European summit: the multi-annual budget puzzle

Text by: RFI Follow

The 27 have met since Thursday 20 February in Brussels to fix the first long-term budget for the post-Brexit EU. But the priorities are not the same for everyone.

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With our special envoys in Brussels, Anthony Lattier, Aabla Jounaïdi

In Brussels, the Twenty-Seven are working on a complex equation: filling the hole caused by the departure of the British while finding the means to finance ambitious policies for the next seven years. We clearly felt this in the words of the leaders when they arrived: the discussion promises to be long, very long. The last time they had discussed the budget, seven years ago, it had taken two summits to find an agreement.

This time, the new President of the European Council Charles Michel has invested a lot to complete everything in one go, even if it means staying longer than expected.

" I will spend all the time it takes to get an ambitious deal. If everyone puts a little spirit of compromise and ambition, there is a way to find an agreement during this summit. This path can take a few hours, a few nights, a few days. I'm ready for it, "said French President Emmanuel Macron.

As in all negotiations, everyone begins to be dissatisfied. Some consider the budget too large, others too small. Everyone has their own requirements: more money for farmers, for digital technology, to help catch-up countries…

Sweden thus embodies the camp of those who do not want to increase their contribution, but rather to concentrate the means on certain policies. “ We can't just increase the budget. Taxpayers in Sweden pay for all of this. We want to modernize the budget, invest more in digitization, in a modern industrial policy, ensure the security of our fellow citizens and deal with climate change. Priorities must be set , ”pleads his Prime Minister, Stefan Löfven.

The primary beneficiary of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) subsidies, France has defended its merits while this aid to farmers is set to be reduced. Far from being exceeded, the CAP can serve the fight against climate change, argued Emmanuel Macron.

“ Today, we are not there. We will fight to further improve it, so that we have the means to accompany our peasants every day, because they feed the French people and the European people, and to help them also in the transitions that they are in. doing, said the French president. Because they are modernizing their production tools, because they are also asked to make efforts, they are asked to meet public health or environmental objectives, they must be supported. The decor is set, the great bargaining has started.

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