Negotiations have begun for the next round of EU funding for 2020/2027 with Portugal potentially losing 10% to 15% of its EU grant income compared to the current contribution level.Weekly pundit on SIC, Luis Marques Mendes, said the cut in EU funds to Portugal could be as much as €3 billion due to the three key criteria of migration, climate change and unemployment.
"We have few immigrants, we are not in the worst rankings for climate change and, fortunately, we have a low unemployment rate right now. For example, Spain will benefit a lot more because it has a very high unemployment rate."
The first draft of the Community framework presented by the European Commission for 2020/2027 was tabled last Wednesday with Jean Claude Juncker proposing a budget of €1.227 billion for the next seven years, the equivalent of 1.11% of the Gross National Income of the combined European Union members.
The Mendes prediction of a 10% to 15% cut for Portugal includes the lack of contribution from a post-Brexit Britain, reducing the overall pot.
"In the middle of all this, there is good news Portugual as the budget that rises the most is for science, which goes from €77 billion to €100 billion."
