Portugal’s Prime Minister Luís Montenegro told MEPs in Strasbourg that the European Union should modernise its long-term budget and cut bureaucracy to support competitiveness.
Montenegro spoke during a “This is Europe” debate in the European Parliament, where discussion also covered the energy transition, housing and migration, the Parliament reported on Tuesday.
European Parliament President Roberta Metsola noted that 2026 marks 40 years since Portugal joined the EU and said agreeing the next EU long-term budget was “so urgent.”
Montenegro said the EU should reduce “red tape” and persistent bureaucracy affecting member states’ competitiveness, adding that more investment would be needed to provide high-quality, well-paid jobs “amid the AI revolution.”
He also called for progress on creating a Saving and Investment Union and completing the EU’s Banking Union — EU initiatives intended to channel investment more effectively across the bloc and deepen financial integration.
Calls to modernise the EU’s long-term budget
Looking ahead to the EU’s next Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) for 2028 to 2034 — the bloc’s seven-year spending plan — Montenegro described it as the “financial translation of our political ambitions”, the European Parliament said.
“We cannot accept the perpetuation of mechanisms built for other times and realities,” he said, calling for “more ambition” and “the courage to adopt own resources”, he added.
“Own resources” is EU terminology for revenue streams that go directly to the EU budget.
On energy, he called for a coordinated European approach to the current energy crisis to speed up the energy transition and reduce the EU’s dependency on other countries.
Montenegro also said Europe’s housing crisis would benefit from complementary EU action by simplifying procedures while respecting national and local responsibilities.
On migration, he said the Portuguese approach combined “responsible control with humanistic integration” and could be beneficial for Europe.
MEPs welcomed his commitment to swift talks on the long-term budget and said it should reflect new priorities such as defence and competitiveness alongside traditional social and cohesion goals.
The “This is Europe” series began during the 2019 to 2024 parliamentary term and has featured 15 EU heads of state or government in plenary debates with MEPs.
