The European Parliament, meeting in plenary session in Strasbourg, adopted on 14 March the orientations that it wishes to see taken by the European Commission for the preparation of the 2020 budget, the last exercise envisaged by the current Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF). Since the Council took a considerable delay in agreeing on the future MMF from 2021 onwards, Parliament's priority was to guarantee a demanding level of appropriations, which could be extended in case of failure of the negotiations. ALDE is pleased to have printed its mark on the investment priorities for common policies.

Nils Torvalds (Svenska folkpartiet, Finland), ALDE spokesperson for the 2020 Budget Guidelines in the Parliamentary Budget Committee (BUDG), said: “2020 budget will be the last annual budget exercise of the current multiannual financial framework and will have to bridge the gap with the next. As we want the next MFF to focus on research, innovation and sustainable development, it is these policies that we must promote in the 2020 budget. Our commitment to combating climate change deserves special attention. Through horizontal actions in favor of the climate in all parts of the budget, the emphasis on sustainable development and climate diplomacy, we want to show the extent of the financial resources that the EU can contribute to the environmental cause”.

Gérard Deprez (MR, Belgium), ALDE coordinator at BUDG, added: "Research and innovation are major assets in international economic competition. Unfortunately, we are obliged to note that the European Union is not sufficiently competitive in this respect. It is therefore essential to significantly increase European funding in these areas. To this end, the Council must at least accept, without any restraint, the application of the Financial Regulation which make available the unspent amounts in the previous budget.”