Commissioner Oettinger travels to Spain to discuss EU’s next long-term budget
Commissioner in charge of Budget and Human Resources, Günther H. Oettinger, is travelling to Spain on 3 and 4 October for a series of high-level meetings dedicated to the EU budget for 2021-2027. In Madrid, the Commissioner will meet with Mr Pedro Sánchez, Prime Minister of Spain, Ms Nadia Calviño, Minister for the Economy and Business, and Mr Marco Aguiriano, State Secretary for the European Union. The meetings are part of the ongoing efforts of the Commission to take forward the negotiations on EU’s next long-term budget, in view of an agreement in the autumn of this year. Ahead of his visit, Commissioner Oettinger said: “Ten days from now, EU leaders will have their first discussion on substance on EU’s next long-term budget. The Commission has tabled a sound initial proposal which gives a good basis for their reflection. We stand ready to provide further input into the process with the aim of reaching an agreement by the end of the year.” On 2 May 2018, the European 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 should be reached 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. To facilitate this objective, in July Commissioner Oettinger travelled to Finland, which currently holds the rotating Presidency of the Council of the EU. He also visited the Netherlands in August and was in Poland and Cyprus in September.