The co-rapporteurs of the European Parliament's draft initiative on the next Multiannual Financial Framework, Siegfried Mureşan (EPP, Romanian) and Carla Tavares (S&D, Portuguese), warned journalists at a press briefing on Wednesday 11 December that work on the next Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) would actually begin in January 2025. Discussions on the subject already took place in Parliament’s Committee on Budgets on Thursday 7 November, with contributions from the European Court of Auditors, the European Investment Bank, the Bruegel Institute, the Jacques Delors Institute and the College of Europe (see EUROPE 13521/11).
The two MEPs are aiming for a European Parliament own-initiative report to be adopted in the first half of 2025. An initial report should be presented by the end of January. However, Parliament’s timetable will be adapted to that of the European Commission by not presenting the former’s proposal too far in advance of the latter’s, “to avoid any loss of relevance“.
Siegfried Mureşan and Carla Tavares intend to argue “for a budget that is better aligned with the European Union’s political priorities: security, defence, migration management, humanitarian aid (particularly in the face of growing needs in the Middle East and Syria), economic competitiveness, the green and digital transitions”. Agriculture and cohesion, the EU budget’s traditional priorities, “remain important”.
Parliament intends to draw on “the reports by presidents Mario Draghi and Sauli Niinistö to ensure better alignment with priorities”, said Mr Mureşan. In his view, bureaucracy needs to be reduced, as “most of the time, beneficiaries complain more about [bureaucracy] than about a limited budget”.
His colleague Ms Tavares pointed out that “competitiveness must go hand in hand with social cohesion”, adding that “the decisions taken in the MFF have a direct impact on people’s quality of life”. The results are better when local and regional levels have been included, according to the two rapporteurs, who believe that the funds must be brought closer to the final beneficiaries.
Siegfried Mureşan believes that the EU budget must provide added value by promoting “the EU’s general objectives”. Although European citizens shouldn’t be adversely affected by the fines certain Member States have received under the conditionality of the Rule of law, it is also necessary to put pressure on governments, according to the EPP MEP.
One of the major challenges of the next Multiannual Financial Framework will be preparing repayments contracted under the post-Covid-19 fund, for which the EU budget should not be earmarked, according to the rapporteurs. In their view, it will be necessary to agree on new own resources for the EU. This is the subject of another report, championed by Czech EPP MEP Danuše Nerudová (see EUROPE 13506/20).
The co-rapporteurs would like to vote on the text in May 2025. They pointed out that the European Commission was “legally obligated to present the next MFF by July 2025”, unless there was a derogation. (Original version in French by Florent Servia)