Title page 1

Contents 1

Executive summary 1

Introduction 3

1. Cross-cutting policy principles shaping the Commission's MFF proposal 5

1.1. Flexibility: Balancing agility with predictability 5

1.2. Simplification: A streamlined, but demanding budget 6

1.3. Conditionality: Towards performance-based disbursements 8

1.4. Diversification: The strive to Own Resources 10

2. Bridging internal competitiveness and external projection of the EU 12

2.1. The innovations of the ECF 12

2.2. Global Europe pursuing EU competitiveness 13

2.3. The challenges of bridging the internal and external dimension 14

3. Conclusions: Innovating, but... 15