(Brussels) By the end of May, the EU Commission will be submitting its proposal for the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF), that is, the multiannual budget of the European Union for the period after 2020. Until now, MFFs – starting from the Delors Commission in 1988 – have lasted 7 years; therefore, the next multiannual programme – strict rule for the annual budget of the EU – should reach 2027, even though the new Budget Commissioner, Günther Oettinger (German), did not specify the new period of reference. During his meeting with the press for presenting the lines of the Commission, originating also from the two-day conference of last Monday and Tuesday in Brussels, Oettinger said: “We have to face two holes in the multiannual budget. First of all, Brexit: withdrawal of the United Kingdom will imply lower revenue by about 12-14 billion a year”, out of an annual budget of about 150 billion. Of course, funds going to London – less than the ones perceived – will also be cancelled. The second variable is linked with “the new skills and the new commitments to be met by the EU, which could not be foreseen” as they are now: border control, migration, security, new research areas, support of development of poor countries. However, Oettinger confirmed: “the EU budget will still be 1% of European GDP”, as it is now.