Brussels, 11/09/2013 (Agence Europe) - The committee on budgets of the European Parliament (EP) has decided to postpone its vote to approve the multi-annual financial framework (MFF) for the period 2014-2020.
Initially, the budget committee was planning a vote on the evening of Wednesday 11 September. The EP takes the view that the conditions laid down in its resolution of 3 July have not been met, according to a joint declaration by the three largest political groups (EPP, S&D and ADLE [see EUROPE 10880]).
The vote by the budget committee on the MFF 2014-2020 could take place in early October and the final plenary vote could be held at the second plenary session of October.
On 27 June, an agreement was reached on the MFF at an inter-institutional meeting at the highest level (see EUROPE 10878). The three political groups of the EP are now urging the Presidency and the Commission to guarantee that this agreement will be respected in good faith.
The Parliament is calling for the legal texts required for the long-run budget, particularly those on agriculture and the cohesion policy, to be approved in good time, to ensure that the funds are available from January 2014. These texts are to be adopted by the Parliament and the Council by the co-decision procedure.
Plugging payment gaps. The Parliament is also seeking the Council's commitment to plug the payment appropriations in 2013 (€11.2 billion). For the time being, the Council has agreed to an envelope of €7.3 billion.
Own resources. June's agreement also provides for the creation of a high-level working group on own resources, in order to modernise the funding of the EU's programmes and policies. A decision on the mandate and members of this group, which is to present its initial assessment in 2014, must be made, the Parliament stresses. The three political groups take the view that this working group should be operational as soon as the agreement on the MFF has been formally enshrined.
Lastly, the groups are critical of the Council's position on the budget 2014. The Council has made cuts which the EP finds unacceptable in growth-promoting programmes (young people, SMEs, research and innovation). (LC/transl.fl)