The minister discussed the 2028–2034 Multiannual Financial Framework, also known as the MFF, at the government's weekly press conference.

ERR has previously reported that Estonia's contribution to the MFF would amount to €4.8 billion under the current budget proposal.

In total, Estonia hopes to receive nearly €11 billion from the next MFF.

"In addition to the national allocation, currently estimated at €6.5 billion, there will be [funds] from competitive-based sources. We are forecasting Estonia's potential to receive around €4.4 billion from there," Ligi said at the press conference.

On Thursday, the government also discussed Estonia's position on the new EU budget framework, which will now be negotiated between member states.

According to the European Commission's proposal, the new MFF will have four pillars: the first two would allocate funds to member states, the third would fund the EU's external actions, and the fourth would cover administrative expenses.

While the first pillar would provide each country with a fixed amount, funding from the second pillar would be awarded competitively, making it harder to predict how much support any one country will receive.

Ligi's comments suggest that Estonia expects to receive approximately €4.4 billion from the second pillar.

Through the first pillar, member states would receive support for cohesion policy, the common agricultural policy (CAP), fisheries policy, and internal security.

The second pillar would fund the European Competitiveness Fund, the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF), the Horizon Europe research and innovation program, the Erasmus+ mobility program, the AgoraEU culture and civil society program, the EU civil protection mechanism, and several smaller programs.

The minister said Estonia is targeting second-pillar funding for projects such as Rail Baltic, as well as for defense industry development, the digital sector, clean industry advancement, energy connectivity, the construction of critical infrastructure, academic mobility, research, and innovation.

"All of these are very pan-European, not local matters, and that's why we're advocating for them," Ligi noted.

He also said that the biggest shortcoming in the European Commission's budget proposal from Estonia's point of view is the lack of consideration for the socioeconomic costs borne by border countries.

Additionally, Estonia would like to see more flexible conditions for national priorities and a higher EU co-financing rate than the proposed 60 percent.

Ligi said Estonia supports the increase of the new MFF's overall volume to €2 trillion, but he also pointed out that net contributor countries may not agree with this, meaning the final budget figures are not yet certain.

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