On Wednesday 12 September, the members of the European Parliament criticised the position of the Council on the 2019 budget, due to the cuts it has made, particularly to the research budget (see EUROPE 12088).
Speaking on behalf of the Council, Hartwig Löger, the federal finance minister of the Austrian government, reiterated that the Council is looking at a total of €164 billion for 2019, or a 2.09% increase on 2018.
The minister noted that there is agreement between the institutions on the priorities to be retained (youth, growth, employment, security and migration). The Council's position represents a difference of €1.5 billion compared to the Commission's initial proposal, but significant increases can be found in the Council's position, he said, such as: +10% for Erasmus, +6% for Horizon 2020, +25% for energy infrastructure.
The Council is getting tough on administrative spending (reducing these by €66 million), in order to avoid increases of more than 2%, Löger further explained.
A "normal" budget. The European Commissioner for the Budget, Günther Oettinger, welcomed the Commission's position, particularly on Erasmus and migration. “We will have a normal budget” for 2019, he said, in reference to Brexit, as the United Kingdom must continue to meet its budgetary obligations until 2020, said the Commissioner, by way of reassuring his audience. He acknowledged the differences of opinion between the Council and the European Parliament on the EU facility for refugees in Turkey and hoped that between €1 and €2 billion can be found.
The Parliament's rapporteur on the 2019 budget, Daniele Viotti (S&D, Italy), criticised the Council's position, which has reduced certain lines considerably: reductions of €794 million for research and development, a cut of €3 million for youth unemployment and €340 million less for agriculture. He said that he hoped to increase development aid in order to tackle the root causes of migration crisis.
Jean Arthuis (ALDE, France), the chair of the budget committee of the European Parliament, noted that the overall cuts were getting bigger: €1.2 billion in 2018, €1.55 billion in 2019. He criticised the Council for its “timidity”, “transforming the EU budget into a budgetary spare wheel, as it has done for the financing of the hosting of Syrian refugees in Turkey”.
In two weeks' time, the budget committee will vote on the 2019 budget. The plenary vote will then follow in October, before conciliation between the Council and the Parliament with a view to reaching a compromise on next year's budget. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)