EU May Need Another Summit to Discuss Budget

The Prime Minister of Poland, Mateusz Morawiecki, said on Tuesday that another meeting for the leaders of the European Union (EU) could be necessary to agree on the next budget and coronavirus recovery fund, Reuters reported.

“It may happen that another summit will be necessary… maybe there will be more long months of negotiations and a possible provisional budget. No scenarios should be ruled out at this stage.”

Warsaw and Budapest have been subject to European criticism over the political influence on the judicial authorities.

The EU and the European Parliament agreed early in November on the details of the next European budget with a total value of EUR 1.8 trillion.

The 2021-2027 EU budget included a EUR 750 billion recovery package for curbing the impact of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis.

Negotiators from the European Council, the EU executive body, and the European Parliament, the EU’s legislative arm, have reached a political agreement on the EU budget and recovery package.

It took around four months to negotiate a deal.

The new budget includes increased spending on health, education, and security by EUR 16 billion, compared to the drafted budget during the EU summit last July.

The plan also includes new revenues to make sure the EU will be able to repay the EUR 750 billion of planned debt to face the impact of the pandemic.

Governor of the De Nederlandsche Bank, the Central Bank of the Netherlands, said that the Eurozone may require extra stimulus and support to face the COVID-19 crisis.

According to Klaas Knot, who also serves as a member of the European Central Bank’s (ECB) board, the ECB needs to maintain low-interest rates to help the economy.