José Manuel Fernandes, the EPP Group Coordinator in the European Parliament's Committee on Budgets, said on Monday 27 July, in an interview with EUROPE, that the European Parliament was “ready” to negotiate with the EU Council to improve the European Council's agreement (on 21 July) on the EU's post-Covid-19 Economic Recovery Plan and the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) 2021-2027 (see EUROPE 12533/1, EUROPE 12532/2).
“We want to strengthen European programmes such as Horizon 2020, Erasmus+, the health programme...”, explains the Parliament’s rapporteur on EU own resources. (Interview by Lionel Changeur)
Agence Europe - How are the contacts with the German EU Council Presidency for negotiating an improvement of the European Council agreement going?
José Manuel Fernandes - We have high hopes for the German EU Council Presidency. The political will it shows is very encouraging.
We have a clear mandate. There is a huge weakness in the European Council's agreement on the European programmes whose allocations have been reduced. We want to increase the financial envelope of programmes such as Horizon Europe, Erasmus+, InvestEU, the health programme. The cuts to these programs are incomprehensible. We are ready to negotiate and we refuse to be presented with a fait accompli.
What do you want in terms of own resources?
The European Parliament will rapidly adopt its opinion on own resources in September (raising the ceiling to allow money from the recovery fund to be borrowed and introducing a plastic tax). After that, the ball will be in the court of the national parliaments. Forty-one national parliaments have to ratify this decision. But, after that, the European Parliament will call for the creation of a basket of own resources.
The amount of new own resources will have to be sufficient to cover interest rates (from 2021 to 2027) and depreciation under the Recovery Plan. With two objectives: to prevent EU citizens from paying more and to help achieve EU policy goals (environment, fair competition, fight against fraud and tax evasion). Indeed, without new own resources, it will be necessary either to cut programmes or to increase national contributions. Possible options include a border carbon adjustment mechanism, a digital tax or a tax on financial transactions.
What do you expect about the mechanism linking EU funds to respect for the Rule of law?
This theme is on the table. Unfortunately, it shouldn't be on the table.
Any Member State wishing to enter the EU must respect the Rule of law. It is inconceivable that, after entering the EU, a country should continue to talk about this and not respect it.
Some of the countries in question use unanimity voting to avoid complying with what I believe should be an acquis communautaire.
How could the European Parliament be involved in the implementation of the Recovery Plan?
We are in favour of the Community method, not intergovernmentalism. The citizens' opinion on this European money from the Recovery Plan is the one given by the Parliament. MEPs call for ex ante democratic and parliamentary control.
The European Parliament demands that the Commission present a targeted revision of the Financial Regulation and the Interinstitutional Agreement (on budgetary discipline, cooperation in budgetary matters and sound financial management) in order to enshrine the role of the budgetary authority in authorising external assigned revenue under the annual budgetary procedure. It is a matter of the Rule of law.