This week the Commission will present its budget for 2028-2034. Renew Europe thinks we still lack ambitious proposals on truly European streams of revenues for our common budget. Context: in the aftermath of the covid pandemic, we decided to raise debt together to avoid an economic depression and express our solidarity towards most affected countries. We did so with the promise of raising new resources together too. That promise has not materialised in full. Fabienne Keller, our lead negotiator on the EU long-term budget, said : “If we do not find new own resources for our budget then we will only be left with cuts. Budgets don’t lie: you put money where your priorities are and either you find resources or you cut spendings. But something’s gotta give. Yes, in 2021 we obtained a new plastic own resource, but it is yet again a national contribution on the basis of the quantity of non-recycled plastic packaging waste. It is too small to cover the repayment of the debt. Also, as recycling habits pick up, the tax is bound to diminish over time. We now hear that the Commission plans to use the same trick on e-waste, which is also bound to reduce over time. That is not stable enough. Or big enough. We don’t seem to learn from our mistakes. Instead, we should look at resources generated by genuine EU-wide policies. The proceeds of the EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism could be a good place to start. The benefits of the OECD agreement on tax evasion could also be used to replenish the EU’s coffers. The boom in small parcels delivery from outside the EU could also be a candidate for revenues”. Fabienne Keller concluded : "A strong Europe means a consequential budget. We keep on giving more missions to the EU without giving it the necessary resources to achieve them. We cannot wish the ends without providing the means. The European budget has the same size as the Danish Budget. The EU has 75 times more citizens than Denmark. Do the math. It is high time Member States equip the EU with the resources it needs. The test starts on Wednesday with the Commission’s proposal". Last week the Renew Europe group adopted a position paper fleshing out its guiding principles of the next MFF, which included a more European way to finance the budget. | 