(Science|Business) EU budget flexibility gives Brussels too much power, says ex-commissioner

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The EU’s next long-term budget has been designed to allow the bloc to respond to rising geopolitical tensions. But this should not give the European Commission free rein to move funds around, according to Janusz Lewandowski, a former budget commissioner who is now vice-chair of the European Parliament’s influential budget committee.

“The executive role of the Commission is really growing under the pretext of flexibility,” Lewandowski said at the Science|Business annual conference on February 5. “Nobody is disputing [the need for] more flexibility, especially in external relations [. . .] but it cannot be equated with the discretion of the Commission to switch funds from one dossier to the other.” 

Lewandowski, who was responsible for the budget in the Barroso Commission of 2009-14, also expressed concerns about the “new military dimension” of the €2-trillion Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) proposed for 2028-34. This involves increasing defence spending to €131 billion, backed by the European Competitiveness Fund (ECF). 

“When we [Poland] were entering the EU, we were entering a purely pacifistic project [. . .] but now we have to react to these unfriendly geopolitics,” he said. “What is not making me happy is that with war, we have a gradual, irreversible militarisation of our budget.”

Lewandowski welcomed plans to nearly double the budget for research and innovation in the next iteration of Horizon Europe, to €175 billion, but he wants to see disparities in funding addressed. Around half of current Horizon Europe funding is concentrated within a handful of EU member states. 

“We finally have more money for research and development,” he said. “When you hear from Lithuania, from Poland [. . .] what is at stake is also some more geographical balance.”

The proposed budget increase should also not be taken for granted. Negotiations on the 2021-27 MFF saw significant last-minute cuts to the Horizon Europe budget, to which its successor may not be immune. “We don’t know what the end point of the negotiations might be. This is a very heated period now,” Lewandowski said. “Sometimes, the logic of negotiations is to defend national portfolios, and then eventually allow for cuts, what we call direct management by the Commission.”

Horizon Europe: next steps

The next milestone in the Parliament’s consideration of the Horizon Europe proposal will be in mid-March, when its research and industry committee will share draft reports on both Horizon Europe and the ECF. Amendments on Horizon Europe must be submitted by April 9. Committee members will exchange views on the ECF report on April 15 and amend it by April 21. Other committees are to provide their input by April 24. 

On September 10, the research committee will vote on the Horizon Europe and ECF reports, before both are put to a plenary vote on October 5. However, this planning may be subject to change, the committee secretariat told Science|Business.

As for the EU Council, the Cypriot presidency hopes to reach an agreement on the main lines of Horizon Europe by the end of June. However, this excludes budgets, monitoring, and provisions relating to the ECF.

For the broader MFF package, the Parliament is expected to agree a position in May, Lewandowski said. “I have almost 1,000 amendments already on the table,” he told the Science|Business conference. “Almost two amendments per head.”