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It’s never too late to think about future priorities: in the wake of compiling new Commission’s college, the EU legislative institutions are formulating some distant priorities to fund from the Union’s budget. The Commission’s idea is that the member states should more actively adapt reforms which include the EU-wide objectives thus “optimizing” the Union’s integration. Present article provides the readers with information on financing present and future EU programs.
Background
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen confirmed recently that she planned to pressure countries to implement key economic reforms if they want to access the EU-wide €1.2 trillion seven-year budget. The EU countries will have to adapt to fundamental “common-type reforms” in order to get their cash in the next budget plan that runs from 2028 until 2034.
The new ideas involve the Commission’s intentions to impose far more stringent conditions than in previous budgets. Some 530 programs are currently in place for the EU-27 member states, which “will be lumped into a single national cash pot”; the latter will determine spending in about twenty socio-economic sectors (ranging from farm subsidies to social housing, sustainability, climate mitigation measures, etc.).
EU’s new budget commissioner (Piotr Serafin) suggested that the EU member states should develop their own plans “linking key reforms with investments”: each national plan will include agricultural subsidies and funding to poorer regions; the process is known as cohesion.
The reforms are meant to help EU-wide socio-economic standards converge, i.e. the cohesion makes up to about two-thirds of the EU’s total multi-year budget.
No reforms, no money…
The biggest change to the current rules is that countries will receive the money only if they carry out reforms “favored by the EU”.
However, there are lingering fears that the present Commission’s process in shake-up the long-term budgeting is a smokescreen to cut existing programs and divert money towards new four priorities such as defense and industrial build-up.
Further two priorities involve:
a) Merging Commission’s budget framework with a dozen of different funding programs concerning such issues as research, defense and innovation into a single “European Competitiveness Fund”. By radically changing the rules, the Commission wants to address “strategic dependencies” on foreign countries and boost the kind of pan-European industrial revival championed by the recently published reports by E. Letta and M. Draghi.
b) Focusing on enlargement and funding to foreign countries, as well as the EU’s personnel costs; so far there are few details on what could change in the near future in these type of priorities.
On the Draghi-Letta reports in: https://www.integrin.dk/2024/09/27/challenging-european-priorities-alternative-commissions-features/
Shifts in priorities
Discussions on the new multi-year EU budget reflect “a further hint at centralization”; preliminary Commission notes envisage a steering group’s opinion about “handling the budget process”. A final decision will be made up by the President with the budget department and the Secretariat General operating under the Commission President’s direct authority. For the first time in literature, we describe existing funding for EU-wide programs up to 2027.
Overall, the new governing model marks a dramatic shift from the EU’s current practice of funding local regions and/or national governments with fewer strings attached. “The Draghi report is setting the narrative for a power grab,” said a second EU official; however, critics accuse von der Leyen of assuming an outsized role in the way the EU distributes cash at the detriment of local bodies and other Commission departments.
Reference to Politico (5.10.2024, by Gregorio Sorgi) in: https://www.politico.eu/article/european-commission-budget-economic-reforms-conditions-power-grab/?utm_source=email&utm_medium
Present six funding priorities: 2021-2027
Information below provides an overview of the funding opportunities for the 2021-2027 Multiannual Financial Framework and NextGenerationEU program; most of the programs implemented under shared EU-states’ management are called “funds”.
= Heading 1: Single Market, Innovation and Digital:
a) Research and innovation: = Horizon Europe program for “uniting” scientific, technological, economic, environmental and societal impact while supporting all forms of research and innovation; = Euratom research and training program: Euratom aims to pursue nuclear research and training activities with an emphasis on continually improving nuclear safety, security and radiation protection; and = ITER (International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor) as a project to build the world’s biggest fusion machine, advance fusion energy technology for a greener and more sustainable energy mix.
On ITER in: https://commission.europa.eu/funding-tenders/find-funding/eu-funding-programmes/iter_en
b) European Strategic Investments: = InvestEU by providing the member states with crucial long-term funding, crowding in private investment, supporting the recovery and a greener, more digital and resilient Europe; = Connecting Europe Facility, aimed at supporting the delivery of key EU-wide energy, transport and digital infrastructure; and = Digital Europe Program as the first EU-wide program aimed to accelerate the recovery and drive European digital transformation.
More on InvestEU program, which is over €372 billion in investment in the period 2021-27 and aimed to boost innovation and job creation in Europe, attracting long-term funding contributing to economic recovery in: https://commission.europa.eu/funding-tenders/find-funding/eu-funding-programmes/investeu_en
c) Single Market: = generally, the Single Market Program is aimed at empowering and protecting consumers, ensuring food safety and enabling SMEs to thrive; = EU Anti-Fraud Program: to protect European financial interests with specialised equipment, knowledge and training; = Cooperation in the field of taxation, FISCALIS: the program enables national tax administrations to create and exchange information and expertise; = Cooperation in the field of customs, CUSTOMS: the program supports cooperation between customs authorities and protects the EU-wide and states’ financial and economic interests.
d) Space: European Space Policy supports satellite technology and innovation; data, navigation, and communication services; fighting climate change and disaster response.
= Heading 2: Cohesion and Values:
a) Regional Development and Cohesion: = European Regional Development Fund, ERDF aimed at strengthening EU-wide economic, social and territorial cohesion by correcting imbalances between regions; = Cohesion Fund, CF, which aims to reduce economic and social disparities and to promote sustainable development; = REACT-EU program provides for additional funding for the existing cohesion programs under ERDF, ESF and FEAD; = Support to the Turkish Cypriot community with the aim of facilitating the reunification of Cyprus.
On cohesion fund covering 15 EU states in:
https://commission.europa.eu/funding-tenders/find-funding/eu-funding-programmes/cohesion-fund-cf_en
b) Recovery and Resilience, the following programs are included: = Recovery and Resilience Facility, RRF as the key instrument of NextGenerationEU to help the states in stronger and more resilient economies; = Technical Support Instrument provides tailor-made technical expertise to EU countries to carry out reforms; = Protection of the Euro Against Counterfeiting in order to prevent and combat counterfeiting and related fraud and preserve the integrity of the euro banknotes and coins; = Union Civil Protection Mechanism, aimed at strengthening cooperation between the member states and six participating states in the field of civil protection; = EU4Health program aimed at investing in resilient, equitable and modern health systems, improving the health of EU citizens and protecting people from cross-border health threats.
On EU4Health in: https://commission.europa.eu/funding-tenders/find-funding/eu-funding-programmes/eu4health_en
c) Investing in People, Social Cohesion and Values; the following programs are supported: = European Social Fund+ (ESF+) is the EU’s main instrument for investing in people with the aim of building a more social and inclusive Europe; = Erasmus+ aimed to support the educational, professional and personal development of people in education, training, youth and sport; = European Solidarity Corps a a program for young people wishing to volunteer to help the disadvantaged, provide humanitarian aid, contribute to health and environmental action; = Justice Program to strengthen democracy, rule of law and fundamental rights; = Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values Program aimed at protection and promotion of the rights and values as enshrined in the EU Treaties and the Charter of Fundamental Rights; = Creative Europe, as the EU-wide program for providing support to the culture and audiovisual sectors.
On ESF+ in: https://commission.europa.eu/funding-tenders/find-funding/eu-funding-programmes/european-social-fund_en
= Heading 3: Natural Resources & Environment:
a) Agriculture and Maritime Policy includes: = European Agricultural Guarantee Fund to provide income support for EU farmers and measures to stabilize agricultural markets; = European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development, which provides funding to support rural areas and strengthen the EU’s agri-food and forestry sectors; and = European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund aimed to support common fisheries and maritime policies as well as aquaculture and sustainable development.
b) Environment and Climate Action includes: = Programme for the Environment and Climate Action (so-called LIFE) aimed to achieve the shift towards a sustainable, circular and resilient economy, protect and restore the environment, halt and reverse biodiversity loss; = Just Transition Fund for supporting the transition towards climate neutrality by alleviating its socio-economic impact in the most affected regions; = Innovation Fund aimed to support deployment of innovative net-zero technologies for climate neutrality in the European Economic Area; = Modernisation Fund aimed at supporting the modernisation of energy systems and the improvement of energy efficiency in 13 lower-income EU member states.
On LIFE in: https://commission.europa.eu/funding-tenders/find-funding/eu-funding-programmes/programme-environment-and-climate-action-life_en
= Heading 4: Migration and Border Management:
The direction includes two main programs:
a) Migration, with the “Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund”, common European Asylum System, as well migration management and solidarity.
b) Border Management, which includes Integrated Border Management Fund to support EU Common Visa Policy, European Border and Coast Guard, Custom Control Equipment at Customs Border points and Customs laboratories.
= Heading 5: Security and Defence:
The direction includes the following programs:
a) Security, with Internal Security Fund to protect security of the Union, tackling radicalization, terrorism, cybercrime, organised crime and protecting victims of crime; = Nuclear Decommissioning (mainly in Lithuania) to ensure safe closure of old nuclear reactors, protecting the environment and human health; = Nuclear Safety and Decommissioning in funding ensuring safe closure of old nuclear reactors, protecting the environment and human health.
b) Defence with the European Defence Fund as the Commission’s key initiative to finance and support collaborative research and development of defence capabilities.
= Heading 6: Neighbourhood and the World:
The direction that includes the following programs:
a) External Action, with the “Global Europe: Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument” program, which is the EU’s main financial tool to contribute to sustainable development, peace and stability across the globe.
b) Humanitarian Aid to provide assistance for the affected countries and populations.
c) Common Foreign and Security Policy, which contributes to the objectives of preserving peace, preventing conflicts and strengthening international security.
d) Overseas Countries and Territories, the program to promote economic and social development of the Overseas Countries and Territories, by increasing their resilience, competitiveness and reducing vulnerability.
All references to the list of EU funding programs in: https://commission.europa.eu/funding-tenders/find-funding/eu-funding-programmes_en