European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has promised more power for EU regions in an effort to quell a brewing parliamentary revolt before Thursday’s no-confidence vote.
Socialists and Liberals are threatening to abstain during the vote in an attempt to squeeze political commitments from von der Leyen on the bloc’s next seven-year budget, which she will unveil next Wednesday.
Von der Leyen extended an olive branch to critics on the eve of a crucial no-confidence vote in the European Parliament that could severely dent her leadership.
During a high-stakes meeting with party chairs in Strasbourg on Tuesday, von der Leyen said that payments to regions — which currently make up a third of the EU’s multi-year budget — will continue to be handed out to local authorities as opposed to national governments in the new budget, two people in the room told POLITICO.
Von der Leyen’s offer, however, was not enough to quell concerns from the Socialists and Democrats, who have been increasingly critical of her leadership in recent weeks.
“We missed clarity and commitment … If nothing changes, it will be difficult for the S&D to decide not to abstain on Thursday,” a spokesperson for the group told POLITICO after Tuesday’s meeting.
Von der Leyen is expected to survive the vote even if the Socialist and Liberal parliamentary groups abstain, as the motion would need a two-thirds majority in Parliament to pass. But it would send a strong message that she can’t count on Parliament to back her unconditionally.
The Socialists, the second-largest group in the European Parliament, are linking their support to the preservation of the European Social Fund, which is supposed to tackle poverty and support vulnerable groups.
Commissioner for social rights Roxana Mînzatu, herself a Socialist, is leading a push inside the EU executive to save the fund.
“If you cut this out of the budget, you hit Europe at its heart, and what will remain is a Europe without a soul,” Socialist lawmaker Mohammed Chahim said in the European Parliament.
Concession to regions
Supporters say that von der Leyen’s about-face is a “gamechanger” as it will make it harder for autocratic leaders, such as Hungary’s Viktor Orbán, to cut EU funding to regions governed by political rivals.
Yet von der Leyen’s plan to dramatically increase the power of national governments in handling regional funds has been criticized by lawmakers from across the spectrum and by several of her own commissioners.
They argue that it will undermine local democracy and widen the gap between the richer and poorer parts of Europe.
In a major concession, however, von der Leyen on Tuesday guaranteed that regions will continue to directly receive amounts that are determined in Brussels.
She had previously announced the move in a private meeting with Polish Budget Commissioner Piotr Serafin, who is also campaigning for a stronger role for regions.
“This is an important demand for the European Parliament,” said Siegfried Mureșan, the budget negotiator for the center-right European People’s Party.
Lawmakers and Italian regions commissioner Raffaele Fitto, however, are pressuring von der Leyen to go one step further.
They support maintaining a mechanism ― known as the Berlin formula ― that allocates a major share of the cohesion cash to underdeveloped regions across the bloc.
Discussions over this sensitive issue are expected to be resolved over the weekend during high-stakes talks between von der Leyen and several commissioners.
The post Von der Leyen offers big budget concession to MEPs ahead of no-confidence vote appeared first on Politico.
