Brussels, 07/06/2000 (Agence Europe) - The EP Committee on Budgets has unanimously rejected the Commission's proposal for a budgetary transfer for Montenegro and called for the macroeconomic assistance of EUR 20 million to be financed another way. "The plenary has approved the aid in principle, but it must be provided in an orthodox way", observed Joan Colom I Naval. According to Members of the EP, it must not be financed by transfers from ECIP (promotion of investment in Latin America, Asia, the Mediterranean and South Africa, 15.5 million) and MEDA (4.5 million). The EP committee considers it much too early, only months after the vote on the budget for the year 2000, to reduce these headings, which would be the sign "of bad budgeting or bad management". It therefore proposes that aid for Montenegro be financed through a supplemental and amending budget.
In support of its proposal, the European Commission noted that since no new financing has been proposed for ECIP actions since 31 December 1999, the simple continuation of actions already launched leaves a margin for the transfer in question. Idem for the 4.5 million from MEDA: the rate of use of commitment and payment appropriations in this programme as at 22 May of this year was very low, and certain credits from this heading can be used without endangering the objectives of the MEDA programme.