In Brussels on Wednesday 11 April, the European Commission confirmed that the proposals expected in early May on the multiannual financial framework of the EU post-2020 (MFF) are likely to feature a considerable decrease in agricultural and cohesion policy spending (see EUROPE 11980).
Although the EU budget is expected to remain at 1% of the gross national income (GNI) of the EU, the effects of paying for new priorities and the shortfall in funding resulting from the United Kingdom's withdrawal from the EU will translate into a 15% drop in agricultural and cohesion expenditure, a diplomatic Commission source told a seminar on the post-2020 MFF.
If the current allocations for agriculture and cohesion were to stand, the funding for the new priorities (migration, social aspects, innovation, security and defence) would have to be reduced by 15%, the source explained.
The message sent out by the Commission to the net contributor countries is that it will be hard to stick to the limit of 1% of GNI. The one sent out to the net beneficiaries is that they will have to expect reasonable and carefully controlled reductions to cohesion and agricultural spending. The Commission also hopes to build greater flexibility into the budget between the headings and programmes as well as higher margins.
A source at the Polish Ministry for Economic Development defended the results of the cohesion policy over the period 2014-2020, stressing in particular that the policy was flexible enough and had been able to adapt to new challenges. A representative of the Polish Ministry for Agriculture highlighted the benefits of the CAP to farmers, the countryside and rural life.
One member of the European Parliament made a link between the EU spending and the 'revenue' plank, so that the member states' national contributions to the EU budget do not increase, thanks to the creation of new own resources (see EUROPE 11981). He reiterated Parliament's position in favour of keeping the agriculture and cohesion budgets at their current levels. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)