On Tuesday 15 November, the Committee of Permanent Representatives of the Member States to the EU (Coreper) will examine a new compromise text from the Slovak Presidency of the Council of the EU on the mid-term revision of the multi-annual financial framework of the EU (MFF) for 2014-2020.
A number of sources told us on Monday 14 November that an agreement was possible on this sensitive dossier at Coreper on Tuesday morning and would then be confirmed by the General Affairs Council taking place on the same day (see EUROPE 11664). A compromise text was examined at Coreper on Friday 11 November, but no agreement could be reached due to differences of opinion on the guarantees to be granted to the so-called net beneficiary countries of EU policies.
2017 budget on the Council's agenda. These sources went on to explain that an agreement at the Council on the multi-annual financial framework would help to facilitate a compromise between the Council and the European Parliament on the 2017 budget (see EUROPE 11664). The last meeting of the conciliation committee will be held at around 11:30 on Wednesday 16 November, on the sidelines of the Budget Council to meet the same day, to discuss the 2017 budget. The Ecofin Council (in its budget formation) may run until 17 November.
At the inter-institutional meeting on Thursday 10 November, the Commission presented an initial compromise on the 2017 budget. The Commission proposed setting the total level of commitments at €157.66 billion and payments at €134.90 billion. The Council's position, which was adopted on 12 September, provides for €156.38 billion in commitments and €138.03 in payments, which represents €3 billion in commitments above the ceilings laid down in the MFF, the Council reiterates. The Council states that it has approved all amounts proposed by the Commission in its draft budget to tackle the migration crisis. The Council also agreed on the amounts proposed for humanitarian aid.
At the conciliation meeting, the institutions will discuss amending letter no. 1 to the 2017 draft budget, which takes account of the new need to tackle the root causes of migration and the most recent need for agriculture. The net budgetary impact of the amending letter is an increase of €1.26 billion in commitments and of €523.1 million to the draft budget for 2017. Neither the Council nor the Parliament have yet adopted their formal positions on this amending letter. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)