04/09/2017 (Agence Europe) – On Monday 4 September, the Council of the EU formally approved, by written procedure, the agreement in principle on the draft 2018 budget it reached in mid-July (see EUROPE 11828). The member states have agreed on total expenditure of €158.9 billion in commitments and €144.4 billion in payments, representing an increase of 0.6% and 7.4% respectively on the 2017 budget. An envelope of €122.5 billion will aim to stimulate growth and employment in the EU....