Today, the Socialists and Democrats bureau and heads of national delegations in the European Parliament held a virtual meeting with MPs from the Socialists and Democrats family to discuss on-going negotiations on the next Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF).

The S&D Group’s leading MEPs together with 20 MPs and European Commissioner for economy, Paolo Gentiloni, addressed not only the on-going negotiations with the Council to approve the next 7-year budget for the Union, but also how to create new own resources that will provide direct revenue to EU programmes.

S&D president Iratxe García said:

“It seems that the difficult negotiations between the Parliament and the Council could be unblocked. The Council must listen to the demands of the Parliament regarding a budget that can implement the ambitious work programme of the Commission, but also on an effective and clearly defined rule of law mechanism.

“We all want the best deal for our citizens, and the EU is there to complement the efforts of local, regional and national administrations. This multilevel governance means that we all have to fulfil our duties and make sure that we put in place all the necessary policies and resources to strengthen our public health systems and to cushion the socio-economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, but also to make the right investments for a long-term sustainable recovery.

“On this we count on you. National parliaments will have a decisive role on the adoption of part of this package, namely on what concerns the ratification of the Recovery Fund and the financing through new own resources. Only the Financial Transaction Tax could raise up to €3.5 billion per year. That money could be spent in the EU without adding extra burden to national budgets.”