EU leaders called on European Council President Charles Michel to continue negotiations with a view to reaching a final agreement. The agreement paves the way for the opening of negotiations with the European Parliament on the proposal. The European Parliament presented a report entitled “Next MFF: preparing Parliament`s position on the post-2020 MFF”. All Parliament`s committees are invited to give their opinion. The President of the European Council, Charles Michel, presented his new proposal for the EU`s long-term budget and the economic recovery plan, the negobox. This proposal will serve as a basis for the work of the Heads of State or Government at the extraordinary European Council on 17 and 18 July 2020. When the virus killed tens of thousands of people, sealed off millions and crippled economies across Europe, the situation became untenable and, in May 2020, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel revived the initially rejected reconstruction fund by offering €500 billion of common European debt. [7] It`s a good deal. It is a solid agreement.
And above all, it is the right agreement for Europe at the moment. This agreement sends a concrete signal that the EU is a force for action. Member States` EUROPEAN ambassadors agreed on the Council`s position on a regulation on a general cross-compliance regime to protect the EU budget. The compromise builds on the political guidelines of the European Council of 21 July 2020. On this basis, the European Council will hold an exchange of views in October 2019 with a view to reaching agreement on the EU`s long-term budget before the end of the year. The NGEU is limited in time: 70% of the grants provided by the RRF will be committed in 2021 and 2022. The remaining 30% will be committed in 2023. [14] The distribution keys for the years 2021-2022 are the unemployment rate and for 2023 the cumulative loss of real GDP observed over the period 2020-2022. [15] The Memorandum of Understanding protects financial interests in accordance with the general principles enshrined in the Union Treaties, in particular the values enshrined in Article 2 of the Treaty on European Union.
The common objective for the MFF is to present a draft simplified negotiating framework to the June European Council. This would allow an agreement on the EU`s long-term budget to be reached in autumn 2019. The final stage of the process took place on 17 December 2020 with the final adoption of the 2021-2027 package by the Council of the European Union. The Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) determines the EU`s budgetary expenditure for a period of at least five years. The current MFF, which ran from 2014 to 2020, is expiring. The EU institutions and Member States are preparing the new MFF for a period of seven years, from 2021 to 2027. They aim to reach an agreement at the Autumn 2019 European Council. The single NGEU Reconstruction Fund, finally established at the July 2020 EU Summit, aims to repair the damage caused by the COVID-19 pandemic while supporting the Union`s long-term green and digital goals. [8] In May 2020, the Commission proposed a strong, modern and revised long-term EU budget, complemented by Next Generation EU, a temporary emergency care tool, to address the immediate economic and social damage caused by the coronavirus pandemic, boost recovery and prepare for a better future for the next generation.
The MFF for the period 2014-2020 set an expenditure ceiling of 1% of European gross national income, a reduction compared to the previous framework. [2] According to the European Council, €959.51 billion in commitment appropriations and €908.40 billion in payments were made available for the period under review. [3] On 8 June 2020, EU Heads of State were briefed before the European Council on 19 June 2020. June 2020 sent a joint letter co-signed by CONCORD, VOICE, CAN Europe, Cooperatives Europe, the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum, Eurodad, ENoP, EPLO and HRDN. The letter contains recommendations on the vi orientation of the next Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) 2021-2027 and the European Fund for The Reconstruction of the Next Generation. In July 2020, after negotiations that lasted four days and four nights, EU leaders approved the next long-term budget and NextGenerationEU. On 10 November 2020, the agreement was also sealed with the European Parliament. The 2022 EU budget was formally adopted at the end of November 2021, following the final agreement on the budget by the Council of the EU and the European Parliament on 15 November 2021 during the conciliation phase. After two years of in-depth negotiations on the Multiannual Financial Framework 2021-2027, the European Council reached an agreement. In some respects, it could be seen as an ambitious recovery plan for the European Union. However, significant reductions have been made in heading VI “Neighbourhood and the world”.
In July 2020, the European Council approved a massive €750 billion reconstruction fund under the Next Generation EU (NGEU) brand to support Member States affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The NGEU Fund covers the years 2021-2023 and will be linked to the EU budget 2021-2027 (MFF). The full NGEU and MFF packages will reach €1824.3 billion. [1] In its conclusions of June 2019, the European Council invited the Presidency to prepare the negotiating framework for the MFF. On this basis, EU leaders will hold an exchange of views in October with a view to reaching an agreement before the end of the year. Europe`s first response to the COVID-19 outbreak in March 2020 was random. EU member states ignored the pattern of the virus and placed financial concerns above health concerns, reacted unilaterally and refused to come to Italy`s aid in fighting the massive virus outbreak in Lombardy that eventually caused it to spread across Europe. [3] At the end of August 2020, CONCORD published a guidance note that continues to include a 50% climate target in its Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Programmes (NDICI). In addition, the letter contains recommendations to complete the operationalization of this objective. A summit of EU Heads of State and Government on 26 September.
March 2020[4], during which Germany and the Frugal Four rejected a joint European reconstruction initiative, proved that the EU was not up to the threat of the pandemic. [5] In addition, Germany and France have restricted foreign trade in essential medical supplies, leading to shortages across the EU. [6] The 27 EU Heads of State and Government agreed at an informal meeting that the EU would spend more on the MFF after 2020 on the following priorities: it was agreed following a negotiation process. The process started with a Commission proposal in May 2018. After the coronavirus pandemic hit Europe, a second proposal followed in May 2020 to ensure that the budget could better support Europe`s recovery. This second proposal also included NextGenerationEU. Although this proposal brings a number of benefits, CONCORD is concerned that this proposal will not enable the EU to meet its commitments to poverty eradication and sustainable development. See our April 2018 general reaction.
The Flexibility Instrument, with a fixed annual amount of EUR 471 million, was intended for clearly identified needs outside the scope of the MFF ceilings. The new Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) will cover the period 2021-2027. The Commission would also present a revised proposal on the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS), which could be extended to air and maritime transport. The Commission will also examine possible new resources, such as a financial transaction tax. The financial and horizontal aspects of the EU`s sectoral programmes for the period 2021-2027 depend on the outcome of the MFF negotiations. While EU Member States published their position on the 2019 EU budget, CONCORD worked on a more in-depth analysis of the financial instrument for third countries, namely the NDICI (Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument). In the run-up to the conference, CONCORD, along with other platforms, EPLO, HRDN and VOICE, wrote a letter to leaders demanding that the future EU budget place human rights and sustainable development at the heart of their concerns. .