Brussels, 10/07/2015 (Agence Europe) - On Thursday 9 July, the Committee of Permanent Representatives of the Member States to the EU (Coreper) approved the position of the Council of the EU on the draft budget of the EU for 2016, on the basis of a compromise text by the Luxembourg Presidency (see EUROPE 11355).
The Council backed the funds proposed by the European Commission for a number of priority areas: the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), measures to manage migration flows, humanitarian aid and the Erasmus programme. The Council's position also reflects the payment plan agreed with the European Parliament in May 2015 to phase out the backlog of outstanding payment claims. “The Council's political agreement strikes the right balance between fiscal consolidation and strategic investments that Europe needs to mitigate the negative effects of the current economic and social situation”, said Pierre Gramegna, the Luxembourg finance minister, who chaired the work of the Council.
Leeway
Given the challenges facing the EU, the Council considers it wise to keep sufficient financial leeway. It therefore left adequate margins under the ceilings of the multiannual financial framework (MFF) to allow the EU to react to unforeseen needs.
The Council believes that €153.27 billion in commitments and €142.12 billion in payments would enable the EU to achieve its policy objectives in 2016. This represents €563.6 million less in commitments and €1.4 billion less in payments than the Commission proposed.
The Council's position provides for a decrease in total commitments of 5.36% and an increase in total payments of 0.59% compared to the 2015 budget as amended by amending budgets no. 1-5. Commitments of €16.5 billion have recently been added to the 2015 budget to safeguard appropriations which in 2014 remained unused due to the late adoption of certain programmes.
Concerning payments, the Council's position offers double-digit growth rates for external policy actions (+22.5%) and for measures related to security and citizenship, such as migration (+15.4%). Research and other measures aimed at increasing competitiveness benefit from an increase of 8.6%.
The Council will formally adopt its position by written procedure in early September. This will serve as a mandate for the Luxembourg Presidency to negotiate the EU budget for 2016 with the European Parliament. (Lionel Changeur)