European Commission President Warns of Limited Flexibility in Next Budget, Calls for New Financial Resources

Brussels, October 16 (KUNA) -- European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen warned on Friday that the proposed next European Union budget entails a significant reduction in financial flexibility, which could limit the EU’s capacity to respond to future crises. She called for an agreement on an ambitious package of new financial resources to fund the bloc’s priorities.

Speaking at a press conference after a European Council meeting in Brussels, von der Leyen said the new proposal cuts the margin of flexibility by 50 percent compared with the current budget, warning that this could constrain the EU’s ability to cope with unforeseen changes and crises in the coming years. She added that about 99.5 percent of the proposed budget would become pre-allocated, in a world experiencing rapid changes where the challenges Europe may face in the future cannot be predicted.

She stressed that the core challenge is not about deciding which priorities to abandon, but rather about finding the means necessary to fund them, emphasizing the need to work effectively to reach an ambitious package of new financial resources for the European Union.

The Commission president noted that the financial equation for the next budget would not be achievable without providing new own resources, pointing out that leaders had held extensive discussions on the options in this regard. (End) A.R.N. / M.A.H.A.