The Multiannual Financial Framework – the next long-term budget for the European Union (after 2020) – should be as ambitious as possible, according to the European People’s Party (EPP).
As the largest European-level political party of the centre-right, the EPP has called on the EU to ensure that each euro spent will improve life in the European Union.
According to EPP President Joseph Daul, it is important to boost competitiveness in a sustainable way, protect the vulnerable, strengthen EU security and defence and stabilise the bloc’s immediate neighbourhood.
Referring to Brexit, Daul said it will impact the shape of the EU’s budget but it will not change course or priorities.
“We will carry on with ongoing policies such as the Common Agricultural Policy and the Cohesion Fund while adapting the EU budget to new realities, such as the protection of the EU’s external borders,” he explained. “With new priorities and a new format of 27 member states, the EU budget will require new funding. Responsibility, efficiency and flexibility must be the MFF guiding principles. The EPP will make each euro work towards a prosperous and secure Europe.”
Daul also called for stability and predictability. “The next MFF must be adopted before the 2019 European elections. The EU budget cannot get caught in an election cycle. This is also why EPP favours a seven-year MFF time span which also gives continuity.”
