N

Fidesz MEP: EC's unlawful withholding of recovery funds threatens 2023 budget

During a meeting of the EP’s Committee on Budgets in Brussels, MEPs discussed proposals for the European Union’s draft budget for next year.

Fidesz MEP Andor Deli said the unlawful withholding of post-pandemic recovery funding by the European Commission may threaten the drafting of the common EU budget for 2023.

During a meeting of the EP’s Committee on Budgets in Brussels, MEPs discussed proposals for the European Union’s draft budget for next year. Deli underscored the importance of ensuring in the 2023 budget sufficient funding for agriculture and regional development. “There are, however, open questions that hang over planning the common budget, namely that member states need to harmonise their cohesion programmes and their recovery plans,” Deli said, adding that the EC had still not approved the national recovery plan of certain member states which the MEP said was unlawful.

“There is a great deal of uncertainty on the revenue side, too,” he said, referring to the EC’s climate action Green Deal plan. The introduction of a carbon duty planned under the scheme would need to be unanimously approved by the European Council and also by national parliaments, including Hungary’s, Deli said.

Photo credit: fidesz-eu.hu