1. Éditorial

 

 

 

 

 

 

FR

 

La révision du Cadre financier pluriannuel, rendez-vous crucial pour l’avenir de l’Union

 

 

 

La bataille budgétaire continue au Parlement européen, alors que se poursuivent les négociations sur la révision du Cadre financier pluriannuel. Le mois dernier, notre fermeté a porté ses fruits puisque nous avons obtenu de véritables avancées dans l’accord sur le Budget 2017. Pour répondre aux urgences de l’emploi, la croissance et la jeunesse, nous sommes parvenus à débloquer de l’argent frais au lieu des habituelles coupes et réaffectations budgétaires : 500 millions d’euros supplémentaires pour l’initiative pour l’emploi des jeunes, 200 millions d’euros supplémentaires pour les programmes de soutien à la croissance. Ces avancées constituent une réelle victoire pour le Parlement et le groupe S&D.

 

Mais elles ne seront effectives que si nous remportons la bataille qui se joue encore, celle de la révision du Cadre financier pluriannuel. Elle doit impérativement se construire autour d’une augmentation de la flexibilité des règles du CFP pour permettre la mobilisation de toutes les marges inutilisées afin de faire face aux grands défis, notamment celui des emplois dans une croissance durable.

 

Les négociations sur la révision sont un rendez-vous déterminant, car nous sommes aujourd’hui loin du compte. Malheureusement, le Conseil tente de reprendre d’une main ce qu’il a concédé de l’autre. Il est prêt à augmenter la flexibilité, mais à condition de limiter les montants de nos priorités pour les budgets annuels 2018, 2019 et 2020. Les avancées décrochées jusque-là auront alors été vaines. Une véritable politique de relance exige une intervention publique que le budget européen, par sa dimension, ne peut satisfaire. Afin d’obtenir les moyens adéquats, nous devons donc continuer à négocier pied-à-pied les prochains rendez-vous budgétaires : la révision du cadre financier actuel, d’abord, les futurs budgets annuels, ensuite, et, bien sûr, le prochain cadre financier pluriannuel dont les discussions devraient s’ouvrir dès 2017.

 

La bataille budgétaire est une des clés de l’avenir de l’Union. Nous allons continuer à la mener intensément.

 

 

 

Isabelle Thomas

 

Députée européenne

 

Vice-Présidente des Socialistes et Démocrates au Parlement européen

 

en charge du Budget, de la Politique de Cohésion, de l’Agriculture et de la Pêche

 

Co-Rapporteur sur la révision à mi-parcours du Cadre Financier Pluriannuel 2014-2020

 

 

 

EN

 

The revision of the Multiannual Financial Framework, a decisive point for the future of the Union

 

The negotiations on the revision of the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) continue altogether with the budgetary battle led by the European Parliament. Last month, our resilience made substantial progress possible for the agreement on the 2017 EU Budget. In order to tackle the emergencies in the fields of employment, growth, and youth, we managed to unblock fresh money rather than the usual budgetary cuts and readjustments: EUR 500 million additional funds for the Youth Employment Initiative (YEI), EUR 200 million additional funds for growth and jobs. These progressive results represent a real victory for the European Parliament and the Progressive Alliance of Socialists & Democrats.

 

 

 

This progress will only become real and effective once the battle for the revision of the Multiannual Financial Framework, still ongoing, is won. This battle should build up on more flexible rules for the MFF, which would allow the mobilisation of all margins previously unused, in order to be able to properly face the important challenges of our times, particularly to overcome unemployment within sustainable growth.

 

 

 

The negotiations on the revision of the MFF are presently a decisive point, as we are still far from achieving the result we are aiming for. Unfortunately, the Council is trying to take back with one hand what they had conceded with another. They are ready to increase the flexibility, provided that the amounts of our priorities for the annual budgets of 2018, 2019, and 2020 are diminished. This would simply annihilate the progress previously achieved. Truly re-launching politics in this field demands a public intervention, which the European budget, given its present dimension, cannot have. Therefore, in order to achieve the adequate means of intervention, we have to continue to negotiate closely during the next budgetary rounds: first and foremost, the revision of the Multiannual Financial Framework, followed by the annual budgets to come, and then the next Multiannual Financial Framework which will start being negotiated beginning with 2017.

 

 

 

The budgetary battle is thus one of the keys determining the future of the Union. We will keep it alive with all our strength.

 

 

 

Isabelle Thomas

 

Member of the European Parliament

 

Vice-President of the Socialists & Democrats in the European Parliament

 

in charge of Budget, Cohesion Policy, Agriculture and Maritime Affairs

 

Co-Rapporteur on the mid-term revision of the Multiannual Financial Framework 2014-2020

 

 

 

 

2. Contribution from MEPs on key issues

 

European Parliament approves EU budget 2017

 

 

 

This month the European Parliament, backed by the Progressive Alliance of Socialists & Democrats, voted in favour of the EU budget 2017. After weeks of intensive negotiations, we managed to achieve results that we as Socialists can be proud of. The budget 2017 focuses on key priorities of the EU: growth and the creation of new jobs.  In order to translate our words into action on supporting the European youth, we fought hard to increase the resources for the Youth Employment Initiative (YEI). The additional funds of 500 million euro, which we managed to obtain, is a great socialist success, as it was a priority for our group.

 

With the YEI, we gave our support to a programme that demonstrably works in the fight against youth unemployment, especially there where the problems are the greatest. It will ensure that millions of youngsters have the chance to continue studying, training or getting their first job. Apart from the YEI, we successfully negotiated increases under heading 1a: in total, 200 million euro of fresh money will go to programmes designed to boost research and innovation (Horizon 2020), support small and medium sized businesses (COSME), help boosting cross-border infrastructure projects (Connecting Europe Facility) and Erasmus+. These are well established programmes which have proven their effectiveness.

 

Nevertheless, we will have to continue our fight for a decent budget for the EU in the coming months and years. The negotiations on a meaningful revision of the Multiannual Financial Framework are still ongoing. And while we succeeded this year in acquiring additional funds for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNWRA) - another important priority of our group - we had to accept cuts in other funds for humanitarian aid. We will have to fight for a stronger external budget in the next years, so that the European Union may fulfil its role as a global actor.

 

 

 

Jens Geier

 

Member of the European Parliament

 

Vice-Chair of the Committee on Budgets

 

General Rapporteur on the 2017 EU Budget

 



 

3. S&D High Level Working Group B met for discussing new own resources for the EU budget

 

6 December 2016, Brussels - Mr. Jacques Le Cacheux presented his preliminary study on the Multinational Corporate Income Tax as a resource for the EU budget

 

 

 

During the last meeting of the S&D High Level Working Group B, Mr. Jacques Le Cacheux, professor at the Université de Pau et des Pays de l’Adour and researcher at the French Economic Observatory, presented his preliminary study concerning the opportunity to create a Multinational Corporate Income Tax (MCIT) as a genuine EU own resource.

 

Today multinational companies tend to relocate their profits from high-tax countries to low-tax ones and, as a consequence, national tax bases are being eroded in Europe. To counter this process, EU member states are engaging in a fierce tax competition with the aim of reducing domestic statutory tax rates, in order to create an attractive environments for multinational corporations. For instance, member states have developed Intellectual Property Box Regimes in order to reduce taxation on intangible assets in a downward tax competition.

 

This immoral trend is causing three problems:

 

  • Immobile agents, such as SMEs and workers, are facing a heavier tax burden to compensate this loss of corporate tax revenue;
  • EU member states are perceiving a decreased amount of corporate tax revenues;
  • National accounts are becoming meaningless, since GDP indicators are losing relevance and reliability.

 

According to Mr. Le Cacheux, the establishment of a MCIT in Europe could represent a viable solution to this problem as well as a new own resource for the EU budget, whose 90% is currently being financed by GNI contributions from member states.

 

This tax could be supported by a Common Consolidated Corporate Tax Base (CCCTB), consisting of a common base and an allocation formula between Member states taking into account sales, capital and personnel of each multinational company targeted. This approach would guarantee a better and fairer taxation of assets and therefore a redistribution of tax burdens between multinational companies and SMEs.

 

As concerns the revenue side of this tax, each EU member state could convey a certain percentage of the total income to be allocated to the EU budget. The remaining part would flow into the national treasuries.

 

 

 

 4. Key dates

 

 

  • End of January 2017: Presentation of the report on Own resources by the High Level Working Group on Own Resources (HLWGOR).
  • 23-24 January 2017: Hearing on the EFSI implementing report and legislative report EFSI II

  • 25 January 2017: Tabling of the EFSI implementing report

 

 

 

 5. Recent tweets

 

 

https://twitter.com/EGardiazabal/status/806136689534046208

 

 

 

 

 

https://twitter.com/Isabel_thomasEU/status/804012929821581312

 

 

 

 

 

 

https://twitter.com/Isabel_thomasEU/status/804013379778150400

 

 

 

 6.  Inside the Committee on Budgets

 

 

 

A video from the European Parliament Plenary session in Brussels on 30 November 2016: Isabelle Thomas’s intervention before the vote on the 2017 EU Budget, ahead of the foreseen revision of the MFF 2014-2020

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQJbORC6O-Y

 

 

 

 

7. Infographic

 

 

 

 

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