“The European Commission must urgently comply with its legal commitments. If the Commission does not respect the law and its own commitments, what legitimacy does it have when

enforcing EU law with Member States?”, asked José Manuel Fernandes MEP, the EPP Group Member responsible for the EU revenue reform, reacting to the European Commission’s decision to postpone proposals for new ‘own resources’, EU-wide taxes feeding directly into the EU’s budget.

During the negotiations on the EU’s long-term budget 2021-2027, the negotiators of Parliament and the Member States agreed on a binding roadmap for the introduction of such new sources. This roadmap is part of the Interinstitutional Agreement, a legally-binding text.

“When the EPP Group called for the establishment of the €750 billion 'Next Generation EU' to address the consequences of the pandemic, we had one clear condition: that the instrument is accompanied by a clear repayment plan and that this repayment would be done through new sources of revenue”, recalled Siegfried Mureşan MEP, Vice-Chairman of the EPP Group responsible for budgetary issues.

“The name of the instrument, 'Next Generation EU', was not chosen by chance. On the contrary, the name unveils the main objective of the instrument: to make the European Union fit for future generations. However, without the new own resources, our legacy will be precisely the opposite. Instead of offering them a future, we will offer them debts from the past. Indeed, without the new own resources, the 'Next Generation EU' is not only a farce, but a betrayal of its own spirit. Don't turn 'Next Generation EU' into 'No Generation EU'”, Fernandes stressed.

“This will have serious consequences on the financing provided to our small and medium-sized companies, farmers, students and researchers. The Commission must deliver on its commitments without delay”, Mureşan concluded. Photo by Zinneke, Wikimedia commons.