Brussels, 23/03/2016 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday 23 March, European Commissioner for Budget and Human Resources Kristalina Georgieva said in Brussels that the Commission had “worked hard to be able to make full use of all the flexibility offered by the budget” in order to address the refugee and migrant crisis.
During a press conference, she stated that the Commission has mobilised a further €6 billion “to help our member states” address this crisis and to channel the funding to the countries where the refugees are (Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey). At the mid-way review of the multiannual financial framework 2014-2020, “we will see what more we can do to respond to the EU's priorities”, Georgieva said. She stated that the economic crisis was not over. Half the EU budget is dedicated to growth and jobs in Europe, and this is fundamental, in her view, because when the economy is strong we can tackle the crises.
Is the EU budget enough? “This is a question we will have to ask when looking at the next financial perspectives”. For the moment, “the current Commission is focusing on the best possible use of the budget we have available”, Georgieva said. In 2015, “we used 99.9% of the funds we had, and this year, I can assure you we will go right up to 100%”, she promised. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)