European Parliament Presented A Proposal To Increase The EU's Long-term Budget By € 39 Billion
In a spirit of compromise, the European Parliament presented a proposal to increase funding for key programs in the EU's long-term budget by € 39 billion.This is not an increase of another EUR 90 billion, as stated by some European media referring to the EU Council Presidency.This was pointed out on Wednesday by Johan van Overtveldt, a Belgian MEP and chairman of the European Parliament's Committee on Budgets (BUDG).In a report to the media, he clarified that this was distorted information that was being disseminated by the EU Council Presidency."The European Parliament has always been transparent: in resolutions to the public, in press releases and in open letters. Our constructive proposals have either not been read or are deliberately distorted," van Overtveldt said.According to him, the compromise offer proposed by the European Parliament's negotiators is an additional EUR 39 billion in the Union's seven-year budget for programs that will enable the goals of the Europe Green Agreement, support digitization, build common health capacity, support the young generation and researchersmigration, security and external challenges and the protection of European cultural production.Mr Overtveldt emphasized that the proposed increase in budget lines meant only a two percent change in the € 1.8 trillion financial package agreed at the extraordinary summit in July by EU heads of state and government.In a compromise effort, EU leaders in July cut cuts in several EU policies.