Brussels, 18/09/2013 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday 18 September, the European Commission published Amending Letter No. 1 for the draft EU budget for 2014, reflecting the political agreement reached on 27 and 28 June 2013 between the leaders of the European Parliament, the Council of the EU and the European Commission on the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) for 2014-2020 (see EUROPE 10876 and 10877).
Reflecting the need to urgently tackle youth unemployment and strengthen research, the funding possibilities in 2014 will be increased by €130 million for Erasmus+ (the EU's new programme for education, training and youth), by €30 million for COSME (a new programme promoting entrepreneurship, in particular for small and medium-sized enterprises) and by €200 million for Horizon 2020 (the new programme for research and innovation).
In line with the political agreement reached on the 2014-2020 MFF, up to €2,543 million (at 2011 prices) may be frontloaded in 2014 and 2015, €2,143 million for Youth Employment, €200 million for Horizon 2020, €150 million for Erasmus and €50 million for COSME.
“2014 will be the first year of the new MFF and I want the EU budget to boost troubled economies from day one”, said EU Budget Commissioner Janusz Lewandowski in a press release.
Within the framework of the above-mentioned political agreement, the Commission proposes to grant an additional €200 million to Cyprus (€100 million of which in 2014). This will help Cyprus invest in energy efficiency, support small and medium-sized enterprises and create or maintain jobs that otherwise could be lost. Financing will be provided through the structural funds (€78.4 million) and the flexibility instrument which enables extra funding in clearly identified cases.
The proposal also covers human and financial resources needed for the creation of a new generation of joint technology initiatives (public-private and/or public-public partnerships) which aim at, for example, providing new and more effective diagnostics and treatments, developing new and competitive bio-based value chains or developing clean energy solutions. These initiatives will be funded from the new Horizon 2020 programme.
The Commission also proposes to create specific budget lines to accommodate possible requests for technical assistance from member states facing temporary budgetary difficulties. The establishment of these lines has no impact on the EU budget.
This first letter of amendment to the 2014 draft budget will be submitted to the Council and the European Parliament and will be included in the budgetary procedure. The Commission's initial proposal on the budget for 2014 is currently being examined by the European Parliament, following the vote on it by the Council of the EU on 2 September (see EUROPE 10913). (LC/transl.fl)