Long-term EU budget: MEPs brief Council on Parliament’s negotiating position
Meeting with EU Ministers on Tuesday, EP negotiators have informed Member States on the Parliament’s position on the next MFF and corresponding new Own Resources.
The next Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF 2021-2027) was up for discussion at Tuesday’s General Affairs Council, the day after the EP reached a deal with Council on the 2020 EU budget and secured significant improvements in the areas of climate, youth and innovation
During an informal breakfast with Member States’ representatives ahead of that Council meeting, MEPs reiterated Parliament’s position on the MFF and Own Resources, adopted a year ago and confirmed in a resolution after the elections by the new Parliament on 10 October 2019.
They stressed that Parliament is determined to secure a strong and credible MFF (expenditure) and will not give its consent to it without an agreement on the reform of the EU’s Own Resources (revenue). They presented Member States with a fact sheet on their position and conveyed the following messages:
Johan Van Overtveldt (ECR, BE), Chair of the Committee on Budgets
“The clock is ticking! It is of utmost importance that interinstitutional relations are stepped up to secure an agreement on the next multiannual financial framework and Own Resources package.“
Jan Olbrycht (EPP, PL), MFF co-rapporteur
"We expect a good cooperation with the General Affairs Council on the next Multiannual Financial Framework as the final beneficiaries in the Members States such as students, public authorities, SMS, universities, farmers, are waiting for a good future long-term budget."
Margarida Marques (S&D, PT), MFF co-rapporteur
“The next MFF needs to be ambitious enough to respond to EU priorities and challenges. The redistribution role of the EU Budget, capable of promoting cohesion and convergence between people, regions and Member States, is a main challenge for this MFF. Now we should take this opportunity to endorse a common, long-term vision and decide on the future political priorities as well as the ability of the Union to deliver them to our citizens.”
José Manuel Fernandes (EPP, PT), Own Resources co-rapporteur;
“We need the right budget to meet our political commitments, the ones that the Heads of State and Government themselves keep proclaiming. Europe is at risk of lagging behind, not only behind our own objectives, but also behind other major players like the US and China. President-elect Von der Leyen defends a ‘geopolitical Commission’, but 1% of the EU’s GNI would definitely not be a geopolitical budget.”
Valérie Hayer (RENEW, FR), Own Resources co-rapporteur;
"An EU budget relying almost exclusively on contributions based on Gross National Income would be like a Member State collecting revenue for its national budget entirely through the personal income tax. Any State would agree with us that this cannot be considered as an efficient use of fiscal tools. That is why we defend a basket of own resources that could help achieve EU policies' goals and shape the behaviour of citizens and Member States."
Rasmus Andresen (Greens/EFA, DE)''The EU is much more than a sum of national contributions to the EU budget; it is an Union of values, a political project. Therefore in the EU, there are no net payers, there are only net beneficiaries. It's time to invest in our Union, in our future, in our values."
More information in the press release published ahead of the event
The European Parliament’s MFF negotiating team:
Johan Van Overtveldt (ECR, BE), Chair of the Committee on Budgets
Jan Olbrycht (EPP, PL), MFF co-rapporteur
Margarida Marques (S&D, PT), MFF co-rapporteur
José Manuel Fernandes (EPP, PT), Own Resources co-rapporteur
Valérie Hayer (RENEW, FR), Own Resources co-rapporteur
Rasmus Andresen (Greens/EFA, DE)
Background information
Article 312 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU grants Parliament with a power of consent on the MFF and stipulates that, throughout the procedure, the EU institutions must take any measure necessary to facilitate its adoption. In its resolution of 10 October, Parliament regrets that the Council has so far not engaged in any meaningful talks beyond short and formalistic briefings and debriefings in the margins of the General Affairs Council (GAC). Parliament therefore requests the immediate intensification of interinstitutional talks on the MFF and own resources in order to pave the way for genuine negotiations, and calls on the Council to adopt its negotiating mandate without delay, taking due account of Parliament’s positions.
Kontakti:
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Armin WISDORFF
Press Officer