"This policy brief evaluates the backdrop to the European Commission's proposals for the EU's coming seven-year budget round, or Multi-annual Financial Framework. As usual, the negotiations are a careful balancing act between net contributors to the EU budget and its main beneficiaries and are expected to extend well into 2019. This budget round also faces the additional complications of Brexit, which will impact the revenue side of the equation, and new security, cohesion and migration challenges which will fuel pressure for more spending. The briefing examines these pressures and argues that, with so many interests to balance and limited political capital to expend, the Commission will have little room for manoeuvre even before the Member States start unpicking apart its proposals."

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