In a resolution to be adopted in Strasbourg on Wednesday 26 October, the European Parliament is expected to lend its support to the proposed modifications regarding the legislative package on the multiannual financial framework (MFF) of the EU for 2014-2020, particularly as regards flexibility. However, the MEPs, who are to adopt the resolution prepared by Jan Olbrycht (EPP, Poland) and Isabel Thomas (S&D, France), at a meeting of the budgets committee on the evening of Monday 24 October, will express regrets at the fact that the Commission has not proposed to increase the current ceilings of the MFF, "which would provide a clear and sustainable solution to the financing of the estimated needs of EU policies until the end of this period".
The European Parliament will reiterate its position that the ceilings (of the MFF) of headings 1a (Competitiveness for Growth and Employment), 1b (Economic, Social and Territorial Cohesion), 3 (Security and Citizenship) and 4 (Europe in the World) are insufficient and must be increased in order to allow the Union to face current challenges and achieve its political objectives. New crises and new priorities have come to light in recent years, particularly the migrant and refugee crisis, external emergency situations, internal security issues, the agriculture crisis, the financing of the European Fund for Strategic Investment (EFSI) and ongoing high unemployment levels, particularly among young people, the draft resolution reads.
Incorporating the revision in the 2017 budget. The Parliament reiterates its strategy of negotiating with the Council a package to include the revision of the MFF and the adoption of the 2017 budget in December. According to the draft resolution, all changes agreed in the process of this revision must be applied without delay and incorporated in the EU budget for 2017. The Parliament reiterates its intention of reaching an agreement on both dossiers before the end of 2016. However, the Council argues that the discussions on the two dossiers should be conducted separately.
The Parliament reiterates a number of its demands: full compensation for the cuts made to the budgets of Horizon 2020 and the Connecting Europe Facility in relation to the EFSI, keeping the funding earmarked each year for the Youth Employment Initiative at the same level as in 2014 and 2015, and a sizeable increase of the resources for headings 3 and 4 in order to tackle the migrant and refugee crisis.
Budgetisation of the special payment instruments of the MFF. The Parliament remains firmly convinced that the payment appropriations resulting from the mobilisation of the special instruments in commitment appropriations should also be accounted for beyond the annual ceilings of the MFF payments.
The Parliament stresses its grave concerns at the current delays in the implementation of the EU programmes under shared management, as shown in the draft amending budget no. 4/2016, which cuts the level of the payment appropriations in place for 2016 by €7.3 billion. The MEPs anticipate that these delays will give rise to a serious accumulation of payment requests up to the end of the current MFF and argue that everything should be set in place to avoid an accumulation of unpaid invoice arrears and a new payment crisis. The Parliament goes on to call for a new binding payment plan for the 2016-2020 period.
Yes to the EU crisis reserve. The Parliament supports the Commission's proposal to institute an EU crisis reserve as an instrument to make it possible to react quickly to crises and events with serious repercussions at humanitarian or security level. The Council is largely against creating this crisis reserve (see EUROPE 11648).
Brexit. Lastly, the Parliament will call upon the Commission to provide the budgetary authority with all pertinent information regarding the budgetary implications on the current MFF of the British referendum of 26 June 2016 and the subsequent withdrawal of the UK from the European Union, without prejudice to the outcome of the forthcoming negotiations between the two sides. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)