Brussels, 28/07/2011 (Agence Europe) - Unlike France and the United Kingdom, and others, which see in the proposed increases in the financial framework for 2014 to 2020 a “contradiction” with the national austerity policies being conducted by member states, Poland is arguing for a solidarity pact on budget priorities. So said Miko³aj Dowgielewicz, Polish Secretary of State for European Affairs and Economic policy, as European affairs ministers met in Sopot, near Gdansk, for an informal meeting on Thursday 28 and Friday 29 July to discuss the next EU multiannual financial framework.
“The European budget must not fall victim to the financial crisis. We are entering this Presidency very pro-European in spirit: we will not accept that the European budget be accused of all the evils”, Dowgielewicz told journalists. The Presidency even invited four MEPs - Alexander Alvaro, Göran Färm, Salvador Garriga Polledo and Anne Jensen - to take part in one of the work sessions of this informal Council meeting. “We wanted this Council to be different from the others by inviting the European Parliament to join us”, Dowgielewicz said, adding that this was by way of a sign of openness. He wanted this Council to be a high point in the Presidency. “The discussions will be complicated. It's the start of difficult negotiations. I can tell you right now that we will not end this Council all smiles, and with an agreement. I will be happy if the discussion is constructive. The role of the Presidency is to gather the views of everyone and turn them into guidelines. But I want straight talking in this debate”, he said.
The Polish secretary of state has pencilled in a policy conference on the multiannual financial framework 2014-2020 in Brussels on 20-21 October. Concern is already being raised, however, at the very delicate dual role Poland will have to play in this budgetary debate. Poland, holding the Presidency, has to chair and arbitrate Council debates. It is also, however, one of the main beneficiaries of EU funding. Dowgielewicz denies any lack of impartiality: “This is not about individual interest, it is about reaching decisions on the largest of the European investment programmes”.
For the moment, Poland is putting a “cross-cutting discussion” on the table to set the tone of the debate and to determine the guidance to be given to the Council working group. The proposals on the next financial framework, for the period from 2014 to 2020, have only been public since 18 July. The technical details are being examined by the Friends of the Presidency Group and discussions are likely to continue for several months yet. Dowgielewicz noted that the Commission is due to bring forward a raft of proposals in the autumn. Only after that will it be known how the European budget will be shared among EU member states. The final decisions by the member states will not be taken before 2012. By that time, Poland will have been released from its role as mediator in the debates on the future budget of the EU. (V.W./transl.rt)