Brussels, 23/10/2013 (Agence Europe) - For the 2014 budget, the European Parliament has asked to go up to the limit of the multi-annual financial framework (MFF) 2014-2020 on payment appropriations, or €136.4 billion. This is the red line it will defend in negotiations with the Council on the 2014 budget, following a vote on budgetary amendments at the plenary session to be held in Strasbourg on Wednesday 23 October.
The major budgetary debate which is looming will now focus on the payment appropriations needed to complete the year and on the 2014 budget, said Alain Lamassoure (EPP, France), the chair of the budgets committee of the EP. “The most important thing for us will be not to leave our successors with an EU unable to meet its payments”. If, in 2014, “we do not return to the level of payment appropriations proposed by the European Commission and which corresponds to the upper limit authorised by the future MFF, in other words, one billion more than what the Council has adopted, 2014 will see the EU unable to pay its bills”. It is with this in mind that the EP will start conciliation proceedings with the Council.
The Parliament is proposing a total 2014 budget of €143.08 billion in commitment appropriations (€142.6 billions not including instruments outside the MFF) and €136.4 billion in payment appropriations (€136.08 billion not including instruments outside the MFF). This represents a budget which is down 6% on 2013. The Council wants €142.2 billion (commitments) and €135 billion (payments).
As it no longer has any leeway whatsoever in two headings, the EP is proposing to use the flexibility instrument to the tune of: 1) €50 million for external actions; 2) €223 million in the cohesion heading (in order to take account of €100 million for Cyprus and the increase in aid to the poorest). The increase of €213 million in payment appropriations (compared to the initial proposal by the Commission) aims to increase funds for pilot projects and a number of agencies (railway, maritime security, banking and financial supervision, Europol, medicines, etc). The EP established the level of funds for the programme of aid to the poorest at 500 million, whereas the governments wanted to cut this to €365 million from 2014.
Anne Jensen (ADLE, Denmark) explained that the EP brought back the credit levels initially proposed by the Commission and went beyond the amounts proposed by it in certain areas: digital agenda, various EU agencies (financial sector, transport) as well as for Frontex and the programme EUROSUR. “We also asked for more money for external actions, a heading in which the Commission fails to earmark enough money for Palestine every year”, she explained. The EP has focused its support on humanitarian aid and refugees in the Middle East, particularly given the situation in Syria.
A bill of €20 billion
The invoices which come in in November and December can be paid either before the end of the year or early in 2014. Every year, between €5 billion and €10 billion come in at the end of the year and are paid early the next. “In early 2014, there is the risk of a relatively high volume of invoices. It is not beyond the realms of possibility that this will reach €20 billion ”, Lamassoure said. As the 2014 budget is likely to be 6% down on 2013 at best, “this snowball which increases at the end of this year 2013 is likely to start to be reabsorbed at the end of 2014. But only if we have enough payment appropriations in the 2014 budget”. If the Council turns down the Commission's proposal (to go to the upper limit of the payment appropriations), the EU will find itself unable to pay next year's bills from the middle of the year onwards, the chair of the budgets committee explained.
Next steps. Following the plenary vote on the 2014 budget, the Council and the Parliament have a conciliation period of 21 days to reach an agreement. If the conciliation ends with an agreement, this will be put to the vote of the plenary at its November session. In the event of a failure to agree by the end of the conciliation period (13 November), the Commission will be forced to submit a new draft budget.
2013. The Parliament has stated that it will vote on the legislative texts on the MFF 2014-2020 “once we have the assurance of the €3.9 billion (amending budget No. 8 to cover the lack of funds)”, Lamassoure reiterated. He added that the negotiations are almost over. On 30 October, an extraordinary meeting of the General Affairs Council is scheduled to approve this envelope. It will also be necessary to set in place the high-level group which will launch the process for the reform of own resources. Additionally, the means will have to be found to pay €400 million (draft amending budget No. 9) for aid to Germany, Austria and the Czech Republic (following floods) and Romania (hit by drought). The EP wants fresh money for this €400 million (as this is aid under the solidarity fund, it argues), whereas the Council is opting for a redeployment of appropriations. According to Lamassoure, the great debate will be on the level of payment appropriations for 2014. (LC/transl.fl)