Speech by President Juncker at the Conference "EU Budget focused on Results" - Hoofdinhoud

Ministers, honoured Members of the European Parliament, Excellencies, Members of the Court of Auditors.

Dear colleagues and friends

Ladies and Gentlemen,

What is a political Commission?

As you know, this is a political Commission with a political mission.

As I said in my recent State of the Union address political means tackling the great challenges that stand before us today.

Being political is about leadership, about taking decisions. Which is why I have chosen, this Commission has chosen, to focus on ten political priorities.

Boosting jobs, growth and investment. Creating a Digital Single Market, an Energy Union, and a new Migration policy, to name but a few.

Do not worry, I won't repeat the entire speech here. Kristalina only gave me fifteen minutes, and last week in the European Parliament I had eighty.

Politics in a democracy is also about being accountable.

As politicians, we are accountable to Parliament and to the people of Europe, who want us to create jobs and growth and expect us to solve the refugee crisis.

You can hold us to account on our achievements, and as a political leader, I welcome that.

Today we discuss the EU budget. We need the budget to achieve our aims. The budget for us is therefore not an accounting tool, but a means to achieve our political goals.

Just look at the central role of the budget in our Commission.

It is no accident that I created the post of a Vice President responsible specifically for the budget.

This cements the key role of the budget in the very heart of the Commission.

And it is no accident that I asked Kristalina Georgieva, a politician of exceptional skill and talent, to fulfil this role.

She is making sure that all parts of the Commission play by the same financial rulebook.

To me, and now more than ever, what's important is what we can do with the budget.

Using the budget to solve the refugee crisis

We need now, first and foremost, to use the budget to solve the refugee crisis.

Last week I said: There is not enough Europe in this Union.

Refugees are sleeping out in the street. In the rain. In 2015. In Europe.

It is September. It is getting colder.

History will hold us to account if we do not succeed in solving this crisis in a humane and civilized manner.

We see countries closing their borders and closing their hearts.

Closing borders is not the solution. If you have survived bombs and warfare and crossed the Mediterranean in a rubber boat, a fence won't stop you.

I call on all Member States to recognise this reality and show solidarity.

And I ask the countries of Europe, the citizens of Europe, to show solidarity with those people who have fled their homes, seeking safety.

Solidarity is an empty word if it is not followed up by action.

Member States have finally agreed to relocate 40,000 people. The Council is meeting at this very moment in an extra-ordinary meeting to discuss our proposal to relocate another 120,000.

The Council is also discussing our other proposals: living up to our legal and moral obligations has of course a financial impact. We will need more resources for Frontex and other agencies, and we must invest in the neighbouring region where the burden of hosting refugees is even higher than it is for us.

Now is not the time for business as usual. I said it before. If you really want to help these people, you have to put your money where your mouth is. Provide us with the funds needed to combat this crisis.

Because there is not enough Europe in this budget, either!

Concrete proposals concerning refugees

Last week I announced proposals to establish a Trust Fund to tackle the root causes of irregular migration in parts of Africa.

In our draft budget for 2016, we have planned a big increase for two Funds dealing with Asylum and Security. These funds underpin the migration package presented by First Vice President Timmermans and Commissioner Avramopoulos.

For 2016, we have set aside nearly €9 billion to respond to external crises, such as those in Ukraine and Syria.

As I said last week, we will propose steps towards a European Border and Coast guard. Naturally, we will have to find appropriate funds for this, too.

I am not asking for a blank cheque and I know full well that times are still difficult.

The budget is limited

Consequently, our budget is limited.

Our proposed budget for next year is €143.5 billion. This is an increase of 1.6 per cent in nominal terms, but not in real terms, adjusted for inflation.

Our proposed budget is less than half the annual budget of Belgium or Austria, or €80 cents per day for every European for one year. That's half a cup of coffee in many places.

Deciding what to spend this budget on is a political decision.

The refugee crisis is the most acute example. But let me give you some examples of what we do in support of the ten political priorities:

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  We plan to use nearly half of next year's budget to stimulate growth, employment and competitiveness.
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  In July, we proposed a €35 billion package to help Greece grow.
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  For 2016, we have set aside more than €1.5 billion for the Connecting Europe Facility. This directly supports political priorities such as the Digital Single Market and the Energy Union.
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  For 2016, we have proposed a rise in payments for Horizon 2020, our research and innovation programme.

Doing more, with less

Our means are limited. It is not enough to allocate money wisely. We will have to do more with less.

We need to get the best out of the budget and spend money smartly.

This is why we need a better budget, a budget focused on results.

We need to make every euro count.

For instance, by using existing EU funds to stimulate private sector investment.

In fact, that's the idea behind the Commission's €315 billion investment plan, which some like to call the Juncker Plan. I do not mind what we call it. I am pleased that the first projects are now coming off the ground, projects dealing with research into Alzheimer's disease and energy-efficient buildings.

We should make every euro count twice, by making it achieve multiple objectives. For instance, if we create jobs in the renewable energy sector, we get two objectives for the price of one.

Accountability for tax payer's money

People want us to achieve results. They also want to know how we spend tax payer's money.

And I completely agree with them.

We are accountable, not just for our actions, but also for the money we spend. We need to be sure that EU funds have been spent correctly and effectively.

In my mission letter to Kristalina, I asked her to make budgetary control more effective.

Audits are necessary. But too much red tape can deter companies from setting up innovative projects.

With simple rules, beneficiaries of funds can spend more easily. And they will make fewer mistakes.

But rules must also ensure that we have the right level of control on how money is spent.

So we need to strike a healthy balance: we need rules that ensure accountability, and at the same time guarantee results.

To be accountable, you also have to be visible. What is the use of producing results and transparency, if nobody knows about it?

Today we have the opportunity to frankly discuss our budget, its merits and its deficiencies. And today we should examine how we together can improve the way we work.

This conference today is an excellent start and the beginning of the road towards a better budget.

There are several things we need to keep in mind along that way.

If we want a better budget, we should not forget to involve, at all stages and at all levels, the Member States and the European Parliament, who share responsibility with us for large parts of the EU budget.

We have to constantly ask ourselves: are we, all of us, spending the EU budget for the right things and in the right way?

This is not only relevant when we have the next midterm review of the budget, or when we draft proposals for the next multi-annual financial framework.

We have to be able to quickly respond to sudden European crises. I think of the refugee crisis, but also of our recent €500 million aid package for struggling dairy farmers.

Conclusion: not accounting, but being accountable

Ladies and gentlemen.

The budget is not there for the Commission. It is there to improve life for all Europeans.

We need a budget aimed at results, rather than rules.

A road to nowhere built according to the rules, is still a road to nowhere.

We should not spend money just to obey the rules. We should invest it with results in mind.

To be precise: our ten political priorities, and, at this very moment, a solution to the refugee crisis.

This approach to the budget, which you have discussed this morning and will discuss further in the afternoon, will not only help us achieve our political goals.

It will also help us prove that we perform well, and that we can spend wisely.

Because to me, the budget is not about accounting, it is about being accountable.

Thank you for your attention.

SPEECH/15/5696