The Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament succeeded in obtaining more money for employment, youth, education, health, research and innovation, agriculture and sustainable transport among others in the negotiating position of the EP on the EU budget for next year. As a result of the vote in plenary, the Parliament goes into negotiations with a strong position, reinforced by the S&D Group, asking for social recovery to be among the top priorities when the new EU budget 2022 is decided together with the member states in the Council.

This comes after long and complicated negotiations within the Parliament among different political groups on the budgetary proposal from the European Commission, and the position of some member states in the Council of the EU, that cuts off the funds for social recovery. This is completely unacceptable for the S&D Group in the European Parliament.

The S&Ds also underlined during the debates in plenary that there must be no obstacles in the proper funding of these priorities for EU citizens for the next coming year from the current pluriannual budget, unlike the EU budget 2021 which has led to a lost year in the implementation of the pluriannual budget of the European Union for the period 2021-2027.

Victor Negrescu, Romanian MEP and S&D negotiator on the EU budget for 2022, said:

“The challenges raised by the pandemic are still here, and the negative impact it had on our economy and society is clearly visible. Many people lost their jobs, others work in precarious conditions, SMEs are facing huge challenges, and uncertainty for tomorrow is felt in many European households. Our group was guided by all of this in mind when advocating more EU money next year for social recovery, employment, health, education, environment, innovation and youth. It is through the EU budget that we shape Europe by spending the European money for the things we consider to be of utmost priority. There is no doubt for us, Socialists and Democrats, EU money is key for our economy to stay afloat. Now it is not the time for austerity which proved to be one of the biggest mistakes in the history of the EU.

“Unfortunately, some member states want cuts in social and recovery spending from the EU budget, but we, the S&D Group, are sending a strong message to them with the adoption of the position of the Parliament on the EU budget 2022 in plenary - these cuts are totally unacceptable in times when the EU has committed to crucial actions like eradicating child poverty, through the European Child Guarantee. This is an S&D initiative, endorsed by the European Commission, and my colleagues and I from the S&Ds will never agree that basic rights like education and healthcare can be taken away from European children. This is why we fought so hard for this particular spending in the EU budget for next year and I am happy this position was approved by the plenary.”

Eider Gardiazabal Rubial, S&D spokesperson in the EP’s committee on budget, said:

“Europeans throughout our Union count on EU money for social recovery. The backbone of our economy - the small and medium enterprises - suffered a huge blow from the pandemic and they need fresh EU funding. This makes it even more urgent for the European Commission to keep its promise and present a sustainable and realistic plan for finding own resources for the EU budget. This is not a boring inter-institutional debate. This is a clear need of our citizens and businesses for answers on how the European Commission will finance all the things it promised to Europe.

“We are happy many of the proposals from our group were taken on board and adopted by the plenary for the position of the Parliament on EU budget for 2022. The S&Ds proved it is the guarantor that the EU budget for next year will have a clear social character. The European recovery would be seriously impeded if we do not provide adequate funding for priorities like digital skills for people of all ages or smart, sustainable and affordable transport for our citizens. Our group condemns the attempts of certain national governments to undermine the social character of the EU budget for next year by asking for cuts on social spending. This is not fair to the millions of Europeans who count on Europe to keep its promise that it will provide for the recovery.”