Lead MEPs: cutting the EU budget will not make the shared challenges go away

Statements by co-rapporteurs Siegfried Mureșan and Carla Tavares on the EU’s long-term budget following the EU ministers’ discussion on Tuesday.

The European Parliament’s lead co-rapporteurs on the next multiannual financial framework (MFF), Siegfried Mureșan (EPP, RO) and Carla Tavares (S&D, PT) made the following statement after the General Affairs Council (GAC) meeting today.

“Cutting the EU budget will not make the challenges around us disappear. Security, defence and competitiveness will still require funding – but if we reduce the EU budget, EU countries will have to address these challenges separately at national level, and likely at a higher cost. National budgets have grown by 68% in recent years, while on the other hand the EU budget has remained broadly stable as a share of the EU gross national income (GNI). We should learn from the past: weakening the EU’s common capacity does not make Europe stronger and more sovereign. We need an ambitious budget and new own resources. As European Parliament, we will continue to defend a budget allocating sufficient resources to our traditional priorities, agriculture and cohesion policy, as well as the new priorities, security and defence,” said co-rapporteur Siegfried Mureşan (EPP, RO).

“The clock is ticking, and we need to make progress if we are to reach an agreement on the next MFF in time. Parliament is ready to work towards the conditions needed for its consent, but the Council still needs to move forward as well, particularly on new genuine own resources. Europe needs a budget that is strong enough to respond to citizens’ expectations, crises, global and geopolitical challenges, natural disasters, support those facing hardship and provide predictable funding for students, farmers, researchers, regions and communities. New sources of revenue are therefore not an optional extra – they are an essential part of the solution,” said co-rapporteur Carla Tavares (S&D, PT).