On Thursday, 13 June, European Commissioner for Budget and Human Resources Günther H. Oettinger once again asked EU leaders to finalise an agreement on the elements of the EU’s Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) for 2021–2027 in October 2019.
Moreover, he also considered that it was in the United Kingdom’s interest to pay its Brexit bill, estimated to be between €40 billion and €45 billion, even in the event of a no-deal Brexit. In fact, the European Commission reiterated that paying this bill is a “prerequisite” for opening negotiations on a future trade agreement.
In view of the European Council meeting on 20–21 June, the European Commission adopted a communication on Thursday in which it calls on EU leaders to give an impetus to further negotiations on the next MFF “so that an agreement can be reached by autumn”.
Difficult debates on agriculture, cohesion, and overall volume. During a press conference, Commissioner Oettinger stressed that the European Council should reach a political agreement on the 2021–2027 MFF “in October”. “It is time to reach a compromise and a decision”, the commissioner said.
He acknowledged that the debates—for instance, on agricultural expenditure (France and Ireland in particular oppose the proposed 5% cut in the budget) and on the structure of the cohesion policy (including the Berlin method)—were difficult. Regarding the total amount of the MFF, he reiterated that some net contributors to the budget did not want to exceed 1% of the EU’s gross national income (GNI), that the European Parliament had counted on 1.3% of the GNI, and that the Commission had proposed a compromise of 1.14% of the GNI.
The Commissioner noted that, in order to finance the EU’s new tasks and to compensate for the shortfall resulting from the United Kingdom’s departure, Member States’ contributions will have to increase. “More than 20 Member States are ready to increase their contribution to the EU budget”, Günther H. Oettinger pointed out.
The Brexit bill must be honoured. In response to statements by former British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson—who has threatened to not pay the Brexit bill (i.e., the final settlement stated in the divorce treaty) if the EU did not accept better exit conditions for his country—Mr Oettinger considered that “this Brexit bill has been determined; we cannot discuss it”.
No matter what government is in place in the country, it will have to “agree to pay this bill”, the commissioner added. He acknowledged that if a government refused to pay this bill, “we would be faced with a problem because no court in the world can settle this issue”. However, he stressed that no matter what government is in place in the United Kingdom, it will have to discuss numerous issues with the EU, such as citizens’ rights, the research programme, and the Erasmus programme. “It is therefore in the United Kingdom’s interest to pay the bill, and it is a sine qua non for good development in the country”, Mr Oettinger concluded.
Euro area budget. The commissioner praised the substantial progress made on the characteristics of a budgetary instrument for the convergence and competitiveness of the euro area. He said that this instrument will be part of the MFF and will have a budget of €5 billion. It remains to be seen whether additional funding will be provided by euro-area members, added the Commissioner, who has high hopes that an agreement can be reached next week.
Own resources. Mr Oettinger called on Member States to take action on this issue and notably advocated a plastic tax be introduced in order to reduce the volume of non-recyclable plastic (from 10% to 14%). (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)