On November 14, the European Parliament approved the next multiannual financial framework from 2021 to 2027 and underlines its “unity and readiness” for the upcoming MFF negotiations with EU Ministers and regrets that member states have made “no significant progress” on finding a common position.
MEPs expect “that a good agreement is reached before the 2019 European Parliament elections, in order to avoid the serious setbacks for the launch of the new programmes due to the late adoption of the financial framework, as experienced in the past.”
MEPs consider that the MFF proposal tabled by the European Commission is a starting point, but its proposed level “will not allow the EU to deliver on its political commitments and respond to the important challenges ahead”.
The Parliament reconfirms its formal position that the level of the 2021-2027 MFF should be set at EUR 1 324.1 billion in 2018 prices, representing 1,3% of the EU-27 GNI, in order to ensure the necessary level of funding for key EU policies that will enable them to fulfil their mission and objectives.
The Parliament called for the increase of the allocation for the InvestEU Fund, and the increase of the level of funding for transport infrastructure through the Connecting Europe Facility programme (CEF-Transport), from the EUR 11.3 billion proposed financing by the EC to EUR 17.7 billion.
It was confirmed some of priorities with one of them setting the budget for the Horizon Europe at EUR 120 billion (the EC proposed EUR 83.5 billion). Other priorities include boosting the European strategic investment plan (“Juncker Plan”), increasing funding for transport infrastructure and SMEs, maintaining the financing of the long-standing cohesion and agricultural policies, doubling the resources for tackling youth unemployment, triple the resources for Erasmus+, setting EU’s contribution to the climate objectives target at a minimum of 25% of MFF expenditure and 30% as soon as possible, at the latest by 2027.
Regarding the system of revenues, to reform the EU’s sources of revenue, MEPs stress that the current system is “highly complex, unfair and non-transparent and totally incomprehensible to the EU’s citizens”.
MEPs say that a new, simpler system should substantially reduce the gross national income-based direct contributions from member states and guarantee an adequate financing of EU spending under the new MFF. Parliament also approves the abolition of all rebates and other correction mechanisms.
In addition, MEPs demand the introduction of new own resources, such as one based on a new corporate tax scheme (including taxation of large companies in the digital sector), on revenues from the Emissions Trading System and on a plastic tax.
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