Latest news with #SiegfriedMureșan
Euractiv
15-07-2025
- Business
- Euractiv
Parliament threatens to block EU budget talks over €800bn ‘re-nationalisation' plan
The Parliament's two lead negotiators warned on Tuesday they would not even begin budget negotiations unless the Commission abandons its plan to centre EU spending on national reform plans that sideline MEPs. At stake is how the bulk of the 2028-2034 Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) will be spent, just a day before the Commission is set to unveil the EU budget's radical overhaul. Under the proposed plan, two-thirds of the bloc's €1.2 trillion budget, currently earmarked for regions (Cohesion) and farmers (CAP), would be channelled through national reform plans, negotiated between the Commission and EU countries. Funds would be disbursed only after approval by the Commission and Council, removing the Parliament's ability to weigh in on matters beyond the plans' general guidelines. For MEPs, the idea is a non-starter. 'We reject any attempt to re-nationalise the EU budget,' said Siegfried Mureșan, co-lead on Parliament's position and budget point man of Ursula von der Leyen's centre-right EPP party, during a press conference. 'We will not accept, in any way, the path that the Commission wishes to take,' and it is 'crystal clear' from Parliament's mandate that they cannot accept the plans 'under any circumstances,' said Carla Tavares, Parliament co-lead on behalf of the centre-left S&D group. MEPs have long complained of being sidelined, as was the case in recent defence packages and the bloc's €650 billion COVID loan, which the reform-for-cash plan is modelled after. 'We have seen since 2019 that this European Commission was not sufficiently preoccupied with democratic accountability, transparency,' and involving the parliament, said Mureșan. The Commission argued that tailoring spending per country would greatly reduce administrative burdens and strengthen EU priorities. Still, the budget plan is unlikely to move forward without Parliament's approval. 'We can already say that we will not start the process if there is no clear, distinct CAP and cohesion policy,' Mureșan said. (mm)
Agriland
09-05-2025
- Business
- Agriland
Welcome for EU parliament's objection to single CAP fund
Three European farm organisations have welcomed the European Parliament's objection to the European Commission's proposal to amalgamate the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) into a single fund instrument. Responding to the commission's floated idea of a single fund – an idea that has provoked concern across the agricultural sector – the parliament delivered its stance against the proposed CAP reform in a plenary session this week. Copa and Cogeca, which represent the voice of farmers and agri-cooperatives in the EU, and Ceja, which lobbies for the political interests of around two million young farmers in Europe, have published statements in support of the parliament's stance. During the plenary session, the parliament adopted its own report on the future Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF), led by co-rapporteurs Carla Tavares (S&D, Portugal) and Siegfried Mureșan (EPP, Romania). CAP proposal The report included the adoption of two key amendments, which emphasise the preservation of the separate CAP budget in the next MFF, further calling for a strengthened agricultural budget. According to Copa, this consists of indexing the agricultural budget to inflation and identifying additional dedicated funding sources to support the many transitions which the EU is demanding of the agricultural sector. 'That represents a common-sense approach that would bring consistency between the Commission's ambitions and its funds,' Copa and Cogeca said. The statement indicated that while this report is non-binding for the European Commission and member states, it does however send a clear political signal regarding CAP, one that must be acknowledged and addressed. 'This vote strengthens and legitimises the concerns of Copa and Cogeca, which it intends to raise directly in a requested meeting with commission president Ursula von der Leyen. For now, a response is still being waited on,' the joint statement read. CEJA's president, Peter Meedendorp, expressed relief at the recent plenary vote: 'In February, when the European Commission published its communication on the future of its budgetary ambitions, we had predicted that the road to the next MFF would be long and treacherous for our young farmers' community, but also for many other stakeholders. 'It is a relief to us to count the European Parliament among our allies in this long battle.'
Euronews
12-02-2025
- Business
- Euronews
'Choices need to be made': EU Commission to propose simpler, more focused long-term budget
The European Commission is working on an overhaul of the long-term budget after 2027 to make it simpler, more effective, flexible and focused on policy priorities, according to a new document laying the groundwork for the upcoming proposal on the next Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF), due in July. "The status quo is not an option. Choices need to be made. The EU must maximise the impact of every euro it spends, focusing on EU priorities and objectives where EU action is most needed," said the communication on "The road to the next multiannual financial framework", published on Wednesday. The current MFF amounts to €1.2 trillion, or 1% of the bloc's GDP (excluding post-pandemic recovery funds), with most of the money going to agricultural subsidies and policies to tackle the socio-economic gap between the EU's poorest and richest regions. However, this balance may soon change as priorities such as security and defence increasingly demand more resources to keep the EU competitive on the global stage. 'We need a balance between the traditional priorities - agriculture, cohesion - but also the new priorities: research, innovation, digital, green transition,' lead MEP on the next MFF Siegfried Mureșan (EPP/Romania) told Euronews. 'It's clear that if we want Europe to do more, it cannot do more with a budget that is smaller,' he added. The EU executive is now proposing a redesign of the bloc's long-term budget for 2028-34, creating a plan for each member state and linking investment to reforms in a similar way to the post-pandemic recovery funds. A European Competitiveness Fund should provide the investment capacity to support strategic sectors, critical technologies and projects of common European interest, the document said. Budget Commissioner Piotr Serafin had previously indicated that the Commission would be working on a proposal with "fewer, more focused programmes" and a more targeted EU budget, ambitious in both design and size. To this end, the Commission document also stressed the urgency of working on new own resources, such as existing customs duties or contributions based on the value added tax (VAT) collected by member states, which are one of two options available to the EU to feed its common budget - the other being direct contributions from member states. "We believe that we need to strengthen the revenue base of the EU budget, so we hope that the co-legislators will also make progress on the creation of new European own resources," EU Economic Affairs Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis told reporters in Strasbourg, declining to comment on issuing common debt. Earlier this week, according to a non-paper seen by Euronews, the Spanish government proposed doubling the EU budget to at least 2% of the bloc's GDP and earmarking 50% of its funds for the green transition - a level similar to the investment capacity acquired by the EU with the post-pandemic recovery funds (around 1.7%). Spain also supported the possibility of issuing joint debt to support strategic investments and European public goods, including in the field of defence. 'The position of the Spanish government is irresponsible. The debt made for the next generation EU is not paid back and the Spanish government says we should do more debt,' Mureșan argued, adding that it would be particularly damaging for young people to pay the debt over the next decade. It is estimated that after 2027, around €30 billion a year will have to be paid on the debt inherited from the post-pandemic funds, which could amount to almost 20% of the total budget. Commissioner Serafin is expected to present a proposal for the EU's next long-term budget in July, when the real political battle with the European Parliament and member states will begin to agree on a final decision before 2028. "We now need a discussion on how Europe should look in the future, which are people's expectations, and we feel that people are concerned about security, about jobs, about their prosperity. This is why the budget should address this,' Mureșan said.
Euronews
12-02-2025
- Business
- Euronews
EU Commission to propose simpler, more focused long-term budget: 'Choices need to be made'
The EU Commission is working on an overhaul of the long-term budget after 2027 to make it simpler, more effective, flexible and focused on policy priorities, according to a new document laying the groundwork for the upcoming proposal on the next Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF), due in July. "The status quo is not an option. Choices need to be made. The EU must maximise the impact of every euro it spends, focusing on EU priorities and objectives where EU action is most needed," said the communication on "The road to the next multiannual financial framework", published on Wednesday. The current MFF amounts to €1.2 trillion, or 1% of the bloc's GDP (excluding post-pandemic recovery funds), with most of the money going to agricultural subsidies and policies to tackle the socio-economic gap between the EU's poorest and richest regions. However, this balance may soon change as priorities such as security and defence increasingly demand more resources to keep the EU competitive on the global stage. 'We need a balance between the traditional priorities - agriculture, cohesion - but also the new priorities: research, innovation, digital, green transition,' lead MEP on the next MFF Siegfried Mureșan (EPP/Romania) told Euronews. 'It's clear that if we want Europe to do more, it cannot do more with a budget that is smaller,' he added. The EU executive is now proposing a redesign of the bloc's long-term budget for 2028-34, creating a plan for each member state and linking investment to reforms in a similar way to the post-pandemic recovery funds. A European Competitiveness Fund should provide the investment capacity to support strategic sectors, critical technologies and projects of common European interest, the document said. Budget Commissioner Piotr Serafin had previously indicated that the Commission would be working on a proposal with "fewer, more focused programmes" and a more targeted EU budget, ambitious in both design and size. To this end, the Commission document also stressed the urgency of working on new own resources, such as existing customs duties or contributions based on the value added tax (VAT) collected by member states, which are one of two options available to the EU to feed its common budget - the other being direct contributions from member states. "We believe that we need to strengthen the revenue base of the EU budget, so we hope that the co-legislators will also make progress on the creation of new European own resources," EU Economic Affairs Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis told reporters in Strasbourg, declining to comment on issuing common debt. Earlier this week, according to a non-paper seen by Euronews, the Spanish government proposed doubling the EU budget to at least 2% of the bloc's GDP and earmarking 50% of its funds for the green transition - a level similar to the investment capacity acquired by the EU with the post-pandemic recovery funds (around 1.7%). Spain also supported the possibility of issuing joint debt to support strategic investments and European public goods, including in the field of defence. 'The position of the Spanish government is irresponsible. The debt made for the next generation EU is not paid back and the Spanish government says we should do more debt,' Mureșan argued, adding that it would be particularly damaging for young people to pay the debt over the next decade. It is estimated that after 2027, around €30 billion a year will have to be paid on the debt inherited from the post-pandemic funds, which could amount to almost 20% of the total budget. Commissioner Serafin is expected to present a proposal for the EU's next long-term budget in July, when the real political battle with the European Parliament and member states will begin to agree on a final decision before 2028. "We now need a discussion on how Europe should look in the future, which are people's expectations, and we feel that people are concerned about security, about jobs, about their prosperity. This is why the budget should address this,' Mureșan said.
