Next, the newsletter of Europa Today which every Monday morning tells you what will happen in the European week to come
Top of the agenda
The budget battle – What promises to be a very complicated transition between the Commission and the European Parliament on the proposal for the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) 2028-2034, the EU’s next long-term budget, which the centrist majority groups have threatened to scuttle if their requests are not listened to, begins on Monday 10 November. Two days before the start of the mini-plenary session on 12-13 November, a meeting is scheduled between the president of the Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and of the Parliament, Roberta Metsola, and the Danish presidency of the Council to try to ease tensions.
The bone of contention – The Commission’s proposal overturns the way in which the most important European policies on EU territories have so far been conceived and implemented. Each of the 27 member countries will be assigned a national and regional partnership plan, which will bring together funds from cohesion policy, the common agricultural policy (CAP), fisheries, social policy and finally those for migration, border management and internal security. EU funds will no longer be distributed on the basis of planned and then actually incurred expenses, as has always been the case, but according to the results achieved on the reform objectives agreed with Brussels. A sort of “pay for reform” logic.
Because Parliament is against it – The leaders of the parliamentary groups of the European People’s Party, the European Socialists and Democrats, the liberals of Renew Europe, and the Greens oppose the “re-nationalisation” of European policies, ask to keep the major European policies – cohesion, agriculture, fisheries, social policies – separate, each with their own budget and rules, and to defend the role of the regions and local authorities in the design and management of cohesion policy. Finally, Parliament’s request to strengthen its control powers is crucial, both in the approval and modification of member states’ plans and in the orientation of the annual budget procedure.
And the Council? – Member state governments publicly call on Parliament to step back on threats to derail negotiations on the new financial framework, arguing that it has a secondary role to national governments in budget negotiations. But behind the scenes there are many capitals that do not look favorably on the Commission’s proposal – including Germany, grappling with the internal revolt of the federal states – precisely on the very criticisms of Parliament regarding the role of the regions and the agricultural sector.
What you should expect – If von der Leyen fails to convince President Metsola on Monday with concrete promises that she can bring back to her fellow MEPs, the mini-plenary promises to be heated right from the start. The debate entitled “The new multiannual financial framework 2028-2034: structure and governance” is scheduled on the agenda for the afternoon of Wednesday 12 November. And, at the moment, the Commission is without allies in a Parliament that promises to be combative.
Cohesion policy on the Recovery Fund model which risks blowing up the EU budget
Other hot topics
Speaking of budget – Parliament and Council, meanwhile, are called upon to find an agreement on the EU’s annual budget for 2026. Parliament’s position adopted in October restored the cuts made by the Council to the Commission’s draft budget and proposed some additions to key programmes. The meeting of the Conciliation Committee (made up of representatives of the 27 Member States and 27 Members of the European Parliament) will start at 11.15 am on Friday 14 November.
Black or white – If the negotiators reach a compromise, the Council will have to formally adopt it and Parliament will vote on it at the plenary session on 24-27 November in Strasbourg. However, if the two arms of the budgetary authority are unable to reach an agreement on next year’s budget by Monday 17 November, the process will start all over again.
Digital Euro and Banking Union – The Eurogroup, the informal body that brings together the finance ministers of the EU countries that have adopted the euro, will meet on Wednesday 12 November to discuss, among other things, updates on the digital euro and developments in stablecoins (cryptocurrencies that seek to maintain a stable value by pegging their market value to an external reference). Also on the table is the report on the Banking Union, the reference document on the policy for the integration of the banking sector of the eurozone member states.
The financial impact of the war – At the Economic and Financial Affairs Council on Thursday 13 November, an exchange of views between the 27 ministers on the current situation of the economic and financial impact of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine will be on the agenda, which should also include possible solutions to ensure continued financial support for Kiev in the coming years.
From the European Parliament
The Forgotten Pact – The mini-plenary session of the European Parliament in Brussels will open on Wednesday 12 November with a discussion with the Commission on the implementation of the first deadlines of the Migration and Asylum Pact, before its full entry into force in June 2026. The Commission is behind schedule for the presentation of the first European annual report on asylum and migration (initially expected by October), while the establishment of the Pact’s annual solidarity reserve is expected by the end of the year.
Post-Council – On Thursday 13 November, MEPs will evaluate the results of the October meeting of 27 EU leaders on Ukraine, the Middle East, security and defence, competitiveness, housing and migration. The debate will be held in the presence of the presidents of the European Council, António Costa, and of the Commission, Ursula von der Leyen.
Complicated simplification – Following the rejection of Parliament’s provisional position at the plenary session on 22 October, MEPs will vote on Thursday 13 November on amending the Commission’s proposal on simplifying sustainability reporting and due diligence obligations for businesses, ahead of negotiations with the Council.
Right to vote by proxy – Also on Thursday 13 November, a proposal will be put to the vote in the House that allows MPs to grant their right to vote to trusted colleagues during pregnancy and in the months following childbirth.
Gender equality – The debate and plenary vote on Thursday 13 November are scheduled for Wednesday 12 November on Parliament’s demands relating to the EU strategy for gender equality 2026-2030, which include the recognition of gender violence as a crime under EU law and the need to close gender gaps in employment, pay and pensions.
Objective 2040 – The Committee on the Environment, Climate and Food Safety (Envi) will adopt its position on the 2040 greenhouse gas emissions reduction target on Monday 10 November. The target will be included in the EU climate law, which supports the Union’s goal of becoming climate neutral by 2050 (Monday).
Post-2027 cohesion – The Regional Development Committee (Regi) will hold a discussion on Tuesday 11 November with Séamus Boland, the new president of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) regarding the Committee’s priorities in the next multiannual financial framework 2028-2034. This will be followed by a presentation by the Commission of the report on “Right to remain: young women in remote areas” and a hearing on “Shaping the future of cohesion policy: insights into the post-2027 MFF”.
Royal corner
There newsletter which every two weeks tells you the most important news regarding the European Union’s regional and cohesion policy
The political groups in the European Parliament that make up the so-called ‘Ursula majority’ have made an unprecedented political move: they have threatened to block the community proposal for the new seven-year budget 2028-2034, the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF). The EU’s €2 trillion budget was thrown into a cauldron of uncertainty after the four groups, including Ursula von der Leyen’s People’s Party, warned they would not accept a restructuring of how agricultural and regional payments are delivered. At the center of the conflict is above all the proposal to merge regional and agricultural subsidies into “national and regional partnership plans” (NRPPs) worth 865 billion euros.
The seven requests – The presidents of the EPP (Manfred Weber), Socialists (Iratxe Garcia Perez), Renew (Valérie Hayer) and Greens (Terry Reintke and Bas Eickhout) groups sent a letter to von der Leyen, in which they warned that the House “cannot accept” the proposal “as a basis for starting negotiations”. The four groups are pushing to keep the common agricultural policy separate from cohesion funds, while calling for a stronger role for Parliament in approving and reviewing member states’ spending plans. In total, seven requests are made in the letter, including that of involving the European Parliament in the approval and revision of the plans, from which it is currently completely excluded.
Even conservatives are against it – The European Conservatives and Reformists (Ecr) group, which includes Giorgia Meloni’s Fratelli d’Italia, also stated that it is against the proposal for national and regional partnership plans. “The proposed structure, based on a single national and regional partnership plan for each Member State, risks fragmenting the Union budget into 27 separate programmes,” the two co-presidents of the group, Nicola Procaccini, and the Polish Patryk Jaki, wrote in a letter to the executive. “Combining cohesion and agricultural funds into a single national envelope, while reducing overall allocations, would undermine two of the EU’s most successful policies, weakening territorial balance and overall support for the European project,” the group further states.
Tajani calls for “correcting” the cohesion reform – ”The budget, as it was presented by the Commission, is not good”. Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said this in his speech at the Formiche European Gala, adding that “there are things to correct, I am thinking above all of the theme of agriculture and cohesion policy”. The deputy prime minister explained that ”the main political groups, starting with the European People’s Party, have asked for a reversal of trend”.
The Commission shrugs – For the moment the European Commission is going ahead. “We are ready to listen to the Parliament and the Council” with whom we have “constructive exchanges”, but the Commission “will not speculate on individual elements of the proposal”, a spokesperson said in reference to the letter. Von der Leyen does not seem impressed by Parliament’s threat and will try to find support in the member states. If the EU Council were to assure her of its support, the deputies could be forced to come down from the barricades.
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