EU leaders are meeting in Brussels today to discuss the 2021-2027 budget, avert a long process of horse-trading that has characterised previous budget negotiations and instead adopt a future proof-budget that enables the EU to promote innovation, sustainability, inclusiveness and equality for all citizens.

While the Commission put forward proposals for a post-2020 multi-annual financial framework that would see increased spending in new priority areas such as digital policy, innovation, migration and defence, proposals from the Council seem to retain the focus of spending on the Common Agriculture Policy (CAP) and support for lesser developed regions.

The idea of introducing additional sources of revenue has become increasingly popular. The European Parliament has underlined it will not vote in favour of an MFF deal that does not entail an agreement on the reform of the EU’s own resources system.

European Movement International proposals

In our policy position on “A Future-Proof European Union Budget” we call for an EU long-term budget which fosters a fairer, more inclusive and more sustainable EU. We believe that priority areas should include the development of a Social Europe, the full implementation of the Paris Agreements and the Sustainable Development Goals, youth employment and education, an overarching policy towards refugees and migrants, further investment in EU’s security and defence cooperation and more participatory democracy in Europe.

Furthermore, we argue that the introduction of new own resources would make the EU budget more independent from the contributions of Member States. These resources would free the EU from Member State hobby-horses and allow it to prioritise investment that addresses today’s challenges and reflects the EU’s strategic priorities. Furthermore, these resources would provide the adequate tools to face economic shocks, bringing about solutions to the structural shortcomings in the setup of the current Economic and Monetary Union (EMU).