The European Parliament’s lead co-rapporteurs on the next multiannual financial framework (MFF) Siegfried Mureșan (EPP, RO) and Carla Tavares (S&D, PT) firmly reject the draft negotiating position emerging from the Council. Together with Parliament’s co-rapporteurs on own resources, Danuše Nerudová (EPP, CZ) and Sandra Gómez López (S&D, ES), they issue the following statement

“The Irish Presidency’s proposal cannot be the starting point for an agreement. A cut of 8% to the Commission’s proposal, which already only keeps the budget at the level of the current period, would mean weakening our capacity to act, just as Europe is asked to do more on competitiveness, defence, and security. It would leave Europe less capable of protecting its citizens and of competing economically with the world’s major economies. It would mean underfunding agriculture and reducing support for our regions. National budgets have grown in the past years, and the EU budget has not kept pace….