Jan Strczewski
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The European Union’s next long-term budget should focus on fewer programs and link reforms to investment to direct EU funds to areas it prioritizes, the EU said on Tuesday. said Piotr Serafin, nominated EU budget commissioner.
His remarks came in a written response to a question from the European Parliament, which is responsible for the EU’s current 1.27 trillion euro ($1.29 trillion) budget and is responsible for preparing the next budget. Mr. Seraphine must be approved for the position.
Work has already begun on the EU’s 2028-2034 budget, with the 27-member bloc aiming to transform its economy to halt CO2 emissions, strengthen its defense capabilities and make new technologies competitive with China and the United States. We are grappling with the costly challenge of reinforcement.
“This means a budget that supports European public goods and positive spillovers to achieve common goals, in particular defense and security, sustainable prosperity and competitiveness, democracy and social equity. ” Serafin wrote in his response.
“This will require fewer and more focused programs, and national plans that combine major reforms with targeted investments in areas where EU action is most needed.” said Serafin, Poland’s ambassador to the EU.
Serafin said he would focus on cohesion-enhancing policies that give regions a central role in how funds are spent, as equalizing living standards in the EU’s different regions is key to European unity.
To make the most of its budget, which is only around 1% of the EU’s GDP, Serafin said the EU will use this cash to finance the private and public financing needed for the transition to a green and digital economy. He said he would mobilize far more people.
“The EU budget must be a driving force for achieving EU priorities, leveraging private and institutional finance and ensuring coherence with national budgets, including cofinancing,” Serafin said. wrote.
Serafin said new sources of EU revenue would be needed before debt repayments begin in 2028, in order to repay and gradually repay the EU’s collective borrowing of around 800 billion euros for the region’s post-pandemic recovery. He pointed out that an agreement needs to be reached by 2026.
Finally, the next EU budget must be more flexible, Serafin said, noting that the current budget for 2021-2027 could be affected by the Ukraine war, the ensuing energy crisis, or the increasingly frequent disastrous future. It pointed out that preparations to respond to unexpected events such as weather phenomena are insufficient. to climate change.
(1 dollar = 0.9276 euro)
(Reporting by Jan Strpczewski; Editing by Mark Heinrich)
