EU

#EUbudget Major brainstorming session in Amsterdam on EU’s multiannual budget

Published

10 years ago

January 27, 2016

admin

Ministers, European Commissioners, members of the Dutch parliament, academics and senior civil servants from the entire European Union will be meeting in Amsterdam on Thursday 28 January to brainstorm about the EU’s multiannual budget. Foreign minister Bert Koenders and finance minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem organised the brainstorming event in order to kick-start a discussion on reforming the so-called Multiannual Financial Framework.

Out-of-the-box proposals

"Various countries have taken an uncompromising stance on the EU’s long-term budget," remarked Bert Koenders. "Every country has its own sacred cows. We hope to change that by getting the debate started now and by asking for daring ideas and out-of-the-box proposals. Ideally, this should give us more leeway to reform the budget during the next round of negotiations in 2018," continued the minister, who stressed that Thursday’s conference should mark the start of a lengthier discussion. "The goal is to hold an open debate. As EU Presidency holder, it is our responsibility to address the difficult topics."

Discussion

The European Commissioner for Budget and Human Resources, Kristalina Georgieva, will also be speaking at the conference. The European Commissioner for Jobs, Growth, Investment and Competitiveness, Jyrki Katainen, and the Italian politician and economist Mario Monti will take part in the discussion as well. Dutch participants include D66 party leader Alexander Pechtold, former State Secretary Ben Knapen and the former National Ombudsman, Alex Brenninkmeijer.

Change is needed

"The discussion will benefit from having as many different participants as possible gather in Amsterdam," said Koenders. "At present there is a gap between what is being said about on the budget in Brussels and what is being said in the capital cities. We can bridge that gap by getting everyone to the table. That will get the debate moving."

Koenders believes that the conference presents the ideal opportunity for the 200 or so participants to exchange views freely. As he put it, "Change is needed, and that takes vision and courage."

Share this article: