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Brussels prepares a radical overhaul of the EU joint budget of the next trillion euro, replacing a dozen programs with connected funds that would convey more consumption in the capital cities.
The plan, listed in the work seen by the Financial Times, requires more “ambitious” budget in “size and design” to meet the increased consumption requirements on defense and huge debt repayment.
While the work ceases to propose a total number for the perennial budget, which begins in 2028, European Commission It creates a case for the highest renewal of the way the funds are distributed, saying “Status quo is not an option”.
He notes that the need to repay costs for bonds from Coid-era would be € 30 billion per year, or 20 percent of annual blocks of block-unseen financial burden that will force the EU to re-examine total contributions.
Each offer to increase the total budget is likely to satisfy the solid resistance of the biggest net contributions to the budget such as Germany and the Netherlands.
Instead of framing the negotiations around long -standing categories, the Commission stated that it wanted to revolutionize the budget structure, collecting more than 50 “rigid” consumption programs in the three main fund providing greater “flexibility” to cope with unexpected challenges.
AND EU budget It is traditionally funded by national contributions of about 1 percent of the gross national income of the EU. About one-third is awarded to agriculture subsidies, another third of the least developed regions-tam “Cohesion” -s a team that the rest will cover everything else from foreign assistance to EU staff salaries.
According to a simplified budget, the Commission would agree on a unique “plan for each country with key reforms and investments”, including regional funds and subsidies for agriculture. This would give national governments more free space in deciding projects, including some who have traditionally agreed at the level of local authorities with Brussels.
Another “European Competitiveness Fund” would encourage investment in key sectors and usual projects, while the “renovated” foreign policy fund would be “more aligned with our strategic interests”.
These two funds could allow the EU to dedicate a much higher proportion of budget to cross-border defense projects, which was not a priority in the past EU budgets.
The opening of the commission comes in front of a formal legislative budget proposal – formally known as a multi -year financial framework – which should be this summer. All 27 countries should agree on this, a process that has taken over two years of negotiations for the last MFF.
The Commission claims that existing distribution mechanisms are too bureaucratic and slow in the approval of projects. Although the EU is currently halfway through its seven -year budget cycle, only 6.4 percent of regional funds have been spent to date.
Consumption of consumption wrapings with Member States would simplify the procedure and allow a commission to supervise how projects have fulfilled the total objectives of the reform. But this could leave local and regional authorities with less saying of the use of funds. The paper says that every policy should be “designed in partnership with national, regional and local authorities.”
The Commission spokesman refused to comment on proposals that should be presented on Wednesday.
Siegfried Mureșan, a conservative member of the European Parliament in charge of the budget negotiations, said: “We want a budget that is better harmonized with the new Union priorities, which are EU competitiveness and defense.”
Additional reporting of Andy Bound and Henry Foya
