The European Union’s commitment to the fight against climate change is pursued in part through budgetary mainstreaming, which aims to integrate key policy priorities, such as climate, into every stage of the budget process, from design and preparation to implementation and evaluation across all spending programmes. The overarching targets are the allocation of 30 percent of the current Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) and 37 percent of the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) to investments in climate change mitigation and adaptation.
Despite its commendable aims, the EU’s mainstreaming framework is marked by design flaws, excessive complexity and fragmented implementation. These weaknesses raise doubts about its effectiveness, risk greenwashing through exaggerated climate benefits, allow environmentally harmful spending and make it impossible to accurately measure the true impact of mainstreaming. These are not minor technicalities but fundamental challenges undermining the EU’s climate ambitions. Substantial reforms in climate mainstreaming are essential to enhance the greening impact of the MFF.
About the Authors
Zsolt Darvas is a Senior Fellow at Bruegel and a part-time Senior Research Fellow at the Corvinus University of Budapest.
Kamil Sekut is a Research analyst at Bruegel.