Debate: General budget of the European Union for the financial year  - all sections
Date: TUESDAY, 17 OCTOBER 2023
Speaker: Siegfried Mureşan
Country: Germany
Language: EN

Dear colleagues, the budget of the European Union is one of the most important tools that we have to do good for the people of Europe, for enterprises, for regions, to help people, to be in solidarity with them when they need support, to respect and finance properly the traditional policies of the European Union, to make sure that farmers, enterprises, regions have enough funding, to make sure that we finance properly the newer priorities of the European Union: the transition to the green economy, the digital transition, managing migration, managing our external borders. But we also have to make sure that whenever an unexpected development occurs, the European Union can act, can support people in need. And we have seen, since 2020, when we together adopted the Multiannual Financial Framework, two wars starting in our proximity: the war in Ukraine and the terrorist attack of Hamas upon Israel. Both military conflicts are in our neighbourhood. In both situations, it is important that the budget of the European Union is capable of acting. Security, defence, military mobility, migration, the support for Ukraine, humanitarian aid where needed – all of these are important and they need to be provided with the support of the European Union. The European Commission has put forward a draft budget for next year. The Council of the European Union proposes to make cuts. We as the Parliament, reject all cuts made by the by the Council of the European Union on the grounds that we cannot ask the European Union to do more, but in the same time to cut the funding of the European Union where it is needed. We support the draft budget of the European Commission, and we have looked, as a Parliament, in a very responsible way to areas where funding has proven insufficient, where more is needed. And I am convinced that tomorrow, with a large majority, we as a Parliament will adopt the position of the Parliament and our mandate for the negotiations with the Council and Commission with the following priorities: firstly, research and innovation. We have to invest more in Horizon Europe, in research and innovation. This makes Europe strong. Here we have concrete benefits for the people of Europe, including medical research. We have concrete benefits for our enterprises, to make sure that they remain innovative, strong, competitive. Secondly, invest in infrastructure, in transport infrastructure. Particularly since the war in Ukraine, we have seen how important it is that we connect ourselves between countries, between regions, that we facilitate transport towards Ukraine, from Ukraine, where needed. Thirdly, we as a Parliament together want more Erasmus scholarships for the young people of Europe. We want this because this gives visibility to the European Union, and this is also for young people one of the concrete benefits of Europe. We as a Parliament also want to stand by the side of young farmers. We want to make agriculture attractive for young farmers. This is why we are proposing an increase of allocations there. And in parallel with that, we are proposing an increase of allocation to the LIFE programme, the important programme for environment and biodiversity, supported by Parliament as a whole. Creative industries, health programmes – these have been priorities. Here we are asking for moderate responsible reinforcements where justified and also we want to strengthen the European Public Prosecutor to make sure that European money is well spent and to make sure that if any regularities and frauds appear, these are tackled. This is important for European taxpayers’ money. This is the position of Parliament on the budget for next year. This will be adopted tomorrow, I am convinced, by a large majority. We are looking forward to negotiations with the Council and the Commission, with the expectation to successfully give a budget to the Union before the end of the year. I would like to thank all shadow rapporteurs of political groups who have worked with us in a very constructive manner and their constructive manner, their work will enable the Parliament to adopt our position with a large majority and have a strong voice in the upcoming negotiations, with a key objective to give a budget to the European Union before the end of this year.