Brussels, 13/07/2012 (Agence Europe) - On Thursday 12 July 2012, the Council of Permanent Representatives (Coreper) approved the draft Council position on the EU budget for 2013, restricting the increase in payment appropriations to 2.79% above the 2012 level. It confirmed the agreement reached at the Council's budget committee and paved the way for formal adoption of the position by the Council on 24 July (see EUROPE 10650). The United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Sweden said they will be voting against the Council position, and Austria may abstain.
The Council adopted a statement on payment appropriations for 2013. A statement by eight member states (Austria, Finland, France, Germany, Sweden, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and Denmark) was distributed at the COREPER meeting and will be made official when the Council's position is formally adopted. The eight countries are reported to be calling for a lower increase in payment appropriations and refuse to agree to any further rise in the 2013 budget. Poland is planning to issue its own statement. The European Parliament is expected to vote through amendments to the Council position at the end of October. In the event of disagreement between the Council's and the EP's views, a three-week conciliation process will start on 24 October and end on 13 November.
European Budget Commissioner Janusz Lewandowski says he is astonished that the Council's position contradicts the decisions taken by the EU heads of state. The Council recommends a €5 billion cut in the Commission's proposal, €3.5 bn of this from the section of the budget dealing with economic growth, jobs and competitiveness. He explained that the Council is recommending that the section of the budget dealing with competitiveness should only rise by 1.5%, which is less than inflation. Is this what is meant by investing in growth and employment?, he wondered. (LC/transl.fl)