The candidates to preside over the European Commission disagree on EU financing

The European elections in June are approaching and the candidates for the presidency of the European Commission faced each other this Tuesday in a debate on an issue that divides politicians in Brussels: the community budgetwhich amounts to 1,000 million euros.

The current president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, of the European People’s Party (EPP), proposed a new European air defense system financed by Brussels, as well as tariffs on Chinese products. Von der Leyen, a center-right German politician, is seeking a second term as president of the European executive.

But she and her rivals, including Sandro Gozi, a French MEP from Emmanuel Macron’s Renew Europe party, and Danish right-wing candidate Anders Vistisen, They disagree on how to adjust finances of the EU.

“The budget is not cut, it is increased,” said Gozi, stating that new sources of EU revenue, like a tax on food wastecould help pay for new challenges such as climate change and security, adding: “You can’t drive into the future by looking in the rearview mirror.”

Brussels spending amounted to almost 250 billion in 2022

In 2022, the European Commission spent almost 250 billion euros and with each of the members looking after their own interests and debts from the pandemic, it will be a difficult task to establish a new framework of seven years for the next EU budget.

The socialist candidate and great rival of Ursula von der Leyen, Nicolas Schmit, current Luxembourg EU commissioner, broadly supported Gozi’s approach, arguing that the current budget “is not huge” and that reinforcing European defenses after Russian aggression “will not be possible without some European debt.”

Von der Leyen was less precise about her intentions, suggesting she might be willing reduce costly agricultural subsidies and aid to the poorest regions, to prioritize new areas of spending.

“Agriculture and cohesion will play some role, no doubt, but we have to focus on what is most important right now“Von der Leyen said, promoting a potentially controversial new project for a bloc that has traditionally stayed out of military affairs.

“I would advocate, for example, for an anti-aircraft shield as a common European project,” said Von der Leyen, who was previously German Defense Minister, an initiative that, if carried out, could require significant funding from Brussels.

Vistisen, for his part, committed to reduce the EU workforce by 10,000 people and to eliminate half of the bloc’s agencies, although he did not specify the exact cost savings he hoped to achieve with these changes.

A trade war with China?

The candidates also discussed how to confront Beijing’s aggressive trade practices, with Von der Leyen suggesting that would distance itself from the United Stateswhich last week imposed steep tariff increases on Chinese products such as chips, solar panels and electric vehicles.

“We share some of the concerns of our (American) counterparts, but we have a different approach, a much more tailored approach,” Von der Leyen said, highlighting a months-long investigation the EU has undertaken into whether China’s trade practices comply with European and global standards.

“In the event that what I suspect is confirmed, namely that there are Chinese subsidies, I can guarantee that the level of sanctions that we will impose will correspond to the level of damage“, he claimed.

In general, the debate was less heated than the previous one, held on April 29 in Maastricht, in which Von der Leyen also faced Schmit and Vitisen on issues such as Ukraine and Gaza.

The Renew Europe group (Renew Europe) seems to have left its previous representative, Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmerman, on the bench after the weak performance she offered in April, and has now opted to the much more combative Gozi.

Lack of progress in capital market reform

While Schmit repeatedly invoked Jacques Delors, the French socialist who led the Commission in the 1980s and 1990s, Gozi He aimed harshly at the trajectory of his opponents.

The lack of progress in capital market reform of the EU is “the biggest failure of the EPP”, Gozi said, citing the centre-right political party to which Von der Leyen belongs, stating that the promise of new reforms came “too late”.

While Vistisen said he wanted to force the sale or ban social media app TikTokChinese-owned, Gozi accused him of opposing EU legislation known as the Digital Services Act, aimed at curbing large online platforms.

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Europeans will go to the polls between June 6 and 9 to elect the 720 legislators who will be part of the European Parliament for five years.

According to the polls, Von der Leyen’s European People’s Party (EPP) will have the most votes, which puts her in an unbeatable position to secure a second term.

But it is likely that the EPP need a coalition with other MEPs to secure the majority, and would first have to be proposed as a candidate by national leaders in the European Council.

The candidates, who will be joined by extras from the extreme left and green groups, They will face each other on Thursday in a televised “Eurovision debate”although that act has sparked controversy for apparently excluding Vistisen.