EU Commission unveils multi-annual budget for the bloc

The EU Commission unveiled its proposed multi-annual budget for the bloc, calling for greater spending on climate action, cuts to agricultural domestic support, and funds for supporting the EU’s Economic and Monetary Union. The budget would be in effect from 2021 through 2027, and calls for setting the bloc’s expenditures to €1.279 billion. The plan takes into account the financial context after Brexit. EU Commission President, Jean-Claude Juncker, affirmed that ‘with today’s proposal we have put forward a pragmatic plan for how to do more with less.’ The EU promises to put in place a modern and flexible budget, and introduced a proposal for a new mechanism to protect the EU budget from financial risks linked to generalised deficiencies regarding the rule of law in the member states. The new proposed tools would allow the union to suspend, reduce or restrict access to EU funding in a manner proportionate to the nature, gravity and scope of the rule of law deficiencies.