EU budget with bonus for the agricultural lobby

farmer at work

The next problem is already emerging with high inflation.

(Photo: dpa)

If you want to know what is going wrong in Europe, you only have to look at the EU budget. The largest single item in the budget of the European Union is and remains the agricultural sector. The EU Commission wants to pump more than fifty billion euros into agriculture in the coming year, according to the budget plan presented by Budget Commissioner Johannes Hahn on Tuesday.

Even accepting the argument that security of supply cannot be left to the market alone, for which there are good reasons given the blockade of Ukrainian grain carriers by Russian warships, it is hard to dispute: the EU budget rewards the past, not the future. So much for green and digital.

The agricultural lobby can look forward to 53.6 billion euros; 13.6 billion remain for research and innovation, and another 4.8 billion for “strategic investments”.

This imbalance is a legacy that a united Europe has carried with it since it was founded. Correcting them is almost impossible. France is the main beneficiary of agricultural policy and has yet to crush every attempt at reform.

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>> Read here: Green and digital: EU Commission presents budget for 2023

The price for this is high. The reserves provided for in the budget framework set out for the period 2021 to 2027 have already been used up.

The overweighting of agricultural interests limits the EU’s room for maneuver at a time when it is simultaneously tackling the consequences of the pandemic, the war in Ukraine and climate change.

Parallel budget conceals the misery of the EU

At least for the next few years, the EU can hide its misery thanks to its parallel budget: the Next Generation EU reconstruction fund. The economic stimulus package ignites at the right time to support the economy.

But the next problem is already emerging with high inflation. The EU budget is only increased by two percent per year. But for 2022, the Commission expects inflation to be more than six percent. In fact, the budget is shrinking, even though expectations of the EU continue to grow.

More: Producer prices in the euro zone climb at a record pace of 37.2 percent

source site-17