An inconclusive trialogue meeting was held in Brussels on Thursday 1 September between the three institutions of the EU on the 2017 budget.
The Slovak Presidency of the Council is reported to have stated that the Council's position of July aimed specifically to avoid blind budget cuts, the European Parliament having criticised it on a number of occasions for having reduced credit lines without justification (see EUROPE 11613).
The Council has taken pains to find the money to pay for the principle priorities of the EU and to create margins to ride out any unforeseen events, the Slovak Presidency stressed.
Jens Geier (S&D, Germany), rapporteur of the European Parliament on the 2017 budget, reportedly criticised a number of elements in the Council's position which he did not feel were satisfactory. His concerns related in particular to the cuts in headings 1a (growth) and 4 (EU in the world).
Timetable for the 2017 budget. The next trialogue on the 2017 budget will take place on 19 October. The European Parliament's budgets committee will vote on its position on next year's budget at its meetings of 28 and 29 September and of 11 October. The Parliament's plenary vote is expected to take place on 26 October. The conciliation period will run from 28 October to 17 November. The conciliation committee will meet on 8 November and 16 November (the day on which the ECOFIN Council will meet in its 'budget' configuration). A final trialogue has been scheduled for 10 November.
Furthermore, on 7 and 8 September, the Parliament will hold a conference with the national parliaments on the future funding of the European Union (the own resources of the EU). (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)