In Brussels on Friday 12 October, the European commissioner for the budget, Günther Oettinger, said that he believes that a political agreement on the forthcoming multiannual financial framework (MFF) before the elections of May 2019 is "possible". He conceded that this depended on the will of the European Council, which is to discuss the dossier in December (see EUROPE 12115).
"With goodwill on all sides, we may have finished with the 2021-2027 MFF by Easter 2019", the commissioner said. However, he acknowledged that this would be possible only if the European Council of December sees the MFF as a priority. "If it looks only at migration and Brexit, then we will have little chance of succeeding", said Oettinger, in response to questions from the press.
It will also be necessary to see whether the Ecofin Council and the General Affairs Council are moving things forward enough to allow the European Council of December to be able to discuss the MFF, he stressed. If this is the case, we will have enough time to conclude an agreement by March or April 2019, the commissioner said.
Agreement on the outlines. Oettinger is working on the principle that the EU can agree before the European elections of May on the most important elements of the MFF: upper limits, headings and the 37 major programmes. The provisions on the implementation of the programmes could be adopted later. We must not move to the next mandate without any agreement, or this will push back the decisions until 2020, he warned.
Brexit. Even in the event of no agreement on the terms of Brexit, the commissioner anticipates a normal procedure for the 2019 budget to be adopted by 28 countries. "The British have said nothing to the contrary. They have always said that once they leave, they will continue to meet their obligations. And that goes for the 2020 EU budget", he said. "I do not anticipate an exceptional budgetary procedure", he added.
The commissioner also defended his proposal to phase out all budgetary rebates, including the British cheque.
Countries divided. Oettinger acknowledged that some countries do not wish to go beyond an overall volume of 1% of GNI and others oppose cuts in the CAP budget (we proposed a cut of 5%). The Commission anticipates a level of 1.14% of GNI. "There are 27 constructive reflections from the countries and the Commission is somewhere mid-pack".
Rule of law. The mechanism to make the payment of EU funds conditional on compliance with the rule of law is "very important to me", Oettinger reiterated, adding that he would fight to defend it. He stressed that unanimity is required at the Council on proposals on the MFF, whereas qualified majority is enough for the rule of law proposal. "We cannot have a blockage, qualified majority is enough for me on the matter".
Cohesion. Oettinger referred to the 'backstop' proposed for 2021-2027, aiming to prevent an increase or decrease of more than 24% of the cohesion policy budget. The greatest cuts (-24%) will affect Poland, Hungary, Slovakia and the Baltic states. "We have kept the Berlin formula in place, with a few small tweaks".
Confidence. Addressing the press and at a major conference on the 2021-2027 MFF, the commissioner referred to the context of a less 'rosy' European economy ("the party is over", he said) and the adverse consequences of no-deal on Brexit.
"It's not just about the money, but an agreement on the MFF would allow us to create confidence and security in Europe", he said. With this budget, we hope to reinforce the competitiveness of the economy, help the weakest (principle of solidarity) and make a contribution to sustainability (climate, biodiversity) and to internal and external security, the commissioner concluded.
Traditional policies. During a debate on the common agriculture policy and the cohesion policy towards the end of the morning, Marc Lemaître, the director-general for regional and urban policy, said that solidarity between member states remained the cornerstone of the forthcoming MFF, reiterating that three quarters of the cohesion policy funds went to the least developed member states.
He also stressed that the reduction in the co-funding rates corresponded to a normalisation of the economic situation of the member states and a return to the historic rates, adding that this co-financing would make it possible, in the case of the CAP, to have more money for rural development. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur with Pascal Hansens)