Tag: EU budget 2014-2020

The European Commission will risk accusations of double standards today (25 April) when it proposes a 6.8% increase in the European Union's budget for next year despite calls for fiscal discipline across the bloc.

European Commission President José Manuel Barroso said yesterday (22 March) that an EU-wide financial transaction tax could save EU countries as much as half of their contribution to the EU budget.

Negotiations on the role regional funds will play in the EU’s next multi-annual budget are stagnating because talks are taking place in the context of the pre-crisis period, Fabian Zuleeg of the European Policy Centre told EurActiv in an interview.

The farm ministers of Spain and France have issued a joint statement on the future of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), saying both countries "will not accept" any budget overhaul that fails to preserve the EU's current level of farm spending.

The EU’s next budget is likely to include the first-ever binding document setting “stronger” and “clearer” objectives for regional funds to support sustainable development.

If 2011 was Europe’s annus horribilis, EU ambassadors hope actions in the making will restore confidence in the 27-nation bloc, reverse the cascade of the sovereign debt crisis that has marred the EU, and ultimately turn 2012 into an annus mirabilis.

Aiming to re-launch growth and job creation, European Commission President José Manuel Barroso unveiled yesterday (19 October) a proposal to raise €50 billion for projects in the transport, energy and telecoms sector, using so-called "project bonds".

The European Commission's proposal for the €101.2 billion European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) in 2014-2020 has few specifics on how this money should be spent, in marked contrast with the prescriptive regulation for the EU's regional development and social funds. EurActiv France reports.

London and Warsaw have put themselves firmly on a collision course with France over the upcoming reform of the EU's farm policy, calling for a "modernisation of European agriculture" which they claim currently "protects outdated practices of the past."

Nine EU countries are expected to table an official position slamming the European Commission's proposal for the bloc's long-term budget for the period 2014-2020, according to a draft seen by AFP agency.

If the European Union is to maintain the existing gains of integration, it must abandon "naivety" on issues like Schengen expansion and increasing the EU budget in favour of a more realistic approach, says Jean Leonetti, the new French minister of European affairs.

France's regions are defending a stronger EU regional policy budget, pitting themselves against Nicolas Sarkozy's government which would prefer to reduce the bloc's so-called 'cohesion' spending in favour of the Common Agricultural Policy. EurActiv France reports.

With a significant rise of climate-related spending, the European Commission's proposed next EU budget demonstrates a clear commitment to sustainable growth and transforming Europe into a low-carbon society, argues EU Climate Action Commissioner Connie Hedegaard.

Europe's most celebrated student exchange programme is set to win a 71% funding increase under European Commission plans for the 2014-2020 budget, with education and training schemes now all regrouped under the Erasmus brand.

The European Commission showed political courage in pushing for an increase of the EU budget and proposing so-called 'own resources' on the revenue side, despite the climate of Euroscepticism maintained by the governments of some countries, argues French MEP Alain Lamassoure.

Under pressure from nationalist parties, many EU member states have led attacks against the European budget and the Schengen border-free area, said Commissioner Janusz Lewandowski, denouncing the "arrogance" of some countries. The Polish budget commissioner spoke to EurActiv Poland in an interview.

The European Commission yesterday (29 June) presented long-awaited proposals for the EU's next seven-year budget (2014-2020). In a bid to reduce national contributions, the Commission suggested levying new taxes directly, a proposal that was strongly rejected by the UK, which labelled it "unrealistic".

As the European Commission prepares to publish proposals for the 2014-2020 EU budget next week, environmental NGOs expect the EU executive to put its money where its mouth is: by ending harmful subsidies and steering one trillion euros towards protecting biodiversity, increasing resource efficiency and combating climate change.

Helga Nowotny of the European Research Council analyses the future of research, innovation and development in Europe, particularly in light of the upcoming determination of the EU's long-term budget for the period 2014-2020.

The EU's commissioner for climate action, Connie Hedegaard, has told regional leaders that energy efficiency must be given "bigger priority" in the coming years and the EU budget should be used to leverage investments in energy-saving measures.

Poland warned cuts in the European Union's budget were not on the agenda of a summit of EU leaders on 16-17 December, during which the UK is expected to ask for a 25% reduction in the EU's long-term spending for 2014-2020.

The European Commission listed yesterday (19 October) a number of options to fuel the EU's future budget, which is currently funded overwhelmingly by member states. An EU VAT, a tax on air transport or a share of new financial, corporate or energy taxes are among the possible options.

The European Commission is considering boosting the role played by the EU's own resources in the next budgetary cycle, the institution's vice-president, Maroš Šefčovič, told EurActiv Slovakia in an interview. 

The EU's budget must shift funding from agricultural policy to energy and climate spending to reflect the bloc's changing priorities, think-tank representatives argued yesterday (24 February).