The next budget of the European Union has to guarantee better connections, a more balanced development and well-being of regions, fairer direct support to farmers, and funding for dealing with migration and security issues, Estonian Prime Minister Juri Ratas, his Latvian counterpart Maris Kucinskis and Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite said in a joint address to their EU colleagues on February 15th.
The three Baltic leaders want the EU transport and power grids, digital infrastructure and services to be developed further, and for EU regions to be connected. They highlighted synchronizing the Baltic power grids with the European energy market, and Rail Baltic, which connects the three countries with the rest of Europe, spokespeople for the Estonian government said.
According to the Baltic leaders, the less developed regions of the EU have to continue getting support from the Cohesion Fund and support should decline gradually as wealth increases.
They also named the EU’s joint new spheres of activity which need financing from the next budget: migration, internal and external security, the protection of EU external borders, the fight against terrorism and strengthening security, including cyber security, as well as defense cooperation. In addition, the EU’s neighborhood policy also needs funding, they added.
According to Ratas, Kucinskis and Grybauskaite, the Baltic countries are convinced that to reach common goals the union’s resources have to exceed 1 percent of the total income of the EU’s 27 member states. Therefore, the Baltic countries want to discuss with their colleagues how to retain the present long-term budget level also after Brexit and they are ready to increase their contribution to the budget of the EU.
EU leaders are to launch talks for the next Multiannual Financial Framework on February 23. In May the European Commission is to submit the new plan, which will enter into force in 2021.
