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The new President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen gave her first press conference on Wednesday to report on the first meeting of the College of European Commissioners. The question that comes out most of what he is saying is that of the future European budget. The European Union must adopt a seven-year budget, which will enter into force on 1 January 2021.
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Ursula von der Leyen is especially awaited for the first project she has put forward for her five-year mandate, namely the greening of the economy, and she has to present her proposals on 11 December. But by then the new president of the European Commission is afraid of having to reduce her ambitions.
Finland holds the rotating presidency of the EU and presented a draft budget for the European Union on Monday which raises the concern of Ursula von der Leyen . If you listen to it, there may be money for the greening of the economy, for border surveillance or for common defense.
" The means, in the Finnish way, I think they are not high enough, " she says. If you are serious, you have to invest. When there is a crisis, and when the EU agrees to act, it must have the procedures and the means. "
Finland's proposal amounts to 1,087 billion euros, or 1.07% of EU states' gross domestic product, while the Commission expects 50 million euros more, or 1.11% of GDP. It has the support of France, for example, but opposite, in the camp of the saving States, some of which Germany or the Netherlands advocate to cap the common budget to one per cent of the gross domestic product.