Brussels, 21/05/2013 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday 21 May, the General Affairs Council said it had already made concessions to the European Parliament (EP) in order to reach agreement on the European Union's multiannual financial framework (MFF) for 2014-2020, and asked the EP to demonstrate that it was prepared to cooperate sincerely and constructively. The Council said that the ball is now in the EP's court. An important three-way meeting will be held on the MFF on 28 May and a further meeting is scheduled for 4 June.
The Council has made moves in the direction of the European Parliament on a number of EP demands. On flexibility, the majority at the Council agrees with the idea of carrying forward to the next year any unutilised payment appropriations, and also with the idea of “frontloading” payments for specific measures, like those to tackle youth unemployment. The Council agrees to the idea of a revision clause, as long as the treaty is respected (in other words unanimous voting at the Council) and the amounts already allocated are not altered. On own resources, most delegations agree to the idea of publishing a political roadmap on future discussions. Finally, on budget unity, the Council agrees that, in order to boost transparency, the Commission should publish alongside the draft budget, a document on what is done with the EU's cash.
Deputy Irish Prime Minister and Council chairman Eamon Gilmore said at a press conference that agreement on the MFF for 2014-2020 needed to be reached by the summer in order to avoid jeopardising the continuity of EU programmes. Gilmore is still counting on agreement in principle by the end of June.
In response to questions from reporters, Gilmore said a lot of progress had been made in the talks. He pointed out that agreement had been reached at the Ecofin Council on the draft amending budget No. 2 for 2013 (on an initial instalment of €7.3 billion towards unpaid invoices for 2012 and a promise to return in the autumn to the question further funding). He said agreement was important for European citizens and the EU seven-year budget of €960 billion was important for investment, cohesion, research, the common agricultural policy and jobs for young people.
At the General Affairs Council, Spain said it would go along with the amending budget figure of €11.2 billion, even though it would not be easy to find the money. On the EP's demands for the MFF, Spain said it was important to be flexible about flexibility. It supports a revision clause, as long as this does not turn into a way of constantly re-launching debate about the MFF. The country wants a “fairer” own resource system.
We have made a move towards the EP by agreeing on the amending budget and the ball is now in the EP's court; it is now time for the EP to hold constructive debate and make a move in our direction, said Michael Link, deputy minster at the German foreign ministry, adding that he didn't understand why the EP had come up with new demands (set out in the four-point resolution in March). Germany says that that the EU needs flexibility to respect its financial commitments, but should not go any further, he said, commenting on the EP's demands. Germany will only agree to flexibility between financial years for payment appropriations (not for commitment appropriations) as long as this is for a limited period of time and capped financially. It says it will agree to frontloading when needed as a matter of urgency (to tackle unemployment). Germany says there has to be unanimous agreement on the idea of a mid-term review, and it will agree to the idea of a roadmap on own resources (but not to new own resources, because that would be viewed as a new EU tax).
French minister Thierry Repentin said that the political agreement of 14 May on the amending budget and the payment of an initial instalment of €7.8 billion were a strong political signal for the EP that the Council is prepared to seek an acceptable compromise with the EP in the form of a package of measures. On the EP's demands, France has called for respect of the treaties and the caps decided upon in February. France favours a general revision clause that could be established for 2017, but wants agreement on such a revision clause to be made unanimously and for the review to cover both spending and income. France will agree to a “maximum flexibility clause” and a carrying forward of unused commitments and payments from one financial year to the next and from one budget heading to another; a roadmap on all the EU's funding system (including rebates, corrections, various payments and new own resources); and the unity of the budget, as long as the EP clarifies exactly what it is that it is demanding here.
David Lidington, the UK deputy foreign minister, says that there has been an “erosion” in confidence in the EP and without confidence, no reasonable compromise can be reached. He regretted the way the MEPs kept adding on more and more questions and called on the Irish Presidency to take a strict line on behalf of the Council. Lidington said he wouldn't oppose all extra flexibility because he wanted to be convinced that the talks are real and, in the light of recent events, there is less room for manoeuvre now for flexibility and the mid-term review than there had been a fortnight ago. The UK and the Netherlands say it is important to avoid agreement on the MFF at the European Summit being endangered by the EP. (LC/transl.fl)