The European Commission proposed a post-Brexit seven-year budget. Subsequently the initiative of its president Jean-Claude Juncker will trigger arguments among member states over how to mend the hole in the pocket left by the UK exit from the bloc next year.
“With today’s proposal we have put forward a pragmatic plan for how to do more with less,” European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said.
During the 2021-27 period the plan suggests to reduce farm subsidies by 5% and proposes new plastics tax.
It would spend more on research and technology, foreign aid, eurozone stability, compensation for unemployment caused by free trade and on joint defense and EU outside borders .
It also introduces a new mechanism to penalize countries — notably from the former Soviet bloc — where governments increasingly disagree with a number of the EU rules, and policies, notably in dealing with migrant flows. The system of financial penalties, the experts say, could further fuel euroscepticism in the new member-states, especially concerned by the security situation caused by mass migration from countries with Islamic traditions.
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