Ahead of the EU leaders meeting, S&D MEPs warn that they will not accept the next multiannual EU budget proposal currently on the table, unless it identifies and increases allocations to citizens’ priorities.

The cuts revealed in the Council’s negotiating box are unacceptable and the Group will take all measures in its power to prevent this inadequate proposal from becoming the European Union’s 2021 - 2027 budget. We stand firm on our demand that each country contributes 1.3% of its GNI to this budget.

Eider Gardiázabal, S&D spokeswoman on the budget, stated

“Less money for cohesion; less money for agriculture; less money for the Connecting Europe Facility and for border management, to mention just a few. Not enough funding for research and very far away from the minimum needed to address climate change. And, no mention of the Just Transition Fund, the European Green Deal and the Child Guarantee. This is a budget we simply cannot work with. The Council has done nothing but undermine this Parliament’s position when it comes to the essential programmes for the EU to move forward.

“We take the proposal from the presidency, as a starting point from the Council, to enter negotiations in order achieve a reasonable MFF for the EU for 2021-2027.

“We cannot tell whether this is a misjudged power move or rather just a lack of vision when it comes to our future, and the future of our next generations.

“What is certain, though, is that this is a budget we cannot, and will not, accept. We will not regress to the age of austerity!”

Margarida Marques, S&D Group negotiator on the MFF, said:

“The cuts we have seen in the negotiating box are unacceptable! We expected the presidency to show that it cares about the pressing challenges Europe has to tackle - climate change, digitalisation, a socially just transition.

“The Parliament’s proposal is the only one on the table that can reconcile the imperatives of coping with the ever increasing number of global challenges; financing a growing number of responsibilities; responding to our common ambitions.

“We welcome the commitments made by the new president of the European Commission, but we need to make sure that the European Union also delivers on those promises.

“Existing programmes in areas such as youth, research and innovation, investment, migration, external action, climate transition, digitalisation and social rights must receive adequate funding. Cohesion policies, agriculture, fisheries - these are areas where funding should be maintained. All necessary funds must be put to use so that we have a just transition to a carbon neutral economy and that this transition benefits from a strong social dimension, so that nobody and no region is left behind.”