Brussels, 08/03/2005 (Agence Europe) - The EU finance ministers adopted budget guidelines on Tuesday for the 2006 budget, stressing the need for restraint and compliance with the conclusions of the European Council of Lisbon. The European Commission is expected to take inspiration from the Council's ideas and its “yearly budgetary procedure for 2006” (EUROPE of 4 March, p.9) when it presents its Preliminary Draft Budget for 2006 in a few weeks' time. In the guidelines, the Council notes that the budgetary procedure for 2006 will be the last to be included in the current financial perspectives. With this in mind, the Member States restate the importance of compliance with the current financial perspectives (spending must remain within limits set by the financial code, while recommending that sufficient margins are maintained below all the ceilings of the various Headings (except for Heading 2: external actions), to be able to deal with unforeseen circumstances. As usual, the Council considers that the budget should provide sufficient resources to ensure that the different Union policies can be effectively implemented, while insisting on an overall budgetary discipline. According to the Council, this would imply a level of budgetary constraint as exercised by Member States for their own national budgets. The Council also insists on “keeping a tight grip” on payment appropriations and stresses that the commitment appropriations should reflect real and well-defined needs, take account of absorption capacities and be compatible with financial perspectives.
As regards certain specific Headings of the financial perspective, the Council makes the following comments:
Agriculture (Heading 1): The Commission is invited to present realist forecasts in its Preliminary Draft Budget for spending under Common Agricultural Policy (the Council had decided end 2004 to cut spending proposed at the beginning of the year for 2005 by one billion euros). It is appropriate to above all ensure that the payment appropriations for expenditure related to rural development are accurate, the Council states. Structural actions (Heading 2): the Council considers that, while fully respecting the commitments undertaken by the European Councils of Copenhagen and Berlin, an accurate level of payment appropriations for structural funds should be established. It considers that improvements of forecasts established by the Commission, taking into account information provided by Member States, should be continued. Also, the Council stresses the importance of further simplification of procedures aimed at facilitating implementation. Internal policies (Heading 3): The Council stresses the importance of adequate financing of Community measures relating to the conclusions of the Lisbon European Council. Particular attention should also be given to the financing of actions concerning immigration and external border cooperation and control. A sufficient margin under the ceiling of this Heading should be preserved leading to reprioritisation of the needs. External actions (Heading 4): All programmes and actions should be financed within the ceiling of the existing Financial Perspective, the Council states, recalling that allocations for the CFSP budget should be sufficient to meet present and future needs. According to the Council, it will be possible to finance, within the limits of the ceiling of this Heading, additional needs for reconstruction in Iraq and South East Asian countries stricken by the tsunami disaster. Administration (Heading 5): The Council calls on all institutions to establish rigorous draft estimates reflecting genuine needs and ensuring an adequate margin under this Heading. It encourages, moreover, significant savings resulting from rationalisation, productivity gains and development of interinstitutional cooperation.
By way of conclusion, Member States call on the Commission to take these guidelines “duly into account” in its Preliminary Draft Budget for 2006.