How to shift the EU's spending priorities? : the multi-annual financial framework 2007-13 in perspective
By: SCHILD, Joachim
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ArticlePublisher: Oxfordshire, UK : Taylor & Francis, June 2008Journal of European Public Policy 15, 4, p. 531-549Abstract: At the Lisbon European Council in 2000, heads of state and government made strong political commitments to invest in Europe's future, in order to transform its economy into 'the most competitive knowledge based economy in the world' by 2010. To what extent were the Lisbon goals translated into a shift in spending priorities during the negotiations on the EU's multi-annual financial framework (2007-13)? Could the stated competitiveness goals be underpinned by a reallocation of scarce financial resources in the EU's budget? This paper starts with theoretical considerations on the odds of shifting financial priorities in the EU's 'consensus democracy'. Then it gives an overview of the slow pace of change to be found in the new financial perspective which is to be compared to earlier deals on the multi-annual budget since 1988. In order to explain this result, the political context and the sequence of decision-making are examined, looking at the respective roles of the Commission, the European Council, and the European Parliament
At the Lisbon European Council in 2000, heads of state and government made strong political commitments to invest in Europe's future, in order to transform its economy into 'the most competitive knowledge based economy in the world' by 2010. To what extent were the Lisbon goals translated into a shift in spending priorities during the negotiations on the EU's multi-annual financial framework (2007-13)? Could the stated competitiveness goals be underpinned by a reallocation of scarce financial resources in the EU's budget? This paper starts with theoretical considerations on the odds of shifting financial priorities in the EU's 'consensus democracy'. Then it gives an overview of the slow pace of change to be found in the new financial perspective which is to be compared to earlier deals on the multi-annual budget since 1988. In order to explain this result, the political context and the sequence of decision-making are examined, looking at the respective roles of the Commission, the European Council, and the European Parliament
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