Speaking about 2016 EU budget, European Commission President Jean-Claud Juncker said that it needed to be focus on addressing refugee crisis. In draft budget for 2016 a big increase for two Funds dealing with Asylum and Security have been planned.
“For 2016, we have set aside nearly €9 billion to respond to external crises, such as those in Ukraine and Syria. Our proposed budget for next year is €143.5 billion. This is an increase of 1.6 per cent in nominal terms, but not in real terms, adjusted for inflation,“ said President Juncker at the Conference “EU Budget Focused on Results” held in Brussels.
“Our proposed budget is less than half the annual budget of Belgium or Austria, or €80 cents per day for every European for one year. That’s half a cup of coffee in many places,“ stressed Juncker.
In his speech, he said that refugees were sleeping out in the street in 2015 in Europe, while EU countries “closed their borders and their hearts. Closing borders is not the solution. If you have survived bombs and warfare and crossed the Mediterranean in a rubber boat, a fence won’t stop you,” said Juncker and called EU Member States to show solidarity with refugees.
Speaking about priorities of 2016 budget, he said the EU planned to spend almost half the money to stimulate growth, employment and competitiveness. Juncker said that in July, Commission proposed a €35 billion package to help Greece grow and that more than €1.5 billion for the Connecting Europe Facility have been set aside, thus directly supporting political priorities such as Digital Single Market and Energy Union.
For 2016, there is a proposed rise in payments for Horizon 2020, the EU research and innovation programme, Juncker said at the conference and explained the idea behind the Commission’s €315 billion investment plan, which some like to call the Juncker Plan. “I do not mind what we call it. I am pleased that the first projects are now coming off the ground, projects dealing with research into Alzheimer’s disease and energy-efficient buildings,” said European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker in his speech.
