The European Parliament is ready to negotiate an agreement with the Council on the next EU multiannual financial framework (MFF) before the May elections, "but not at any cost", Jean Arthuis (ALDE, France), Chair of the European Parliament’s Committee on Budgets, declared on Wednesday 14 November in Strasbourg.
On Wednesday 14 November, the European Parliament adopted its position on the MFF for 2021 to 2027, providing for expenditure representing 1.3% of the EU's gross national income (GNI) (see EUROPE 12137).
The European Commission's objective - supported by the European Parliament as an institution - to reach an agreement on the MFF for 2021 to 2027 before the European elections in May, seems unattainable.
Jean Arthuis explained to the press after the vote on Thursday that it was "out of the question for the European Parliament to prioritise the timetable over the content of this budget". "The Council must take this position into consideration", he said.
Jean Arthuis insisted on the need to combine new forms of revenue and the MFF expenditure. He recalled that whether or not the European Parliament must give its consent to the Regulation on the MFF for 2021 to 2027 decided unanimously in the Council, the resulting legal basis for the programmes "are decided on by the European Parliament and the Council in co-decision".
The rapporteur, Jan Olbrycht (EPP, Poland), explained that the European Parliament, in adopting its position, had decided "to be proactive and not to wait passively for proposals to come from the Council".
A serious regression. MEP Isabelle Thomas (S&D, France), also rapporteur on the MFF, noted that more than two thirds of European Parliamentary members voted in favour of the report on the European Parliament's position (therefore a large majority) and thanked the Greens/EFA group for "participating in this compromise".
The European Parliament is trying to respond to citizens' concerns, while the Council "has a completely different approach". MEP Isabelle Thomas believes that "the MFF that they are preparing us for is a regression. The Council's proposal would be around 1% of GNI, which is a serious step backwards", she said. She expects robust and difficult negotiations with the Council on the next MFF. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)