S4 Ep10: The new EU budget and the future of the Spitzenkandidaten process

Bruegel director Guntram Wolff frames the two debates that will
dominate the upcoming meeting of the European Council on 23
February 2018 – the shape of the next EU budget, and the method
by which a new European Commission president will be appointed.


Major questions still hang over the next EU budget, or
multiannual financial framework (MFF), and not just because of
Brexit.


The next budget, another seven-year MFF that will run from 2021
through to 2027, will likely reflect Europe’s developing
priorities in sectors such as defence, border control and
fighting climate change. Other sectors may face a cut in
spending, particularly given the shortfall left as a result of
the UK’s departure.


Elsewhere, the European Council and European Parliament have
still to reach agreement over the future of the Spitzenkandidaten
process, by which the appointment of current European Commission
president Jean-Claude Juncker was decided in 2014.


These topics are lead items on the agenda for the European
Council meeting on February 23. Bruegel director Guntram Wolff
features in this episode of ‘The Sound of Economics’,
highlighting the key considerations and likely deciding factors
in the debates still to be had.