Brussels, 10/04/2013 (Agence Europe) - The so-called “net contributor” countries of the EU, including the United Kingdom, Germany, France and the Netherlands, on Tuesday 9 April criticised the proposal for additional funds (€11.2 billion in payment appropriations) for the 2013 budget. In the opposite corner, the so-called “cohesion” countries are of the opinion that the EU should settle the bills.
The draft rectifying budget (no. 2/2013) raised very little enthusiasm among the net contributor countries, a technical level meeting. These countries took the view that the amount proposed by the Commission was far too high (increase on 2013 expenditure of 8.5%), that more use should be made of credit redeployments, that the draft rectifying budget had come far too early in the year and that it was based on estimates rather than invoices actually submitted to the Commission. Some of these countries stressed that the extension called for would have a major impact on public expenditure and budgetary consolidation efforts.
On 27 March, the Commission presented a draft rectifying budget for 2013. Of the €11.2 billion requested, €9 billion will go to cohesion policy. The experts of the beneficiary countries of this policy (mainly the countries of the South and the new member states) called for invoices to be paid. Spain is in a delicate position, because, while it is a beneficiary of the rectifying budget, it will also have to finance it.
Over at the Commission, sources stress that the figures are beyond dispute and that delaying the payments until 2014 is not a solution, as the upper limit accepted by the European Council in 2014 would be €7 billion below the 2013 upper limit and would correspond to the 2012 level of execution. Some of those who attended the meeting pointed out that the Parliament is threatening to reject the EU multi-annual financial framework 2014-2020 if the question of the outstanding payments is not resolved. (LC/transl.fl)