Brussels, 04/12/2014 (Agence Europe) - Negotiations on the budget package (amending budgets 2014 and 2015 budget) made progress on Thursday 4 December, but there are still a few hurdles to be cleared before the EU institutions can rubber-stamp the agreement (EUROPE 11209).
All of the most important elements of the package were discussed on Thursday, such as the 2014 invoices and the payment and commitment appropriations for the 2015 budget. The EP is rallying to the Commission's position on the credit necessary to stabilise the level of the unpaid bills. Readers may recall that in the draft amending budget for 2014, the Commission included an envelope of €4.7 billion to settle the most urgent invoices. However, it is reported to have trimmed a little off the level of requirements.
Coreper (Committee of Permanent Representatives of the Member States to the EU) will discuss the budget dossier this Friday 5 December. The trialogue on the 2015 budget (and the amending budgets) is scheduled for Monday 8 December, ahead of an Ecofin Council on 9 December, which may discuss the issue if necessary. On 11 December, the budgets committee of the European Parliament will meet and possibly approve the agreement. At its plenary session of 15 to 18 December, the EP is to adopt the 2015 budget. According to the provisions of article 315 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU, if the budget has not been adopted by the start of next year, expenditure can be made on a monthly basis for each chapter, within an upper limit of one twelfth of the credit in the chapter in question in the 2014 budget or the draft budget proposed by the Commission, whichever is the lower. (LC)