The Party of European Socialists welcomes the European Commission's reflection paper published today on the future of the EU budget, and calls for an ambitious and wide-ranging discussion on how to adapt the budget to the needs of Europe’s citizens.

Commenting on the proposal, PES president Sergei Stanishev said:

“I welcome the fact that the Commission has brought forward this discussion paper in good time, despite the many challenges currently facing Europe. I hope that this will allow enough time for the debate that we need to adequately address these challenges.

“The European Union’s budget is the most important tool EU countries have for achieving our common objectives. So the future budget of the EU must have the financial capacity and the flexibility to support our needs and adapt to new challenges.

“We look forward to this discussion, where we will stress the importance of investing in jobs and future for Europe’s young people through our Youth Action Plan.

“We will also engage in a serious debate on how best to use the EU’s own resources.”

The publication of the Commission’s reflection paper comes just a few days before a major PES conference on the future of cohesion funding for the EU’s regions post-2020.

For more information, please contact Toby Wardman toby.wardman@pes.eu, +32 491 86 97 48