Current discussions on the #EUbudget exemplify the EU's core problem. Instead of thinking about goals and what #EU citizens need from the Union, each Member State's executive looks at its own balance sheet, its net contribution, and what it pays in and receives. #IamEuropean
#EUbudget discussions should go the other way around. First, identify what the #EU should do for citizens, where it is needed, what it can bring. And only then work out how much this costs us all together. A discussion centred on 1% and 1.14% serves State budgets, not #citizens.
The @APPF_EU unveiled the latest official MEP membership figures for #europeanparties, which will be used to calculate their entitlements to EU public funding. Here is what's what 👇
❌ Worthy of note: sharp nose-dive for virtually all pro-EU forces: @EPP, @PES_PSE, @ALDEParty, @europeangreens, @PDE_EDP, and EFA (even @europeanleft).
Only net winner: the @LeftAlliance_EU, but mostly because it starts from zero.
❌ Conversely, the winners (except ELA) are all on the hard/far-right: @PatriotsEU, @ECRparty, and ESN.
Today, @POLITICOEurope's Playbook reports on two EU political alliances missing out on EU funds "because the paperwork is too complicated". A great opportunity to discuss the funding of #europeanparties! 🥳🇪🇺
A quick 🧵... 1/23
@euleftalliance @APPF_EU @EDC_eudemocracy
First of all, what are we talking about? This is about a special stream of European public funding set aside for #europeanparties and distributed every year. Out of that envelope, 10% is distributed equally to all parties and 90% proportionally to their number of MEPs. 2/23
But, actually, this turns out to be more about registration than funding. In the meantime, if you want to really understand the funding of European parties, hear this way 👇 3/23 epfo.eu/understanding-…
Over the past several years, @EDC_eudemocracy has made many, many requests to the European Parliament to access decisions by its Bureau on the funding of #europeanparties. These included decisions for funding (for the coming year) and final accounts (which wrap up the process).
Invariably, these documents were provided with heavy redactions over the parts covering the EP's reasoning for its decisions: we could see the outcome (amounts), but not how decisions were made. Until yesterday, the latest full document related to funding for 2015 -- 8 years ago.
To be clear, the point of this thread is *not* to argue that TNLs will make our common election less European, simply that they will not remedy the election's core deficiency (that national parties are in control) and that, therefore, they are not the right way forward. 3/25