Commission makes changes to its own budget proposal to avoid Parliament rebellion – POLITICO

But several other lawmakers were less positive.

“It is a step in the right direction but not a breakthrough,” said another MEP working on the file.

Another point of contention is the Commission’s proposal to merge the regional and agricultural budget into a single cash pot handled by national governments ― who would get significant leeway over how to spend the money.

The Commission’s move comes hours before a crucial virtual meeting between Ursula von der Leyen, European Parliament President Roberta Metsola and Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen. | Johnathan Nackstrand/Getty Images

This has sparked outrage among mayors and regional leaders, who fear they will have no say regarding the funds.

In order to fix this issue, the EU executive has now suggested giving regional leaders more power to determine how the money is being spent ― including by giving them a seat at the table in key planning meetings between national governments and Commission officials.

In a further concession, the Commission proposed guarantees to reduce the risk of national governments cutting payments to more developed regions. This comes on top of a €218 billion guarantee for payments to poorer areas in July.

Finally, the Commission suggested giving Parliament a bigger role in deciding how the EU’s public funding is being spent.

Bartosz Brzeziński and Nick Vinocur contributed to this report.