At present, the European Union is in a very particular and sensitive junction. As a Union we are facing multiple issues which are testing our unity, strength and resilience. One of the most important issues currently being discussed at EU level is the next Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF). These discussions attract a lot of media attention because they are very complex and sensitive, and are the subject of long and exhausting negotiations, including also at the level of Heads of States or Governments.
Many people might be put off by the elaborate terminology used and the term MFF might sound very complicated. However, put simply, the MFF is the general budget of the EU which on the basis of an informal agreement amongst the EU Institutions, should last for 7 years from 2021 till 2027. These negotiations determine the income of the Union and where this income should come from, as well as the expenditure and the allocation of money. As a general rule, a balance should be reached, that is the expenditure must never exceed the income because the Union can never be in debt.
These negotiations are carried out on the basis of formal proposals table by the Commission, and in fact the Commission issued a general proposal and a number of other sectoral proposals over the months of May and June of this year. These sector-specific acts establish the EU's spending programmes in various policy areas under shared, direct and indirect management and will define the conditions for eligibility and the criteria for national pre-allocations.
Given the sensitivity attached to these budgetary matters, the Member States have the biggest weight in the main negotiations on the EU Expenditure Regulation, however, the European Parliament has to give its consent and is consulted on the Decision to be taken by Council on the revenues that are envisaged by the Union. The European Parliament is also directly involved in the negotiations and is at a level playing field with the Council, when it comes to the sectoral proposals.
Such negotiations may sound rather abstract to the general public and most of the times, at national level we are more focused on the amount of funds that we will be eligible for. And rightly so, because for a small country like Malta, EU funding is of key importance. In more practical terms, I believe it is safe to say that for the general public in Malta, the Union is embodied in a number of EU-funded projects of any sort and form. To mention a few, there are centralised funding programmes such as ERASMUS which gives students various opportunities to expand their horizons and study abroad. The good news is that these programmes are expected to receive an increased funding allocation under this budget period. However, on the down side infrastructural funds are expected to suffer a cut under this MFF, which is a problem for a number of Member States in transition, including Malta.
I believe there is room for improvement in a number of sectors, two areas in particular. There is definitely room for significant improvement in funding related to the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). It is very evident that the mechanism used in the process of awarding agriculture funds is very unfair especially on smaller member states like Malta. Our farmers, who do not possess massive land areas like those possessed by French farmers can never qualify to receive substantial amounts and they end up receiving ridiculous amounts which most of the times are not worth the hassle. The same goes for research-related funding programmes. Here statistics show that Member States which joined the Union from 2004 onwards, benefit from only 5% of these funds.
The negotiations are well under way and we have now entered into a very important and sensitive phase. We are nearing the end of the current European Commission and European Parliament legislature and most of next year’s agenda will be hijacked by the European elections. Needless to say, the new Members of the European Parliament would need to be geared up and ready to continue negotiating with the Council. From a national perspective, Malta needs MEPs who are ready to continue to emphasize on the need for a more balanced distribution of the EU budget between the Member States.
I believe that as a Union, we should invest more in our citizens and in our joint European economy, otherwise we will just be giving our competitors and major superpowers the chance to fill in our gaps and outrun us. I believe that the apportionment can and should be more just, to allow Malta and the Maltese citizens to benefit more from the EU budget. This is key for our students, our infrastructure, our farmers, our researchers and above all, for the strong economy that we have managed to build over the past five years. Let us take care of what we managed to achieve and seek to ameliorate our future. This will be my focus if I am given the opportunity to represent the population in the upcoming elections, come next May.
Dr Agius Saliba is a lawyer by profession and is the Head of the European Union Secretariat in the Office of the Minister for European Union Affairs and Equality