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. This position of the Council will allow us to make good on our priorities and “considerably solidify the EU's fiscal position” by increasing flexibility buffers, said Märt Kivine, deputy Estonian finance minister. If the European Parliament amends the Council's position by 26 October, a three-week conciliation period will run from 31 October with a view to the adoption of the 2018 budget by 20 November. (MB)