In the second package of proposals for the European Union’s next long-term budget (2028-2034), unveiled on Wednesday 3 September, the European Commission is proposing to increase the budget for the future Single Market and Customs Union programme to €6.2 billion for the period 2028-2034.
In the interests of efficiency and administrative simplification, the European Commission is proposing to merge four sources of EU funding: the single market, the customs union, tax cooperation and measures to combat fraud.
The breakdown would be as follows: €2.6 billion for the single market, €2.7 billion for the customs union, €475 million for tax cooperation and €363 million for measures to combat fraud.
Merging these four sources of funding is also in line with the need for flexibility that the European Commission has set itself for the next budget (see EUROPE 13682/1), in order to “increase the capacity to adapt and react to unforeseen needs”.
The European Commission points out that consolidation is included in its political guidelines (2024-2029), that Enrico Letta and Mario Draghi defended this approach in their reports last year, and that “the single market is intrinsically linked to the European customs union (...) which protects the EU’s external borders”. In particular, customs administrations are the leading authorities for controlling goods entering the single market at the EU’s external borders.
These interconnections make continued funding for the single market and customs union “essential”, according to the European Commission.
See the proposal: https://aeur.eu/f/i98 (Original version in French by Florent Servia)