Two EU diplomats stated that the bloc’s countries wanted the Commission to cut at least 20 per cent, or about 13 billion euros, of the proposed medium-term budget increase, Politico reported.
In June, the EU executive requested 66 billion euros in extra funds from national capitals to cover unforeseen expenses, arguing that the bloc’s coffers have been depleted by multiple crises, from a pandemic to the war in Ukraine.
Many member states rejected approval of the increase, agreeing that the Commission should reduce the overall figure by at least 20 per cent.
You can’t ask only one group of member states (the net contributors) to make a sacrifice, while another group reaps most of the benefits. That would undermine a sense of fairness and solidarity in the Union.
If the countries do not conclude an agreement to continue providing aid to Ukraine, the country risks going bankrupt. Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko stated in early November that Kyiv would need aid to fill its estimated $29 billion budget deficit from the beginning of 2024.
While all EU states except Hungary agree on the need to continue supporting Ukraine, some countries are less interested in handing Brussels additional money for other purposes.
Some Eastern European countries and Northern European members, led by Germany, want the Commission to fund its new priorities by saving money from other parts of its current budget, which was agreed in 2021. Southern European members, meanwhile, support the Commission’s proposal.
However, most EU countries agree that the European Commission should reduce the proposed €66 billion budget increase.
On November 23, Spain proposed three alternative spending cuts from the current framework for 2021-2027 that would save €5 billion, €10 billion and €20 billion respectively. The Spanish presidency also proposed reallocating €2 billion from a special Brexit fund and from a package for workers displaced by globalisation.
Northern European states, however, were disappointed that the Spanish plan ruled out reductions in the EU’s agricultural programme and cohesion funding, the two biggest expenditures in the budget.
“[The Commission and the Spanish presidency] now exclude 2/3 of the budget a priori by saying that cohesion funds and CAP are untouchable. If we really need to save money, we can’t exclude 2/3 of the MFF budget from the scope.”
EU ambassadors are expected to continue discussing the issue until the European Council meeting in mid-December.
