By agreeing to a Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) deal without prior consultation of all political groups in the Parliament, Martin Schulz has neglected democratic principles inside the house. If Mr. Schulz condemns backroom deals in the Council, he should not repeat the same mistake in his own house by only consulting the two biggest parliamentary groups.

It's a scandal that some political group leaders only learned about the deal through the media. This agreement needs a qualified majority in the Parliament so Mr Schulz would be well advised to respect the wishes of all the MEPs and not just those from the EPP and S&D groups.

Despite the difficult economic crisis hitting most European countries, mere cosmetic increases in funds to fight youth unemployment and to help the most deprived are on offer. This will not satisfy citizens who expect much better from the Union.

The current deal only slightly differs from the conclusions of the Council on February 8th. The overall amounts were not changed; Council cuts of €85bn remain! For the first time, we will have a reduced budget. Meanwhile, the expenditure structure of the budget is as it was in the 1950s and the revision clause which would give an opportunity to correct the amount is not binding. We still don't know how the CAP reform will be paid.

We, therefore, have neither the means nor the structure to face the challenges of the coming years.

Many issues are only partly dealt with and postponed for the future. We regret that the S&D and the EPP have already agreed to this bad deal and want to force the Parliament to welcome it already next week in Strasbourg.

We strongly oppose this blackmailing of the European Parliament!