a control configuration for a combustion engine includes a control unit which has a function that determines a reference variable by taking into account an operating state information , an upper limit and a cumulative actual variable . the reference variable influences an operating state of the combustion engine such that a plurality of actual variables are adjusted so that , in an operating time period with a combination of arbitrary different operating states of the combustion engine that are set in a random order , cumulative actual variables do not exceed upper limits in this operating time period , wherein a target function is minimized by selecting the reference variable from pareto - optimal alternatives through use of an indifference curve . a combustion engine and a vehicle are also provided .