On Monday, 24 September 2012, Deputy Foreign Minister Dimitris Kourkoulas participated in the proceedings of the EU General Affairs Council in Brussels, where negotiations continued on the new EU multiannual financial framework for 2014-2020. Mr. Kourkoulas had the opportunity to promote Greek positions, as those have been formulated in full coordination with the Development Ministry and other co-responsible Ministries.
Underscoring the development character of the European budget, Mr. Kourkoulas expressed Greece’s complete disagreement with the outlook being promoted by certain EU member states, according to which a reduction in revenues is in unavoidable in the new financial framework for 2014-2020. He also disagreed with the prospect of reducing cohesion revenues, which should be earmarked for peripheries with the greatest needs.
Furthermore, he supported the Cypriot Presidency’s effort to protect member states from sudden reductions in funding, the allotment of which should be carried out based on national prosperity rates that reflect the real situation in each country. He also stressed the vital importance of at least maintaining the community proportion of co-funding of Cohesion funds.
Stressing the importance of adequate funding for all Social Policies, Mr. Kourkoulas noted that any further reduction in funding in the agriculture sector would be counterproductive, and he also pointed to the importance of dealing with the special needs arising from increased migrant flows.
In the revenues sector, Mr. Kourkoulas requested that there be a more systematic discussion and supported the European Commission proposals for establishing new own resources, such as the imposing of a European Financial Transaction tax and the strengthening of the European budget through the value added tax.
September 25, 2012