Commissioner for Budget, Anti-Fraud and Public Administration Piotr Serafin told MEPs “we are united in belief that EU budget has to be modernised, the world around us is changing rapidly, and new challenges require smarter responses.” This means, he said, a more flexible and simple multiannual financial framework (MFF). In the search for flexibility, predictability must be preserved as well, he added, noting that the national and regional partnership plans could help achieve that. The EU must also face the debate on new revenue sources, as from 2028 onwards, around €25 billion will be committed annually to repaying loans from the NextGenerationEU instrument. He advocated new revenues that neither overburden national budgets, nor create extensive financial obligations

Siegfried Mureșan (EPP, RO), co-rapporteur for the MFF file, said that, while the budget needs to be open to unexpected developments, it must also offer certainty to those who invest and keep the economy…