The draft prepared by the European Commission was more modest than the one proposed by the head of the Council of Europe - by some five billion euros. It did not convince countries in the Friends of Cohesion group, of which Poland is member.
According to the group, the suggested cuts were a gesture towards the so-called Frugal Four: Austria, Denmark, the Netherlands and Sweden, which nevertheless saw the reductions as too small.
Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki told reporters in Brussels that his country could not accept such cuts in the planned budget.
“There is this group of rich countries which want to be even more wealthy, we can understand that, however we have to point out where the funds should really be directed, where they are most need to balance the level of development – and so they should go to Poland, to Central Europe. And looking at this from such a perspective, I think that our arguments are heard loud and clear,” Morawiecki said.
He added that even though no agreement has been reached, the proposed budget had been changed during the negotiations in line with Poland’s suggestions.
It was the first time EU countries had discussed future finances without the presence of Britain. Talks on the budget will continue, though no date has been set.
Source: IAR