In Luxembourg on Tuesday 16 October, the General Affairs Council of the EU is expected to hold a fairly general debate on the proposals for the EU multiannual financial framework 2021-2027.
The Austrian Presidency of the Council, which is hoping to keep up the pace, will take stock of discussions between member states on certain elements of the forthcoming MFF on Tuesday.
Work on drafting the future 'negotiating box', a document designed to facilitate compromise on the next MFF, will continue at technical level after Tuesday's Council. A working lunch on the 2021-2027 MFF is also scheduled to be held during Tuesday's General Affairs Council.
On Thursday 11 October, the Austrian Presidency distributed a document taking stock of discussions on certain elements of the 2021-2027 MFF. Coreper (committee of representatives of the member states to the EU) held a lengthy discussion on these on Wednesday 10 October.
Horizontal questions. Extra efforts will be needed to "find the right balance for the budget" to respond to current and future challenges and political priorities in a Union of 27, the Austrian Presidency explains in its 'stock-take' document. The ministers will certainly need to strike a balance between new and old policies. The common agriculture policy (CAP) and the cohesion policy are listed among the priorities, bearing in mind that many delegations have opposed the budget cuts proposed by the Commission (see EUROPE 12103).
Although all delegations support the idea of having sufficient flexibility in the future EU budget, opinions continue to differ over the details of this flexibility. The countries are also divided over whether certain flexibility instruments should be counted above or below the ceilings of the MFF (in commitments and payments).
Specific headings. Concerning heading I (single market, innovation & digital), discussions will focus in particular on the excellence criteria in the programme Horizon Europe, complementarity between programmes and transfers from the Cohesion Fund to the CEF (Connecting Europe Facility).
As regards heading III (natural resources & environment), one group of countries, led by France, is defending the added value of the CAP and its contribution to meeting the climate objectives. The Austrian Presidency has identified the following topics for discussion: - the 'external convergence' of direct payments and the capping of these direct payments for large farms (several delegations oppose the capping of aid); - the co-financing of the rural development programmes, including a possible threshold for transition regions; - the agricultural crisis reserve.
For heading V (security & defence), the debate focused on EU support for nuclear decommissioning projects.
Under heading VII (European public administration), delegations underlined the importance of transparency as concerns administrative costs and called for further efficiency gains and savings in a future Union of 27.
Own resources. The Commission has been asked for additional data to enable a precise calculation of the impact of the proposals on the national contributions (see other article).
The dossier is on the agenda of the forthcoming General Affairs Council (12 November), and then on that of the European Council of December (only a 'progress report' is anticipated at this stage).
See document from the presidency: https://bit.ly/2yi2GB0. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)