EU funds may be linked to respecting the European Union’s fundamental values after 2020 when the current multi-year financial exercise expires, according to a proposal of the European Commission.

“The Commission is also setting out options to modernize the EU budget, including by possibly strengthening the link - often referred to as "conditionality" - between EU funding and the respect for the EU's fundamental values,” reads a statement of the European Commission.

This is a new warning for countries EU members in Eastern Europe that have been criticized in recent years for deviating from the EU values, such as Poland, Hungary and, more recently, Romania.

“Budgets are not bookkeeping exercises – they are about priorities and ambition. They translate our future into figures. So, let's first discuss about the Europe we want. Then, Member States must back their ambition up with the money to match. And whilst we all need to understand that business as usual is not an option for this upcoming discussion, I firmly believe that we can square the circle and agree on a budget where everyone will be a net beneficiary,” said European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker.

The EU member states’ leaders will have an informal meeting on February 23 to discuss the various options about the EU’s priorities and budget after 2020.

“When discussing about the level of ambition of EU action in areas like protecting the EU's external borders, supporting a true European Defense Union, boosting Europe's digital transformation or making the EU's cohesion and agricultural policies more efficient, it is important for the Leaders to ascertain what their choices would mean concretely in terms of funding at EU level,” according to the EC statement.

The European Commission will table its formal proposal for the next long-term EU budget in the coming months, at the latest in early May 2018.

editor@romania-insider.com