The European Union needs a political agreement whereby richer countries will in future pledge to aid less prosperous regions while those countries that are the greatest beneficiaries of the budget will have to allow that circumstances have changes and that greater concentration and discipline is required in spending funds, that are drawn from European funds which will in the end bring the greatest benefit to a unified Europe, President of the European Commission Jose Manuel Barroso said at a press conference in Bratislava on Friday after and informal assembly of "the Friends of Cohesion Group".
Attending this event, Barroso and the President of the European Parliament (EP) Martin Schulz enhanced the meeting of prime ministers and high state officials of 15 EU members countries with Croatia in attendance as an observer. The greatest beneficiaries of EU cohesion and structural funds are requesting that funding in the new long-term EU budget (2014-2020) currently being negotiated won't be reduced, while larger contributor countries are requesting the cutback.
"It is important to reunite the different parties of Europe. That is why I made an appeal today during the meeting that the 'Friends of Cohesion' and the 'friends of better spending' should all unite in the European Council becoming the 'friends of growth – sustainable growth', Barosso said.
What we need in Europe is to create the conditions to return to growth, and the European budget is the most important instrument we have at the European level for targeted investment in growth, the President of the European Commission stressed.
Barroso believes that some politicians "say they want to support growth in Europe and afterwards they are proposing to reduce the EU budget".
That is why political agreement is necessary by which richer net contributors should actively support the cohesion policies and less prosperous countries need to accept the facts of new economic conditions and that they cannot use funds as they wish but to support public growth and competitiveness.
Barroso concluded that it is important to complete negotiations over the new EU budget by the end of the year because conditions will not change if the decision is delayed and successful negotiations will show Europe's partners that it is capable of coming to a speedy agreement concerning important decisions.
