In Strasbourg on Wednesday 5 April, the European Parliament approved (470 votes in favour, 166 against and 66 abstentions) the text of the regulation on the mid-term revision of the multi-annual financial framework (MFF) for the period 2014-2020 (see EUROPE 11756).
This text will make it possible to mobilise €6.009 billion between 2017 and 2020 to respond to new challenges: €3.9 billion to manage migration within the EU (€2.55 billion) and tackle the root causes of refugee crises outside it (€1.39 billion); €2.1 billion for employment and growth (youth employment initiative, transport infrastructure, research, SMEs and Erasmus+).
In a statement, Parliament stresses that the amounts in the €6 billion package are reference amounts to be examined in the framework of the annual budgetary procedure, taking due account of the specific circumstances of each annual budget. The Council must still approve the revision, which it must do unanimously.
Members of several political groups (S&D, GUE/NGL, Greens/EFA, ALDE) feel that this revision will not be enough to tackle the challenges facing the EU up to 2020.
Jan Olbrycht (EPP, Poland), co-rapporteur on the dossier, stressed the symbolic nature of the exercise: this is the first time that a decision has been made to revise an MFF halfway through. He said that the mid-term revision and changes to the so-called 'omnibus' regulation are "two interrelated processes". On the revision, Olbrycht explained that it would be easier to use (unused) funds at the end of the current MFF, money that is usually returned to the member states.
Regrets. Isabelle Thomas (S&D, France), the other co-rapporteur, sees the text as a "small step in the right direction". She regretted that the text will not increase the spending ceilings and makes no proposal to avoid a further payments crisis. The subject of EU own resources is not dealt with in the revision, she added.
"There is not total satisfaction, only partial", said Gérard Deprez (ALDE, Belgium). He welcomed the following elements of the compromise: the global payments margin increased by €5 billion, the increase in the resources of the flexibility instrument and emergency aid reserve, the removal of some of the limitations to the scope of application for the 'global commitments margin', €875 million for programmes of particular importance to Parliament (Erasmus+, Horizon 2020, Cosme, etc.).
José Manuel Fernandes (EPP, Portugal) called it a good revision of the MFF. The money will not be going to Parliament, but will be used to address challenges, he said. He sent out a message to the Council: the special instruments should be above the ceilings of the MFF, not below, he argued.
Bernd Kölmel (ECR, Germany) said that constantly wishing to increase the budget was not the answer to the EU's problems. The Greens/EFA group called it a "false mid-term revision", as Parliament is accepting the Council's diktat.
"We have security in planning, but also flexibility to react quickly", said the European Commissioner for the Budget, Günther Oettinger. He referred to "initial reflections that will take us beyond 2020" and announced that the Commission would make its proposal on the post-2020 MFF "this year or maybe next". "We are making a commitment for the coming decade and want greater capacity for fairer action and greater budgetary flexibility". (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur with Pascal Hansens)