EU Parliament must be willing to use its veto power
We would like to share here the opinion signed by UEF President Domenec Ruiz Devesa and published in Politico with the title: EU Parliament must be willing to use its veto power
To read in English here LINK
Negotiations on the EU’s 2028–2034 Multi-annual Financial Framework (MFF) have entered a new phase of political significance.
Traditionally, this process follows a familiar pattern: The European Commission proposes a draft budget, the Council bargains behind closed doors, then, at the final stage, the Parliament is called in to give or withhold consent. It’s a sequence of affairs that has long placed the Parliament in a weak position before a nearly finished deal — but not this time.
In a break from previous iterations, this time the Parliament intervened early and managed to secure concessions. This is a feat that should be acknowledged. However, recognizing this success shouldn’t obscure the political stakes that remain.
Following the Commission’s initial proposal, the Parliament was able to assert itself at the very start of the MFF process through a joint letter from the presidents of its main political groups, expressing clear institutional expectations, financial priorities and political conditions. As a result, the Commission offered improvements regarding the role of regional authorities in the implementation of agricultural and cohesion programs, and accepted an enhanced role for the Parliament to monitor the MFF’s execution.
As previously noted by this very publication, the Parliament’s unusually early involvement was able to influence the framework before the Council began its negotiations — a notable break from precedent that should be seen as a strategic gain for parliamentary democracy at the European level.