Brussels, 29/04/2002 (Agence Europe) - Acting on the proposal of Michaele Schreyer, the European Commission is due to adopt the Preliminary Draft Budget (PDB) on Tuesday for 2003. This has been worked out on the basis of the annual policy that it approved in February. In an effort to confront the new needs that result form the preparation of the Community institutions for enlargement and continue fishing commitments for another year (restructuring programmes for the Spanish and Portuguese fleets) and aid for cross-border regional aid to countries neighbouring candidate countries (Germany, Austria, Italy and Greece), the Commission will propose mobilising the flexibility instrument to the tune of EUR 200 million (ceiling imposed by the Interinstitutional Agreement of 1999). This will be the first year that the PDB is transmitted to the budgetary authority in its traditional form and according to the new approach of the new activities of the different Directorate Generals of the Commission (EBA - establishing the budget on the basis of its activities).
EUROPE believes that the proposals on spending are forecasting a EUR 98.183 billion budget in loan payments (an increase of 2.6% on last year's budget) and EUR 99.968 billion in loan commitments (+1.4% compared to 2002). A smaller rise than in previous years is forecasted for agriculture (+1.9% compared to 2002, 7% below the financial perspectives ceiling) but it should allow measures to be financed half-way through the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). Administrative spending is expected to be around EUR 5.446 billion - EUR 64 million more than the "Berlin Ceiling" intended. As well as enlargement, the second priority of the Commission is stability and security, with key initiatives involving: the war on crime and terrorism; the strengthening of the application of directives on fighting money-laundering (action plan for preventing fraud); the fight against illegal immigration, an important contribution in resolving the Middle East conflict; the association and stability process in the Balkans, as well as co-operation with Russia and the newly independent States, support for the reconstruction process started by the Afghan government; reinforcement of the mechanism for the rapid reaction force and developing a Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) and the civil dimension of security and defence policy. The third priority is to ensure prosperity and growth in the enlarged Europe (acceleration of implementing the Lisbon Strategy, continued stable macro-economic policies, encouragement of sustainable development) by taking the following measures: obtaining an internal market of services; consolidating the conditions for competition, particularly in the field of State Aid and taxation; developing a knowledge-based economy.