Parliament has also repeatedly called for the abolition of all budgetary rebates and corrections, which benefit only some EU countries.
Europeans call for a bigger EU budget
Any decision on the long-term budget will require the consent of MEPs, and Parliament has said the introduction of new revenue sources is an essential prerequisite for an agreement. A new survey commissioned by Parliament and conducted in June 2020 shows that the majority (56%) of Europeans believe the EU should have greater financial means to overcome the impact of Covid-19.
Ahead of a meeting of EU leaders on 17-18 July, MEPs have urged the Council to not water down the Commission’s proposals. Johan Van Overtveldt, chair of Parliament’s budget committee, responded to a revised proposal by Council President Charles Michel on 13 July. “The positive steps regarding the size and balance of the recovery instrument cannot compensate for backward looking proposals on the long-term budget and on own resources,” he said.
“Essential Union programmes are further cut, I refer to Horizon Europe, Erasmus+, Digital Europe and to migration.” He added that the EU’s long-term objectives have not disappeared with the Covid-19 outbreak and should not be sacrificed.
Need for a binding commitment
Also speaking on 13 July, Valérie Hayer, one of Parliament’s lead MEPs on the own resources reform, called for “a legally-binding timetable for establishing new own resources” and added: “We’ve got to make the member states make a clear commitment that they will not backtrack on.”
José Manuel Fernandes, the other lead MEP on own resources reform, also called for a binding decision: “We want the money from the new own resources to suffice to pay the interest rates for the recovery fund. […] The idea is simple: we cannot put the burden on citizens.”
The next steps
Once EU countries have agreed a common position on the budget, they will have a mandate to enter negotiations with Parliament, which will have a final say before the 2021-2027 budget can enter into force. The current multiannual budget runs out on 31 December 2020.
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