The EU Budget post 2013

(c) Amanda Rogers, Dobrogei Mountains, Romania Zoom In

The Multiannual Financial Framework (EU-Budget) is an important financial source for European investments. This budget has a significant impact on the development in the EU, and therefore needs a new direction to ensure that it fits with the current challenges facing Europe.

Our vision on the EU-Budget

BirdLife International strives for sufficient EU public spending to ensure that environmental policies and objectives are met. Currently, European taxpayers’ money is not delivering what it could and should for the citizens of Europe. The EU-Budget post 2013 is a rare opportunity to match deeds to words, and ensure that taxpayers’ money is used to deliver European public goods.

What are the EU‘s environmental challenges for the next budget period?

Climate change was a marginal factor in the EU budget 2007-2013. Current initiatives that are aimed at climate change mitigation and adaptation are ad hoc and limited in size. The new EU-budget should promote a transition to a sustainable low carbon society through reduced energy consumption, the decentralisation of energy supply, increased use of renewable energy and by ensuring ecosystem resilience.

Biodiversity preservation is integral to sustainable development, and offers many benefits to Europe. The EU should maintain or enhance this capital for future generations by providing the financial means to reach the agreed EU 2020 biodiversity headline target. The current budget has failed to secure necessary funding (approx. 0.1% of the EU-budget).

In order to become the most resource efficient economy in the world, and to enable us to live within the limits of the planet, the EU should use its budget to drive reductions in the use of resources and dependency on imports, while increasing recycling and restoration in the field of waste, water, materials and land.

Our asks for the EU funding instruments

• Common Agricultural Policy – should reward farmers and land managers for the delivery of public goods, such as an attractive countryside rich in wildlife.

• Structural and Cohesion Funds – should foster the transition to a low-energy-consumption and resource-efficient society.

• Transport funding – should only target plans and projects that actively reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and maintain green infrastructures.

• LIFE Programme – (the single EU instrument directly allocated to the environment) should reach at least 1% of the EU-Budget.  

• European research funding – should be refocused on delivering breakthroughs on the core challenges.

• Marine and fisheries funding – should ensure the protection of both the EU’s and the global marine environment by supporting a sustainability shift in fisheries.

• The EU Overseas entities – funds dedicated to overseas entities need to reflect the EU’s priorities, responsibilities and objectives for tackling climate change, biodiversity loss and resource efficiency.

• External dimension – environmental sustainability must be mainstreamed within all external dimension policies and spending, along with a significant increase in financial support for sustainable development in the least developed countries.

The EU can and must take responsibility in ensuring that European taxpayers’ money is invested in an economy for the future, based on the well-being of citizens within the ecological limits of the planet.