After 2020, the envelopes allocated to the common agriculture policy (CAP) and the cohesion policy could be reduced to 60% of total EU expenditure, although these two traditional policies currently account for nearly 75% of the current multiannual financial framework (MFF).
Agriculture and cohesion will represent around 60% or 61% of EU spending and the rest will be used to pay for youth mobility programmes (Erasmus +), the migration challenge and research and innovation, among other things, the European Commissioner for the Budget, Günther Oettinger, told a debate on the post-2020 EU budget on Tuesday 13 March.
Oettinger reiterated a few of the guidelines underlying the proposed seven-year MFF to be presented by the Commission on Wednesday 2 May. The budgetary gap of around €12 billion a year resulting from the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the EU will be plugged through fresh money and savings, in equal shares. Paying for new European challenges (mobility, innovation, security and migration) will be covered to a level of 80% by fresh money and 20% by budgetary allocations. As a result of Brexit, the Commission is expected to put an end to the various rebates enjoyed by certain member states, as called for by Parliament.
On Wednesday, the European Parliament will reach its position on the post-2020 MFF, including on the creation of new own resources (see EUROPE 11967). More than 160 amendments have been tabled to the draft 'Olbrycht/Thomas' and 'Deprez/Lewandiwski' reports.
The Liberals consider that the envisaged upper limit on EU expenditure, set at 1.3% of gross national income, is unreasonably high. It is an “economic calculation”: the EU has “never have so much to do with so little”, said Isabelle Thomas (S&D, France), in the opposite corner, calling for 30% of EU expenditure to be used to tackle climate change.
It's a bit like being in a restaurant where you know the chef and the sommelier, said Oettinger: “you might want everything on the menu - for instance, two or three times as much for Erasmus + - but at the end of the evening, the bill has to be paid”. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)