EU budget deal set to save Brussels jobs

Moves to cut jobs and freeze recruitment at the European commission have been beaten off during EU budget talks for 2007.

Sources close to talks indicate the EU's final 2007 budget will emerge during negotiations over the next week and will be set at around €115.5bn.

The expected compromise means that European parliament negotiators have increased next year’s Brussels spending by around €1.2bn on figures agreed by national governments.

Brussels civil servants will breathe a sigh of relief after plans by the Finnish EU presidency to axe 1700 posts, as commission officials retire over the next four years, were blocked.

Spain, Poland, Portugal, Italy, Luxembourg and Lithuania rallied behind the commission to kill any “productivity gains” move to automatically shed jobs between 2007 and 2011.

And, commitments to employ 800 new euro civil servants, mainly from new EU member states, are to be honoured despite attempts to cut Brussels staffing budgets for next year.

Jobs are safe pending a screening exercise of the commission’s staff needs, due to be carried out by April 30 2007.

The final 2007 spending plan must be agreed by MEPs and budget talks will continue on November 28 ahead of a parliament vote on December 14.

Negotiations will now focus on parliament’s concerns over, and €80m cuts to, the budget of EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana.

MEPs are angry at a lack of consultation over EU foreign policy costs, particularly plans for a European mission in Kosovo.

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