Comité van de Regio's herhaalt steun voor nieuwe EU-begroting (en)

The members of the Committee of the Regions yesterday evening reiterated their support for the proposed EU financial framework 2014-2020 in a plenary debate with Budget Commissioner Janusz Lewandowski i.

Committee of the Regions i (CoR) President Mercedes Bresso i welcomed Commissioner Lewandowski at the CoR plenary session for the second time this year. Speaking to regional and local representatives from across the EU in Brussels, Commissioner Lewandowski said that the major challenge for the future EU budget was "how to finance more Europe with the same money." Following a long consultation process, the European Commission had published its proposals for the financial framework 2014-2020 at the end of June, with overall budget commitments amounting to 1,025 billion Euros, or 1.05% of the EU's gross national income. While underlining the very different initial expectations, the Commissioner acknowledged that it is widely considered as a good starting point for the negotiations between member states and the European Parliament, a proposal "to be criticised, verified, but not rejected as a basis for discussions".

CoR President Bresso, who earlier this year drafted the CoR opinion on the EU budget review together with First Vice-President Ramón Luis Valcárcel Siso i, welcomed the Commission proposals. The CoR President said that the EU budget was of crucial importance to help Europe recover from the devastating effects of the economic crisis and should not be reduced under its current level: "This is a budget for investment - a budget to get Europe out of the crisis. But the crisis will not last forever. We must not just talk about the sacrifices we have to make next year. We also have to talk about our perspectives for growth and jobs for the rest of the decade." The CoR President also expressed her support for new EU own resources, such as a new value-added tax-based resource and a financial transaction tax. The latter would be "most appropriate" in these times of economic crisis, Bresso said.

Flo Clucas (UK/ALDE), Member of Liverpool City Council, said that in the crisis, the "whole of Europe was in the same boat", and compared the proposed new architecture of EU regional aid to a rescue at sea: "The EU budget provides 'convergence' funding for less developed regions. This means throwing out a life ring to those that still have a lot of catching up to do. Afterwards, tailor-made EU support is a lifeline for regions that have not yet completed their transition. And finally, when we have helped the regions aboard, they can still get assistance under the 'competitiveness' objective." Clucas, who is currently drafting the Committee's own-initiative opinion on the EU financial framework, concluded by saying that "we have to see the EU budget as an investment in our regions and towns, so that we can start getting out of the crisis."

Flo Clucas will discuss her draft opinion with regional and local politicians from across the EU on 10 November in Brussels, before its definitive adoption at the CoR plenary session of 14/15 December.