EU Budget: EPP also turns against von der Leyen — ‘No to centralization of funds’

Brussels – There is growing opposition to the EU budget reform Ursula von der Leyen wants. In addition to the doubts raised by local authorities and the European Parliament, now comes the friendly fire of her European People’s Party (EPP). The Christian Democrat parliamentary group reiterated the same misgivings expressed by the House a few weeks ago, pointing the finger at key elements of the new seven-year budget on which work has been worked on behind the scenes at the Berlaymont building for months.

There seems to be no peace for the controversial reform that Ursula von der Leyen has in mind for the multi-annual EU budget (MFF), which was finally publicly announced a couple of days ago. In the name of flexibility and efficiency, the head of the twelve-star executive outlined the outlines of a true revolution in the very structure of the budget for the 2028-2034 programming period.

In essence, the RRF model of the post-pandemic recovery facility would apply: 27 national plans (NRRP-style), tranches disbursed based on the implementation of reforms by member states, targets and milestones to meet, and combining various programs under broader umbrellas. For example, the resources earmarked for the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and the cohesion policy – the two main expenditure chapters, each consuming approximately one-third of the MFF –
would be merged into a single super-fund.

The European Parliament
raised its shields earlier this month when Members of Parliament issued a series of rejections to the von der Leyen-designed reform that Budget Commissioner Piotr Serafin is also working on. Above all, they rejected the centralizing approach based on national plans and the introduction of a new Competitiveness Fund, promoted by the head of the Berlaymont to give fresh momentum to European industrial policy, which has topped Brussels’ agenda since last year.

The EPP’s internal revolt

However, a fight within the EPP itself has now erupted. It is not a minor political problem since it is the family to which the Commission President belongs. The Christian Democrat parliamentary group put in black and white yesterday (May 21) its misgivings about von der Leyen’s proposals, responding point by point to the news announced in recent hours.

The Populars’ grievances closely resemble those expressed by the plenary – after all, one of the co-rapporteurs who drafted the Strasbourg position, Siegfried Mureşan, comes from the very ranks of the EPP. No to the “RRF philosophy as a model for the Union budget,” reads the document adopted by the group, which Eunews viewed. It “cannot be the basis for shared management expenditure after 2027” because it “would give more power to the Commission and Member States.“

The merger of the cohesion funds and the CAP is also a red flag, as it calls into question the principle of multilevel governance. There is a rejection of the Competitiveness Fund – no one can touch the Horizon Europe program – and the Fund for Global Europe, with which the Berlaymont would like to increase the financing of the EU’s external action, which ‘raises serious concerns‘ about the merging of different programs (from development aid to neighborhood policy, via migration management, the Global Gateway and CFSP missions).

Also in line with the rest of the hemicycle, the EPP calls for greater flexibility to deal with crises and a simplification of the rules on disbursements (elements not to be used, however, “as a pretext to simply grant more power to the Commission” at the expense of the Parliament), as well as budget chapters dedicated explicitly to defense spending and to pre-accession assistance to candidate countries, ending with the overcoming of the constraint that historically limits the MFF to 1 percent of the Union’s gross national income.

The tug-of-war continues

It has never been a downhill path to approval of the new budget since the first rumors emerged last fall, which the Commission until now never officially confirmed. Even the executive vice president for Cohesion and Reform, Raffaele Fitto, has been tight-lipped despite repeated pressures in recent months.

Among the most vocal opponents of centralization in the new draft EU budget are the local authorities in the Committee of the Regions (CoR), which denounce the risk of irretrievably disrupting the territorial approach on which cohesion policy is based. Moreover, farmers do not favor the amalgamation of CAP funds with regional funds and have taken to the barricades, parading with their tractors through the streets of Brussels.

It was yesterday, it was in 2⃣0⃣ different countries, and it was the entire farming sector united against the idea of a single fund and the dissolution of the CAP within it. she was repeatedly pulled the jacket

In the face of economic and geopolitical challenges, increasing demands on…
they were distinguished.

— COPA-COGECA (@COPACOGECA) #EUHouseOfCards

A head-on clash seems to be on the horizon between the EU institutions, each entrenched in the defense of its prerogatives and intent on securing the appropriate resources. The Commission should present its formal proposal (accompanied by numbers and figures) next July, while the inter-institutional negotiations will begin at the earliest in the fall.

At this point, it is unlikely that the EU executive will backtrack on the structure of the new MFF. The ball is in the court of the MEPs, starting with the Populars: how much will they be willing to put their foot down to force von der Leyen’s hand and obtain concessions? The tug-of-war continues.