The Multiannual Financial Framework is the European Union's long-term budget, normally approved for seven years, which sets expenditure ceilings for individual areas including cohesion policy, agriculture, research and external relations. From it is derived the envelope available to a member state for the given programming period. Negotiations on the framework are politically demanding and tend to drag on, which has a direct impact on applicants: the start of the new period is delayed, the first calls arrive with a lag, and a pause arises between periods when few resources are available. Companies and local authorities should therefore plan their intentions with this cycle in mind and not rely on a call for a given purpose being available every year.
See also: Programming period, Allocation, Schedule of calls.
