MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION on the 2021-2027 Multiannual Financial Framework and own resources

25.5.2018 - (2018/2714(RSP))

to wind up the debate on the statements by the Council and the Commission
pursuant to Rule 123(2) of the Rules of Procedure

Bernd Kölmel on behalf of the ECR Group

B8‑0240/2018

European Parliament resolution on the 2021-2027 Multiannual Financial Framework and own resources

(2018/2714(RSP))

The European Parliament,

–  having regard to the Council and Commission statements on the 2021-2027 Multiannual Financial Framework and own resources;

–  having regard to Rule 123(2) of its Rules of Procedure;

A.  whereas the citizens of the Member States expect a budget to be fit for the future;

B.  whereas the EU budget can only be judged a success if it delivers tangible results on the ground;

C.  whereas a sustainable, balanced and transparent EU budget, based on an efficient and performance-based budget policy that respects the principle of subsidiarity, is essential for a lasting partnership and for improved cooperation and trust between the Member States;

D.  whereas the performance, cost-effectiveness and results achieved via EU funding should always be scrutinised by means of a system of budgetary control with a view to ascertaining the sustainable, long-term effects of EU expenditure;

E.  whereas many policy areas of the EU need to be overhauled to meet the challenges of the 21^st century;

F.  whereas bureaucratic delays and bad management are preventing the EU budget from reaching its full potential, and whereas better regulation ensuring fair competition is crucial to efforts to strengthen economies in a sustainable manner;

1.  Regrets the lack of clarity and comparability of the figures put forward by the Commission as part of its proposals for the next Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF);

2.  Notes that the Commission staff working document accompanying the communication from the Commission is entitled ‘Spending review’; regrets that the results of the comprehensive spending review conducted by the Commission services on which the Commission staff working document is based are not included; regrets that this comprehensive spending review systematically evaluating each policy area of the EU budget has only been undertaken within the Commission’s Directorates-General and has not involved other stakeholders; believes that only if all individual policies, programmes and instruments are based on objective need will they have credibility and legitimacy with EU citizens;

3.  Welcomes the stronger focus on European added value as a guiding principle; considers that the Union’s political priorities must be based on a clear and easily understandable definition of ‘European added value’, one of the primary characteristics of which is the determination that an action performed at EU level produces better results than the same action performed at national level;

4.  Reiterates the need to strengthen the focus on performance across all programmes by setting clearer objectives and focusing on a smaller number of higher-quality performance indicators; stresses the importance of a ‘performance culture’ in the Directorates-General of the Commission; welcomes the Commission’s proposal to make rules more coherent and to drastically reduce the administrative burden for beneficiaries and managing authorities in order to facilitate participation in EU programmes and accelerate implementation;

5.  Welcomes the attention given in the proposed 2021-2027 MFF to challenges such as large-scale migratory flows and security threats; believes in encouraging deeper cooperation between the EU, its Member States and international organisations, including the UN, NATO, and the Commonwealth, in order to meet shared global foreign policy, security and humanitarian challenges, while taking into account national competence in these areas;

6.  Notes the introduction of the European Investment Stabilisation Function as a shock-absorbing mechanism; opposes the overzealous enthusiasm for creating new institutions while the strict rules in place to deal with economic and monetary problems are persistently ignored or even blatantly flouted; believes that boosting investment should not be seen as an alternative to necessary structural reforms;

7.  Notes that while the Commission proposal for the 2021-2027 MFF outlines some of the broad choices for the future and announces an overhaul of many policy areas, the impact of the new policy choices will only become clear when the accompanying sectorial legislation is introduced; is therefore looking forward to the release of the spending programmes’ legal bases in the coming weeks so that the overall qualities of the proposed 2021-2027 MFF may be assessed;

8.  Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission and to the parliaments and governments of the Member States.