Sassoli Praised The Agreement To Increase The EU's Long-term Budget By € 16 Billion

Sassoli Praised The Agreement To Increase The EU's Long-term Budget By € 16 Billion

The head of the European Parliament reacted to agreement between the negotiators of the two euro institutions, which will increase the resources of the seven-year budget in favor of research, better health policy, climate protection, digital transformation and support for young people.

More for key programs

This agreement will allow the Union to set up its own budgetary resources and pave the way for the implementation of the EUR 750 billion corona recovery plan. Even before Sassoli appreciated the importance of this political agreement at the press conference, the success of the negotiators was welcomed and approved by the Conference of Presidents of the European Parliament. "The European Parliament has managed to secure an additional € 16 billion for key EU programs that improve lives across Europe," Sassoli said. He clarified that the additional money included € 7.4 billion for health care, € 2.2 billion for the Erasmus + program and € 1.5 billion for more effective migration management.

Flexible budget

MEPs have also succeeded in pushing another billion euros for the flexibility instrument, which, according to Sassoli, means having an "adaptable budget for a changing world" in reserve. EUR 1 billion in flexibility is intended solely to address future challenges and crises that cannot be predicted. Sassoli also praised the fact that the EP negotiators had succeeded in enforcing a legally binding plan to introduce new own resources into the EU budget. "In future, the EU budget will be financed in a more efficient and sustainable way - by introducing a fee for non-recycled plastics, a digital tax to ensure a fair levy on digital giants and a financial transaction tax," he explained. He also described as very important the fact that, for the first time in the history of the Union, obtaining funds from the euro budget would be conditional on the observance of the rule of law by the Member States. "We are a Union based on the values ​​of freedom, democracy and equality. If governments do not respect these principles, then they should not have access to EU funding," Sassoli said.