BRUSSELS — The largest group in the European Parliament is threatening to reject a key part of the European Commission’s multiyear budget proposal in November.
In a major confrontation, the European People’s Party (EPP) — from which Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and most of her commissioners hail — renewed a threat to refuse to support the proposal if it doesn’t get major concessions on money for farmers and Europe’s regions.
“If the Commission ignores our demands, our members see a rejection as unavoidable,” said Siegfried Mureșan, the EPP’s lead negotiator on the next multiannual financial framework (MFF). He added that the EPP “expects” serious concessions from the Commission “by November.”
“A rejection can only be avoided if the Commission improves its proposal shortly. No option is off the table,” Mureșan added in a written statement.
The EPP is turning the screws on the Commission after days of meetings with commissioners in charge of the budget that were described by party insiders as unproductive.
If the standoff continues, the European Parliament could put forward a motion to reject the proposal during a plenary session in Brussels on Nov. 12. Such a move would likely receive the backing of most political groups.
The Commission could theoretically ignore the Parliament’s vote — but that might spell trouble further down the line, given that Parliament’s consent is needed to approve the next seven-year budget, which covers the years 2028 to 2034.
To allow more time for negotiations, the EPP walked back from a previous threat to put forward a motion against the Commission proposal during next week’s plenary session in Strasbourg.
Under heavy pressure from farmers and mayors, the EPP has demanded changes to a controversial plan to pool funds for farmers and regions — which make up over half of the total EU budget — into single pots managed by national governments.
“I had meetings with [Agriculture] Commissioner [Christophe] Hansen … we are trying to improve the proposal,” Herbert Dorfmann, the EPP’s leading agriculture lawmaker, told POLITICO. He warned they “are ready to support a rejection if there is no move” from the Commission.
In the coming days, senior EPP lawmakers will continue meeting with the commissioners in charge of the budget, agriculture and regional policy — Piotr Serafin, Christophe Hansen and Raffaele Fitto — in a bid to secure concessions.
The post Von der Leyen’s party threatens to reject EU budget proposal in November appeared first on Politico.
