Commissioner Oettinger travels to Finland to discuss the roadmap towards an agreement on EU’s next long-term budget

[:en]

On 15 July, European Commissioner in charge of Budget and Human Resources, Günther H. Oettinger, will travel to Finland to discuss the way forward towards an autumn agreement on the EU budget for 2021-2027, during the Finnish Presidency of the Council of the European Union. In the capital Helsinki, Commissioner Oettinger will meet with Prime Minister Antti Rinne, Ms Tytti Tuppurainen, Minister for European Affairs, and Mr Kimmo Tiilikainen, Secretary of State in the Ministry of Finance. The meeting with senior government representatives from Finland – which currently holds the rotating Presidency of the Council of the European Union – are part of the ongoing efforts of the Commission to support the negotiations on the EU’s next long-term budget. Ahead of his visit, Commissioner Oettinger said: “I am very glad that the Finnish Presidency has declared concluding the negotiations on EU’s next long-term budget as one of its strategic priorities. Less than two weeks into their Presidency, they have already demonstrated their strong commitment to deliver on this objective. The Commission will do everything that is necessary to support them in this very important task.” On 2 May 2018, the Commission put forward a proposal for a modern, balanced and fair long-term budget to deliver on Europe’s priorities as set out by Leaders in Bratislava in 2016 and in Rome in 2017. Since then, the Commission has worked hand in hand with the rotating Presidencies of the Council, and in close collaboration with the European Parliament, to take the negotiations forward. In line with the conclusions from the European Council meeting of 20 and 21 June 2019, an agreement is due before the end of the year. The Commission shares the firm believe that sticking to this timeline is essential, for the hundreds of thousands of students, farmers and researchers across Europe, as well as everybody else who benefits from the EU budget. 

[:]