The proposal has already been whittled down from the €1.76 trillion initially pitched by the European Commission last July
After much wrangling over the size of the next EU budget, the first proposal for the €1.73 trillion fund was put forward on Thursday. The publication of the so-called ‘nego box’ marks the starting gun for intense negotiations between capitals, who will now try to shape how funds will be allocated.
The proposal has already been whittled down from the €1.76 trillion initially pitched by the European Commission last July. Cuts largely target competitiveness and the EU’s external action cash pots, with around €28 billion each.
Notably, the new budget – formally called the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) – merges traditional policies such as agriculture and cohesion policy. Yet despite the structural changes, the nego box doesn’t substantially alter the amount of funding available to agriculture and regional development – a win for southern and eastern net recipient member countries, as well as Spain and Italy.
Ambassadors will discuss the so-called ‘negotiating box’ on Sunday, ahead of a meeting of Europe ministers and an EU summit next week, where leaders will also talk about the size and shape of the long-term budget on Friday. Full details of the spending figures and areas can be seen here.
