EU Budget freeze
An unacceptable and populist coup
Commenting on the reported agreement of net contributors on freezing the EU budget, Greens/EFA co-president Rebecca Harms said:
"The reported closed door agreement on the EU budget is nothing short of a scandal and circumvents democratic due process. While it is natural to discuss potential budget savings, any decision must follow the political process. It is dishonest to increase the competences of the EU on the one hand and to decrease the resources available to the EU to exercise those competences at the same time.
"This budgetary coup has very little to do with fiscal responsibility and owes far more to the populist whims of Cameron, Sarkozy and Merkel. Giving in to these populist whims, risks undermining popular support for the EU at a time when it was never more necessary, notably in the context of the solidarity measures needed to shore up the Eurozone."
