The Budget Committee of the European Parliament wants to allocate significantly more money for the European budget in the coming years. According to MEPs, a clear increase is necessary to cover new and existing priorities.
EU politicians advocate for an increase of about 10 percent compared to the proposal from the EU Commissioners. This would amount to approximately 200 billion euros extra for the period 2028 through 2034.
Challenges
According to the European Commission, increased spending is needed to meet growing expectations. The European Union faces new challenges, while existing policy areas also continue to require funding.
Promotion
MEPs emphasize that additional investments are needed for defense and strengthening the competitiveness of the European economy, among other things. At the same time, they want to prevent traditional expenditures from coming under pressure.
The Parliament works with a division of the budget into three major pillars. These involve national plans of the EU countries, funds for innovation and competition, and spending on international cooperation.
Concerns
An important point of discussion is how money is distributed. The Parliament is critical of current rotating proposals that give EU governments more freedom to distribute European subsidies themselves, fearing this undermines European oversight and control.
Therefore, MEPs advocate for stricter control over the spending of European funds. Transparency and clear rules should ensure that money is used effectively.
Agricultural fund
They also want certain expenditures, such as those for the Common Agricultural Policy and regional development, to remain identifiable and separate within the budget. This is intended to prevent these items from being absorbed into broader funds.
The vote in the Budget Committee last Wednesday is considered an important step towards the final negotiations that must soon start with the ministers of the EU countries and with the European Commissioners.