Introduction
‘A stronger Union needs to be equipped with appropriate financial means to continue to deliver its policies. The Union has changed fundamentally in recent years, as have the challenges it faces. Our Union needs a budget that can help us achieve our ambitions. The Multiannual Financial Framework for the period after 2020 must reflect this.’ (Commission Work Programme 2018)
The EU budget currently amounts to less than 1 euro per citizen per day. Although a modest budget, at around 1 % of the EU’s gross national income or 2 % of all EU public spending, it supports the EU’s shared goals by delivering essential public goods and tangible results for EU citizens. These include: investing in skills, innovation and infrastructure; ensuring sustainable food supply and developing rural areas; promoting joint research and industrial projects; funding shared activities in the field of migration and security; and supporting development and humanitarian aid.
The current Multiannual Financial Framework — the EU’s long-term budget — runs until the end of 2020. In 2018, the Commission will put forth comprehensive proposals for the post-2020 Multiannual Financial Framework and for the next generation of financial programmes that will receive funding. These programmes/funds provide financial support to hundreds of thousands of beneficiaries such as regions, towns, NGOs, businesses, farmers, students, scientists, and many others.
The Commission’s proposals will be designed to make it possible for the EU to deliver on the things that matter most, in areas where it can achieve more than Member States acting alone. This requires a careful assessment both of what has worked well in the past and what could be improved in the future. What should the priorities be for future policies and programmes/funds? And how can they be designed to best deliver results on the ground?
As an integral part of this process and following on from the Reflection Paper on the Future of EU Finances, the Commission is launching a series of public consultations covering all the major spending areas to gather views from all interested parties on how to make the very most of every euro of the EU budget.
The scope of this public consultation covers programmes and actions aiming at protecting and promoting European values as well as supporting mobility, education and training, cultural diversity, fundamental rights, an EU area of justice, digital competence, creativity and European historical memory and remembrance. Such programmes and actions empower citizens, develop their skills and competences and contribute to open, democratic, more equal, inclusive and creative societies. This public consultation seeks to identify strengths and weaknesses of existing programmes and actions, as well as possible ways forward and highlight any possible synergies among them.
Recent consultations already covered several policy areas, including on current performance and future challenges. The views already expressed by stakeholders in these consultations will be taken into account as part of the preparatory process for the future of the multiannual financial framework.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION AND THE SURVEY.
