The 7-year European Union (EU) Budget is the most important and powerful instrument of the European Project. It is the cornerstone of EU integration and action because everything that is thought in European policies needs to be accommodated within it and has to fulfill its budgetary constraints and rules.

This Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) represents the expenditure side of the EU budget. It defines ceilings to be committed per year and per category of expenditure to be paid every year.

The revenue side is funded mostly through national Member States contributions along with some Own Resources of the EU which are basically just some VAT and commercial tariffs collected.

The current MFF (2014-2020) is almost expiring and the negotiations for a new one have been stuck for more than a year, long before the COVID-19 crisis, which can actually be a key to unblock the deal.

This deadlock is happening due to several reasons but the strongest and most dangerous to the european project is a clear division between frugal, fiscally conservative countries (most importantly Netherlands, Austria, Finland and Germany) and the so-called “Friends of Cohesion” (group of member states that within its 17 countries include Portugal, Spain, Italy, Greece and Poland). The latter ones don’t want to have Cohesion and Agriculture funds cut in this new Framework while the former on top of those cuts also want a smaller budget overall.

At least they did before this economic bomb resulting from the pandemic crisis of COVID-19 happened. With the massive unemployment and economic recession that is starting to happen across Europe and the world we hope the EU Governments understand that a new approach is needed for the EU Budget and only a more Flexible and Fair Budget will be the economic engine that can restart and guide the EU’s economy back on track.

We, the European Greens, and also the European Parliament (EP) as a whole, have been asking for a more robust, fair and flexible MFF for a long time.

Concerning the overall size of the MFF the EP has defined in its position that it should be 1.30% (€1324.09 billion) of the Member States GNI (Gross National Income). The original Commission proposal was 1.11% (€1134.58 billion) and the latest Council proposal (pre-pandemic) on the table that was strongly rejected was of 1.077% (€1095.46 billion).

One other very important part is the share of expenditure that is devoted to tackle climate change and environmental issues. The Greens defend that at least 50% of the Budget should be allocated to this objective while the Commission and Council are stuck on 25%.

One of President von der Leyen’s flagship initiatives is, of course, the European Green Deal. This massive program to redefine EU’s action towards the environment, although smaller and weaker than we would have wanted, is of paramount importance and we cannot let the liberals and pro-polluting industries advocates weaken it with the excuse that this crisis is so severe that we should put the environment policies in the backburner. It should actually be the opposite!

Unfortunately this pandemic is here but it can also be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for us to reshape the EU, our policies and our economy.

We have to move away from business as usual and stop promoting, with the EU’s taxpayers money, the intensive production of meat and dairy, the overfishing of our oceans, subsidizing fossil fuel activities and industries, supporting non-green modes of transportation and allowing other highly-polluting industries to benefit from budget support.

It is in times of crises that most projects either die or grow stronger.

Let’s use this one to reinforce the European project and that road passes through building an MFF that is fairer, more flexible, prepared for the future and capable of jumpstarting the EU economy while tackling, with enough weapons, the biggest threat that we face, the climate crisis.

Let’s all build this Maximum Flexibility and Fairness MFF.