During a debate on the outcome of the last European Council on Tuesday 22 October in Strasbourg, MEPs criticised the Finnish Presidency's suggestions on the EU's Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) for 2021-2027 (see EUROPE 12352/1).
They reiterated that they made the adoption of the next MFF conditional on the introduction of new own resources to finance the EU budget (see EUROPE 12346/10).
Jean-Claude Juncker, President of the European Commission, said that the volume proposed by the Commission for the next MFF “represents a minimum” (a total of 1.114% of the EU-27's gross national income). The proposals of the Finnish Presidency of the Council of the EU “are not acceptable. It is impossible to create Europe with 1% of the EU’s gross national income”, he said. He recalled that young students and researchers needed this MFF. “We have no right to offend these important partners simply because we are unable to reach an agreement”, said Mr Juncker.
Manfred Weber (EPP, Germany) said that the Finnish Presidency's proposal on the 2021-2027 MFF was “a provocation”. He considered that the EU should release new funds. “We are not going to accept any cuts in funding” requested by the Council, he said. He, like other MEPs, noted that the European Parliament had a role to play in the process of adopting the MFF.
Own resources. Iratxe García Pérez (S&D, Spain) called for an ambitious MFF and reiterated that the European Parliament will only agree if the EU acquires new own resources. This is how the EU will be able to finance new priorities and safeguard important policies such as the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) and cohesion. “We will not accept anything below 1.3% of the EU’s gross national income (GNI)”, Garcia Perez hammered home, referring to the amount proposed by the European Parliament on the total volume of the MFF.
Dacian Cioloș (Renew Europe, Romania) defended a “strong budget”. The issue should not only be the sharing of Member States' contributions; it is necessary to work on new own resources and “build a truly European budget”, he said.
“Always paying more, but always getting less”; this is how Nicolas Bay (ENF, France) summed up the debate on the MFF. He castigated the new taxes mentioned (such as those on carbon and plastic), “with the same ecological pretext”.
Margarida Marques (S&D, Portugal) noted that the majority of EU countries are opposed to Finland's proposals. According to Brando Benifei (S&D, Italy), the European Council is divided on all MFF issues.
If the agreement reached lacks ambition, the European Parliament will not hesitate to reject it - warned Jan Olbrycht (EPP, Poland) and Younous Omarjee (GUE/NGL, France) (see EUROPE 12352/9). (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)