LISBON, Feb. 18 -- Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa said Tuesday that his government will not accept the European Union (EU)'s budget proposal.
"After the unanimous rejection yesterday by the social partners, today in the debate in Parliament, all political parties also refused the President of the EU Council's proposal for the EU budget 2021-2027," Costa said in his tweet.
"We will not accept this proposal," said the prime minister in parliament, quoted by Lusa News Agency, referring to the proposal presented on Friday by the President of the European Council, Charles Michel.
In EU, Portugal and a majority of the member states are against any cut in cohesion policy and the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), while Austria, Denmark, the Netherlands and Sweden, four of the so-called net contributors, designated as "frugal countries", refuse to go beyond a global envelope of 1 percent of GNI.
The so-called multiannual financial framework requires unanimity at the European Council and then has to be approved by the European Parliament.
"We were constructive," said the prime minister. "We cannot accept that there is a global decrease in the amount of cohesion funds and that Portugal is treated unfairly."
Antonio Costa stressed that the European Council must act "not as a factor of division, but seeking to develop institutional dialogue", bearing in mind that the multiannual financial framework must be approved by the European Parliament, which has already rejected the current proposal.
"There must be, between the European Commission's proposal (1.11 percent) and that of the EP (1.3 percent), a large margin in which it is possible to negotiate and work", he said.