Resumen de Reforming the EU budget, a prerequisite for future enlargements?

Anne Vitrey, Aurélien Mornon Afonso

• This article contributes to the ongoing debate on EU budget reform. It proposes a revision of Articles 311 and 312 TFEU in advance of any future enlargements. The reform proposed by the authors is based on four pillars. First, the EU needs to reduce the pressure from and reliance on national budgets by the allocation of new own resources coupled with hybrid and off-budget instruments. Second, there is a need to adapt the Multiannual Financial Framework to rebalance traditional priorities like the Common Agricultural Policy and Cohesion with emerging political priorities such as sustainability, digitalisation or defense. Third, the European Parliament's role in budgetary decision-making process needs to be strengthened by modifying the Multi Financial Framework calendar to align it with the Parliament's legislative term and by enshrining the mid-term review in the treaties. Finally, the use of budgetary conditionality should be extended to ensure sound financial management.