Lucia Yar: Slovak MEPs from the RE group will fight for a higher seven-year EU budget

Brussels – The proposal for the future European budget raises more questions than it answers. However, this is the first proposal from the European Commission (EC) and the European Parliament (EP) will approach it accordingly, as the final shape of the budget will be negotiated over the next two years. In an interview with TASR on Thursday, MEP Lucia Yar (RE/PS), who is the only Slovak MEP to be a member of the EP Committee on Budgets and the vice-chair of this working committee, stated this.

The MEP reminded that in the delegation of MPs from Progressive Slovakia, she will support those parts of the proposal for the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) that are in favor of people, such as including defense as a European priority along with an increase in the budget in this area. Or increasing the Erasmus+ program so that students can continue to study abroad with higher scholarships.

“But we will try to reverse the proposal to reduce the amount of money for regions, cities, and municipalities that the European Commission has come up with,” Yar said. “The fact is that nearly 80 percent of public investments in our roads, sewers, schools, or hospitals are financed from funds for regional policy. Therefore, it is crucial to keep as much funding as possible in this area for the regions,” she added.

Since Thursday, negotiators from the European Parliament and the EU Council (member states) have effectively started negotiating the long-term budget proposal for the years 2028 – 2034, with MEP Yar emphasizing that Slovak MEPs from the centrist Renew Europe (RE) group will have a significantly stronger influence on the entire process and the negotiations themselves compared to the non-attached MEPs from Smer-SD and Hlas-SD.

“As the vice-chair of the budget committee, I also want to fight for more EU funds for Slovak regions, for equalizing payment differences for farmers compared to Western countries, but also for key funding for security,” she stated. And she emphasized that her political group will strive to push for a significantly higher seven-year budget than the two trillion euros proposed by the EU executive on Wednesday.

“We are going through geopolitical changes, and Europe is facing pressures from every side – Russia, China, and the USA. Without a strong Europe with a strong budget, we cannot cope with them,” she said. (July 17)

“As the vice-chair of the budget committee, I also want to fight for more EU funds for Slovak regions, for equalizing payment differences for farmers compared to Western countries, but also for key funding for security.” Lucia Yar