Brussels, 17/03/2011 (Agence Europe) - On Thursday 17 March, COREPER (the committee of member states' permanent representatives to the EU) approved the estimates of the Council and European Council budgets for 2012. These estimates provide for a 4.4% reduction in nominal terms (6.2% in real terms) compared with the 2011 budget. This means a total of €538.5 million, €25 million less than in the 2011 Council budget. The decision follows on from a letter from Secretary General of the Council Pierre de Boissieu to the Hungarian ambassador, after the European budget commissioner wrote to all the European institutions calling on them to restrict any rises in administrative spending to a maximum of 1%. The figures for the Council budget will be submitted to the Commission which will include them in its draft budget for 2012 which will be presented on 20 April. (L.C./transl.rt)