MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 22nd February, 2020) European Parliament President David Sassoli on Friday has expressed his disappointment that the recent European Council summit in Brussels to decide the EU's budget for the next seven years failed to result in an agreement.
"The European Parliament is disappointed by the failure of the European Council to find an agreement on the next Multiannual Financial Framework and on Own Resources," Sassoli said in a statement published on the European parliament website.
EU leaders met in the Belgian capital on Thursday and Friday for crunch talks to set the budget for 2021-2027. Prior to the talks, member states have been firmly divided on the scale of contributions, with Europe's biggest economies wanting to ensure that commitments are no higher than one percent of gross national income (GNI).
This would deny crucial funds for flagship programs such as European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen's European Green Deal, which sets the goal of reaching carbon neutrality in the EU by 2050.
"If we want to be able to deliver on the expectations of our citizens, we need to back up our ambitions with sufficient funds. Europe is facing unprecedented challenges such as climate change, digitalisation and a new geopolitical order. We should also recall what the European construction, and especially the Single Market, have brought to our countries in terms of growth and development. Lowering our ambitions could only have a negative impact on years of progress and integration," Sassoli's statement read.
The European parliament has produced the most ambitious proposals for the upcoming EU budget, setting each member state's contribution to 1.3 percent, which would require roughly 200 billion Euros ($217 billion) more in budget commitments than other plans put forward by the commission and European Council President Charles Michel.
