Strasbourg, 27/10/2000 (Agence Europe) - The first reading of the draft budget 2001 by the European Parliament was marked by debates on external aid and revision of financial perspectives (see yesterday's EUROPE, pp. 5/6), but this is not the only element to be retained from the vote on a draft budget of EUR 96.86 billion in commitment appropriations (as opposed to 96.95 proposed by the Commission and 95.86 by the Council), and EUR 94.72 in payment appropriations (as opposed to 93.89 according to the Commission and 92.49 the Council). The considerable difference in payment appropriations (the Parliament considerably exceeded not only the amounts voted by the Council but also those proposed by the Commission) may in itself give the EP a free hand for stepping up the pressure for revision of the multiannual financial perspectives.
Another means of pressure is the funding placed "in reserve" by the EP: a) a reserve of EUR 880 million for Structural Funds and Cohesion Funds payments, which will only be disbursed if the Commission shows proof that they correspond to real needs (this placing in reserve is above all a warning so that the Council decides to accept a sufficient level of payment credits to reduce payment delays (balance outstanding); b) a "performance" reserve of EUR 673.5 million in the heading "external relations". These credits are taken from different items under the heading and will be disbursed if and when the Commission presents a specific action plan for each programme, indicating the measures to be taken to counter payment delays; c) the placing of credits in reserve intended to give the Commission 400 additional posts, and to finance other measures in the context of its reform, a reserve that will be lifted if the Commission fulfils certain guarantees concerning this reform.
Generally speaking, the plenary followed the recommendations of its budgets committee for the different headings, returning to the reductions operated by the Council in first reading compared to the Commission's preliminary draft.
1. Agricultural spending. The plenary re-established, barring several details for market spending, the credits at the level proposed by the Commission in May (the Council had considerably reduced them). At any rate, these are only provisional positions, pending a new Commission proposal next Tuesday, with a correcting letter, for market spending, based on the latest estimations. For market spending, the plenary therefore voted, on commitment and payment appropriations, EUR 39.6 billion (as proposed by the Commission, while the Council had removed over 300 million). For rural development, the EP voted EUR 4.49 billion, as the Commission had proposed, while the Council voted 4.27 billion. Market expenditure is classed among "compulsory" spending, on which the Council has the last word, while the EP gives its stance as a last resort on rural development spending, which is not compulsory expenditure.
On the agricultural chapter, one can also note that: a) the plenary rejected many amendments by the agriculture committee, to which the budgets committee was opposed. These amendments aimed at increasing several credits; b) the plenary rejected an amendment by the Greens, intended to do away with the EUR 984 million subsidy for tobacco; 3) it increased to EUR 72,000 the school milk programme for which the Council had earmarked EUR 48,000, plus 18,000 in reserve.
2. Structural actions. The plenary voted 30 billion in commitment appropriations for Structural Funds and 2.71 billion for Cohesion Funds, as the Commission had proposed and the Council voted. For payments credits, the EP voted what the Commission had proposed (29.41 billion for Structural Funds and 2.5 billion for Cohesion Funds) adding EUR 880,000 in reserve. The EP has the last word regarding Structural Funds.
3. Internal policies. EUR 6.25 billion in commitments (Commission: 6.13; Council: 6.06) and 5.85 in payments (Commission: 5.91; Council; 5.73). Internal policy spending is non-compulsory expenditure, for which the EP has the last word.
4. External policies. EUR 4.73 billion in commitments and 3.87 in payments to which must be added 200 million for Meda and several other programmes (that the EP hopes to finance with the flexibility instrument) for credits to be specified at a later date for reconstruction in Serbia. Before Milosevic's fall, the Commission had proposed 4.95 billion in commitments, and the Council had voted 4.55 billion. The Council gives its definitive decision for international fisheries agreements, the EP for other expenditure under foreign policy.
5 .Administrative spending. EUR 4.9 billion in commitments and in payments, with the placing in reserve of credits for Commission reform. The Council should review its own position upward, since it has accepted the creation of 400 new posts.
6. Reserves. The plenary accepted the amount proposed by the Commission and voted in Council.
7. So-called pre-accession aid. The EP remained along the same lines as the Commission and Council for commitment appropriations (3.24 billion) but, for payments, voted for 2.28 billion. For this, it earmarked EUR 400,000 more than Council. Pre-accession aid is expenditure of the non-compulsory kind.
The Council will proceed to second reading of the budget 2001 on 23 and 24 November, and the EP in mid-December.