STA, February 23, 2018 – Prime Minister Miro Cerar said he expected Slovenia would remain a net recipient of EU funds in the next budget period as he arrived at an EU summit dedicated to the bloc's multi-year budget after 2020 in Brussels on Friday.
Speaking to the press before the informal summit, the prime minister called for a development-oriented and ambitious EU budget which would amount to more than 1% of the gross domestic income of the Union.
Cerar expects an open discussion which would be an introduction to the official negotiations on the financial framework after 2020.
The European Commission said recently that the budget needed to be increased to between 1.1% and 1.19% of the bloc's GDP in order to cover an expected loss in revenue due to Brexit and increased expenditure for new priorities.
Unofficially, Slovenia supports an increase of the EU budget to up to 1.1% of the bloc's GDP.
The budget will decrease somewhat in real terms because of Brexit, which is why Slovenia must resolutely advocate its interests. "It is very important to keep cohesion funds at a level Slovenia needs to develop."
Cerar added that the EU budget must also support innovation and modernisation of Europe and provide sufficient funds for new challenges, such as security and migration, as well as certain social issues.
While Slovenia expects to remain a net recipient, the long-term wish is that Slovenia joins the most-developed EU member states by means of planned development, he said.
