The Finnish Presidency of the Council of the European Union announced on Tuesday 26 November in Strasbourg, to MEPs, that it is well aware of the “disappointments that will arise from our proposal” on the EU's Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) for 2021-2027 (see EUROPE 12372/2).
During a plenary debate at the upcoming European Council on 12 and 13 December, Finnish Minister for European Affairs Tytti Tuppurainen said that the Finnish Presidency will present a “finalized negotiation box” containing figures “in the coming days”.
She considered that it was “in all our interests to reach an early agreement on the next MFF, so that our citizens, regions, farmers, universities and other beneficiaries can continue their work without interruption”. She recalled that individual positions are very divergent and that with the United Kingdom's departure from the EU, the status quo is not an option. “We will have to pay more (to the EU budget) and, unfortunately, some will have to receive less”, she said. Although the new ‘negotiation box’ will cause disappointment, she believes that “our proposal represents a balanced way forward”.
A corner of the veil is lifted. The Finnish Presidency has committed to giving new programmes “the largest share” of EU funds, the Minister explained. However, “we note the importance of cohesion policy for the unity and success of the Union, as well as the need to allocate sufficient funds to our farmers so that they can continue to develop sustainable agriculture”, added Tytti Tuppurainen. The Presidency will also propose to establish a link between the protection of the EU budget and respect for the Rule of law. In addition, new own resources should be decided in order to diversify the financing of the EU budget, she said.
The European Council will give further guidance on the way forward, with a view to reaching a final agreement on this dossier.
Agreement “no later than February”. “Time is running out, any delay in the negotiations could jeopardise the timely implementation of EU policies”, said Frans Timmermans, on behalf of the European Commission. He hoped that the December European Council would give “decisive impetus” to these negotiations, “so that we can reach an agreement by February 2020 at the latest”. He defended the Commission's proposal (1.11% of the Twenty-Seven's gross national income, moderate cuts in cohesion and agricultural expenditure, focus on new priorities) and advocated the abolition of discounts for some countries.
“The EU Council must inspire confidence, progress must be made from December” on the next MFF, with the goal of a decision under the Croatian Presidency, said Manfred Weber (EPP, Germany).
According to Javier Moreno Sánchez (S&D, Spain), there is no time to lose. New challenges must be met with funding that is proportionate to these challenges.
Dacian Cioloș (Renew Europe, Romania) regretted that discussions so far have focused on “the spending ceilings that Member States would like to allocate to European projects”. Let us collectively put the means on the table so that Europe is not synonymous with additional spending, but more efficient use of public funds, Ciolos said.
Ska Keller (Greens/EFA, Germany) spoke out in favour of new own resources that protect the environment, such as a plastic tax.
According to Manon Aubry (GUE/NGL, France), “cohesion and agriculture budgets must not be cut”. She called for “new taxes” on the ecological and social balance sheet of imported products, on financial transactions and on large multinational companies “that do not pay their fair share of taxes”. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)