Future budget commissioner urges capitals to work on new EU-wide taxes

The European Union urgently needs to speed up work on new own resources to feed its long-term budget (2028-34) and deliver solutions for its citizens, Polish Commissioner-designate for Budget, Anti-Fraud and Public Administration Piotr Serafin told MEPs during his confirmation hearing on Thursday.  

“Progress on this matter has been insufficient and time is running. I expect the Council [representing member states] to resume work on this issue at the beginning of next year at the latest,” he added.   

Own resources, such as the existing customs duties or contributions based on the value-added tax (VAT) levied by member states, are one of two options available to the EU to feed its common budget — the other being direct contributions from member states, but for the next Commission own resources is a priority.  

The Commission estimates that the introduction of the proposed new own resources, EU-wide taxes on carbon emissions and big multinationals by 2026, could raise around €36 billion from 2028 onwards.    

Serafin stressed that his mandate is to focus on the new own resources but promised MEPs that he’ll do his best to convince member states to spend more money at EU level rather than at national level.   

“When it comes to new priorities like defence, like competitiveness, it makes sense from the perspective of finance ministers to spend money at EU level instead of at national level,” Serafin said. “It will simply be cheaper.”   

How new and old priorities and programmes – from agriculture and the green transition to defence and security – will be funded after 2027 was the main concern of MEPs who questioned the Polish candidate – who said he was unable to make any commitments on the Commission’s future plans for the budget.  

Negotiations on the next long-term budget do not start until summer 2025, but regions and capitals are putting pressure on the Commission to ditch proposals it has been mulling to centralise all programmes into one national cash pot per member state.   

For the next five-year term, the likely new budget commissioner wants “fewer, more focused programmes” and “a plan for each country linking key reforms with investment, targeted where EU action is most needed,” he told MEPs.  

But also a more flexible, more focused, more impactful and simpler EU budget which is at the same time ambitious in design and size.  

“Accessing EU funds does not have to be a bureaucratic nightmare,” Serafin said in his opening remarks, adding that “we must get the maximum out of every euro in the EU budget”.   

As anti-fraud commissioner, Serafin plans to strengthen cooperation between the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) and the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) in order to recover EU funds quickly.    

“We must do everything we can to eliminate fraud and organised crime in the EU,” he added, stressing that this would also ensure that tax revenues are diverted away from fraudsters and towards addressing the bloc’s key challenges.   

Creating a closer link between the rule of law report and the EU budget will also help ensure that EU values are respected, Serafin said.   

The Polish commissioner-designate is likely to get the green light from MEPs, but the whole new EU Commission will then have to pass a vote in plenary by the end of November before taking up its new mandate – probably in early December.