The European Movement International is a long-standing advocate of EU own resources in order to allow the EU to be more flexible in shaping and implementing its policies, while creating a clear connection between the EU’s goals and budget and ending the current horse-trading and public disagreement on Member State contributions.

The Report on the Future Financing of the EU, on the agenda of the College of Commissioners today, offers a set of guidelines that is ambitious in its goals – a thorough overhaul of the EU budget – yet realistic and achievable within the current legal framework.

Presented by its Chairman Mario Monti in the Committee on Budgets, the report puts the idea of ‘European added value’ at its centre and presents a series of recommendations to create a more transparent, fair and democratically accountable EU budget.

The ‘Monti Report’ includes several very relevant principles and recommendations in line with the Policy Position on Own Resources of the European Movement, which is particularly supportive of:

• Ensuring the idea of European added value is at the heart of the EU budget so that the EU budget really is more than the sum of its part in its effectiveness;
• Presenting a series of new own resources that can together be part of a ‘financing basket’ stemming from production, consumption and environmental policies – options that also hold the opportunity to create a clearer link between citizens and the EU, as is also strongly argued for in the European Movement Policy Position.

As we argue in our Policy Position, an additional tax burden has to be avoided, which is also reflected in the recommendation ‘no increase in the overall fiscal burden’. Likewise, our stance that a reform on the income-side should go hand in hand with a reform of the expdenture-side is duly reflected in the Monti report.

As a balanced and forward-looking report, the Monti report deserves serious consideration and follow-up. Being based on inter-institutional consensus, all three institutions should take the report, in connection with the upcoming MFF, as a window of opportunity to reform the EU budget in a way that is fairer, more transparent and more accountable. Oettinger, in his hearing for his new budget portfolio, already gave a push for a real discussion. As the European Movement, we will actively contribute to the debate.

 European Movement International work on Own Resources

Breakfast Briefing on Own Resources with Kristalina Georgieva and Mario Monti

On 8 September 2016, the European Movement International held a Breakfast Briefing at the margins of the Interinstitutional Conference on the Future Financing of the European Union to discuss how best to finance the EU budget and explore all possible options. Commission Vice-President Georgieva and Senator Monti shared their thoughts on the EU budget.

See the event report, pictures and videos

ECB profit as an EU Own Resources 

Supported by the European Movement International, a cross-party coalition of more than 40 pro-European MEPs has put forward an amendment to the ECB Annual report that would transform the profit of the European Central Bank into an own resource of the EU. The European Movement advocates the constitution of genuine own resources in order to create a fairer and more transparent system.

Read the press release

Policy Position on Own Resources

The European Movement International argues in this Policy Position that a bigger share of own resources in the EU budget would allow the EU to be more flexible in shaping and implementing its policies, while creating a clear connection between the EU’s goals and its budget.

Read the full Policy Position