President Charles Michel announced on Tuesday 23 June that an extraordinary “physical” European Council will be held on 17-18 July in Brussels to try to find a compromise on the post-Covid-19 European Recovery Plan and the EU’s Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) for 2021-2027.
After the meeting of EU leaders by videoconference on 19 June, Mr Michel had stressed the transition to another phase, “that of negotiations” on the 750 billion euro recovery plan and the next MFF (see EUROPE 12510/1).
“Before this summit, I will present a number of concrete proposals for us so that we can attempt to take a decision. We are aware that it is essential to do so as soon as possible”.
At a conference organised by the Robert Schuman Foundation on Tuesday 23 June, MEP José Manuel Fernandes (EPP, Portugal) said a European Council would not be enough to reach agreement on the Recovery Plan and the MFF. “European leaders will not agree at this first meeting. They’re going to need a second meeting”, he predicted.
Gert Jan Koopman, Director General of DG Budget at the Commission, relayed at the conference that all EU countries will benefit from the Recovery Plan, which will have the advantage of financing itself. “The debts of countries will not increase as a percentage of GDP”, he said.
Own resources. Mr Koopman estimated that the ‘plastic tax’ could come into effect from 1 January 2021. Moreover, technically there are no obstacles to making part of the income from the ETS system available to the EU budget. “Certainly, for the others, it's going to take some time to introduce them. But amortisation will begin as of 1 January 2028”, according to the proposals. He expects a proposal in 2021 and an agreement in 2024 to refinance these amortisations (from 2028).
Without new own resources, it will be necessary either to increase national contributions or to reduce programmes, two very difficult decisions to take, said the Director of DG Budget. He believes that there is “a real chance to make progress in the area of own resources”.
The former Chair of the European Parliament Committee on Budgets, Alain Lamassoure, noted that “the violence of the crisis made possible what was not”.
“Four locks” have been broken, he said: spending on EU policies will have to be financed from the EU budget, the “invisible” ceiling (1% of EU gross national income) will be “pulverised and doubled”, the EU will have a debt capacity, “which is revolutionary”, and new own resources will be needed.
“We will say yes to the 2021-2027 MFF if we have sufficient own resources to pay interest rates and amortisation”, Mr Fernandes advised. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)