EU Council backs 2028-34 budget lines for migration, visas and border management

The Belgian-hosted Council of the European Union in Brussels on 15 July approved its first negotiating mandate on three regulations that will finance migration, visa processing, border management and internal-security programmes in the 2028-2034 Multi-annual Financial Framework (MFF). The partial general approach carves out headline budget numbers for later discussion but locks in the legal architecture under which member-states – including Belgium – will be able to draw grants to implement the EU Migration & Asylum Pact, roll out the Entry/Exit System (EES) at airports and seaports, digitalise visa workflows and reinforce returns operations. For Belgium the text matters immediately. Brussels Airport is struggling with hour-long queues as border police phase in biometric kiosks; the Council text allows EU funds to be used for extra staffing, infrastructure upgrades and mobile enrolment kits – investments estimated by the Federal Interior Ministry at €43 million over the next MFF cycle. The mandate also earmarks money for information campaigns and reception capacity that will help the Office of the Commissioner-General for Refugees (CGRS) cope with a 12 % year-on-year rise in asylum claims. Negotiators stressed the link between secure borders and business confidence. Belgian employers’ federation VBO-FEB said predictable EU co-financing will "de-risk long-term capex" and keep Zaventem attractive as a hub for intercontinental corporate travel. Airlines operating out of Brussels welcomed the potential for interoperable API/PNR systems that could cut passenger processing times. Trilogues with the European Parliament are expected to start in October under the Irish Presidency and could run into 2027. Belgian MEPs, led by Saskia Bricmont (Greens/EFA), have already signalled that they will push for stronger fundamental-rights safeguards and a higher ceiling for relocation and integration projects that benefit local authorities. Companies with expatriate populations should therefore monitor the budget envelopes that eventually emerge; these will shape the speed at which new digital visa portals and "smart borders" become operational in Belgium and across Schengen.