28
Apr
2026
Watch
Interim report on the proposal for the multiannual financial framework for 2028-2034 (debate)
Mr President, dear colleagues, many thanks for the unity which the European Parliament has shown throughout this process. Carla Tavares and myself, as co-rapporteurs, have worked in a very inclusive, transparent manner with all of the sectoral committees of Parliament, with all political groups who want a stronger budget for a stronger Europe. I would, of course, like to first and foremost thank my co-rapporteur, Carla Tavares, for all the work that she has put into this report, and the shadows of the political groups that have worked with us. We propose, as a European Parliament, a budget for more security, for more defence, for a stronger European Union, for more competitiveness, for innovation, for a digital agenda. A budget which does not forget about the vulnerable parts of our population, because Europe has always had a social side as well. We propose a budget for energy security and food security, for border protection, for cybersecurity and defence. We want decisions to be made as close as possible to the citizens. This is why we want a strong role for the European regions in the decision-making and in the implementation of the budget. We want regions to have a binding role to decide how money is being spent, because they are close to the citizens and they know the needs of the citizens best. We also want the European Parliament to have a strong say, because this only ensures transparency, democratic control and accountability. We want a strong rule of law conditionality. Let me be clear: everyone who receives European funds has to respect European values. We want predictability. Farmers and regions, researchers and beneficiaries of EU funds for large infrastructure projects should all know what resources are available for them in the next years. Predictability is important. If we tell a researcher, 'we give you money this year, but we will see next year', he will for sure do his research in the United States, in Asia or somewhere outside Europe. This is why we want clear funding for each category of beneficiaries. Then we have Mr Bardella here, who tells us he wants to cut the budget of the European Union. What Mr Bardella and his peers are proposing – what he said earlier today – means that we would have less funding for French farmers and for farmers everywhere in Europe. There would be less funding for French fishers and for fishers everywhere in Europe. There would be less funding for French industry and for industry everywhere in Europe. The idea that anti-European extremists are telling – 'we will weaken Europe, we will reduce the budget, we will do it better at national level' – is false. This is exactly what led to Brexit. This is exactly the lie the Brexit campaign told the people of the United Kingdom – and we see all the misery right now. This is why we reject this as the European Parliament. We will adopt a budget that is future-oriented, that is relevant. In order to have enough resources not to make cuts, to pay back the debt and not to burden Member States with additional contributions, we propose own resources for the budget of the Union, and we have three new ideas, Commissioner: a digital levy, an own resource based on online gaming and gambling, and an own resource based on crypto transactions. Commissioner, we call on you and your services to do technical work together with the Council and with us in the next weeks to see what are the possible own resources. You made some proposals as a Commission last year, but we believe new ideas deserve to be brought to the table, and we are also ready to discuss with Member States any other ideas that they might have on own resources. So, Commissioner, please let us do some technical work to allow alternatives to be prepared. Today, the European Parliament will adopt its position. We want a fast agreement with the Council and with the Commission. As of today, we are ready for talks. We will have a mandate and the ball is now in the court of the Council. We are looking forward to discussions to adopt a meaningful budget soon.