Brussels, 13/11/2012 (Agence Europe) - European ministers responsible for the European budget and the European Parliament attempted to reach an agreement on Tuesday evening 13 November on the EU budget for next year. They also tried to reach an agreement on the very controversial subject of the request for an additional €9 billion in payment appropriations to fund several programmes short of money in 2012 (see EUROPE 10728). Nonetheless, even before the Conciliation Committee, the European Parliament announced on Tuesday 13 November its refusal to negotiate the EU budget for 2013 as it currently stands. This could lead to conciliation procedures becoming unstuck. In a press release, the chairman of the budget committee, Alain Lamassoure (EPP, France) explained that, “faced with the impossible situation in which the Council (of the ministers of the EU) finds itself with regard to solving the problem of the outstanding balance of 2012… the European Parliament is unable to pursue budgetary negotiations on the budget for 2013”. The presidency explained that, “the Cypriot presidency continues its efforts to reach an agreement on the EU budget. The conciliation period ends at midnight”. The Cypriot presidency spokesperson explained that, “we are looking for a way to get the European Parliament back to the negotiating table”.
EU countries are divided about the amending budget No.6 for 2012 as proposed by the European Commission (€9 billion in payment appropriations). Many countries (Germany, United Kingdom, France, Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden etc.) consider that the envelope is too large and are calling on the Commission to reduce the amount by transferring funding that has not been used up. The Parliament is hoping that the Council agrees to the amounts put forward by the Commission before it agrees to discuss the budget for 2013.
Negotiations to conclude the 2013 budget stalled last Friday (see EUROPE 10727) and a meeting arranged by the Cypriot presidency of the EU on Tuesday evening is a “final attempt” to prevent a crisis occurring.
If the meeting ends in failure by the end of the conciliation period (Tuesday 13 November at midnight), the European Commission will have to present a new draft budget for 2013 on which an agreement will have to be found between the Council and the Parliament before the end of 2012.
European leaders have provided assurances that this negotiation has nothing to do with the negotiations planned for the multiannual framework for 2014-2020 on 22-23 November in Brussels. Any failure, however, risks poisoning negotiations on the next financial framework.
Finding himself under pressure, the European Commissioner for the budget, Janusz Lewandowski, proposed a solution for payment appropriations in 2013 of invoices that are subject to investigation and which are worth an amount of €1.4 billion. Several countries, however, criticised the fact that the Commission is insisting that it does not wish to resort to funding transfers from some of the budget.
The only subject on which a principled agreement has been reached involves the payment in 2012 of assistance from the EU Solidarity Fund (€670 million) to Italy, following the earthquake in Emilia-Romagna last May.
The conciliation committee's agenda also includes the following issues: - amending letter No. 1 to the draft budget for 2013, which reduces the amount requested under section 2 (conservation and management of natural resources) by €25.1 million in payment appropriations and commitments, in compliance with the new Commission estimate that particularly focuses on agricultural spending; - the global transfer, which aims to obtain €419.7 million in an effort to resolve the problem of the lack of payment appropriations in the 2012 budget by way of transfers in the sections affected by the budget. (LC/transl.fl)