The president of France’s far-right Rassemblement National (RN) party, Jordan Bardella, is in favour of reducing France’s contribution to the European Union budget. The idea is one of the measures proposed by the RN in its manifesto.
The candidate for the post of Prime Minister is aiming for a rebate of €2 billion, or around 10% of the €21.6 billion France agreed to contribute in 2024, according to Article 164 of the French Finance Act for 2024. France is a net contributor and the second largest contributor to the EU budget, after Germany.
A decision taken unanimously by the Member States. Is this unilateral decision at all feasible? Such a request from a Member State would require “a unanimous decision by the EU Council of Ministers, where all Member States are represented, and which takes account of the opinion of the European Parliament”, said a European Commission spokeswoman. Member States’ contributions are linked to the EU’s own resources system, which “must be ratified by each Member State, including France”, our source insists.
It would still be necessary to achieve this unanimity, given that the French President, Emmanuel Macron, is one of the EU Council’s heads of State or government, and that the rebate sought by Jordan Bardella would require France to renege on its current commitments.
In the Parliament, where it is customary to advocate an increase in the budget, the adoption of such a reduction is not assured either.
Contacted by Agence Europe, MEP Rasmus Andresen, a member of the Committee on Budgets and spokesman for the German Greens in the European Parliament, believes that this would “directly harm French farmers and the poorest regions”.
An untenable promise. In an interview with Le Parisien on Tuesday 18 June, Jordan Bardella revealed that the French contribution would be reduced “as early as this summer”. However, the EU budget is subject to a very strict timetable.
The mid-term budget review of the 2021-2027 Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) was ratified in February (see EUROPE 13360/36). It sets the framework for the EU budget for the coming years. If he were to be appointed Prime Minister of France, Mr Bardella would probably have to mobilise in the run-up to the 2025-2026 deadlines to discuss a rebate that would only come into effect for the next MFF, for the period 2028-2034.
And even if he does manage to revisit France’s commitment, the announced timeframe seems untenable, given that the Committee on Budgets will not be formed before the Parliament’s first plenary session, from 16 to 19 July in Strasbourg.
Finally, a new conversation on France’s contribution would stir things up in an already cumbersome procedure. The Multiannual Financial Framework, which is the subject of intense negotiations, would have to be discussed again and all those involved would voice their grievances.
France, a major beneficiary. Each Member State contributes to the EU budget through a “ proportion of its gross national income (GNI) decided according to its wealth”, explains the European Commission spokeswoman contacted by Agence Europe.
Several net contributor countries - Germany, Austria, Denmark, the Netherlands and Sweden - obtained a reduction in their contribution during previous negotiations on the MFF, which confirms that the established system does not preclude negotiations.
Questioned by Agence Europe, Fabienne Keller (Renew Europe, French) explained that this rebate “is calculated on the basis of their ‘net position’. If they receive much less than they contribute, then a rebate may be possible, but this is not the case for France, which receives a lot from the European Union (CAP, regional funds, etc.)”. Under these conditions, “unanimity seems impossible” for a proposal that “the Committee on Budgets would not welcome with great enthusiasm”.
According to a 2019 Commission study on the economic benefits of being part of the single market, France gains “€142.2 billion, or 4.49% of its GDP”, compared to the €22.45 billion it contributes annually to the EU budget. Fabienne Keller, who wants to once again sit on the Committee on Budgets and the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) for the new term, wished to “recall that France’s contribution to the European budget is only around 1% of Gross National Income”. In her view, “what Mr Bardella is proposing is essentially a ‘Frexit’ in disguise”. (Original version in French by Florent Servia)