Brussels, 18/10/2006 (Agence Europe) - On 18 October, the Council of Ministers of the EU noted decisions that the European Parliament is getting ready to take, in one week's time (in Strasbourg on 26 October), at the first reading of the draft budget for 2007 (see EUROPE 9283 for the results of the work of the committee on budgets of the EP). Furthermore, the European Commission has welcomed the support of the EP in plans not to reduce administrative expenditure in the light of Romania and Bulgaria joining the EU as of 1 January 2007.
During the budgetary trialogue, the president-in-exercise of the Council, the Finnish Co-ordinate Minister for Finances, Ulla-Maj Wideroos, intimated that the EP was too greedy in terms of payment appropriations (the EP would like to see 5 billion EUR more than the first reading of the Council). She is also said to have considered as inappropriate the EP's desire to halve credits for CFSP (common foreign and security policy). On the subject of administrative expenditure, Budget Commissioner Dalia Grybauskaité was pleased to note that the EP opposed the Council's will to get rid of a large number of civil servant posts. She felt, however, that the EP's intention of placing 50 million EUR in reserve from this column would have the result of "freezing the recruitment process". The Council did not wish to get into a debate on this controversial topic, reiterating its first reading position, taken last July (EUROPE 9233). The three institutions will try to settle their differences during their concertation meeting, on 21 November, to precede the Council's second reading of the draft budget 2007. (lc)