President Metsola: Where there is a political will, there is a way: on migration, enlargement, EU budget

This article is brought to you in association with the European Parliament. ”Europe is about changing the course of history, we need a dose of that spirit again”, said European Parliament President Roberta Metsola addressing the informal European Council in Granada. In her discussion with the leaders, she said: ”Where there is a political will, there […]

MEPs argue for a top up to multi-annual budget for crisis response

This article is brought to you in association with the European Parliament. Revision of EU multiannual financial framework (MFF) urgent to tackle current challenges caused by multiple crises  Commission’s proposal for a revision needs more ambition  MEPs add €10 billion for 2024-2027 to boost areas like migration, external challenges, the EU’s strategic autonomy, and to enhance […]

State aid: Commission approves amendment to Italian guarantee scheme, including up to €3 billion budget increase, in context of Russia’s war against Ukraine

This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission. The European Commission has approved, under EU State aid rules, an  amendment to an existing Italian guarantee scheme, including an up to €3 billion budget increase, for the reinsurance of natural gas and electricity trade credit risk in the context of Russia’s war against […]

Commission welcomes agreement on EU Annual Budget 2023

This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission. Today, the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union, on a proposal from the European Commission, have reached an agreement on the EU budget for 2023. The agreement is for commitments of €186.6 billion, and payments of €168.7 billion. Once adopted, the […]

MEPs to discuss possible EU budget fraud with Slovakian minister of Agriculture

This article is brought to you in association with the European Parliament. Potential large-scale fraud involving a Slovakian paying agency will be discussed on Monday at 16:45 with Slovakian Minister of Agriculture Samuel Vlčan. The debate in the Budgetary Control Committee will focus on following up on the investigation conducted by the EU Anti-Fraud office (OLAF) […]

COVID-19: Budget MEPs call for quick progress on post-2020 contingency plan

This article is brought to you in association with the European Parliament. Considering the health crisis and consequent delays to finding a timely agreement on the new long-term EU budget, Budget MEPs reiterate their call for an urgent 2021 contingency plan. While work on establishing the next Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) 2021-2027 must go on, and […]

Commission proposes a governance framework for the Budgetary Instrument for Convergence and Competitiveness

This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission. Building on the vision set out in the Five Presidents’ Report of June 2015, the Commission’s Communication on the Deepening of the Economic and Monetary Union of 12 June 2019 and the guidance by the Euro Summit of 21 June 2019, the European Commission today proposes a governance framework for […]

MEPs want to ensure sufficient funding for Connecting Europe’s future

This article is brought to you in association with the European Parliament. MEPs voted to renew the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) for the 2021-2027 period to ensure continued development of trans-European transport, energy and telecom networks. Following Parliament’s adoption of its position on the EU’s long-term budget (Multiannual Financial Framework – MFF 2021-2027) last week, the […]

EU Budget 2019: MEPs increase funding on youth, migration and research

This article is brought to you in association with the European Parliament. Budget MEPs increased Erasmus+ funds and restored budgets for infrastructure investments, as well as Horizon 2020, the EU research programme.  On Tuesday and Wednesday, they voted through a budget totalling €166.3 billion in commitments, which is €717 million more than the original European Commission […]

France asks help from Germany but it will not be for free

France and Germany had a ‘meeting’ last Monday to discuss about the latter’s support on the problematic budget of France regarding the high deficit levels. This comes after the submission of France’s 2015 budget upon approval by the European Commission (E.C.). The Hexagone claims that slow growth must be fought at all costs. However, Germany is […]

France breaks budget promises once again and the EU’s finance offices are shaking

Last Wednesday, just two days before Eurozone’s finance ministers met for informal talks in Milan, the news had come in: France will not achieve a 3% EU budget deficit target this year. During a conference in Paris, the French finance minister Michel Sapin said that the country’s budget deficit will be around 4.4% of GDP in 2014 […]

The European Parliament double-checks the EU 2014-2020 budget

The European Parliament approved yesterday the EU proper budget for the next seven years, set at €960 billion in commitments and €908bn in payments (at 2011 prices). This is the Multiannual Financial Framework 2014-2020 providing the financial resources and setting the expenditure limits for all EU institutions and policies. As a general rule the Multiannual […]

The Commission offers exit from the EU budget stalemate

The European Commission took action yesterday to unlock the double stalemate over the approval of both, the 2014 EU budget and the Multiannual Financial Framework 2014-2020. The MFF sets the spending ceiling of all EU bodies at €960 billion for the next seven years. To overcome the dead-end Commissioner Janusz Lewandowski responsible for budgets, proposed […]

Commission challenges Council over EU 2014 budget

Another €460 million should be added to the 2014 EU budget spending said yesterday the European Commission. This is a direct challenge to the Council’s position presented last week in the European Parliament shaping a severely cut down 2014 EU budget. The Commission asks additional funding exactly for those programmes that the Council wants to […]

The cuts on 2014 Budget will divide deeply the EU

Janusz Lewandowki, the EU Commissioner for Budget joined yesterday the European Parliament in repelling the severe cuts on EU funding for 2014 proposed by the Council. The usually low tone Polish Commissioner appeared rather shocked when he understood that the Council proposal was infested with deep reductions in crucial items of the 2014 budget. For […]

Uncovered liabilities of €5 billion may render EU insolvent

The deplorable tactics of practically all European Union governments to hide the problems under the carpet, for the next administration to confront them, couldn’t leave Brussels untouched. In this way the European Union budget for 2013 has been loaded with a huge burden of €16.2 billion of unpaid 2012 bills, a fact that threatens the […]

Parliament ready to fight for a different EU budget

Last Tuesday 12 March, when the President of the European Council, Herman Van Rompuy, was addressing an invitation letter to the 27 EU leaders for the spring EU Summit of today and tomorrow, he couldn’t know the alarming outcome of European Parliament vote on the austerity EU Budget.This draft Budget features  a deficit for the […]

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