European citizens are entitled to a more rigorous break from the trend

2 May 2018

European citizens are entitled to a more rigorous break from the trend in drawing up the European budget. MEP Sander Loones wants Europe to keep the costs of Brexit on the one hand and the new European challenges on the other hand separate. “It would be more credible to absorb the Brexit bill entirely through savings. And only then to start the discussion into possible new tasks for the EU,” Sander Loones says.

Bundled together

The European Commission wants to raise the contributions of the Member States. In this way it aims to tackle the budgetary hole caused by Brexit and also free up resources for new challenges. For Flanders and Belgium, it would be an amount of at least EUR 600 million per year. “Requiring the Member States to pay more is a constant theme in the plans of the European Parliament and of the Commission. Brexit and the new challenges are being bundled together,” MEP Loones explains.

Strong external borders

Sander Loones agrees that the EU must make additional investments in curbing migration and guaranteeing safety and a job-friendly climate. He therefore welcomes the extra resources for Frontex, the European Border and Coast Guard. “With 10,000 instead of 1,200 Frontex employees, Europe is finally allocating more resources to strong external borders. At the same time, we must now also ensure that these people are able to do their work in an effective manner. So this extra investment must go hand-in-hand with the introduction of pushbacks, the setting of a strict maximum limit, and more and better relief in the regions of origin,” Sander Loones says.

Money floodgates closed

But investing more does not necessarily mean a higher budget, Sander Loones believes. Namely in areas in which the EU appears to be superfluous and programmes are outdated, the money floodgates must be closed. “That the Commission is agreeing ever more with our call for a more efficient use of taxpayers’ money is a good thing. It also seems only logical to me. Everything depends on an effective application of the rules. The recent murder of the Slovakian journalist Ján Kuciak shows that in some countries, corrupt elements see - and also use - the EU as a tempting cash cow. This abuse has to stop. If Europe cannot guarantee the correct allocation of its expenditure, it is undermining its own support.”

Reassessing the agricultural policy

The agricultural policy of the EU also needs to be thoroughly reassessed, MEP Loones believes. “Do our Flemish farmers have to be supported more strongly? Yes. Is that possible with this European agricultural policy? No. Yet recently it was demonstrated how this could in fact be achieved. The European Commission itself calculated what would happen if the European financing of 30% income support for farmers were once again to be transferred to the Member States. The result? Belgium would have to pay a whopping EUR 2.9 billion less for the European multi-year budget. With that money we would not only be able to compensate our farmers, we would actually be able to support them more strongly than we do today.”

European solidarity

Unfortunately, that reform is not going to materialise. The Commission decided not to proceed. That’s bad news not just for our farmers, but also for our taxpayers. Why should they see their money go to Eastern and Southern European countries year after year, countries which have in the meantime been able to post higher growth figures? It’s always the same countries that have to pay, and the same ones that get the money. In addition, in this way, support doesn’t reach the Member States that are truly lagging behind. If that is supposed to be European solidarity...

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