MEPs make EU budget bid

MEPs will vote on the future of EU spending on June 8 just days before Europe’s leaders battle over Brussels budgets for 2007 to 2013.

A special high level European Parliament committee has agreed MEP demands for the EU’s ‘financial perspective’ ahead of the June vote with cross-party backing.

Parliament President Josep Borrell is reminding the European Commission and national governments that EU budgets can not be set without MEP support.

“Without parliament’s agreement there will be no financial perspectives. This is something that people are all too unaware of,” he said on Wednesday.

“It is very clearly stated in the inter-institutional agreement… that without parliament’s agreement the financial perspectives can not be approved.”

The EU must finalise expenditure ceilings for the seven year period at a June 16 summit if Brussels legislation to support spending programmes is to be in place by 2007.

Commission bids for spending over the seven year period 2007 to 2013 are under pressure from cost-cutting national treasuries.

France, Germany, Sweden, Austria, Britain and the Netherlands - Europe’s six cash contributors – are pushing hard for up to €210 billion in cuts to Brussels projections.

The cost cutters are seeking EU budget caps to be set at one per cent of Europe’s Gross National Income (GNI) – below a commission cap of 1.14 per cent (payments) over the seven year period.

Parliament’s “magic figure” – a possible compromise between the commission and governments is at 1.07 per cent.

The parliament's temporary committee on the financial perspectives agreed a position on Tuesday with a vote 29 in favour, nine against and four abstentions.

“If we have a similar result in the plenary session… we will have very broad support in the parliament to the financial perspective,” said Borrell.

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