EU budget

This statement was signed by 233 organisation.

As we mark the 60th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome, we have a momentous opportunity to take stock of how far Europe has come – and how far we still have to go in order to offer a sustainable and prosperous future to everyone in Europe. It is an opportunity that we call on you, the leaders of Europe, to seize with both hands. We call on you to show leadership, vision and courage to set Europe on the path to a sustainable future which realises the rights of all people and respects planetary boundaries.

Mathieu Fichter, Team Leader on 'Sustainable Growth' in the European Commission's Regional and Urban Policy directorate (DG Regio), and Markus Trilling, EU Funds coordinator for Bankwatch and Friends of the Earth Europe, discuss and reflect on the challenges and opportunities that are being thrown up as we enter the final negotiating stages in the programming process for the EU budget 2014-2020.

With only a few weeks to go until the end of the year, and the official start of the new EU budgetary period for 2014-2020 that will see billions of euros flow into central and eastern Europe (CEE), national governments are racing to finalise their EU spending allocations for the forthcoming seven-year period. But, according to new analysis and a data visualisation put together by Bankwatch and Friends of the Earth Europe, CEE member states look set to pass up the opportunity to devote adequate funds for green projects and initiatives.