• The extraordinary Council on the EU budget in Brussels. Gentiloni: "More ambition is needed"

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20 February 2020 "The proposal presented is unacceptable and will not be voted on by the EU Parliament, it is insufficient to finance the commitments indicated by the Commission": said the President of the European Parliament, David Sassoli, after presenting the Assembly's position to the leaders meeting in the European Council on the multiannual budget.

"We have great respect for the role of the Council and look forward to the proposal it will make to be able to negotiate on the basis of a text that takes into account the indications of the European Parliament. In this regard, I feel the duty to affirm before you that Parliament will not accept any agreement. There is a very large majority ready to reject any proposal that does not take due account of its positions, "added Sassoli, speaking at the extraordinary meeting of the European Council. "This is a calculation based on the needs of the Union, on the commitments made by the new Commission and by the strategic agenda of the Council. Without an additional budget, the Green Deal, the digital transition and geopolitical Europe will remain an empty box", he explained. "We must equip the Union with all the necessary means for the challenges we have decided to face. The first and most urgent obviously concerns climate change. The Green Deal offers an ambitious path for Europe to become the first continent in 2050 zero greenhouse gas emissions. We need resources for growth and development, and to accompany countries, businesses, and citizens in this transition. We want resources so that Europe is always at the forefront of research and is not reduced to importing new technologies to whose development it will not have contributed ".

"For the European Parliament, the proposed cuts on agriculture and cohesion are unacceptable - he added - How can we shorten the distances between center and periphery, if we reduce the funds for cohesion, or how can we develop a green Europe if we do not invest in agriculture?". "It is in everyone's interest to break the artificial dichotomy between taxpayers and beneficiaries: all Member States, without exception, benefit from the EU. All have great benefits from the European budget and even more from the single market, of which the budget is a key component. " "Parliament recalls the need to put in place a new conditionality mechanism capable of protecting the budget of the Union when the rules of the rule of law are not respected and a systematic violation of the framework of European values ​​occurs".
"I thank President Michel for his attention to the issue of own resources for the EU budget - concluded Sassoli - for the first time in more than 40 years new categories of revenue could finally be introduced. The proposed basket must be expanded and It is essential to set a reasonable timetable for its implementation, but at least we see a step in the direction that the European Parliament has always hoped for ".