At the European Parliament plenary session, on Tuesday 10 March in Strasbourg, Nils Ušakovs (S&D, Latvian) presented his report on the political guidelines for the European Union budget for 2027, the final year of the 2021-2027 Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF). The text, which is due to be put to the vote on Wednesday 11 March, calls for a “predictable, robust and people-centred” budget, against a backdrop of geopolitical instability and limited budgetary margins.
Nils Ušakovs pointed out that the 2027 financial year marks “both an end and a beginning”: the end of the current financial framework, but also a decisive moment for the credibility of the European Union before the next budgetary cycle. He recalled that the EU is operating in a particularly tense geopolitical situation, referring in particular to the war in Ukraine and the international tensions likely to affect the economy and energy.
According to the rapporteur, the budget must remain “people-centred, efficient and investment-oriented” in order to support prosperity, protect quality jobs and strengthen European competitiveness. He spoke of the desire to combine “economic resilience and social cohesion” and called for funding for health systems, the fight against poverty through the European Social Fund Plus and investment in the green and digital transitions.
Support for the EU’s eastern border regions, which are vulnerable to major economic and security pressures, and for farmers in Member States neighbouring Ukraine, Russia and Belarus, is a priority.
The rapporteur also supported a fairer distribution of direct payments under the common agricultural policy.
Budgetary leeway is also a major issue. According to Nils Ušakovs, the theoretical margins of around €4.6 billion would actually be reduced to around €1.3 billion after taking into account interest linked to the NextGenerationEU recovery plan and other budgetary obligations.
The European Commissioner for Budget, Anti-Fraud and Public Administration, Piotr Serafin, argued that a solid European budget remains “vital to ensure predictability and stability” at a time when the international context remains uncertain. He also assured that the budget proposal for 2027, expected in early June, will aim to use limited resources “as efficiently as possible”.
The report: https://aeur.eu/f/l1i (Original version in French by Nithya Paquiry)