Brussels, 15/11/2000 (Agence Europe) - Discussions on aid to the Balkans and Mediterranean in Budget 2001 should enter the thick of the subject in the Parliament-Council-Commission meeting in Paris this Thursday, given that the Fifteen have found a compromise on the multi-annual envelope for these two regions (see other article, page 7), and have quantified the aid they wish to grant Serbia in 2001. In Parliament and the Commission, they are refining their stances. The "Budgetary trilogy" of Paris will be the first stage of a week of talks that will lead to the second reading of the draft Budget in Council on 24 November.
The Council would like to grant 200 million euro to Serbia in 2001. The Commission has not yet officially proposed a figure, but the figure of 240 million is circulating very seriously in the corridors of Brussels and Strasbourg. The EP is said to be ready to back the Commission on that figure, which is not in fact all that far from the Council's. Community sources nevertheless tell us that this figure is not necessarily definitive, as the assessment of needs by the World Bank and the Commission will only be available in December, and only for the most urgent needs. Talks are also to be expected on how the Council arrived at 200 million under Heading 4 - certain reductions in credits, notably for Kosovo, have not been well received.
Regarding the Meda Programme, the Council is said to be sticking to its position (reduce the Commission's proposal by 150 million, and Parliament its own (the figure proposed by the Commission), but, in the coming weeks, one may expect a certain amount of flexibility on all sides.