Parliament adopts EU budget for 2011

The European Parliament adopted the 2011 EU budget at its plenary session in Strasbourg on Wednesday. The adopted budget reflects most of MEPs' priorities, while respecting the total limits laid down by the Council. In this year's budget negotiations, MEPs also reached agreement with the Council and Commission regarding several budget-related political demands.The 2011 budget, as adopted by the full Parliament, includes more funding for the priorities set out by MEPs, including youth, innovation, the Middle East peace process and Palestine. Some examples (all figures in commitments):

1a Competitiveness for growth and employment - MEPs won more money for the Lifelong Learning Programme (+€18 million), the Entrepreneurship and Innovation Programme (+€10 million) and Intelligent Energy — Europe programme (+€10 million).

1b Cohesion for growth and employment - MEPs added a new line, worth +€2.5 million, for the Baltic Sea strategy

2 Preservation and management of natural resources - MEPs increased the environment programme Life+ by +€6.7 million and support for the management of fishery resources by +€2 million

3a Freedom, security and justice - MEPs won +€2.35 million for the Daphne programme for the fight against violence against women and children and +€1 million for prevention of terrorism

3b Citizenship - MEPs obtained +€4 million to support the World Special Olympics in Athens and +€3 million to the Youth in Action programme

4 The EU as a global partner - an extra amount of +€100 million for Palestine, the peace process and UNRWA

Regarding the overall figures, MEPs accepted the levels proposed in the Commission's draft budget of 26 November: €141.8 billion in commitment appropriations and €126.5 billion in payments. Parliament has always attached more importance to the level of commitments, since they determine the expenditure. Furthermore, there is an agreement between Council, Parliament and Commission that, should additional funds be necessary to fulfil the EU's legal obligations, there will be amending budgets during 2011, as the EU budget cannot legally have a deficit.

Parliament's two budget rapporteurs are Sidonia Jędrzejewska (EPP, PL), who has dealt with the European Commission budget (which includes the EU's operational spending, i.e. the bulk of the overall budget), and Helga Trüpel (Greens/EFA, DE), who has steered Parliament's work on the budgets of the other EU institutions.

Aside from the 2011 budget, Parliament had a number of political demands relating to the implementation of the budgetary provisions in the Lisbon Treaty. MEPs laid down seven such demands in a budget resolution adopted at the Strasbourg plenary session in October. The main ones concerned Parliament's involvement in the talks on the next long-term budget and on a new system of own resources. On the own resources issue, the Commission will present a formal proposal by the end of June 2011, so that it is discussed at the same time as the future financial perspective. Parliament's involvement in these matters was laid down in the Treaty (Art. 312.5, 324 and 311) but needed to be worked out in more detail.

News source: EU Press Room link: article

2011 EU budget: MEPs defend innovation and external actions

After three days of negotiations and voting, Parliament's Budgets Committee on Thursday finalised the bulk of its position on next year's budget. Its key changes increased funding for research, innovation, student mobility, energy and support for the Middle East peace process. This was the first budget exercise under the Lisbon Treaty, which gives Parliament a full say on the whole budget, including farm spending.

Committee members agreed to stick to the limits as laid down in the multi-annual financial framework, which applies until the end of 2013. The committee's position reflects priorities such as research, innovation, student mobility, energy and support to Palestine.

Unlike the Council of Ministers, the committee chose to create headroom for additional spending that might become necessary but is still uncertain. This approach should make the budget more realistic and transparent from the start and should avoid remedial patchwork after the whole budget has been decided.
In general, MEPs sought to restore the draft budget proposed by the Commission, after cuts by the Council in August. Exceptionally, the Budgets Committee voted to increase the budget above the Commission draft version. The committee position will thus be slightly above the draft budget, which is more restrictive than in previous years.

News source: European Parliament link: article