Brussels, 26/11/2010 (Agence Europe) - On Friday 26 November, the European Commission pulled out all the stops to break the EU budgetary deadlock, ten days after conciliation between member states and the European Parliament on the 2011 budget had stalled. Commission President José Manuel Barroso wrote to the presidents of the Council and Parliament inviting them to settle the thorny political issues of new own resources and the next multiannual financial framework. European Budget Commissioner Janusz Lewandowski presented a new proposal taking up the elements on which consensus already exists between national governments and the EP, such as the total amount of financing for next year. A conciliation meeting between the representatives of the governments, the Parliament and the Commission is scheduled for 7 December. Also, if everything goes as planned, the European Parliament is expected to be able, on 15 December, to adopt the European Union's budget for next year.
A compromise has already been reached on figures, on budgetary flexibility and on the financing of ITER, the experimental thermonuclear reactor (see EUROPE 10264). All that remains is to settle the sensitive issue of EP participation in forthcoming discussion on the new EU own resources and on the next multiannual financial framework. In other terms, it is now necessary to set verse to music to embody the Lisbon Treaty provisions in political statements on cooperation between Council and EP on the future budgetary dossiers.
In a letter addressed to the presidents of the European Parliament, Jerzy Buzek, and of the EU Council of Ministers, Belgian Prime Minister Yves Leterme, on Friday, Barroso explains that this new proposal on the 2011 budget provides the budgetary authority with a “new opportunity to reach agreement on the budget before the end of the year, so that the Union has a budget on 1st January, thus avoiding the need to have recourse to provisional twelfths” (each chapter of the budget would be financed monthly with one twelfth of its 2010 budget). Working according to the provisional twelfths scheme would put a brake on the working of the EU and would jeopardise several projects, including the European External Action Service, the ITER project and the increase (of over 14%) of funding under Cohesion Policy.
Own resources. Barroso promises that “with regards to the Union's own resources, the Commission will provide the necessary information to the European Parliament and the Council in order to pave the way for an effective consultation of the European Parliament under Article 311 of the Treaty on a new own resources draft decision that it will propose together with the multiannual financial framework in June 2011 and to facilitate the implementation of the Treaty provisions in this area”.
When it comes to “Lisbonisation” of the EU summit, Barroso is ready to examine how to strengthen the Lisbon Treaty priority areas within the 2012 and 2013 budgetary procedures.
In this context, the Commission intends to thoroughly assess the needs when preparing its draft budgets for 2012 and 2013. “The Commission will fully take into account the financing of the EU new competences and needs stemming from the Treaty of Lisbon and of the objectives of the EU 2020 strategy, in view of its proposals for the next multiannual financial framework”, Barroso writes. He undertakes to present proposals intended to make the next financial framework more flexible, including by authorising transfers of unused credit from one year to the next.
Finally, the Commission will launch the preparation of a “comprehensive report on the 'cost of non-Europe' for the member states and the national budgets including - whenever possible - an evaluation by sector”.
Agreement on figures. The new draft budget takes on board the compromise already reached between the two branches of the budgetary authority: - payment appropriations for 2011 amounting to €126.5 billion (+2.9% compared to 2010); - and commitment appropriations amounting to €141.8 billion (+0.2%). The Commission suggests that the flexibility instrument should be deployed up to €105 million: - €18 million for the lifelong learning programme, €16 million for the competitiveness and innovation programme, and €71 million for Palestine (as part of a €100 million increase in aid to that region). (L.C./transl.jl)