Latest news with #SiegfriedMuresan
Straits Times
11 hours ago
- Business
- Straits Times
EU's main political group on collision course with Germany over budget increase demands
BRUSSELS - The European Union's next long-term budget must be bigger than the current one, the main political group in the European Parliament said, putting itself on a collision course with the biggest contributor Germany, which does not want any increase. The centre-right European People's Party, with 188 deputies in the 720-seat parliament, is the EU's biggest political grouping and its support will be crucial for a deal on the EU's 2028-2034 budget, which pays for joint EU policies. For decades, the budget, called the Multiannual Financial Framework, has been around 1% of EU gross national income, now about 1.2 trillion euros ($1.38 trillion) over seven years. "New priorities require new own resources to cover both debt repayments and the Union's increasing spending needs. We cannot do more with less," said Siegfried Muresan, who is the vice-chairman of the party and a negotiator for the next EU budget. The EU budget pays to equalise standards of living across the 27-nation bloc, support farmers, research and development, innovation, border management and climate action. But governments also want it to also help with security and defence and to strengthen Europe's industrial base to compete more effectively with China and the United States in leadership in clean and digital technologies. "The EU budget has a key role in making Europe safer. We need a more ambitious allocation for security and defence. Therefore, a moderate, limited increase of the budget is unavoidable," Muresan said. Germany, the budget's biggest net contributor, does not want to pay more into the common European pot. "There is no basis for increasing the ... (EU budget) volume relative to Gross National Income," a German document spelling out Berlin's position showed. OWN RESOURCES Apart from national contributions, which make up the bulk of EU budget revenues, it also gets money from "own resources" - revenues from a share of the Value Added Tax collected by governments, from tariffs and national contributions based on the amount of non-recycled plastic packaging waste generated by a member state. There is discussion on expanding such dedicated sources of revenue to boost EU income, especially as a way to repay the hundreds of billions of euros the EU jointly borrowed to restart its economy after the COVID pandemic. Germany has left the door open to increasing EU budget revenues in this way. "The Federal Government will ... constructively examine the Commission's proposals in this regard, so that ... repayments will not have to be made at the expense of the regular EU budget," the German government paper said. The European People's Party also pushed back at ideas that the next EU budget should link disbursements to an EU country reaching reform milestones and targets, as is the case in the EU post-COVID Recovery Fund. "Local and regional authorities and other beneficiaries cannot be penalised or held accountable for reforms that are not implemented at the national level," the Party said in a statement. The Party also said it did not want further centralisation of spending plans at government level. "Regional and local authorities know better the needs and specificities on the ground." REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Reuters
11 hours ago
- Business
- Reuters
EU's main political group on collision course with Germany over budget increase demands
BRUSSELS, June 19 (Reuters) - The European Union's next long-term budget must be bigger than the current one, the main political group in the European Parliament said, putting itself on a collision course with the biggest contributor Germany, which does not want any increase. The centre-right European People's Party, with 188 deputies in the 720-seat parliament, is the EU's biggest political grouping and its support will be crucial for a deal on the EU's 2028-2034 budget, which pays for joint EU policies. For decades, the budget, called the Multiannual Financial Framework, has been around 1% of EU gross national income, now about 1.2 trillion euros ($1.38 trillion) over seven years. "New priorities require new own resources to cover both debt repayments and the Union's increasing spending needs. We cannot do more with less," said Siegfried Muresan, who is the vice-chairman of the party and a negotiator for the next EU budget. The EU budget pays to equalise standards of living across the 27-nation bloc, support farmers, research and development, innovation, border management and climate action. But governments also want it to also help with security and defence and to strengthen Europe's industrial base to compete more effectively with China and the United States in leadership in clean and digital technologies. "The EU budget has a key role in making Europe safer. We need a more ambitious allocation for security and defence. Therefore, a moderate, limited increase of the budget is unavoidable," Muresan said. Germany, the budget's biggest net contributor, does not want to pay more into the common European pot. "There is no basis for increasing the ... (EU budget) volume relative to Gross National Income," a German document spelling out Berlin's position showed. Apart from national contributions, which make up the bulk of EU budget revenues, it also gets money from "own resources" - revenues from a share of the Value Added Tax collected by governments, from tariffs and national contributions based on the amount of non-recycled plastic packaging waste generated by a member state. There is discussion on expanding such dedicated sources of revenue to boost EU income, especially as a way to repay the hundreds of billions of euros the EU jointly borrowed to restart its economy after the COVID pandemic. Germany has left the door open to increasing EU budget revenues in this way. "The Federal Government will ... constructively examine the Commission's proposals in this regard, so that ... repayments will not have to be made at the expense of the regular EU budget," the German government paper said. The European People's Party also pushed back at ideas that the next EU budget should link disbursements to an EU country reaching reform milestones and targets, as is the case in the EU post-COVID Recovery Fund. "Local and regional authorities and other beneficiaries cannot be penalised or held accountable for reforms that are not implemented at the national level," the Party said in a statement. The Party also said it did not want further centralisation of spending plans at government level. "Regional and local authorities know better the needs and specificities on the ground." ($1 = 0.8714 euros)
The Sun
18-05-2025
- Politics
- The Sun
Shock election result after it was REDONE due to ‘Russian meddling' as Europe deals Putin blow in ‘Super Sunday' votes
EUROPE'S voters have delivered a crushing blow to Putin in a shock election twist, following a re-run after claims of Russian meddling. Millions of Europeans headed to the polls today in what is being called a Super Sunday showdown. 5 5 5 Romania's far-right candidate George Simion has long been the favourite to win the country's presidential election. Simion comfortably won the first round of voting on May 4 with 41 per cent of the vote - double that of rival Nicusor Dan. But the gap between the pair is closing in and Dan is now expected to snag the win in what will be a nail-biting finish. Dan was reportedly ahead of Simion after 50 per cent of votes had been counted, with exit polls predicting a win for the current mayor of Bucharest. Dan's win will come as a massive blow to Putin who has the support of the far-right. Simion's campaign was reportedly inspired by US MAGA politicians, with the far-right candidate promising to "make Romania great again". His win would have been welcome news to Putin, with the former football ultra previously pledging to end military aid to Kyiv. Simion has also been banned from the war-torn country for calling for territory there to be part of Romania. A Romanian politician, Siegfried Mureşan, celebrated the result as he said a win for Simion would 'benefit only Vladimir Putin'. But it appears Simion has not taken the possibility of losing well, as footage shows him on stage publicly rejecting the outcome of the exit polls. Russia unleashes 'war's biggest drone attack' as Putin defies Trump's calls to 'stop bloodbath' & vows to keep fighting This comes as the result of last year's presidential election was scrapped after claims of Russian meddling emerged. It is thought that Russia helped set up unverified social media TikTok accounts in support of the far-right independent candidate Calin Georgescu who came out on top. The pro-Georgescu videos posted on TikTok were not labelled as election content, directly breaching Romania's laws. Moscow denied interfering in the vote. Millions of Europeans headed to the polls today in what has been dubbed Super Sunday, with Romania, Poland and Portugal holding elections. The first round of Poland's presidential election has also proved to be a kick in the teeth to Vlad, with exit polls suggesting that Warsaw's liberal Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski will take the win. The Russian tyrant was likely hoping for a far-right candidate to win, with many of those in the running holding anti-Ukraine views. A number of candidates even discussed backing an 'agreement' with Russia's Vladimir Putin in their election campaigns. And in the Portuguese elections the centre-right appears to be ahead, as the far-right sees yet another fall. 5 5
Time of India
07-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
EU lawmakers want bigger Europe budget to tackle crises
Representative Image (AI-generated) The EU needs a bigger budget to spend more on defence in the face of the growing threat from Russia, European lawmakers demanded on Wednesday. Defence spending cannot come at the expense of nor lead to a reduction in long-term investment in the economic, social and territorial cohesion of the union," said a text approved by EU lawmakers during a plenary session in Strasbourg, parliament's vote is a clear message to the European Commission as the EU's executive arm prepares a proposal for July on the next multiannual budget It will cover the period 2028-2034, setting spending limits on the bloc's priorities including support for farmers and subsidies to the poorest lawmakers have called for "increased resources" and breaking with the usual limit that the budget is one percent of the 27 member states' gross national 2022 invasion of Ukraine and the need to ramp up defence spending against a more belligerent Russia has strained the EU budget It is also straddled with a loan of 800 billion euros ($909 billion) taken out after the Covid pandemic to revive the economy, which the EU will have to pay back by bloc's focus on the green transition and building up its competitiveness will require massive investment at a time when weak economic growth in Europe is straining states, like France and Italy, are already two countries are pushing for Europe to take on more common debt to fund the bloc's priorities but it is a red line for frugal states, including Germany and Sweden -- major net contributors to the EU top of member states' contributions, the budget is funded by tariffs on imports and a portion of the VAT collected inside the bloc but in the future, more money could come from a carbon border tax -- which is being phased in gradually -- or via a possible digital services tax."Without fresh revenue, EU programmes will face cuts, or taxpayers will have to bear the burden," said Siegfried Muresan, a lawmaker for the conservative EPP, the largest political group in the debate on the future budget framework will be heated. It must be adopted unanimously by EU states and given the green light by lawmakers before 2027 ends.
Euronews
24-04-2025
- Business
- Euronews
MEPs oppose Commission's overhaul of EU budget after 2027
ADVERTISEMENT MEPs in the budgets' committee (BUDG) have said no to the European Commission's idea to have one cash pot per member state under the EU's next long-term budget (2028-34), the so-called Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) , and instead called for a bigger and more ambitious budget. By 23 votes in favour, nine against and two abstentions, MEPs adopted their vision for a simpler, more flexible, and people-focused budget—one that prioritises climate action, the digital transition, and employment, while responding to ongoing geopolitical challenges. 'We want people and regions at the centre of the next MFF. We need strong investments to boost strategic autonomy, economic resilience, and green goals while leaving no one behind,' said Carla Tavares (Portugal/S&D), one of the two leading MEPs in the file. Although the Commission's official proposal is not expected before summer 2025, MEPs are already concerned that the future spending ceiling will fall short in addressing a growing list of crises, including Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine and the US retreating from its global role. 'If we expect Europe to do more to face current challenges, we have to equip it with sufficient instruments and the budget is a key instrument in this respect,' said leading MEP Siegfried Muresan (Romania/EPP), stressing the report's call for an increase in the next MFF. The current MFF totals €1.2 trillion, or 1% of the bloc's GDP (excluding post-pandemic recovery funds), with most of the funding allocated to agricultural subsidies and policies aimed at reducing the socio-economic gap between the EU's richest and poorest regions. However, for the next budget, the Commission has already signalled that difficult decisions will be needed to balance traditional priorities with newer and more urgent ones, including security and defence. 'The EU must maximise the impact of every euro it spends, focusing on EU priorities and objectives where EU action is most needed," the Commission stated in its February communication titled 'The road to the next multiannual financial framework'. The EU executive is currently considering a redesign of the 2028–34 MFF, proposing a national plan for each member state that would tie investments to reforms—mirroring the structure of the post-pandemic recovery funds. Parliament, however, is firmly against this approach. 'We reject the 'One National Plan per Member State' model proposed by the European Commission, which we believe cannot serve as the basis for shared management spending post-2027,' Muresan reiterated. Instead, MEPs in BUDG are advocating for a structure that guarantees parliamentary oversight and includes regional and local actors in the decision-making process. The Parliament's report also calls for additional EU-wide taxes, or own resources—one of only two ways the EU can finance its budget, the other being direct contributions from member states. 'Without fresh revenue, EU programmes will face cuts or force taxpayers to bear the burden,' Muresan warned, particularly as the EU must still determine how to repay debt from the post-pandemic funds, estimated at around €30 billion annually from 2028. Additionally, BUDG MEPs agreed that more joint borrowing would be a viable option to address large-scale EU-wide crises. The Parliament's position must still be endorsed by the full plenary during the next session in Strasbourg, scheduled for 5–8 May.
