 (0) 1 – – 1 1 (0) 1 – – 1
(Pensions of former Members) Commission 12 (2) 9 – – 9 12 (2) 9 – – 9
(Pensions of former Members) Court of Justice of the European Union
19 (2) 17 – – 17 19 (2) 17 – – 17
(Pensions of former Members) European Court of Auditors
8 (1) 7 – – 7 8 (1) 7 – – 7
(Pensions of former Members) European Ombudsman
0 0 0 – – 0 0 0 0 – – 0
(Pensions of former Members) European Data Protection Supervisor
0 (0) 0 – – 0 0 (0) 0 – – 0
(European schools) Commission 266 (3) 263 – 35 298 266 (3) 263 0 39 302
Remuneration statutory staff 3 085 (56) 3 028 – 129 3 157 3 085 (56) 3 028 0 129 3 157
Remuneration external staff 311 (11) 300 – 169 469 311 (11) 300 21 172 493
Members - Salaries and allowances 17 3 20 – 0 21 17 3 20 1 0 22
Members - Temporary allowances 5 (2) 2 – – 2 5 (2) 2 – – 2
Recruitment costs 33 0 33 – 0 33 33 0 33 3 0 37
Termination of service 8 (0) 7 – – 7 8 (0) 7 – – 7
Training costs 16 0 17 – 8 25 16 0 17 10 11 37
Social and Mobility 22 1 23 (0) 30 53 22 1 23 7 34 64
Information and communication technology 285 7 292 – 308 600 285 7 292 120 354 765
Rents and purchases 274 48 321 – 690 1 011 274 48 321 30 691 1 042
Linked to buildings 150 (37) 113 – 44 158 150 (37) 113 44 49 207
Security 79 (1) 78 – 14 92 79 (1) 78 25 21 124
Mission and representation 45 16 61 – 4 66 45 16 61 10 5 76
Meetings, committees, conference 16 (4) 12 – 2 14 16 (4) 12 5 3 20
Official journal 4 (2) 2 – 0 2 4 (2) 2 1 0 3
Publications 11 2 13 – 5 17 11 2 13 5 6 24
Acquisition of information 7 0 7 – 1 8 7 0 7 2 1 9
Studies and investigations 7 (2) 5 – 0 5 7 (2) 5 5 0 10
General equipment, vehicle, furniture 29 (4) 25 – 5 30 29 (4) 25 9 7 41
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
169
EUR million
Commitment appropriations Payment appropriations
Budget appropriations Additional
appropriations
Total appropr. available
Budget appropriations Additional
appropriations
Total appropr. available
MFF Heading Initial
adopted budget
Amendin g
budgets &
transfers
Final adopted budget
Carry- overs
Assigned revenue
Initial adopted budget
Amendin g
budgets &
transfers
Final adopted budget
Carry- overs
Assigned revenue
Linguistic external services 35 (5) 31 – 41 72 35 (5) 31 2 41 74
Other administrative expenditure 20 (3) 17 – 30 46 20 (3) 17 5 37 58
Decentralised agencies – 3 3 – – 3 – 3 3 – – 3
Administrative expenditure of other institutions
5 265 (16) 5 249 1 520 5 769 5 265 (16) 5 249 621 529 6 399
Total Heading 7: European Public Administration
12 845 (79) 12 766 1 2 348 15 115 12 845 (79) 12 766 927 2 440 16 133
O Innovation Fund (IF) – – – – 6 788 6 788 – – – – 12 293 12 293
Ukraine Facility 4 320 (0) 4 320 31 515 4 866 3 274 (469) 2 805 121 662 3 587
Other actions – – – – 112 112 – – – – 114 114
Total Heading O: Outside MFF 4 320 (0) 4 320 31 7 415 11 767 3 274 (469) 2 805 121 13 069 15 994
S European Solidarity Reserve 1 167 0 1 167 310 – 1 477 1 167 0 1 167 310 – 1 477
Emergency Aid Reserve 584 (584) – – – – 584 (584) – – – –
European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF)
34 – 34 – 9 43 5 7 12 0 9 21
Brexit Adjustment Reserve 564 – 564 – – 564 564 – 564 – – 564
Total Heading S: Solidarity mechanisms within and outside the Union (Special instruments)
2 349 (584) 1 766 310 9 2 085 2 320 (576) 1 744 310 9 2 063
TOTAL 199 438 (199) 199 239 1 795 27 070 228 104 155 209 5 953 161 163 3 887 85 907 250 956
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
170
6.7. DETAILED MFF: IMPLEMENTATION OF COMMITMENT APPROPRIATIONS
EUR million
Total appropr. available
Commitments made Appropriations
carried over to 2026
Appropriations lapsing
MFF Heading
from final
adopt ed
budge t
from carry- overs
from assig ned
reven ue
Total %
from final
adopt ed
budge t
from assig ned
reven ue
Total
from final
adopt ed
budge t
from carry- overs
from assig ned
reven ue
Total
1 2 3 4 5=2+ 3+4
6=5/ 1
7 8 9=7+
8 10 11 12
13=10+ 11+12
1 Horizon Europe 19 213 12
758 116 3 941
16 815
88 % (0) 2 390 2 390 5 – 2 7
Euratom Research and Training Programme
405 286 – 90 376 93 % 0 28 28 1 0 0 1
International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER)
490 486 – 1 488 100
% – 2 2 0 – – 0
Other actions 629 – – 167 167 27 % – 462 462 – – 0 0
Pilot projects and preparatory actions
10 10 – – 10 99 % – 0 0 – – 0 0
InvestEU Fund 1 294 378 – 842 1 221 94 % (0) 73 73 0 – – 0
Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) - Transport
1 745 1 675 – 26 1 701 97 % – 44 44 (0) – – (0)
Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) - Energy
996 926 – 1 926 93 % – 70 70 (0) – – (0)
Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) - Digital
230 226 – 3 229 100
% – 1 1 0 – – 0
Digital Europe Programme
1 189 1 097 0 40 1 137 96 % – 52 52 0 (0) 0 0
Decentralised agencies 240 230 – 8 237 99 % – 2 2 0 – 0 0
Other actions 169 1 – 84 85 51 % – 83 83 – – – –
Pilot projects and preparatory actions
9 9 – – 9 100
% – 0 0 – – – –
Actions financed under the prerogatives of the Commission and specific competences conferred to the Commission
29 26 – 3 29 99 % – 0 0 0 0 0 0
Single Market Programme (incl. SMEs)
663 614 0 33 647 98 % – 16 16 0 (0) (0) (0)
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
171
EUR million
Total appropr. available
Commitments made Appropriations
carried over to 2026
Appropriations lapsing
MFF Heading
from final
adopt ed
budge t
from carry- overs
from assig ned
reven ue
Total %
from final
adopt ed
budge t
from assig ned
reven ue
Total
from final
adopt ed
budge t
from carry- overs
from assig ned
reven ue
Total
1 2 3 4 5=2+ 3+4
6=5/ 1
7 8 9=7+
8 10 11 12
13=10+ 11+12
EU Anti-Fraud Programme
28 27 0 1 28 100
% – 0 0 0 0 0 0
Cooperation in the field of taxation (Fiscalis)
40 39 – 0 39 98 % – 1 1 0 – – 0
Cooperation in the field of customs (Customs)
208 198 – 2 200 96 % – 7 7 0 – – 0
Decentralised agencies 165 152 – 6 158 96 % – 6 6 0 – – 0
Other actions 8 7 – 1 8 100
% – – – 0 – – 0
Pilot projects and preparatory actions
13 13 – – 13 100
% – – – – – – –
European Space Programme
2 368 2 051 – 195 2 246 95 % – 122 122 0 – (0) (0)
Decentralised agencies 83 80 – 3 83 100
% – 0 0 – – – –
Pilot projects and preparatory actions
45 45 – – 45 100
% – – – 0 – – 0
Union Secure Connectivity
196 196 – – 196 100
% – – – 0 – – 0
Total Heading 1: Single Market, Innovation and Digital
30 466 21
532 116 5 446
27 095
89 % (0) 3 362 3 362 7 (0) 2 9
2 European Regional Development Fund (ERDF)
40 867 39
650 – 290
39 940
98 % – 90 90 806 – 29 836
Cohesion Fund (CF) 7 285 6 800 – 233 7 034 97 % – – – 252 – – 252
Cohesion Fund (CF), contribution to the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) - Transport
1 688 1 668 – 9 1 677 99 % – 11 11 0 – – 0
Pilot projects and preparatory actions
4 4 – – 4 98 % – – – – – 0 0
European Social Fund Plus (ESF+)
17 288 17
130 – 86
17 216
100 %
(0) 18 18 54 – 0 54
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
172
EUR million
Total appropr. available
Commitments made Appropriations
carried over to 2026
Appropriations lapsing
MFF Heading
from final
adopt ed
budge t
from carry- overs
from assig ned
reven ue
Total %
from final
adopt ed
budge t
from assig ned
reven ue
Total
from final
adopt ed
budge t
from carry- overs
from assig ned
reven ue
Total
1 2 3 4 5=2+ 3+4
6=5/ 1
7 8 9=7+
8 10 11 12
13=10+ 11+12
Pilot projects and preparatory actions
2 2 – – 2 100
% – – – – – – –
Support to the Turkish- Cypriot Community
36 35 – 0 36 100
% – 0 0 0 – 0 0
European Recovery and Resilience Facility (incl. Technical Support Instrument)
681 121 – 506 627 92 % – 54 54 0 – (0) 0
Protection of the euro against counterfeiting (the `Pericles IV programme')
1 1 – 0 1 100
% – (0) (0) 0 – 0 0
Financing cost of the European Union Recovery Instrument (EURI)
5 111 4 967 – 50 5 017 98 % – 93 93 – – 0 0
Union Civil Protection Mechanism (RescEU)
250 211 0 26 237 95 % (1) 12 11 – 1 0 1
EU4Health 609 583 0 24 607 100
% – 2 2 0 (0) 0 (0)
Instrument for emergency support within the Union (ESI)
1 – – – – – – 1 1 – – 0 0
Decentralised agencies 312 286 – 20 305 98 % – 6 6 – – 0 0
Pilot projects and preparatory actions
– – – – – #DIV
/0 – – – – – – –
Actions financed under the prerogatives of the Commission and specific competences conferred to the Commission
16 16 – – 16 99 % – – – 0 – – 0
Employment and Social Innovation
116 106 – 5 112 96 % 0 4 4 1 – – 1
Erasmus+ 5 105 3 969 0 715 4 684 92 % – 420 420 0 (0) 0 0
European Solidarity Corps (ESC)
221 147 – 25 172 78 % – 49 49 – – 0 0
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
173
EUR million
Total appropr. available
Commitments made Appropriations
carried over to 2026
Appropriations lapsing
MFF Heading
from final
adopt ed
budge t
from carry- overs
from assig ned
reven ue
Total %
from final
adopt ed
budge t
from assig ned
reven ue
Total
from final
adopt ed
budge t
from carry- overs
from assig ned
reven ue
Total
1 2 3 4 5=2+ 3+4
6=5/ 1
7 8 9=7+
8 10 11 12
13=10+ 11+12
Creative Europe 373 352 – 15 367 98 % – 6 6 0 – 0 0
Justice 43 42 – 0 42 97 % – 1 1 0 0 – 0
Rights and Values 240 238 – 1 239 100
% – 1 1 0 – – 0
Decentralised agencies 336 324 – 8 332 99 % – 4 4 – – (0) (0)
Other actions 9 9 – 0 9 100
% – – – – – – –
Pilot projects and preparatory actions
19 18 – – 18 98 % – 0 0 0 – 0 0
Actions financed under the prerogatives of the Commission and specific competences conferred to the Commission
191 186 0 4 190 99 % – 1 1 0 (0) 0 0
Total Heading 2: Cohesion, Resilience and Values
80 804 76
865 0 2 019
78
884 98 % (1) 776 776 1 113 1 30 1 144
3 European Agricultural Guarantee Fund (EAGF)
41 338 39
759 192 925
40 875
99 % 391 71 462 0 – (0) 0
European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD)
13 569 13
226 – 1
13 227
97 % – 170 170 0 0 172 172
European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund (EMFAF)
969 946 – 1 946 98 % – 0 0 0 – 23 23
Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Agreements (SFPA) and Regional Fisheries Management Organisations (RFMO)
117 117 – – 117 100
% – – – 0 – – 0
Decentralised agencies 32 30 – 1 31 99 % – 0 0 – – – –
Pilot projects and preparatory actions
1 1 – – 1 100
% – – – – – – –
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
174
EUR million
Total appropr. available
Commitments made Appropriations
carried over to 2026
Appropriations lapsing
MFF Heading
from final
adopt ed
budge t
from carry- overs
from assig ned
reven ue
Total %
from final
adopt ed
budge t
from assig ned
reven ue
Total
from final
adopt ed
budge t
from carry- overs
from assig ned
reven ue
Total
1 2 3 4 5=2+ 3+4
6=5/ 1
7 8 9=7+
8 10 11 12
13=10+ 11+12
Programme for Environment and Climate Action (LIFE)
791 782 – 3 785 99 % – 6 6 0 (0) 0 0
Just Transition Fund 1 600 1 503 – 1 1 504 94 % – 85 85 11 – – 11
Public sector loan facility under the Just Transition Mechanism (JTM)
428 – – 57 57 13 % – 372 372 – – – –
Decentralised agencies 79 71 – 8 79 99 % – 1 1 – – 0 0
Pilot projects and preparatory actions
2 2 – – 2 100
% – – – – – – –
Actions financed under the prerogatives of the Commission and specific competences conferred to the Commission
35 35 – – 35 100
% – – – 0 – – 0
Total Heading 3: Natural Resources and Environment
58 961 56
472 192 995
57 658
98 % 391 705 1 096 11 (0) 195 206
4 Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund
2 159 1 916 – 5 1 921 89 % – 238 238 0 – – 0
Decentralised agencies 195 186 – 6 192 98 % – 4 4 – – 0 0
Integrated Border Management Fund (IBMF) - Instrument for border management and visa (BMVI)
1 603 1 235 – 32 1 266 79 % – 337 337 0 – – 0
Integrated Border Management Fund (IBMF) - Instrument for financial support for customs control equipment (CCEi)
0 0 – – 0 69 % – – – 0 – 0 0
Decentralised agencies 1 380 1 307 – 52 1 359 98 % – 21 21 – – 0 0
Total Heading 4: 5 338 4 644 – 94 4 738 89 % – 599 599 0 – 0 1
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
175
EUR million
Total appropr. available
Commitments made Appropriations
carried over to 2026
Appropriations lapsing
MFF Heading
from final
adopt ed
budge t
from carry- overs
from assig ned
reven ue
Total %
from final
adopt ed
budge t
from assig ned
reven ue
Total
from final
adopt ed
budge t
from carry- overs
from assig ned
reven ue
Total
1 2 3 4 5=2+ 3+4
6=5/ 1
7 8 9=7+
8 10 11 12
13=10+ 11+12
Migration and Border Management
5 Internal Security Fund (ISF)
388 336 – 2 338 87 % – 50 50 0 – – 0
Nuclear decommissioning (Lithuania)
75 75 – – 75 100
% – – – 0 – – 0
Nuclear Safety and decommissioning (incl. For Bulgaria and Slovakia)
70 70 – 0 70 100
% – (0) (0) 0 – 0 0
Decentralised agencies 298 277 – 6 283 95 % 12 4 15 – – 0 0
Pilot projects and preparatory actions
– – – – – #DIV
/0 – – – – – – –
Actions financed under the prerogatives of the Commission and specific competences conferred to the Commission
24 23 – – 23 99 % 0 0 0 0 – 0 0
European Defence Fund (Research)
400 390 – 10 400 100
% – – – 0 – – 0
European Defence Fund (Non Research)
1 027 999 – 27 1 026 100
% – 1 1 – – (0) (0)
Military Mobility 252 252 – – 252 100
% – 0 0 0 – – 0
Short-term Defence instrument on common procurement
41 40 – 1 41 100
% – – – – – – –
Defence Industrial Reinforcement Instrument
8 – – – – – – 8 8 – – – –
European Defence Industry Programme
– – – – – #DIV
/0 – – – – – – –
Pilot projects and preparatory actions
– – – – – #DIV
/0 – – – – – – –
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
176
EUR million
Total appropr. available
Commitments made Appropriations
carried over to 2026
Appropriations lapsing
MFF Heading
from final
adopt ed
budge t
from carry- overs
from assig ned
reven ue
Total %
from final
adopt ed
budge t
from assig ned
reven ue
Total
from final
adopt ed
budge t
from carry- overs
from assig ned
reven ue
Total
1 2 3 4 5=2+ 3+4
6=5/ 1
7 8 9=7+
8 10 11 12
13=10+ 11+12
Union Secure Connectivity
158 158 – – 158 100
% – – – – – – –
Total Heading 5: Security and Defence
2 742 2 620 – 46 2 666 97 % 12 63 75 0 – 0 0
6
Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument - Global Europe ( NDICI - Global Europe )
12 292 10
356 701 305
11 361
92 % 565 339 904 0 26 0 27
European Instrument for International Nuclear
Safety Cooperation (INSC)
66 44 1 21 66 100
% (0) 0 (0) 0 1 (0) 1
Humanitarian Aid (HUMA)
2 588 2 569 – 6 2 575 99 % (0) 13 13 0 – 0 0
Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP)
429 393 – 25 419 98 % – 10 10 0 – 0 0
Overseas Countries and Territories (OCT) (including Greenland)
108 67 1 – 68 62 % 7 34 41 – 0 – 0
MFA+ 591 0 – 570 570 96 % – 21 21 – – 0 0
Ukraine Loan Cooperation Mechanism
1 535 – – 1 535 1 535 100
% – – – – – – –
Other actions 89 88 – 0 88 100
% – 0 0 0 – 0 0
Pilot projects and preparatory actions
– – – – – #DIV
/0 – – – – – – –
Union Secure Connectivity
50 50 – – 50 100
% – – – – – – –
Actions financed under the prerogatives of the Commission and specific competences conferred to the Commission
95 95 (0) 0 95 100
% – 0 0 0 0 0 0
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
177
EUR million
Total appropr. available
Commitments made Appropriations
carried over to 2026
Appropriations lapsing
MFF Heading
from final
adopt ed
budge t
from carry- overs
from assig ned
reven ue
Total %
from final
adopt ed
budge t
from assig ned
reven ue
Total
from final
adopt ed
budge t
from carry- overs
from assig ned
reven ue
Total
1 2 3 4 5=2+ 3+4
6=5/ 1
7 8 9=7+
8 10 11 12
13=10+ 11+12
Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA III)
2 384 2 062 126 35 2 223 93 % 106 50 156 0 5 – 5
Reform and Growth Facility for Western Balkans
600 494 101 – 596 99 % 5 – 5 0 0 – 0
Total Heading 6: Neighbourhood and the World
20 828 16
218 929 2 498
19 645
94 % 682 468 1 151 0 32 0 32
7 Staff Pensions 3 102 2 790 – 312 3 101 100
% – 1 1 – – – –
(Pensions of former Members) European
Parliament
19 19 – – 19 100
% – – – – – – –
(Pensions of former Members) European Council and Council
1 1 – – 1 100
% – – – – – – –
(Pensions of former Members) Commission
9 9 – – 9 100
% – – – – – – –
(Pensions of former Members) Court of Justice of the European Union
17 17 – – 17 100
% – – – – – – –
(Pensions of former Members) European Court of Auditors
7 7 – – 7 100
% – – – – – – –
(Pensions of former Members) European Ombudsman
0 0 – – 0 100
% – – – – – – –
(Pensions of former Members) European Data Protection Supervisor
0 0 – – 0 100
% – – – – – – –
(European schools) Commission
298 263 – 28 291 98 % – 7 7 0 – – 0
Remuneration statutory 3 157 3 027 – 65 3 092 98 % 0 64 64 1 – – 1
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
178
EUR million
Total appropr. available
Commitments made Appropriations
carried over to 2026
Appropriations lapsing
MFF Heading
from final
adopt ed
budge t
from carry- overs
from assig ned
reven ue
Total %
from final
adopt ed
budge t
from assig ned
reven ue
Total
from final
adopt ed
budge t
from carry- overs
from assig ned
reven ue
Total
1 2 3 4 5=2+ 3+4
6=5/ 1
7 8 9=7+
8 10 11 12
13=10+ 11+12
staff
Remuneration external staff
469 299 – 52 351 75 % (0) 116 116 1 – 1 1
Members - Salaries and allowances
21 20 – 0 20 99 % (0) 0 0 0 – – 0
Members - Temporary allowances
2 2 – – 2 100
% – – – – – – –
Recruitment costs 33 33 – 0 33 99 % (0) 0 0 0 – 0 0
Termination of service 7 7 – – 7 100
% – – – – – – –
Training costs 25 17 – 5 21 86 % – 3 3 0 – 0 0
Social and Mobility 53 23 – 15 37 71 % – 15 15 0 (0) 0 0
Information and communication technology
600 292 0 160 452 75 % – 148 148 0 (0) 0 0
Rents and purchases 1 011 321 – 136 458 45 % – 554 554 0 – 0 0
Linked to buildings 158 113 – 21 134 85 % – 23 23 0 – 0 0
Security 92 78 – 9 87 94 % – 5 5 0 – 0 0
Mission and representation
66 61 – 2 63 96 % – 2 2 0 – 0 0
Meetings, committees, conference
14 12 – 1 13 90 % – 1 1 0 – 0 0
Official journal 2 2 – 0 2 100
% – – – – – – –
Publications 17 13 – 3 16 91 % – 2 2 0 – 0 0
Acquisition of information
8 7 – 1 7 97 % – 0 0 0 – 0 0
Studies and investigations
5 5 – 0 5 98 % – 0 0 0 – (0) 0
General equipment, vehicle, furniture
30 25 0 2 27 89 % – 3 3 0 (0) 0 0
Linguistic external services
72 31 – 32 62 87 % – 9 9 0 – 0 0
Other administrative 46 17 – 23 39 85 % – 6 6 0 – 1 1
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
179
EUR million
Total appropr. available
Commitments made Appropriations
carried over to 2026
Appropriations lapsing
MFF Heading
from final
adopt ed
budge t
from carry- overs
from assig ned
reven ue
Total %
from final
adopt ed
budge t
from assig ned
reven ue
Total
from final
adopt ed
budge t
from carry- overs
from assig ned
reven ue
Total
1 2 3 4 5=2+ 3+4
6=5/ 1
7 8 9=7+
8 10 11 12
13=10+ 11+12
expenditure
Decentralised agencies 3 3 – – 3 100
% – – – – – – –
Administrative expenditure of other institutions
5 769 5 192 1 381 5 574 97 % – 138 138 57 – 1 58
Total Heading 7: European Public Administration
15 115 12
707 1 1 247
13 955
92 % (0) 1 099 1 099 59 (0) 3 62
O Innovation Fund (IF) 6 788 – – 1 551 1 551 23 % – 5 237 5 237 – – – –
Ukraine Facility 4 866 4 269 31 500 4 799 99 % 51 15 67 0 1 0 1
Other actions 112 – – 59 59 53 % – 53 53 – – – –
Total Heading O: Outside MFF
11 767 4 269 31 2 110 6 409 54 % 51 5 306 5 357 0 1 – 1
S European Solidarity Reserve
1 477 170 310 – 480 33 % 997 – 997 – – – –
Emergency Aid Reserve – – – – – #DIV
/0 – – – – – – –
European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF)
43 21 – – 21 48 % – 1 1 14 – 7 21
Brexit Adjustment Reserve
564 564 – – 564 100
% – – – – – – –
Total Heading S: Solidarity mechanisms within and outside the Union (Special instruments)
2 085 755 310 – 1 065 51 % 997 1 998 14 – 7 21
Sum: 228 104 196 083
1 580
14 454
212 116
93 % 2
133 12
379 14
512 1
206 33 237 1 476
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
180
6.8. DETAILED MFF: IMPLEMENTATION OF PAYMENT APPROPRIATIONS
EUR million
Total appropr
. availabl
e
Payments made Appropriations carried
over to 2026
Appropriations lapsing
MFF Heading from final adopted budget
from carry- overs
from assigned revenue
Total %
from final
adopted budget
from assigned revenue
Total
from final
adopted budget
from carry- overs
from assigned revenue
Total
1 2 3 4 5=2+3+
4 6=5/1 7 8 9=7+8 10 11 12
13=10+11 +12
1 Horizon Europe 21 125 11 056 61 1 994 13 111 62 % 57 7 941 7 999 8 7 0 15
Euratom Research and Training Programme
414 245 16 15 277 67 % 15 120 135 1 2 0 3
International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER)
647 641 1 2 643 99 % 1 2 3 0 0 0 1
Other actions 413 – – 108 108 26 % – 305 305 – – 0 0
Pilot projects and preparatory actions
17 16 – – 16 96 % – 0 0 1 – 0 1
InvestEU Fund 2 493 500 1 1 895 2 397 96 % 1 96 97 0 0 (0) 0
Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) - Transport
2 445 2 394 1 18 2 413 99 % 2 30 32 (0) 0 – 0
Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) - Energy
804 732 1 3 736 92 % 0 68 68 (0) 0 – 0
Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) - Digital
177 173 0 2 175 99 % 0 1 1 0 0 (0) 0
Digital Europe Programme 1 154 1 043 5 35 1 083 94 % 9 61 70 1 1 0 2
Decentralised agencies 240 230 – 8 237 99 % – 2 2 0 – 0 0
Other actions 227 1 – 31 32 14 % – 195 195 0 – – 0
Pilot projects and preparatory actions
13 13 – – 13 100 % – 0 0 0 – – 0
Actions financed under the prerogatives of the Commission and specific competences conferred to the Commission
30 27 – 3 29 99 % – 0 0 0 – 0 0
Single Market Programme (incl. SMEs)
780 695 6 23 724 93 % 7 46 53 2 1 0 2
EU Anti-Fraud Programme 30 20 (0) 0 20 68 % 9 0 9 0 0 0 0
Cooperation in the field of taxation (Fiscalis)
44 42 0 0 42 95 % 0 1 1 1 0 – 1
Cooperation in the field of customs (Customs)
153 143 0 2 145 95 % 0 8 8 0 0 0 0
Decentralised agencies 164 148 – 6 153 93 % – 6 6 4 – – 4
Other actions 8 7 – 0 8 100 % – 0 0 0 – – 0
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
181
EUR million
Total appropr
. availabl
e
Payments made Appropriations carried
over to 2026
Appropriations lapsing
MFF Heading from final adopted budget
from carry- overs
from assigned revenue
Total %
from final
adopted budget
from assigned revenue
Total
from final
adopted budget
from carry- overs
from assigned revenue
Total
Pilot projects and preparatory actions
11 10 – – 10 94 % (0) – (0) 1 – – 1
European Space Programme 2 467 1 819 4 110 1 934 78 % 4 530 534 0 0 – 0
Decentralised agencies 83 80 – 3 83 100 % – 0 0 – – (0) (0)
Pilot projects and preparatory actions
6 6 – – 6 100 % – – – – – – –
Union Secure Connectivity 89 89 0 – 89 100 % 0 – 0 0 0 – 0
Total Heading 1: Single Market, Innovation and Digital
34 035 20 128 96 4 258 24 483 72 % 107 9 414 9 521 20 10 0 31
2 European Regional Development Fund (ERDF)
23 394 20 837 0 1 978 22 816 98 % 0 577 577 1 0 (0) 1
Cohesion Fund (CF) 5 756 5 522 0 68 5 590 97 % 0 166 166 0 0 – 1
Cohesion Fund (CF), contribution to the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) - Transport
1 364 1 350 – 3 1 353 99 % – 11 11 – – 0 0
Pilot projects and preparatory actions
2 1 – – 1 35 % 0 – 0 1 – 0 1
European Social Fund Plus (ESF+) 10 966 8 242 1 2 362 10 605 97 % 1 360 361 0 0 0 0
Pilot projects and preparatory actions
1 0 – 0 1 100 % – – – – – – –
Support to the Turkish-Cypriot Community
41 40 0 0 40 99 % 0 – 0 0 0 – 0
European Recovery and Resilience Facility (incl. Technical Support Instrument)
40 344 118 2 39 552 39 671 98 % 2 671 673 0 0 (0) 0
Protection of the euro against counterfeiting (the `Pericles IV programme')
1 1 – 0 1 91 % – – – 0 – – 0
Financing cost of the European Union Recovery Instrument (EURI)
6 976 3 091 1 863 50 5 005 72 % 1 876 95 1 971 0 0 0 0
Union Civil Protection Mechanism (RescEU)
446 132 (0) 222 355 80 % 0 91 91 (0) 0 0 0
EU4Health 557 530 4 19 553 99 % 2 2 4 0 0 0 0
Instrument for emergency support within the Union (ESI)
26 – – 4 4 16 % – 16 16 – – 6 6
Decentralised agencies 299 274 – 19 293 98 % – 6 6 0 – 0 0
Pilot projects and preparatory – – – – – #DIV/0 – – – – – – –
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
182
EUR million
Total appropr
. availabl
e
Payments made Appropriations carried
over to 2026
Appropriations lapsing
MFF Heading from final adopted budget
from carry- overs
from assigned revenue
Total %
from final
adopted budget
from assigned revenue
Total
from final
adopted budget
from carry- overs
from assigned revenue
Total
actions
Actions financed under the prerogatives of the Commission and specific competences conferred to the Commission
13 13 (0) – 13 100 % – – – 0 0 – 0
Employment and Social Innovation 91 77 1 6 85 94 % 1 4 6 0 (0) – 0
Erasmus+ 4 966 3 782 18 836 4 635 93 % 15 315 330 0 0 – 0
European Solidarity Corps (ESC) 220 134 3 34 172 78 % 4 44 49 0 0 (0) 0
Creative Europe 350 322 2 13 338 97 % 2 10 12 0 0 0 0
Justice 43 41 1 1 42 98 % 0 0 1 0 0 – 0
Rights and Values 194 190 1 1 192 99 % 1 1 2 0 0 – 0
Decentralised agencies 333 321 – 8 328 99 % – 4 4 0 – 0 0
Other actions 9 9 – 0 9 100 % – – – – – 0 0
Pilot projects and preparatory actions
25 25 – 0 25 98 % – 0 0 0 – 0 0
Actions financed under the prerogatives of the Commission and specific competences conferred to the Commission
183 178 (0) 4 182 99 % – 2 2 0 0 0 0
Total Heading 2: Cohesion, Resilience and Values
96 601 45 231 1 895 45 180 92 306 96 % 1 906 2 377 4 283 4 2 6 11
3 European Agricultural Guarantee Fund (EAGF)
41 377 39 788 192 925 40 904 99 % 392 71 463 10 0 (0) 10
European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD)
16 373 14 407 0 1 445 15 852 97 % 0 519 519 1 0 – 1
European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund (EMFAF)
671 667 1 2 670 100 % 1 0 1 0 0 0 0
Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Agreements (SFPA) and Regional Fisheries Management Organisations (RFMO)
111 111 – – 111 100 % – – – – – – –
Decentralised agencies 32 30 – 1 31 99 % – 0 0 0 – – 0
Pilot projects and preparatory actions
4 3 – – 3 83 % – – – 1 – – 1
Programme for Environment and Climate Action (LIFE)
690 668 8 2 677 98 % 6 6 12 0 0 0 1
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
183
EUR million
Total appropr
. availabl
e
Payments made Appropriations carried
over to 2026
Appropriations lapsing
MFF Heading from final adopted budget
from carry- overs
from assigned revenue
Total %
from final
adopted budget
from assigned revenue
Total
from final
adopted budget
from carry- overs
from assigned revenue
Total
Just Transition Fund 1 436 3 – 1 166 1 170 81 % – 266 266 – – – –
Public sector loan facility under the Just Transition Mechanism (JTM)
528 25 – 42 67 13 % – 461 461 – – – –
Decentralised agencies 79 71 – 8 79 99 % – 1 1 – – 0 0
Pilot projects and preparatory actions
4 3 – – 3 90 % – – – 0 – – 0
Actions financed under the
prerogatives of the Commission and specific competences conferred to the Commission
25 21 – – 21 84 % – – – 4 – – 4
Total Heading 3: Natural Resources and Environment
61 329 55 799 200 3 590 59 589 97 % 399 1 323 1 722 16 0 0 17
4 Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund
1 450 1 205 2 81 1 288 89 % 2 160 161 1 0 0 1
Decentralised agencies 205 196 – 6 202 98 % – 4 4 – – 0 0
Integrated Border Management Fund (IBMF) - Instrument for border management and visa (BMVI)
1 291 817 1 101 919 71 % 1 370 371 0 0 0 0
Integrated Border Management Fund (IBMF) - Instrument for financial support for customs control equipment (CCEi)
32 8 16 – 23 73 % 0 – 0 0 9 – 9
Decentralised agencies 1 407 1 334 – 52 1 386 99 % – 21 21 – – 0 0
Total Heading 4: Migration and Border Management
4 386 3 560 19 239 3 819 87 % 3 554 557 1 9 0 10
5 Internal Security Fund (ISF) 296 242 1 14 257 87 % 1 37 38 0 0 – 1
Nuclear decommissioning (Lithuania)
90 90 – – 90 100 % – – – 0 – – 0
Nuclear Safety and decommissioning (incl. For Bulgaria and Slovakia)
64 59 1 – 60 94 % 2 – 2 2 0 – 2
Decentralised agencies 300 274 – 6 281 94 % 16 4 19 – – 0 0
Pilot projects and preparatory actions
1 1 – – 1 100 % – – – – – – –
Actions financed under the 22 22 (0) – 22 97 % 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
184
EUR million
Total appropr
. availabl
e
Payments made Appropriations carried
over to 2026
Appropriations lapsing
MFF Heading from final adopted budget
from carry- overs
from assigned revenue
Total %
from final
adopted budget
from assigned revenue
Total
from final
adopted budget
from carry- overs
from assigned revenue
Total
prerogatives of the Commission and specific competences conferred to the Commission
European Defence Fund (Research) 296 286 1 8 295 100 % 1 – 1 0 0 – 0
European Defence Fund (Non Research)
566 543 2 18 562 99 % 2 1 4 0 0 0 0
Military Mobility 137 136 0 0 136 100 % 1 – 1 0 – – 0
Short-term Defence instrument on common procurement
63 60 – 3 63 100 % – – – – – – –
Defence Industrial Reinforcement Instrument
61 50 – 3 53 87 % – 8 8 – – – –
European Defence Industry Programme
– – – – – #DIV/0 – – – – – – –
Pilot projects and preparatory actions
– – – – – #DIV/0 – – – – – – –
Union Secure Connectivity 51 51 – – 51 100 % – – – – – – –
Total Heading 5: Security and Defence
1 947 1 814 5 52 1 872 96 % 22 51 73 3 0 0 3
6
Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument - Global Europe ( NDICI - Global Europe )
10 782 9 442 48 444 9 935 92 % 368 474 842 3 2 0 5
European Instrument for International Nuclear Safety Cooperation (INSC)
69 50 1 13 63 91 % 5 1 6 – 0 (0) 0
Humanitarian Aid (HUMA) 2 493 2 463 6 6 2 476 99 % 6 10 16 1 0 0 1
Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP)
439 398 1 27 426 97 % 1 12 12 0 0 0 0
Overseas Countries and Territories (OCT) (including Greenland)
90 57 4 0 61 68 % 4 25 29 0 0 – 0
MFA+ 680 0 – 568 568 84 % – 111 111 – – (0) (0)
Ukraine Loan Cooperation Mechanism
1 535 – – 1 535 1 535 100 % – – – – – – –
Other actions 48 47 – 0 48 99 % – 0 0 0 – – 0
Pilot projects and preparatory actions
– – – – – #DIV/0 – – – – – – –
Union Secure Connectivity – – – – – #DIV/0 – – – – – – –
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
185
EUR million
Total appropr
. availabl
e
Payments made Appropriations carried
over to 2026
Appropriations lapsing
MFF Heading from final adopted budget
from carry- overs
from assigned revenue
Total %
from final
adopted budget
from assigned revenue
Total
from final
adopted budget
from carry- overs
from assigned revenue
Total
Actions financed under the prerogatives of the Commission and specific competences conferred to the Commission
88 88 (0) 0 88 100 % – 0 0 0 0 – 0
Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA III) 2 122 1 841 10 43 1 894 89 % 153 72 225 3 (0) – 3
Reform and Growth Facility for Western Balkans
124 58 19 – 77 62 % 47 – 47 0 (0) – 0
Total Heading 6: Neighbourhood and the World
18 469 14 444 89 2 637 17 170 93 % 584 706 1 290 7 2 0 9
7 Staff Pensions 3 102 2 790 – 302 3 092 100 % – 10 10 0 – (0) 0
(Pensions of former Members) European Parliament
19 19 – – 19 100 % – – – – – – –
(Pensions of former Members) European Council and Council
1 1 – – 1 100 % – – – – – – –
(Pensions of former Members) Commission
9 9 – – 9 100 % – – – – – – –
(Pensions of former Members) Court of Justice of the European Union
17 17 – – 17 100 % – – – – – – –
(Pensions of former Members) European Court of Auditors
7 7 – – 7 100 % – – – – – – –
(Pensions of former Members) European Ombudsman
0 0 – – 0 100 % – – – – – – –
(Pensions of former Members) European Data Protection Supervisor
0 0 – – 0 100 % – – – – – – –
(European schools) Commission 302 263 0 30 293 97 % 0 9 9 0 – – 0
Remuneration statutory staff 3 157 3 027 0 65 3 092 98 % 0 64 64 1 0 – 1
Remuneration external staff 493 268 20 53 342 69 % 31 118 148 1 1 1 3
Members - Salaries and allowances 22 20 1 0 20 93 % 1 0 1 0 0 – 0
Members - Temporary allowances 2 2 – – 2 91 % – – – 0 – – 0
Recruitment costs 37 30 3 0 33 91 % 3 0 3 0 0 0 1
Termination of service 7 7 – – 7 97 % (0) – (0) 0 – – 0
Training costs 37 7 9 4 20 55 % 10 6 16 0 1 0 1
Social and Mobility 64 16 6 14 36 56 % 7 20 27 0 1 0 2
Information and communication 765 187 119 137 442 58 % 105 217 321 0 1 0 2
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
186
EUR million
Total appropr
. availabl
e
Payments made Appropriations carried
over to 2026
Appropriations lapsing
MFF Heading from final adopted budget
from carry- overs
from assigned revenue
Total %
from final
adopted budget
from assigned revenue
Total
from final
adopted budget
from carry- overs
from assigned revenue
Total
technology
Rents and purchases 1 042 288 30 129 448 43 % 33 561 595 0 0 0 0
Linked to buildings 207 73 41 19 132 64 % 41 30 71 0 3 0 4
Security 124 55 22 9 86 70 % 22 12 35 0 3 0 3
Mission and representation 76 49 7 2 57 76 % 13 2 15 0 3 0 3
Meetings, committees, conference 20 8 3 1 12 59 % 4 2 6 0 2 0 2
Official journal 3 1 1 0 2 66 % 1 0 1 – 0 – 0
Publications 24 7 5 3 15 63 % 6 3 9 0 0 0 0
Acquisition of information 9 4 2 0 6 70 % 2 0 3 0 0 0 0
Studies and investigations 10 1 5 0 5 53 % 4 0 5 0 0 – 0
General equipment, vehicle, furniture
41 11 9 3 22 54 % 14 4 18 0 0 0 1
Linguistic external services 74 29 2 32 62 84 % 2 10 12 0 0 0 0
Other administrative expenditure 58 13 4 23 41 70 % 3 13 16 0 1 1 1
Decentralised agencies 3 3 – – 3 100 % – – – – – – –
Administrative expenditure of other institutions
6 399 4 563 560 318 5 441 85 % 630 209 839 56 62 2 120
Total Heading 7: European Public Administration
16 133 11 775 847 1 144 13 767 85 % 932 1 291 2 222 59 80 5 144
O Innovation Fund (IF) 12 293 – – 224 224 2 % – 12 068 12 068 – – – –
Ukraine Facility 3 587 1 693 113 233 2 038 57 % 1 120 429 1 548 0 0 – 0
Other actions 114 – – 56 56 49 % – 58 58 – – – –
Total Heading O: Outside MFF 15 994 1 693 113 514 2 319 15 % 1 120 12 555 13 675 0 0 – 0
S European Solidarity Reserve 1 477 170 310 – 480 33 % 997 – 997 – – – –
Emergency Aid Reserve – – – – – #DIV/0 – – – – – – –
European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF)
21 12 0 9 21 99 % 0 – 0 0 0 – 0
Brexit Adjustment Reserve 564 547 – – 547 97 % 18 – 18 – – – –
Total Heading S: Solidarity mechanisms within and outside the Union (Special instruments)
2 063 729 310 9 1 048 51 % 1 015 – 1 015 0 0 – 0
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
187
EUR million
Total appropr
. availabl
e
Payments made Appropriations carried
over to 2026
Appropriations lapsing
MFF Heading from final adopted budget
from carry- overs
from assigned revenue
Total %
from final
adopted budget
from assigned revenue
Total
from final
adopted budget
from carry- overs
from assigned revenue
Total
TOTAL 250 956
155 173 3 575 57 624 216 373
86 % 6 087 28 271 34 358 110 104 12 226
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
188
6.9. DETAILED MFF: MOVEMENTS IN OUTSTANDING COMMITMENTS (RAL)
EUR million
MFF Heading Commit. carried
forward from prev. year
Commit. made during the year
Variations on Commitments carried forward
Payments Total commitm.
outstanding at end of the year
1 2 3 4 5=1+2+3+4
1 Horizon Europe 28 646 16 815 (346) (13 110) 32 005
Euratom Research and Training Programme 234 376 (4) (277) 330
International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) 1 449 488 (0) (643) 1 294
Other actions 263 167 (4) (108) 318
Pilot projects and preparatory actions 50 10 (2) (16) 42
InvestEU Fund 4 663 1 221 (16) (2 397) 3 471
Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) - Transport 6 089 1 701 (157) (2 413) 5 220
Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) - Energy 3 934 926 (36) (736) 4 089
Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) - Digital 556 229 (0) (175) 610
Digital Europe Programme 2 351 1 137 (1) (1 083) 2 405
Decentralised agencies 36 237 – (237) 36
Other actions 61 85 (2) (32) 113
Pilot projects and preparatory actions 26 9 (0) (13) 22
Actions financed under the prerogatives of the Commission and specific competences conferred to the Commission
36 29 (0) (29) 35
Single Market Programme (incl. SMEs) 914 647 (8) (724) 829
EU Anti-Fraud Programme 34 28 (5) (20) 36
Cooperation in the field of taxation (Fiscalis) 44 39 (0) (42) 41
Cooperation in the field of customs (Customs) 148 200 (1) (145) 202
Decentralised agencies 0 158 – (153) 5
Other actions 5 8 (0) (8) 5
Pilot projects and preparatory actions 25 13 (1) (10) 27
European Space Programme 1 483 2 246 (0) (1 934) 1 795
Decentralised agencies 17 83 – (83) 17
Pilot projects and preparatory actions 17 45 – (6) 56
Union Secure Connectivity 83 196 – (89) 191
Total Heading 1: Single Market, Innovation and Digital 51 164 27 095 (583) (24 482) 53 194
2 European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) 105 188 39 940 (54) (22 852) 122 222
Cohesion Fund (CF) 16 048 7 034 (0) (5 590) 17 491
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
189
EUR million
MFF Heading Commit. carried
forward from prev. year
Commit. made during the year
Variations on Commitments carried forward
Payments Total commitm.
outstanding at end of the year
Cohesion Fund (CF), contribution to the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) - Transport
5 402 1 677 (26) (1 353) 5 700
Pilot projects and preparatory actions 4 4 (1) (1) 6
European Social Fund Plus (ESF+) 47 528 17 216 (3) (10 623) 54 118
Pilot projects and preparatory actions – 2 – (1) 1
Support to the Turkish-Cypriot Community 95 36 0 (40) 91
European Recovery and Resilience Facility (incl. Technical Support Instrument)
161 570 627 (12) (39 671) 122 514
Protection of the euro against counterfeiting (the `Pericles IV programme')
0 1 (0) (1) 1
Financing cost of the European Union Recovery Instrument (EURI)
1 865 5 017 – (5 005) 1 878
Union Civil Protection Mechanism (RescEU) 1 193 237 (9) (355) 1 066
EU4Health 1 507 607 (2) (553) 1 559
Instrument for emergency support within the Union (ESI) 28 – – (4) 24
Decentralised agencies 50 305 (0) (293) 61
Pilot projects and preparatory actions 0 – – – 0
Actions financed under the prerogatives of the Commission and specific competences conferred to the Commission
10 16 (0) (13) 12
Employment and Social Innovation 185 112 (0) (85) 212
Erasmus+ 2 251 4 684 (109) (4 635) 2 191
European Solidarity Corps (ESC) 149 172 (43) (172) 106
Creative Europe 354 367 (2) (338) 381
Justice 53 42 (1) (42) 52
Rights and Values 288 239 (1) (192) 334
Decentralised agencies 53 332 (0) (328) 56
Other actions 13 9 (0) (9) 13
Pilot projects and preparatory actions 58 18 (8) (25) 43
Actions financed under the prerogatives of the Commission and specific competences conferred to the Commission
197 190 (2) (182) 203
Total Heading 2: Cohesion, Resilience and Values 344 088 78 884 (275) (92 361) 330 336
3 European Agricultural Guarantee Fund (EAGF) 371 40 875 (7) (40 904) 335
European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) 35 517 13 227 (239) (15 852) 32 652
European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund (EMFAF) 3 341 946 (4) (670) 3 613
Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Agreements (SFPA) and Regional Fisheries Management Organisations (RFMO)
38 117 (2) (111) 42
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
190
EUR million
MFF Heading Commit. carried
forward from prev. year
Commit. made during the year
Variations on Commitments carried forward
Payments Total commitm.
outstanding at end of the year
Decentralised agencies – 31 – (31) 0
Pilot projects and preparatory actions 10 1 – (3) 8
Programme for Environment and Climate Action (LIFE) 2 691 785 (11) (677) 2 787
Just Transition Fund 8 765 1 504 (0) (1 124) 9 145
Public sector loan facility under the Just Transition Mechanism (JTM)
104 57 – (67) 94
Decentralised agencies – 79 – (79) 0
Pilot projects and preparatory actions 15 2 (0) (3) 14
Actions financed under the prerogatives of the Commission and specific competences conferred to the Commission
16 35 (0) (21) 29
Total Heading 3: Natural Resources and Environment 50 867 57 658 (263) (59 544) 48 718
4 Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund 2 862 1 921 (0) (1 288) 3 495
Decentralised agencies 13 192 – (202) 3
Integrated Border Management Fund (IBMF) - Instrument for border management and visa (BMVI)
2 215 1 266 (0) (910) 2 572
Integrated Border Management Fund (IBMF) - Instrument for financial support for customs control equipment (CCEi)
305 0 – (23) 281
Decentralised agencies 359 1 359 – (1 386) 332
Total Heading 4: Migration and Border Management 5 754 4 738 (0) (3 809) 6 683
5 Internal Security Fund (ISF) 636 338 (0) (257) 717
Nuclear decommissioning (Lithuania) 331 75 – (90) 315
Nuclear Safety and decommissioning (incl. For Bulgaria and Slovakia)
296 70 (0) (60) 306
Decentralised agencies 6 283 – (281) 8
Pilot projects and preparatory actions 1 – – (1) 0
Actions financed under the prerogatives of the Commission and specific competences conferred to the Commission
22 23 (0) (22) 23
European Defence Fund (Research) 788 400 – (295) 892
European Defence Fund (Non Research) 1 458 1 026 (0) (562) 1 920
Military Mobility 291 252 (0) (136) 407
Short-term Defence instrument on common procurement 259 41 – (63) 237
Defence Industrial Reinforcement Instrument 343 – – (53) 290
European Defence Industry Programme – – – –
Pilot projects and preparatory actions 0 – – – 0
Union Secure Connectivity 16 158 – (51) 123
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
191
EUR million
MFF Heading Commit. carried
forward from prev. year
Commit. made during the year
Variations on Commitments carried forward
Payments Total commitm.
outstanding at end of the year
Total Heading 5: Security and Defence 4 445 2 666 (1) (1 872) 5 239
6 Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument - Global Europe ( NDICI - Global Europe )
32 397 11 361 (300) (9 934) 33 524
European Instrument for International Nuclear Safety Cooperation (INSC)
137 66 (1) (63) 139
Humanitarian Aid (HUMA) 1 127 2 575 (11) (2 476) 1 214
Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) 96 419 (13) (426) 76
Overseas Countries and Territories (OCT) (including Greenland)
147 68 (1) (61) 152
MFA+ 153 570 – (568) 155
Ukraine Loan Cooperation Mechanism – 1 535 – (1 535) –
Other actions 57 88 (0) (48) 98
Pilot projects and preparatory actions 0 – (0) – 0
Union Secure Connectivity – 50 – – 50
Actions financed under the prerogatives of the Commission and specific competences conferred to the Commission
151 95 (3) (88) 155
Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA III) 7 434 2 223 (115) (1 894) 7 648
Reform and Growth Facility for Western Balkans 399 596 (0) (77) 918
Total Heading 6: Neighbourhood and the World 42 097 19 645 (443) (17 170) 44 129
7 Staff Pensions – 3 101 – (3 092) 9
(Pensions of former Members) European Parliament – 19 – (19) (0)
(Pensions of former Members) European Council and Council – 1 – (1) –
(Pensions of former Members) Commission – 9 – (9) –
(Pensions of former Members) Court of Justice of the European Union
– 17 – (17) –
(Pensions of former Members) European Court of Auditors – 7 – (7) –
(Pensions of former Members) European Ombudsman – 0 – (0) –
(Pensions of former Members) European Data Protection Supervisor
– 0 – (0) –
(European schools) Commission 4 291 – (293) 2
Remuneration statutory staff 0 3 092 (0) (3 092) 0
Remuneration external staff 23 351 (0) (342) 32
Members - Salaries and allowances 1 20 (1) (20) 1
Members - Temporary allowances – 2 – (2) 0
Recruitment costs 3 33 (0) (33) 3
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
192
EUR million
MFF Heading Commit. carried
forward from prev. year
Commit. made during the year
Variations on Commitments carried forward
Payments Total commitm.
outstanding at end of the year
Termination of service – 7 – (7) 0
Training costs 12 21 (0) (20) 13
Social and Mobility 12 37 (2) (36) 12
Information and communication technology 166 452 (2) (442) 173
Rents and purchases 31 458 (0) (448) 41
Linked to buildings 49 134 (3) (132) 49
Security 32 87 (2) (86) 30
Mission and representation 10 63 (1) (57) 15
Meetings, committees, conference 6 13 (0) (12) 6
Official journal 1 2 (0) (2) 1
Publications 7 16 (0) (15) 7
Acquisition of information 2 7 (0) (6) 3
Studies and investigations 5 5 (0) (5) 5
General equipment, vehicle, furniture 11 27 (0) (22) 15
Linguistic external services 2 62 (0) (62) 3
Other administrative expenditure 12 39 (1) (41) 10
Decentralised agencies – 3 – (3) –
Administrative expenditure of other institutions 623 5 574 (51) (5 441) 704
Total Heading 7: European Public Administration 1 011 13 955 (65) (13 767) 1 134
O Innovation Fund (IF) 6 643 1 551 (405) (224) 7 564
Ukraine Facility 1 250 4 799 (1) (2 038) 4 009
Other actions 6 59 (4) (56) 5
Total Heading O: Outside MFF 7 899 6 409 (410) (2 319) 11 578
S European Solidarity Reserve – 480 – (480) –
Emergency Aid Reserve – – – –
European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF) 0 21 – (21) 0
Brexit Adjustment Reserve 53 564 – (547) 71
Total Heading S: Solidarity mechanisms within and outside the Union (Special instruments)
53 1 065 – (1 048) 71
TOTAL 507 378 212 116 (2 039) (216 371) 501 084
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
193
6.10. DETAILED MFF: OUTSTANDING COMMITMENTS BY YEAR OF ORIGIN
EUR million
MFF heading <2018 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 Total
1 Horizon Europe 170 233 419 784 1 612 2 406 3 859 9 772 12 750 32 005
Euratom Research and Training Programme 22 0 2 7 11 10 17 111 149 330
International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER)
0 53 477 356 408 1 294
Other actions 260 59 318
Pilot projects and preparatory actions – 1 0 – 0 4 11 16 10 42
InvestEU Fund 136 40 88 108 – 881 340 1 500 378 3 471
Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) - Transport 87 43 370 771 489 216 665 936 1 644 5 220
Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) - Energy 153 86 527 786 337 536 239 503 921 4 089
Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) - Digital 1 0 1 3 79 131 176 45 174 610
Digital Europe Programme – 216 256 307 686 940 2 405
Decentralised agencies 0 36 36
Other actions 1 102 10 113
Pilot projects and preparatory actions – 8 2 2 2 2 6 22
Actions financed under the prerogatives of the Commission and specific competences conferred to the Commission
– 1 1 3 11 19 35
Single Market Programme (incl. SMEs) 48 8 22 20 14 42 75 195 404 829
EU Anti-Fraud Programme – – – 2 2 4 6 22 36
Cooperation in the field of taxation (Fiscalis) 0 – 3 2 2 8 27 41
Cooperation in the field of customs (Customs) 0 0 0 1 4 15 25 157 203
Decentralised agencies 0 5 5
Other actions – 0 0 5 5
Pilot projects and preparatory actions 0 0 2 4 9 13 27
European Space Programme 0 0 – 63 6 6 84 708 927 1 795
Decentralised agencies – 0 17 17
Pilot projects and preparatory actions 11 45 56
Union Secure Connectivity 0 191 191
Total Heading 1: Single Market, Innovation and Digital
617 411 1 430 2 551 2 771 4 555 6 282 15 261 19 315 53 194
2 European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) 555 6 14 42 63 7 780 32 908 41 050 39 805 122 222
Cohesion Fund (CF) 84 – 0 0 0 376 3 963 6 038 7 031 17 491
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
194
EUR million
MFF heading <2018 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 Total
Cohesion Fund (CF), contribution to the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) - Transport
440 209 481 876 449 344 330 916 1 655 5 700
Pilot projects and preparatory actions 0 0 0 – 0 1 4 6
European Social Fund Plus (ESF+) 274 1 21 18 1 4 669 14 090 17 871 17 171 54 118
Pilot projects and preparatory actions – 1 1
Support to the Turkish-Cypriot Community 0 0 0 3 3 5 18 29 33 91
European Recovery and Resilience Facility (incl. Technical Support Instrument)
0 0 1 7 24 122 407 75 122 514
Protection of the euro against counterfeiting (the `Pericles IV programme')
– 0 0 1
Financing cost of the European Union Recovery Instrument (EURI)
– 1 1 877 1 878
Union Civil Protection Mechanism (RescEU) 0 94 17 52 55 669 180 1 066
EU4Health 1 0 1 5 83 220 328 376 544 1 559
Instrument for emergency support within the Union (ESI)
0 9 15 – 24
Decentralised agencies – 0 0 0 2 11 16 19 12 61
Pilot projects and preparatory actions 0 0
Actions financed under the prerogatives of the Commission and specific competences conferred to the Commission
0 0 1 10 12
Employment and Social Innovation 3 1 8 9 9 12 28 47 95 212
Erasmus+ 0 0 1 3 185 229 440 550 783 2 191
European Solidarity Corps (ESC) – – – 17 9 12 28 40 106
Creative Europe 0 0 0 7 25 53 89 206 381
Justice 4 2 3 1 3 4 3 10 22 52
Rights and Values 5 3 3 3 5 13 55 83 165 334
Decentralised agencies 0 19 8 12 10 7 56
Other actions 0 0 0 0 1 0 3 8 13
Pilot projects and preparatory actions 0 0 0 1 1 3 6 16 17 43
Actions financed under the prerogatives of the Commission and specific competences conferred to the Commission
1 3 5 6 4 7 12 40 127 203
Total Heading 2: Cohesion, Resilience and Values 1 368 225 538 1 061 878 13 776 52 352 190 270 69 869 330 336
3 European Agricultural Guarantee Fund (EAGF) 8 9 18 20 30 47 99 105 335
European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD)
2 378 747 758 761 7 900 936 12 947 13 218 32 652
European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund (EMFAF)
48 – 0 17 4 293 1 001 1 320 930 3 613
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
195
EUR million
MFF heading <2018 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 Total
Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Agreements (SFPA) and Regional Fisheries Management Organisations (RFMO)
– 1 11 30 42
Decentralised agencies – 0 0
Pilot projects and preparatory actions – 1 5 1 8
Programme for Environment and Climate Action (LIFE)
80 153 128 149 244 337 445 508 744 2 787
Just Transition Fund 1 299 1 442 4 900 1 503 9 145
Public sector loan facility under the Just Transition Mechanism (JTM)
4 89 – 94
Pilot projects and preparatory actions 0 – 1 0 1 3 6 2 14
Actions financed under the prerogatives of the Commission and specific competences conferred to the Commission
0 4 25 29
Total Heading 3: Natural Resources and Environment 2 507 907 896 946 275 2 859 3 882 19 889 16 558 48 718
4 Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund 54 37 57 346 4 23 261 861 1 852 3 495
Decentralised agencies – – 3 3
Integrated Border Management Fund (IBMF) - Instrument for border management and visa (BMVI)
18 9 39 207 3 23 284 823 1 166 2 572
Integrated Border Management Fund (IBMF) - Instrument for financial support for customs control equipment (CCEi)
63 63 70 85 0 281
Decentralised agencies 64 151 117 332
Total Heading 4: Migration and Border Management 72 47 97 553 69 110 679 1 920 3 138 6 683
5 Internal Security Fund (ISF) 17 14 21 48 7 23 65 198 325 717
Nuclear decommissioning (Lithuania) 2 1 1 3 27 99 41 67 75 315
Nuclear Safety and decommissioning (incl. For Bulgaria and Slovakia)
8 39 44 66 36 11 16 31 54 306
Decentralised agencies 3 5 8
Pilot projects and preparatory actions 0 – 0
Actions financed under the prerogatives of the Commission and specific competences conferred to the Commission
0 – 0 1 1 3 4 14 23
European Defence Fund (Research) 74 97 172 182 368 892
European Defence Fund (Non Research) 12 7 152 172 299 410 868 1 920
Military Mobility 67 8 31 83 218 407
Short-term Defence instrument on common procurement
198 39 237
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
196
EUR million
MFF heading <2018 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 Total
Defence Industrial Reinforcement Instrument 99 191 – 290
Pilot projects and preparatory actions 0 0
Union Secure Connectivity – 123 123
Total Heading 5: Security and Defence 27 55 78 125 364 410 725 1 367 2 089 5 239
6 Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument - Global Europe ( NDICI - Global Europe )
796 635 712 936 2 106 5 084 6 054 8 096 9 106 33 524
European Instrument for International Nuclear Safety Cooperation (INSC)
1 2 4 9 12 13 26 33 38 139
Humanitarian Aid (HUMA) 0 1 10 53 148 361 642 1 214
Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) 0 1 0 6 4 3 14 48 76
Overseas Countries and Territories (OCT) (including Greenland)
1 2 28 42 39 40 152
MFA+ – 155 155
Other actions 0 32 65 98
Pilot projects and preparatory actions 0 – 0
Union Secure Connectivity 50 50
Actions financed under the prerogatives of the Commission and specific competences conferred to the Commission
0 0 2 5 10 29 46 63 155
Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA III) 235 305 330 421 767 1 201 1 011 1 542 1 836 7 648
Reform and Growth Facility for Western Balkans 426 492 918
Total Heading 6: Neighbourhood and the World 1 032 943 1 047 1 370 2 908 6 392 7 312 10 589 12 534 44 129
7 Staff Pensions – 9 9
(European schools) Commission 0 2 2
Remuneration statutory staff – 0 0
Remuneration external staff – 2 31 32
Members - Salaries and allowances – (0) 1 1
Members - Temporary allowances 0 0
Recruitment costs – 0 3 3
Termination of service 0 0
Training costs 0 1 11 13
Social and Mobility 0 5 7 12
Information and communication technology 0 21 152 173
Rents and purchases 0 6 35 41
Linked to buildings 0 8 41 49
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
197
EUR million
MFF heading <2018 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 Total
Security 0 2 28 30
Mission and representation 0 2 13 15
Meetings, committees, conference 0 2 5 6
Official journal – 1 1
Publications – 0 7 7
Acquisition of information 0 3 3
Studies and investigations 0 5 5
General equipment, vehicle, furniture 0 0 15 15
Linguistic external services – 0 2 3
Other administrative expenditure (0) 1 8 10
Administrative expenditure of other institutions 704 704
Total Heading 7: European Public Administration 1 51 1 083 1 134
O Innovation Fund (IF) 7 563 1 7 564
Ukraine Facility 724 3 286 4 009
Other actions 1 4 5
Total Heading O: Outside MFF 8 287 3 291 11 578
S European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF) 0 0 0
Brexit Adjustment Reserve – 71 71
Total Heading S: Solidarity mechanisms within and outside the Union (Special instruments)
– 0 71 71
Total 5 623 2 588 4 086 6 605 7 265 28 101 71 232 247 636 127 948 501 084
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
198
IMPLEMENTATION OF THE BUDGET BY INSTITUTION
7.1. IMPLEMENTATION OF BUDGET REVENUE
EUR million
Income
appropriatio ns
Entitlements established
Revenue
Revenue as % of budget Out-
standing
Initial adopte
d budget
Final adop ted
budg et
Curr ent year
Carri ed
over Total
On entitle
- ments
of curren t year
On entit le-
men ts
carri ed
over
Reven ue
Parliament 249 249 291 11 303 286 2 287 115 % 16
Council 80 80 109 1 110 109 1 109 137 % 1
Commission 154 664
160 617
226 586
16 251
242 837
220 118
3 350
223 468
139 % 19 370
Court of Justice 81 81 79 0 79 79 0 79 97 % 0
Court of Auditors 34 34 33 0 33 33 0 33 98 % 0
Economic and Social Committee
18 18 22 0 22 22 0 22 124 % 0
Committee of the Regions
16 16 19 0 19 19 0 19 116 % 0
Ombudsman 2 2 2 – 2 2 – 2 108 % –
European Data-protection Supervisor
3 3 3 – 3 3 – 3 102 % 0
European External Action Service
62 62 379 0 379 377 0 377 603 % 2
TOTAL 155 209
161 163
227 523
16 264
243 787
221 046
3 352
224 398
139 % 19 389
The consolidated reports on the implementation of the general budget of the EU include, as in previous years, the budget implementation of all Institutions
since within the EU budget a separate budget for each Institution is established.
The budget and implementation of Agencies are not consolidated within the EU budget and are not included in the EU budget reports. The Commission subsidy paid to the agencies however is part of the EU budget. In this budgetary part of the annual accounts, only the subsidy paid from the Commission budget to the Agencies is taken into consideration.
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
199
Concerning the EEAS, it should be noted that, in addition to its own budget, it also disposed of an amount of EUR 378,9 million (2024: 358,4) including
assigned revenues and carried over amounts, out of which EUR 250,2 million (2024: 255,2) of European Commission funds to cover the administrative costs of Commission staff working in Union delegations split between the Commission's Heading 7, the administrative lines of operational programmes (ex-BA lines), and the Trust Funds, and the remainder from additional fixed-amount contributions to cover common costs of EDF staff in Delegations and for co-locations, and other amounts received under co-location and other agreements.
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
200
7.2. IMPLEMENTATION OF COMMITMENT APPROPRIATIONS
EUR million
Total appropr. available
Commitments made Appropriations
carried over to 2026
Appropriations lapsing
from final adopt ed budge t
from carry- overs
from assign ed reven ue
Total %
from final adopt ed budge t
from assign ed reven ue
Total
from final adopt ed budge t
from carry- overs
from assign ed reven ue
Total
1 2 3 4 5=2+3
+4 6=5/1 7 8 9 10 11 12
13=10 +
11+12
Parliament 2 602 2 518 – 40 2 557 98 % – 35 35 10 – 0 10
Council 767 691 – 27 718 94 % – 25 25 23 0 24
Commission 222 335 190 891
1 579 14 073 206 542
93 % 2 126 12 241 14 367 1 149 33 236 1 418
Court of Justice
538 521 – 1 522 97 % – 0 0 16 0 16
Court of Auditors
195 191 1 0 192 98 % – 0 0 3 – 0 3
Economic and Social
Committee 180 173 – 4 177 98 % – 2 2 1 – – 1
Committee of the Regions
135 130 – 2 132 98 % – 3 3 0 – 0 0
Ombudsman 15 15 – – 15 95 % – – – 1 – – 1
European Data-
protection Supervisor
27 25 – 0 25 93 % – – – 2 – – 2
European External
Action Service
1 308 930 – 307 1 236 94 % – 72 72 0 – 1 1
Sum: 228 104 196 083
1 580 14
454 212 116
93 % 2 126 12
379 14
505 1 206 33 237 1 476
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
201
7.3. IMPLEMENTATION OF PAYMENT APPROPRIATIONS
EUR million
Total appropr. available
Payments made Appropriations
carried over to 2026
Appropriations lapsing
from final
adopt ed
budge t
from carry- overs
from assign
ed reven
ue
Total %
from final
adopt ed
budge t
from assign
ed reven
ue
Total
from final
adopt ed
budge t
from carry- overs
from assign
ed reven
ue
Total
1 2 3 4 5=2+ 3+4
6=5/1 7 8 9 10 11 12
13=1 0+
11+1 2
Parliament 2 948 2 157 307 41 2 504 85 % 361 42 403 10 30 1 41
Council 846 604 74 24 703 83 % 87 28 115 23 4 0 28
Commission 244 557 150 611
3 016 57
305 210 932
86 % 5 424 28
062 33
486 54 42 10 106
Court of Justice 571 484 28 1 513 90 % 36 0 37 16 4 0 21
Court of Auditors 204 181 9 0 190 93 % 10 0 11 3 1 0 4
Economic and Social Committee
192 163 10 3 177 92 % 10 3 13 1 2 – 3
Committee of the Regions 145 118 9 2 128 88 % 12 3 15 0 1 0 1
Ombudsman 16 14 0 – 15 93 % 0 – 0 1 0 – 1
European Data-protection Supervisor
30 23 2 0 25 83 % 2 – 2 2 1 – 3
European External Action Service
1 448 819 121 247 1 187 82 % 110 132 242 0 18 1 19
250 956 155 173
3 575 57
624 216 373
86 % 6 054 28
271 34
325 110 104 12 226
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
202
IMPLEMENTATION OF THE AGENCIES' BUDGETS
The agencies’ revenue and expenditure, as shown in the reports 8.1 and 8.2 below, are not consolidated as such within the EU budget.
Sections 1 to 7 of the Budgetary implementation reports include only the subsidy paid from the EU budget to the agencies as commitment and payment appropriations, when applicable.
The agencies’ reports below show an overview of the Agencies, both decentralised (also known as traditional agencies) and executive agencies, and of their revenue (8.1) and expenditure (8.2). They include not only the subsidy paid from the EU budget, but also the other sources of revenue and their
related expenditure (that is not added into the EU budget accounts). Each agency presents its own set of annual accounts.
8.1. BUDGET REVENUE EUR million
Agency Funding
MFF heading
Final adopted budget
Revenue received
Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators 1 45 43
Agency for the Operational Management of Large-Scale IT Systems 4 338 362
Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications 1 8 9
Community Plant Variety Office N/A 22 21
European Agency for Safety and Health at Work 2b 18 18
European Asylum Support Office 4 240 212
European Aviation Safety Agency 1 248 197
European Banking Authority 1 59 60
European Border and Coast Guard Agency 4 1 124 1 137
European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control 2b 106 99
European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training 2b 22 23
European Chemicals Agency 1 134 138
European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency 1, 2a, 3, 5 75 75
European Education and Culture Executive Agency 2b, 6 152 75
European Environment Agency 3 109 102
European Fisheries Control Agency 3 31 33
European Food Safety Authority 2b 151 153
European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions 2b 25 28
European Health and Digital Executive Agency 1, 2b 62 62
European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency 1, 2a 50 50
European Institute for Gender Equality 2b 10 12
European Institute of Innovation and Technology 1 435 435
European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority 1 40 41
European Labour Authority 2b 50 50
European Maritime Safety Agency 1 127 127
European Medicines Agency 2b 600 608
European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction 5 36 37
European Public Prosecutor's Office 2b 86 86
European Research Council Executive Agency 1 73 73
European Research Executive Agency 1, 3 102 127
European Securities and Markets Authority 1 82 86
European Training Foundation 2b 24 29
European Union Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation 2b 68 78
European Union Agency for Cybersecurity 1 26 55
European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation 5 246 243
European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Training 5 13 13
European Union Agency for Railways 1 31 47
European Union Agency for the Space Programme 1 83 1 164
European Union Fundamental Rights Agency 2b 27 27
European Union Intellectual Property Office N/A 480 501
Fusion for Energy Joint Undertaking 1 646 799
Translation Centre for the Bodies of the European Union 7 52 45
Total 6 356 7 581
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
203
EUR million
Type of agencies revenue Revenue received
Commission subsidy 4 913
Fee income 1 136
Other income 1 531
Total 7 581
8.2. COMMITMENT AND PAYMENT APPROPRIATIONS BY AGENCY
EUR million
Commitment
appropriations Payment
appropriations
Agency Total
appropr. available
Commit. made
Total appropr. available
Payments made
Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators 45 45 54 41
Agency for the Operational Management of Large-Scale IT Systems
378 357 464 400
Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications 9 8 10 8
Community Plant Variety Office 21 19 22 20
European Agency for Safety and Health at Work 18 17 22 17
European Asylum Support Office 264 208 277 191
European Aviation Safety Agency 317 250 331 227
European Banking Authority 61 59 65 58
European Border and Coast Guard Agency 1 158 1 132 1 561 1 023
European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control 109 99 135 103
European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training 23 22 24 21
European Chemicals Agency 142 137 159 139
European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency
75 73 78 72
European Education and Culture Executive Agency 75 75 80 75
European Environment Agency 116 103 155 101
European Fisheries Control Agency 36 34 43 35
European Food Safety Authority 166 165 168 157
European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions
29 26 33 25
European Health and Digital Executive Agency 62 61 65 60
European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency 50 50 52 49
European Institute for Gender Equality 12 10 14 10
European Institute of Innovation and Technology 529 522 475 463
European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority 41 40 43 40
European Labour Authority 52 51 53 50
European Maritime Safety Agency 139 124 156 126
European Medicines Agency 625 606 699 607
European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction 38 37 46 35
European Public Prosecutor's Office 86 86 95 87
European Research Council Executive Agency 73 73 74 72
European Research Executive Agency 127 127 132 126
European Securities and Markets Authority 87 85 91 80
European Training Foundation 32 29 35 28
European Union Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation 93 80 103 80
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
204
EUR million
Commitment
appropriations Payment
appropriations
Agency Total
appropr. available
Commit. made
Total appropr. available
Payments made
European Union Agency for Cybersecurity 66 41 72 33
European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation 253 247 275 239
European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Training 32 19 35 19
European Union Agency for Railways 67 49 53 45
European Union Agency for the Space Programme 2 306 677 2 366 1 185
European Union Fundamental Rights Agency 27 26 33 28
European Union Intellectual Property Office 345 345 532 341
Fusion for Energy Joint Undertaking 1 066 979 849 789
Translation Centre for the Bodies of the European Union 52 46 54 46
Total 9 300 7 239 10 082 7 355
EUR million
Commitment
appropriations Payment appropriations
Type of expenditure Total appropr.
available
Commit.
made
Total appropr.
available
Payments
made
Administrative 612 593 746 584
Operational 6 396 4 378 7 010 4 518
Staff 2 292 2 268 2 327 2 254
Total 9 300 7 239 10 082 7 355
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
205
GLOSSARY
Actuarial assumptions
Assumptions used to calculate the costs of future events that affect the pension liability.
Actuarial gains and losses
For a defined benefit scheme, the changes in actuarial deficits or surpluses. They arise as a result of differences between the previous actuarial assumptions and what has actually occurred and due to effects of changes in actuarial assumptions.
Administrative appropriations
Administrative appropriations cover the running costs of the Institutions and entities (staff, buildings, office equipment).
Adopted budget
Draft budget becomes the adopted budget as soon as it is approved by the Budgetary Authority and declared definitely adopted by the President of the European Parliament.
Amending budget
Decision adopted during the budget year to amend (increase, decrease, transfer) aspects of the adopted budget of that year.
Amounts to be called from Member States
These represent expenses incurred during the reporting period that will need to be funded by future
budgets, i.e. by the EU Member States. This is a consequence of the co-existence of accruals based financial statements and a cash based budget.
Annual Activity Report (AAR)
Annual Activity Reports indicate the results of operations by reference to objectives set, associated risks and the internal control structure, inter alia. Since the 2001 budget exercise for the Commission and since 2003 for all European Union institutions, the ‘authorising officer by delegation’ must submit an AAR
to his/her institution on the performance of his/her duties, together with financial and management information.
Appropriations
Budget funding. The budget forecasts both commitments and payments (cash or bank transfers to the beneficiaries). Appropriations for commitments and payments often differ (differentiated appropriations) because multi annual programmes and projects are usually fully committed in the year they are decided and are paid over the years as the implementation of the programme and project progresses. Non-
differentiated appropriations apply to administrative expenditure, for agricultural market support and direct payments and commitment appropriations equal payment appropriations.
Assigned revenue
Dedicated revenue received to finance specific items of expenditure. The main source of external assigned revenue is financial contributions from third countries to programmes financed by the Union. The main source of internal assigned revenue is revenue from third parties in respect of goods, services or work supplied at their request; revenue arising from the repayment of amounts wrongly paid and
revenue from the sale of publications and films.
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
206
Available for sale financial assets
All financial assets (except derivatives) that are according to International Public Sector Accounting Standards measured at fair value and for which the changes in fair value are to be recognised in a reserve in net assets until derecognition (or impairment).
Budget line
As far as the budget structure is concerned, revenue and expenditure are shown in the budget in accordance with a binding nomenclature which reflects the nature and purpose of each item, as imposed
by the budgetary authority. The individual headings (title, chapter, article or line) provide a formal description of the nomenclature.
Cancellation of appropriations
Unused appropriations that may no longer be used.
Carryover of appropriations
Exception to the principle of annuality in so far as appropriations that could not be used in a given budget year may, under strict conditions, be exceptionally carried over for use during the following year.
Commitment
Legal pledge to provide finance subject to certain conditions. The EU commits itself to reimbursing its share of the costs of an EU funded project. Today’s commitments are tomorrow’s payments. Today’s payments are yesterday’s commitments.
Commitment appropriation
Commitment appropriations cover the total cost of legal obligations (contracts, grant agreements/decisions) that could be signed in the current financial year.
Current service cost
The increase in scheme liabilities arising from service in the current financial year.
Decommitment
An act whereby a previous commitment (or part of it) is cancelled.
Defined benefit scheme
A pension or other retirement benefit scheme where the scheme rules define the benefits independently
of the contributions payable, and the benefits are not directly related to the investments of the scheme. The scheme may be funded or unfunded.
Derivatives
Financial instruments whose value is linked to changes in the value of another financial instrument, an indicator or a commodity. In contrast to the holder of a primary financial instrument (e.g. a government bond), who has an unqualified right to receive cash (or some other economic benefit) in the future, the holder of a derivative has only a qualified right to receive such a benefit. An example of a derivative is
currency forward contract.
Direct management
Mode of budget implementation. Under direct management the budget is implemented directly by Commission services, Executive Agencies or Trust Funds.
Discount rate
The rate used to adjust for the time value of money. Discounting is a technique used to compare costs and benefits that occur in different time periods.
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
207
Effective interest rate
The rate that discounts estimated future cash receipts or payments over the expected life of the financial asset or financial liability to the net carrying amount of the asset or liability.
Financial assets and liabilities at amortised cost
All financial assets and liabilities that are according to International Public Sector Accounting Standards measured at armotised cost.
Financial assets or liabilities at fair value through surplus or deficit
All financial assets or liabilities that are according to International Public Sector Accounting Standards measured at fair value and for which the changes in fair value are to be recognised in surplus or deficit of the period (i.e. derivatives).
Financial correction
The purpose of financial corrections is to protect the EU budget from the burden of irregular expenditure. For expenditure under shared management, the task of recovering irregular payments is primarily the responsibility of the Member State.
A 'confirmed' financial correction has been accepted by the Member State concerned. A 'decided' financial correction has been adopted by a Commission decision and is always a net correction, where the Member State is required to reimburse irregular funds to the EU budget, thus leading to a definitive reduction of the allocated envelope to the Member State concerned. Confirmed and decided financial corrections are reported in this publication as one category.
An 'implemented' financial correction has corrected the observed irregularity.
Indirect management
Mode of budget implementation. Under indirect management the Commission confers tasks of budget implementation to bodies of EU law or national law.
Interruptions and suspensions
If the Commission finds, based on its own work or the information reported by audit authorities, that a Member State has failed to remedy serious shortcomings in the management and control systems and/or to correct irregular expenditure which had been declared and certified, it may interrupt or suspend
payments.
Irregularity An irregularity is an act which does not comply with the applicable EU or national rules and which has a potentially negative impact on the EU financial interests. Irregularities, which may be the result of the
conduct of beneficiaries claiming funds or of the authorities responsible for making payments. The notion of irregularity is wider than that of fraud, which refers to conduct that may qualify as a criminal offence. Lapsing appropriations
Unused appropriations to be cancelled at the end of the financial year. Lapsing means the cancellation of all or part of the authorisation to make expenditures and/or incur liabilities which is represented by an appropriation. Only for Joint Undertakings, as specified in their Financial Rules, any unused appropriations may be entered in the estimate of revenue and expenditure of up to the following three financial years (the so-called ‘N+3’ rule). Hence, lapsing appropriations for JUs could be reactivated until financial year ‘N+3’.
Outstanding commitments
As the Reste à Liquider (RAL), they represent the amount where a budgetary commitment has been
made but the subsequent payment is not yet done. They represent payment obligations for the EU for future years and stem directly from the existence of multi annual programmes and the dissociation between commitment and payment appropriations.
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
208
Own resources
The main source of revenues for the EU budget. The different own resources are listed in the applicable Own Resource Decision (Council Decision (EU, Euratom) 2020/2053) and are traditional own resources, VAT-based own resource, GNI-based resource and non-recycled plastic packaging waste-based own resource.
Payment appropriations
Payment appropriations cover expenditure due in the current year, arising from legal commitments entered in the current year and/or earlier years.
Pre-financing
A payment intended to provide the beneficiary with a float. It may be split into a number of instalments in accordance with the provisions of the underlying contract, decision, agreement or the basic legal act.
The float or advance is either used for the purpose for which it was provided during the period defined in
the agreement or it is repaid.
Preventive measure
Preventive measures, which are at the Commission’s disposal to protect the EU budget when it is aware of potential deficiencies, include suspensions and interruptions of payments from the EU budget to the operational programme.
Reste à Liquider (RAL)
As the Outstanding commitments, it represents the amount where a budgetary commitment has been
made but the subsequent payment is not yet done. They represent payment obligations for the EU for future years and stem directly from the existence of multi annual programmes and the dissociation between commitment and payment appropriations.
Shared management
Mode of budget implementation. Under shared management budget implementation tasks are delegated to Member States. About three quarters of the EU expenditure falls under this implementation mode.
Traditional own resources
Traditional own resources are defined in the applicable Own Resources Decision (Council Decision (EU, Euratom) 2020/2053) and comprise namely customs duties and sugar levies.
Transfers (between budget lines)
Transfers between budget lines imply the relocation of appropriations from one budget line to another, in
the course of the financial year, and thereby they constitute an exception to the budgetary principle of specification. They are, however, expressly authorised by the Treaty on the Functioning of the European
Union under the conditions laid down in the Financial Regulation (FR). The FR identifies different types of transfers depending on whether they are between or within budget titles, chapters, articles or headings and require different levels of authorisation.
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
209
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
AAR Annual Activity Report
AC Amortised Cost
AFS Available For Sale
AMIF Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund
AOD Authorising Officers by Delegation
ATM
BAR
Air Traffic Management
Brexit adjustment reserve
BOP Balance of Payments
BUFI Fund Budget Fines Fund
CAP Common Agricultural Policy
CCS LGF Cultural and Creative Sector Guarantee Facility
CEF2 Connecting Europe Facility
CEF DI Connecting Europe Facility Debt Instrument
CF Cohesion Fund
CIP Competitiveness and Innovation Framework Programme
COM European Commission
COSME Competitiveness of Enterprises and Small and Medium-sized Enterprises
COSO Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission
CPF Common Provisioning Fund
CPR
CRII+
CRO
Common Provisions Regulation
Coronavirus Response Investment Initiative Plus
Chief Risk Officer
D&WM Decommissioning and Waste Management
EAD Exposure At Default
EAFRD European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development
EAGF European Agricultural Guarantee Fund
EAR European Union Accounting Rule
EaSI Employment and Social Innovation
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
210
EBRD European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
ECA European Court of Auditors
ECB European Central Bank
ECL Expected Credit Losses
ECOFIN Economic and Financial Affairs Council
ECSC i.L. European Coal and Steel Community in Liquidation
EDF European Development Fund
EDIF Guarantee Facility under the Western Balkan
EEA European Economic Area
EEAS European External Action Service
EFSD European Fund for Sustainable Development
EFSE European Fund for Southeast Europe
EFSF European Financial Stability Facility
EFSI European Fund for Strategic Investments
EFSM European Financial Stabilisation Mechanism
EFTA European Free Trade Association
EGNOS European Geostationary Navigation Overlay System
EIB European Investment Bank
EIF European Investment Fund
ElectriFI ElectrificationFinancing Initiative
ELM
EMFF
External Lending Mandate
European Maritime and Fisheries Fund
EMU Economic and Monetary Union
ENEF Enterprise Expansion Fund
ENIF Enterprise Innovation Fund
ENPI European Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument
EP European Parliament
ERDF European Regional Development Fund
ERI
ESA
EIB Resilience Initiative
European Space Agency
ESF European Social Fund
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
211
ESIF European Structural and Investment Funds
ESM European Stability Mechanism
ETF Exchange-Traded Fund
ETS
EU
Emissions trading scheme
European Union
EUMETSAT European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites
Euratom European Atomic Energy Community
EUSF
FGC
European Union solidarity Fund
Financial Guarantee Contract
FIFO First-in, First-out
FP7 7th Research Framework Programme for Research and Technological Development
FR EU Financial Regulation
FSDA Financial Statement Discussion and Analysis
FVNA Fair Value through Net Assets/Equity
FVSD Fair Value through Surplus or Deficit
GDPGross Domestic Product
GNI Gross National Income
GNSS Global Navigation Satellite Systems
H2020 Horizon 2020
HLRCP High Level Risk and Compliance Policy
IBMF
IF
Integrated Border Management Fund
Innovation Fund
IIW Infrastructure and Innovation Window
IMF International Monetary Fund
IPSAS International Public Sector Accounting Standards
IT Information Technology
ITER International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor
JRC Joint Research Centre
JSIS
JU
Joint sickness insurance scheme
Joint Undertaking
LGD Loss given Default Rate
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
212
LGF Loan Guarantee Facility
LGTT Loan Guarantee Instrument for TEN-T projects
MAP Multi Annual Program - Medium Enterprise Financial Inclusion Programme
MEP Member of the European Parliament
MFA Macro Financial Assistance
MFF Multiannual Financial Framework
MIM
MMF
Mutual Insurance mechanism
Money Market Fund
MSME Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise
NDICI Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument
NGEU NextGenerationEU
ORD Own Resources Decision
PBI Project Bond Initiative
PD Probability of Default
PF4EE Private Finance for Energy Efficiency Instrument
PGF Participants Guarantee Fund
POCI
PPP
Purchased or originated as credit impaired
Public-Private Partnership
PSEO Pension Scheme of European Officials
RAL ‘Reste à Liquider’ (Outstanding Commitments)
RSFF Risk Sharing Finance Facility
RRF Recovery and Resilience Facility
RTD Research, Technological Development and Demonstration
S&P Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC
SAFE Security Action for Europe
SANAD MENA Fund for Micro-, Small and Medium Enterprises
SAPARD Special Accession Programme for Agriculture and Rural Development
SEMED Southern and Eastern Mediterranean Micro, Small and Middle sized Entreprises Financial Inclusion Programme
SICR Significant Increase of Credit Risk
SIUGI SME Initiative Uncapped Guarantee Instrument
Annual accounts of the European Union 2025
213
SME Small and Medium-sized Enterprise(s)
SMEW SME Window (Small and Medium-sized Enterprises Window)
STEP
SURE
Strategic technologies for Europe platform
Support to mitigate Unemployment Risks in an Emergency
TFEU Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union
TOR Traditional own resources
TRDI
ULCM
Temporary Rural Development Instrument
Ukraine Loan Cooperation Mechanism
VAT Value Added Tax