Next Multiannual Financial Framework: the future of EU Budget
Last Updated: 15 May 2018
by Giacomo MANCA
On 2 May, the European Commission presented its long awaited multi-annual financial framework (MFF) proposal, also known as the European Union’s long-term budget for the years 2021–2027. This faces the challenges of an increasing need for social expenditures, the promises of increased expenses in security and defence made to member states, and a reduced budget due to the departure of the United Kingdom, one of the main net-contributor. Among the news, also the doubling of the amount of money dedicated to the popular programme Erasmus+.
While the overall proposal for the EU budget amounts to an equivalent of 1.11% of the EU 27’s gross national income: less than the European Parliament had proposed, but more than some Member States might be willing to accept. An overall cut to the budget risks to produce a reduced amount of social expenses, included in the Cohesion Funds, which for many countries represent a vital contribution in term of social protection.
The next MFF aims at simplifying as much as possible the rules both for National authorities, responsible for funding management, and for funding applicants, with an approach aiming at facilitating the integration of more than one funds in joint projects, as well as promoting cross border partnerships. The continuation of the “code of conduct” and the “partnership principle” embedded in the current project recognise the key role of the civil society in the future ESF+, while the maintenance of “ex-ante” conditionalities to funding, with whom EU member states are obliged to comply, confirm the transformative power of EU Cohesion funds in anti-discrimination.
Concerning the Social expenses, the main innovation regards the gathering of many of the current funding tools in the European Social Fund, through the establishment of the ESF+: this new tool will put together the funding coming from the current European Social Fund, the Fund of European Aid for the Most Deprived (FEAD), the Youth Employment Initiative, a fund for Migrants inclusion and the Health programme of the European Union. This instrument is meant to produce a tighter linkage between the cohesion funding and the implementation of the Principles of social justice enshrined in the European Pillar of Social Rights, but also to keep the specificities of the current programmes.
This fund is likely to share about 27% of the cohesion budget, which risk in any case dropping by 7%. The real impact of the new proposal on the EU budget will be disclosed only on 29 May, with the publication of sectoral programmes.
Despite some positive signs, fears for a decrease on social spending are tangible, especially due to the fact that the proposal from the European Commission will need to be approved by the member states in the European Council, which risks to propose for more budget cuts. European Commissioner Marianne Thyssen’s plea for ‘not a cent less for social’, repeated in many occasions and at the 2018 Annual Convention for Inclusive Growth, should represent a guiding principle to preserve the nature and individual characters of all the funds currently delivering social inclusion.
The European Commission is trying to approve the next budgetary framework at a fast pace: due to the upcoming elections in summer 2019, the legislative machine could slow down next year, which may affect the preparation of the operative programmes for funding, and the on-time start of funding in 2021.
Tags: Europe