Isabelle Boudineau, Vice-president of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine Regional Council (PES/France), reacted today to the intervention of Günther Oettinger, European Commissioner for Budget and Human Resources, who joined the CoR members for a discussion on the future budgetary perspectives for Europe.
"We expect the European Commission to come up with an ambitious proposal for the next Multiannual Financial Framework, which allows for successfully tackling the many political challenges the EU is currently faced with. In a context marked by Euroscepticism and the rise of populism, this proposal will have to take into account the major new challenges, such as the migration and refugee crisis, while at the same time support investment in key policy sectors that contribute to smart, sustainable and inclusive growth", stressed Boudineau.
"Our top priority is to make sure that there will be a strong EU budget for a strong cohesion policy after 2020, which is the most visible EU action on the ground and the only real instrument of solidarity at European level".
The CoR rapporteur on the Reform of EU own resources within the next MFF post-2020also called for an in-depth reform of the current system of European budget funding and for keeping the budget negotiations within a European spirit: "With the reduction of the EU's budget after 2020 following the Brexit, time has come to rethink the purely 'fair return' approach. The EU budget must become less dependent from national contributions, more transparent and simpler for citizens, and have a better focus on actions with European added value".
The debates were followed by the adoption of the CoR resolution on the Draft Annual EU Budget for 2018 which, among others, calls for a further increase of funds to provide a systematic and sustainable approach to migration management; speeding up the implementation of European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF) programmes, and fostering synergies between the European Fund for Strategic Investment (EFSI) and the ESIF.
