About: EU budget
EU to face difficulties without a deal on recovery plan, Budget Commissioner warns
If EU leaders fail to reach an agreement on a pandemic recovery package next week, “we will enter into difficulties,” the EU Commissioner for Budget, Johannes Hahn, warned during an event in Brussels on Tuesday (7 July).
Von der Leyen calls mini-summit to push for a deal on recovery plan
European Commission president Ursula Von der Leyen called on Thursday (2 July) a mini-summit for next week with her counterparts at the Council, Parliament and German Chancellor Angela Merkel to work towards a deal on the EU recovery package.
Merkel and Macron show unity ahead of all-important EU summit
In a show of unity, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel met on Monday (29 June) and reaffirmed their commitment to the EU Recovery Fund, voicing hope that EU leaders would overcome their current differences. EURACTIV Germany reports.
Merkel on EU Recovery Fund: ‘The bridges we have to build are large’
The European Council summit ended on Friday (19 June) without agreement on the EU recovery fund. However, German Chancellor Angela Merkel made it clear that she wants to act quickly, and the next round of negotiations is scheduled for mid-July. EURACTIV Germany reports.
MEPs want Czech PM removed from EU budget talks
A European Parliament resolution calls for Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš to be excluded from EU budget negotiations over alleged conflicts of interest related to EU subsidies received by his former business empire. EURACTIV Germany reports.
No consent to ‘historic’ recovery plan without new revenues, MEPs warn
The European Parliament will only give its consent to a new EU long-term budget if the basket of own resources is increased to pay for the recovery fund, the main political groups warned in a letter addressed to EU leaders ahead of Friday's (19 June) summit.
Taming the ‘Frugal Four’: the challenge facing the German Presidency
The European Commission has presented its proposal for a recovery fund as part of the draft EU budget. Now the member states must be convinced, a task that will fall on Berlin when Germany takes over the EU Council Presidency in July, EURACTIV Germany reports.
How the EU can emerge from coronavirus stronger – and greener
When the EU re-emerges from this crisis, what will it look like? Will it be stronger and more adept at responding to future crises like climate change? Or will it be weaker, unable to address the concerns of Europeans and in danger of breaking apart? A lot depends on what happens this Wednesday, writes a group of authors from the Jacques Delors Institute.
2020 will go down in history as the EU’s turning point thanks to COVID-19
In the two months since mid-March, the European Union has seen a change of course that was unthinkable at the start of the year. Entrenched taboos are falling away, and things that had been awaited for more than 20 years are happening within days and weeks. We must not waste this historic moment, writes Luca Jahier.
Von der Leyen unveils details of EU’s upcoming COVID-19 recovery plan
European Commission president Ursula Von der Leyen shed some light on her upcoming COVID-19 recovery plan in the European Parliament on Wednesday (13 May) but did not unveil the size of the updated EU budget that will underpin the plan.
Europe’s defence budget up in the air amid COVID-19 recovery spending
EU countries should avoid slashing defence spending under pressure from the economic fallout of the coronavirus, the EU’s chief diplomat Joseph Borrell said on Tuesday (13 May), warning that the COVID-19 crisis could spark unforeseen security challenges.
Experts warn against using EU budget for COVID-19 recovery plan
EU leaders are meeting on Thursday (23 April) to discuss how to boost the bloc’s economy following the COVID-19 crisis. But whatever the recovery plan looks like, experts consulted by EURACTIV warned against linking it to the EU budget.
The day after
The EU's next seven-year financial framework will be the budget that rebuilds Europe or shatters it irreparably. And the current proposal on the table is too far from what we really need, write MEPs Eider Gardiazabal Rubial and Margarida Marques and explain the proposals offered by the Socialists and Democrats.
EU Commission will propose ‘borrowing’ to finance recovery plan: Dombrovskis
The EU executive will propose borrowing from the markets in order to finance a recovery plan that will come on top of the EU budget, the European Commission's vice-president for the economy, Valdis Dombrovskis, told EU lawmakers on Monday (20 April).
EU and COVID-19: Time to think outside the box
The Eurogroup’s decisions taken on 9 April were a necessary and overdue collective EU response, as well as a welcome but flawed and incomplete compromise. If European leaders are to save the EU economy when they meet on 23 April, they need to think outside the box, write Carlos Closa, George Papaconstantino, and Miguel Poiares Maduro.
ESM chief: Europe needs at least €500 billion from EU institutions for recovery
Europe will need at least another €500 billion from European Union institutions to finance its economic recovery after the coronavirus pandemic, on top of the agreed half-a-trillion package, the head of the euro zone bailout fund said.
COVID-19: Commission paves way to draw €37 billion from structural funds
The European Commission proposed numerous changes to its cohesion policy rulebook on Thursday (2 April) in order to draw €37 billion of unused funds to finance various measures during the coronavirus pandemic. But these measures can only help to a limited extent. EURACTIV Germany reports.
Von der Leyen: EU budget should be the Marshall plan we lay out together
The EU's next long-term budget should be a key instrument in the recovery plan to confront the huge economic consequences of the COVID-19 crisis, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Thursday (2 April).
Brussels seeks ‘consensual’ economic response to COVID-19 crisis, shifting away from coronabonds
With "all options on the table", European Commission president Ursula Von Der Leyen is looking at a consensual response among member states to the economic fallout from the COVID-19 crisis, her spokesman said on Monday (30 March), shifting away from controversial debt mutualisation advocated by Italy.
Eastern Europeans want more EU funds for military mobility
The EU should provide more funds to enable faster movement of military forces across Europe, defence ministers from four eastern European member states said on Tuesday (10 March), two weeks before the bloc starts a new round of divisive talks over the next seven-year budget.
The EU budget explained
Leaders will meet on Thursday (20 February) for a first attempt to reach an agreement on the EU’s next long-term budget. It will shape the future of the bloc for the next seven years. EURACTIV explains what the Multiannual Financial...
Lawmakers pressure Paris to do more for EU budget
MEPs in charge of negotiating the EU's next seven-year budget, the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF), came to Paris to seek France's support before the start of decisive talks on the future European budget. EURACTIV France reports.
EU should stop ‘subsidising undermining democracy,’ warns NGO boss
The EU should "stop subsidizing undermining democracy within the EU," Kenneth Roth, Executive Director of Human Rights Watch told EURACTIV in an interview, arguing that the negotiations over the next 7-year budget will not just be about money but about fundamental rights.