European ministers responsible for European affairs reiterated their known and disparate positions on Tuesday 11 December in Brussels on the proposals for the EU's multiannual financial framework (MFF) for 2021-2027. The European Council will debate it on Friday 14 December.
"We're not making much progress, the brakes are being applied!” said Budget Commissioner Günther Oettinger after the interventions at the General Affairs Council. There will be "nine Council meetings in ten months” to reach agreement by the European Council in October 2019, he pointed out. October 2019 must remain in the spotlight, according to him, because we will still have Mr Juncker and Mr Tusk; after that, there will be new heads in the Commission and the European Council. Otherwise, it will have to wait until the end of 2020, with the risk of delays in the programmes.
He also justified the reductions proposed under the agriculture (-5%) and cohesion (-6%) headings. "A shrinking union also means a shrinking budget.”“Without cuts in funding for agriculture and cohesion, there will be no agreement, even if these cuts must remain reasonable.” And the Commissioner to launch to the Member States: "It is up to you to move and get out of your entrenched positions. ”
The European Council in March 2019 and the Sibiu Summit on 9 May 2019 must give clear guidance on the next MFF, concluded Mr Oettinger.
The Austrian Presidency concluded that a debate had taken place on the draft negotiating box and that it would be up to the European Council to define the outlines of the compromises and timetables on this important issue.
Romania, which takes over the Presidency of the Council in January 2019, has shown itself determined to “maintain the pace of negotiations with a view to reaching an agreement”, at least in part. The own resources system must be reformed, Romania added.
Calendar. Several countries, including Spain, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Ireland and Estonia, have asked to meet the October 2019 deadline to conclude on the MFF. "Delaying adoption will not improve the quality of the agreement”, said the Spanish minister.
The German minister acknowledged that an agreement "before the end of next year” would ensure that programmes would be funded without delay. A balance must be found between new challenges and traditional spending, Germany said, for whom we must think about what we want to put forward. An agreement before 31 December 2019 would be a great Christmas present, Germany concluded.
France and Lithuania considered that the quality of the debates should "take precedence over the timetable”. Speed should not be confused with haste, the Italian, Latvian and Hungarian delegations stressed.
Do not exceed 1%. Sweden and Denmark have asked to reduce CAP and cohesion expenditure so as not to exceed a total budget volume of 1% of the EU's gross national income. Finland also referred to the 1%. The Netherlands also requested a lower budget due to the departure of the United Kingdom. The Commission proposes to increase this to 1.114%.
Cohesion. Slovakia recalled that 16 EU countries called for cohesion policy funding to be maintained at its current level during the Bratislava summit. Poland has requested sufficient funding. Italy, hostile to cuts to cohesion policy, considered that the new definition of regions in transition, which modifies the 'Berlin method', is wrong.
Protection of the Union's budget. A majority of countries (France, Germany, Netherlands, Finland, Sweden, Denmark...) support the establishment of a conditionality regime to address widespread failures in the rule of law. Some countries, such as Belgium and Latvia, stressed the need for a legally sound system.
Agriculture. Greece, France, Latvia, Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Spain have again criticised the proposed cut in agricultural expenditure. Finland criticised the decline in rural development spending.
Migration. Italy called for a holistic approach to migration.
Own resources. The Netherlands, Ireland, Malta and Bulgaria expressed criticism of a reform of the system, which France and Italy in particular wanted. Italy referred to the issuance of sovereign guaranteed bonds to finance major projects. Slovakia and Slovenia supported a new own resource based on a national contribution calculated on the volume of non-recycled plastic packaging waste.
Several countries, including Slovenia and Cyprus, have criticised the draft Common Consolidated Corporate Tax Base (CCCTB). France and other countries have called for a rapid removal of discounts, but Sweden is against it. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)