Press Release - European Parliament Chief-Negotiator’s Priorities for the 2018 EU Budget: Growth, Jobs and Security

Centre-right MEP Siegfried Mureșan (EPP), chief negotiator (general rapporteur) of the European Parliament for the 2018 EU Budget, presented today the draft Report on the General Guidelines for next year’s EU Budget in the European Parliament's Committee on Budgets stating that the main priorities shall be growth, jobs and security.

`The main priorities of the EU Budget in 2018 will remain growth and jobs, because the EU Budget is an investment budget. However, the Budget must also be able to respond to multiple challenges simultaneously and this is why tackling the migratory and refugee crisis shall remain high on our agenda. It is my conviction that we cannot obtain sustainable progress in creating jobs and growth if our citizens and companies feel unsafe or insecure. We will use the EU Budget to improve infrastructure, to support research and innovation, to stand by the side of SMEs and entrepreneurs, as they are the main creators of jobs and key to ensuring economic growth`, added centre-right MEP Siegfried Mureșan.

`Programmes such as Horizon 2020, COSME, Connecting Europe Facility or EFSI are crucial in delivering sustainable growth in Europe and must continue and be permanently improved. Moreover, I am firmly convinced that the continuation of the Youth Employment Initiative is a crucial component in combating efficiently youth unemployment, as this is one of the main concerns at European level, which puts at risk an entire generation of young Europeans. To achieve all of these, Europe has to remain a safe continent for both citizens and companies. We will equip the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund and the Internal Security Fund with enough resources and we will tackle root causes of migration in the countries of origin of migrants and refugees as well as in the transit countries`, concluded Siegfried Mureșan.

The Report is scheduled to be voted by the European Parliament in its plenary session, which will take place between 13 - 16 March 2017 in Strasbourg.

_____________________

 For more information

Andrei Jujan: +40 766 369 485,

Paul Stencoane: +40 769 611 020