Elections in Spain ‘may create issues’ for EU budget, Christodoulides says

Forthcoming elections in Spain “may potentially create issues” for the formulation of the European Union’s next multiannual financial framework – the bloc’s budget for the period covering the years between 2028 and 2024 – President Nikos Christodoulides said on Thursday. “First of all, I would like to say that we certainly recognise and support the need to strengthen new European Union policies, defence and security, competitiveness and migration, but at the same time, this must not come at the expense of the common agricultural policy or the cohesion … policy from which European citizens benefit,” he said. On this front, he said that “I hope we will make substantive progress” during the day’s European Council summit in Brussels and pointed out that an extraordinary summit in Dublin will also take place next month but warned that matters may be complicated by elections taking place elsewhere in Europe in the coming months. “Certain political developments, such as elections in Spain and the outcome in Sweden, may potentially create some issues for us. It is absolutely essential that we reach a political agreement by the end of the year. Otherwise, things will clearly become more difficult,” he said. Should a new multiannual financial framework not be devised by the end of the year, he said, “I believe we would be sending a negative message, not only to European citizens, but to the world”. No new govt in Sweden, Spain goes to polls next month His reference to Sweden comes with no new government having been formed in the country in a month since parliamentary elections were held, with Magdalena Andersson, the leader of the parliament’s largest party, the centre-left Social Democrats, saying that the conditions to form a government were not yet ripe. As such, it is expected that incumbent prime minister Ulf Kristersson, who leads the centre-right Moderate Party, will be asked to attempt to form a new government of his own, though this may see the far-right Sweden Democrats enjoy a strengthened hand in coalition talks. In Spain, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez called a snap election after the country’s parliament voted down emergency legislation aimed at stemming rising housing costs. That election will take place on November 29, with it currently appearing likely that the centre-right PP and far-right Vox party will both make gains, though Sanchez’s centre-left PSOE may still be able to form a coalition after the election. Last month, Irish European Affairs Minister Thomas Byrne had said that the EU aims to finalise its multiannual financial framework by the end of the year because “if we don’t conclude the negotiations this year, we won’t have time to do all the legislation that goes with the figures that we could agree”. Additionally, it is widely understood that the EU and its 27 member states plan to do this to ward off the risk of elections next year in France and Poland – and the possible election of the far right in both countries – derailing efforts to reach an agreement.