Alongside demands for increased funding for regional initiatives, agriculture, and fisheries, member states are initiating a fresh discussion on ‘own resources’ and repaying Recovery Fund loans via new shared debt.
Sixteen European nations have advocated for greater investment in regional funds, agriculture, and fisheries within the upcoming EU long-term financial plan for 2028–2034, as detailed in a document obtained by Euronews.
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The letter bears the signatures of Bulgaria, Czechia, Estonia, Greece, Spain, Croatia, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania, Latvia, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, and Slovakia.
Identifying themselves as the «Friends of Cohesion,» they express concerns in the document over cuts to the Cohesion Policy, the Common Agriculture Policy (CAP), and the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP), which they label as «the most apparent EU policies for EU citizens.»
Funds for cohesion and agriculture represent 60 percent of the entire budget. In the European Commission’s proposal, this would decrease to 44 percent.
«Cohesion Policy, CAP, and the CFP are the only areas experiencing real-terms declines, despite an overall enlargement of the new Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF),» the signatories state. «These policies play a crucial role in achieving key EU goals and their foundations in the Treaty remain fully pertinent.»
«Within this context, an increase in Member States’ shares under Heading 1 for Treaty-based policies is strongly urged.»
Heading 1 refers to economic, social, and territorial cohesion, alongside agriculture, rural, and maritime prosperity and security, which account for 53.7 percent of the total budget. This heading also includes the servicing of loans granted as part of Next Generation EU, the EU’s response to the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
A notable 81.5 percent of these funds are committed to national and regional partnership programs.
Per the European Commission’s plan, each member state is responsible for allocating regional and agricultural funds, with increased autonomy over fund distribution.
Despite the robust push by the «Friends of Cohesion,» fiscally conservative countries do not prioritize raising allocations under Heading 1.
«We cannot sustain growing expenditures on traditional sectors,» Danish Minister for European Affairs Marie Bjerre remarked to the press on Tuesday, alluding to agriculture and cohesion policies.
On several occasions, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has firmly opposed initiatives proposing new EU-wide debt issuance, even when intended to repay the Next Generation EU fund.