Brussels, 27/02/2013 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday 27 February, the Liberal Group at the European Parliament adopted its position ahead of the forthcoming negotiations between the EP and the Irish Presidency of the EU Council of Ministers on the financial framework 2014-2020 (MAFF), whilst the presidents of the European Commission, José Manuel Durão Barroso, and of the EP, Martin Schulz, are to discuss the results of the February European Council on the European budget with Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny in Dublin this Thursday (see EUROPE 10782).
“We can agree to work on the basis of a reduced overall budget, thereby recognising the rigour which characterises the time in which we are living and the efforts the member states are making to keep their budget under control. However, we cannot agree to tie ourselves for seven years to a budget from another time, which fails to lay the foundations for economic growth in the future”, said the leadert of the ALDE Group, Guy Verhofstadt of Belgium.
Although they are not contesting the level of the overall budget laid down by the European Council, the Liberals are openly critical of a breakdown of the envelope which would grant “more than 73%” to agriculture and the cohesion policy and “just 13%” to research, innovation, infrastructure and competitiveness. “Just €1billion over seven years, instead of the €9 billion initially planned” has been allocated to rolling out broadband; “this just can't be taken seriously”, lamented Verhofstadt.
The former Belgian prime minister pointed out the irony of the member states which, on the one hand, are cleansing their public finances and, on the other, are closing their eyes, as he put it, to the increase in the budgetary deficit of the EU, which could rise to “€300 billion by 2020” in the worst-case scenario, he warned. In order to avoid this, the Liberals are recommending “greater flexibility”, to make it possible to transfer unused credit from one budget line to another and to reallocate non-committed monies to a later date. Favourable to a system of own resources which would counterbalance the budgetary exemptions and rebates certain member states enjoy, they also call for an “obligatory mid-term revision” of the MAFF. This would make it possible to examine the state of progress in the European budget partway through and allow the European Parliament to be returned by the elections of 2014 to carry out its democratic controls. (MB/transl.fr)