EU states can demand more budget space for energy security until 2028

EU member states can request additional flexibility in the application of budgetary rules for expenditures aimed at energy security, after the European Commission established the conditions and limits for extending the mechanism currently used for defense investments. The facility will be available for measures adopted after February 28, 2026, and will remain available until 2028, without removing the general limits imposed on public spending.

In short

States can request the inclusion of energy security expenditures in the fiscal flexibility granted through the national derogation clause used for defense.

For energy security, the allowable deviation can reach 0.3% of GDP in a year and a maximum of 0.6% of GDP cumulatively in the period 2026–2028.

Expenditures for energy and defense remain together within the general ceiling of 1.5% of GDP set for this flexibility.

Only measures decided after February 28, 2026, financed at the national level and with a direct budgetary impact, can be taken into account.

Each state must submit a request and an initial list of measures, and the Commission will evaluate them individually before it can recommend approval by the Council.

The new guidance from the Commission allows governments to request more flexible budget treatment for measures that strengthen the structural resilience of the European energy system and accelerate the reduction of dependence on fossil fuels. This possibility was announced on June 3, 2026, in the spring package of the European Semester, against the backdrop of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

Flexibility does not mean that these expenditures are entirely exempt from European fiscal rules. States may be granted permission to temporarily deviate from the recommended trajectory of net expenditures for certain measures, but only within established ceilings and provided that the sustainability of public finances is not jeopardized.

For energy security measures, the limit is 0.3% of GDP per year, and the total amount of accepted deviations over the entire period cannot exceed 0.6% of GDP. This ceiling is included in the broader limit of 1.5% of GDP applied to the available flexibility through the national clause, so that energy expenditures do not create a separate ceiling above that already available for defense.

The mechanism will be usable for the years 2026, 2027, and 2028. Only budgetary measures decided after February 28, 2026, can be considered eligible, which excludes retroactive funding of policies adopted before this date.

The Commission also requires that the measures be financed at the national level and produce a direct impact on the public budget. They must be designed in such a way that the effect on energy security is as large as possible in relation to the fiscal cost, and the guidelines include an illustrative but not exhaustive list of types of interventions that could be accepted.

Eligibility will not be automatic. Each measure proposed by a state will be analyzed separately by the Commission, including from the perspective of its link to energy security, its budgetary impact, and compliance with applicable ceilings.

Governments wishing to use the flexibility must submit a request for the extension of the clause and include an initial list of planned energy security measures, along with an estimate of the budgetary cost. After evaluation, the Commission may recommend that the Council approve the request, meaning that the guidance published now does not automatically activate flexibility for all states.

The basis for this procedure is the national clause provided for in the EU fiscal framework. The rules allow a state to temporarily deviate from its expenditure trajectory when exceptional circumstances beyond its control have a major impact on public finances, provided that the deviation does not compromise medium-term budgetary sustainability. The Council decides on such a request based on a recommendation from the Commission.

The European regulation already addresses energy security as one of the common priorities that states must take into account in their medium-term budget and investment plans, alongside the green and digital transition, economic and social resilience, and, when necessary, the development of defense capabilities.

The Commission, however, maintains clear limits for the use of the new flexibility. Any expenditure that exceeds the annual or cumulative ceiling allocated for energy security will be evaluated according to the usual fiscal rules, and the general ceiling of 1.5% of GDP is not modified by the new guidance.

This construction allows states to increase certain expenditures for energy security without the entire amount being immediately treated as a deviation from the recommended fiscal trajectory, but maintains a common limit for the additional accepted expenditures. The concrete impact will thus depend on the requests submitted by governments, the measures they propose, and the individual assessment carried out by the Commission.

The new European fiscal framework uses net expenditures as the main indicator for monitoring the budgetary policy of states. The trajectories set for each country aim to maintain public debt on a sustainable path and keep the deficit under control, but foresee the possibility of temporary deviations in exceptional circumstances.

Energy security was already included among the common priorities of the EU in the framework adopted in 2024. The guidance now adopted establishes how states can request that certain additional costs related to this priority benefit, until 2028, from the fiscal flexibility used for defense expenditures.

https://2eu.brussels/ro/news/statele-ue-pot-cere-mai-mult-spatiu-bugetar-pentru-securitatea-energetica-pana-in-2028