At the summit, to negotiate the remaining member States to the EU budget. Unity isn’t there without the British.
Kiss you or she pushes him? Angela Merkel and Emmanuel Macron have flared up yet photo: Reuters
BRUSSELS taz | Three weeks after the Brexit is the approach in the EU, a distribution fight. It goes to the hole, the British outlet of rips in the EU Budget – but also to new priorities such as the fight against the climate crisis and the digitization of the economy. Shortly before a special summit in Brussels on Thursday to storm the European Parliament threatens a Veto.
“We are still far from an acceptable proposal,” said President of the Parliament, David Sassoli. The design of the President of the Council, Charles Michel, spent 230 billion euros below what was needed. Michel had proposed for 2021 to 2027, a total of nearly 1.1 trillion Euro. That’s the equivalent of 1,074 percent of economic output, the European Parliament calls for 1.3 percent.
But Germany and other net contributors insist on a strict austerity course. You want to limit the EU contribution to 1.0 percent and the discount reserve, should be abolished after the Brexit actually. Especially the German attitude makes for Trouble in Brussels. Because Chancellor Angela Merkel had promised in the coalition agreement, a higher German contribution.
“To the outside Germany is much more Pro-European than behind-the-Scenes”, writes Rasmus Andresen of the Green, which sits as the only German member of the European Parliament in the Committee on budgets. The Federal government coordinate closely with Denmark and other stingy States, and simultaneously make Front against the French head of state, Emmanuel Macron, and President of the Council, Michel.
Critical Andresen expressed to the taz also to Michel’s proposal, the “multiannual financial framework” with new own resources, such as a plastic tax increase. According to Michels design, you need to bring in 14 to 15 billion euros – a tiny amount compared to the huge funding gap. “So easily we allow ourselves to not shopping,” said Andresen.
in addition to the plastic tax and the income from the European emissions trading a third source of funding would still be needed, said the green budget politicians. It’s conceivable that a border tax on greenhouse gases or a European levy on airline tickets. The Parliament will not be with non-binding declarations of intent for an answer, but wool binding Commitments.
Rasmus Andresen, Green
“To the outside from Germany is much more Pro-European than behind-the-Scenes”
For an increase in the own funds also in France, speaks out. This is necessary to the national EU-limit contributions and to achieve the new targets, said a Diplomat. President Macron also calls for the abolition of all rebates – also for Germany. The discounts would be lost with the Brexit their existence, so the Diplomat.
a battle on several fronts, from the EU summit. Chancellor Merkel expressed pessimistic. “I don’t predict that I don’t know yet, whether that will be successful,” she said. “We find that our concerns are not taken into consideration in many Places is still not sufficient.”
The Federal government is directed only against the elimination of the discounts, but it also calls for a broad “modernization” of the budget. Berlin wants to stress, particularly due to the subsidies for agriculture, for the benefit of France. This, in turn, Macron strictly rejects.
But not only Germany and France are about the cross. A distribution fight is going on between the West and the East, the North and the South. The Eastern Europeans are fighting back, however, that EU aid will in the future be bound to the rule of law and democracy, as this demand Berlin and Paris. The southern Europeans want to prevent for social reasons, cuts in the Structural support.
An agreement on Thursday to appear in front of this Background, it is unlikely. But even if the 27 EU States should pull together, must agree at the end of the European Parliament. The game is combative than ever. Even the CDU and CSU are opposed to the previously discussed proposals. “We all pull together,” says Andresen. “We will negotiate until the end.”
