By Bruno Waterfield - 2nd April 2006
EU budget talks reopen on Tuesday in Strasbourg but negotiations are not a done deal.
The European parliament and EU presidency will be looking for an agreement that both sides can defend during round four of budget negotiations on Tuesday.
MEPs will want to see parliament’s rights upheld, with reform and some extra spending on “truly European” programmes that bring together culture, education and youth.
The Austrian EU presidency faces both the parliament and the constraints of a painful deal hammered out by Europe’s leaders in the early hours of December 17.
So far MEPs have climbed down from outright EU budget confrontation after securing a bigger say in future Brussels financing.
Until March 21 parliament was on a collision course with national capitals, with a tabled resolution tearing up EU financial planning procedures.
Two weeks ago, demanding an extra €12bn as the price of an EU budget deal for 2007 to 2013, MEPs withdrew threats to move back to annual Brussels spending rounds after making important gains.
Concessions giving MEPs a say in a review of EU budgets in 2009 and reforming spending transparency are key in what will, almost all sides agree, be a trade off of power for cash.
Realistically, few, in either the parliament, European commission or EU presidency, expect the overall 2007 to 2013 budget to increase much over €865bn – nearer Austria’s extra offer of €1.8bn than the €12bn asked for by MEPs.
In return for reform, parliament may be content to highlight the political deficit of national governments, seizing the European moral high ground, while conceding hard cash.
But there are pitfalls ahead. The Austrians may be ready to give a little, but behind Vienna are 24 national capitals concerned about giving too much.
Sources close to talks note that outside of parliament, there has been no public debate since December 2005.
Discussions have gone “undercover” with concerns from the parliament side that national ambassadors to the EU – meeting in the powerful Coreper committee of permanent representatives – are second guessing and tying the hands of the Austrian presidency.
One insider observes that at the political level between governments and institutions there is a will to broker a consensus.
But behind the closed doors of Coreper, diplomats and officials switch into a more suspicious mode – particularly in relation to transparency and the role of MEPs in a future EU financing review.
“There are many contacts that are very open but in Coreper there is pressure to look behind every word,” said one MEP.
On the other side, some countries are unhappy with the Austrian EU presidency’s handling of talks.
“It should have been done quicker and has not been well handled,” said one national official.
Concern over giving the parliament too much say in a 2009 budget review and extra money may unravel a hard earned EU presidency consensus with MEPs.
One participant in talks observes that parliament may be ready but the EU presidency has a real problem if its mandate is constantly undermined.
"Coreper is going to be tough on the Austrian presidency,” warned one source close to negotiations.
Other sources confirm that Vienna will find it very hard to combine winning over Coreper and to sell nothing to MEPs.
“The EU presidency is between a rock and a hard place. It is a zero sum game when one side wants €12bn and the other is reluctantly conceding €1.8bn,” said an EU diplomat.
Some countries, such as the UK, Netherlands and others, are “especially eager” to stick to the terms of last year’s summit deal. But, confirm EU and national officials, there is room to manouver on cash.
“There are some, few, areas where there seems to be mutual understanding of interests. For MEPs education, culture and students, for the council external policy,” said one source.
A spring 2006 EU summit with a strong emphasis on external energy policy, education and training may have helped swing it – or warmed the political climate.
“Education, youth, culture and foreign policy will be areas where we will see some shift of funds. After the last summit this is not contradictory with last December,” said the source.
One senior commission official suggests concessions are on the way after the EU’s annual economic summit conclusions on March 23 specified education as a priority.
“There were encouraging signals coming from Germany and France at the last summit,” he said.
EU officials point to institutional gains made by MEPs.
“The parliament has got a lot on the institutional side, if the wording can be found,” said one.
Diplomats concur, noting an inter-institutional agreement “is more or less agreed, only technical points are left open”. Pitfalls remain but over the next two days the contours of compromise are emerging.
Have your say...
Please enter your comments below.