Roberta Metsola leads EPP negotiations on key budget files

Member of the European Parliament for Malta and Gozo Roberta Metsola has been chosen as the European People’s Party Group’s lead negotiator within the Committee of Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs on eleven opinion reports linked to the EU budget.The opinion reports deal with the budget discharge for the EU’s justice and home affairs agencies, offices and centres for the financial year 2017 as well as the performance, control and financial management of the overall EU budget. The reports examine the finances of agencies like Europol, the Malta-based EASO, Frontex, the EU’s Fundamental Rights Agency and others.

“MEPs have to sign-off all the accounts of the EU’s agencies for the year 2017 and these opinion reports will feed into that process. We need greater transparency on how public-funds are being spent and taxpayers deserve to know that our Agencies are spending their budgets as they should be. My role as the EPP negotiator in the Committee is to do just that and to ensure that the interests of the taxpaying public are being protected. Greater transparency will mean more faith in the EU and help build trust across the board - this is what I am committed to and will keep working towards as MEP for Malta and Gozo,” said MEP Metsola.

“The agencies, offices and centres of the European Union are essential for the EU to carry out specific actions and expert work in a wide range of fields, including judicial and security cooperation and law enforcement. This year we have also seen an increased budget for cross border investigations by Europol - which we hope will have a positive effect on the agency” said MEP Metsola.  

Votes on these reports will take place in the coming weeks in the Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs Committee.