BRUSSELS — The European Commission has poured cold water on regions commissioner Raffaele Fitto’s suggestion that the EU executive is open to “improving” a key plank of its seven-year budget proposal.
In a rare public display of disagreement within the upper echelons of the Berlaymont, the Commission’s spokespersons service — which reports directly to President Ursula von der Leyen — pushed back against Fitto’s comments.
“At this stage, the Commission does not speculate on individual elements of the proposal or individual positions by the co-legislators,” the Commission wrote in a statement Thursday afternoon.
Their message is that the EU executive is not yet ready to make compromises to appease lawmakers and national capitals.
Although the Commission’s statement did not directly refer to Fitto’s comments, the note came hours after the Italian politician publicly suggested that “we [the Commission] are open to improve this part of this proposal” during a session of the Committee of Regions, a Brussels body that represents local entities.
In his remarks, Fitto referred to a number of provisions in the budget proposal that could be amended to give regions — as opposed to national governments — more powers in handling EU public funding.
While his remarks were hardly explosive, they underline the simmering tensions over one of the most divisive files in Brussels — as well as von der Leyen’s tough treatment of whomever defies the official line.
The Commission put forward its proposal for the EU’s long-term budget in July. The EU’s 27 governments and the European Parliament have to unanimously approve the plan.
As part of the budget negotiations, von der Leyen’s European People’s Party (EPP) is threatening to reject a controversial plan to merge agriculture subsidies and funds for Europe’s poorest regions into single pots controlled by national capitals.
In a sign of further disagreement, the left-leaning Socialists and Democrats (S&D) told von der Leyen they “cannot accept” this part of the proposal in a letter seen by POLITICO.
In order to stave off a parliamentary rebellion as early as November, Fitto and his two colleagues in charge of agriculture and the overall budget — Christophe Hansen and Piotr Serafin — are on a charm offensive with key lawmakers from the EPP.
For months, officials following the budget negotiations have said Fitto harbors deep reservations about the Commission’s plans to increase the powers of national governments in handling regional funding.
In a hard-won concession to Fitto, von der Leyen in July agreed to earmark €218 billion for seven years to poorer areas — but offered no similar guarantees to other more developed regions.
Fitto had suggested in July that negotiations in the Council and the Parliament could improve the Commission’s budget proposal.
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