EU, national budgets to be tied
Group led by three largest member states insists future EU budgets must ‘reflect’ national efforts to control spending.
Future European Union budgets must reflect national governments’ efforts to cut their debts and deficits, EU leaders agreed today at the end of a two-day summit in Brussels.
The decision will apply not only to the EU’s annual budget, but also to the next multi-annual financial settlement, which the EU will start to discuss next summer. The European Commission has suggested that the next financial programme should last 10 years, from 2014 until 2024.
The leaders reached their conclusion after an unscheduled discussion on the EU’s 2011 budget, prompted by a letter signed by 11 countries, including the three largest EU member states, insisting that any spending increase must be limited to 2.9%.
David Cameron, the UK’s prime minister, claimed that the agreement to link future EU spending to national spending was “a significant prize” that the UK had won. Drawing a comparison with severe spending cuts that his government announced this month, Cameron said: “The spotlight has now shifted to reining in the excesses of the EU budget.”
Cameron said that establishing a link between the EU and national budgets “passes the common sense test”, adding: “It is logical, it is sensible, it kind of re-connects the EU to the people it is meant to be serving – and I think that is a good thing.”
Angela Merkel, Germany’s chancellor, also spoke up in favour. “What happens in Europe has to reflect what is happening at home,” she said.
The final text of the summit communiqué states that it is “essential that the European Union budget and the forthcoming multi-annual financial framework reflect the consolidation efforts being made by member states to bring deficit and debt onto a more sustainable path”. EU leaders will discuss how this might be achieved when they meet at their next summit, in December.
The Netherlands and the UK were unsuccessful in getting a freeze in the EU budget, agreeing to go along with a 2.9% increase that France and Germany favoured. “We would have…rather had a 0% increase, but there is no support for that,” said Mark Rutte, the Dutch prime minister.
Cameron also conceded it was less than he wanted – “I am not pretending this is a giant El Dorado of a goldmine for the British public” – but said that every 1% reduction in the budget was worth £100 million (€155m) a year to British taxpayers.
Two of the countries at the centre of the eurozone debt crisis struck a different note on budget negotiations.
George Papandreou, Greece’s prime minister, said he supported the European Parliament’s call for a higher budget and its emphasis on spending on education, young people and green policies.
Brian Cowen, Ireland’s prime minister, said that he was happy with the 2.9% increase. He also said that it was important for budget negotiations to proceed under the new rules introduced by the Lisbon treaty, which gives the European Parliament power as co-legislator with European governments. “If you have a process and it has just begun…why not let it proceed?”
Signatories to the letter calling for the EU budget increase to be restricted to 2.9% were the leaders of the EU’s three largest members – France, Germany and the UK – and of Austria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, the Netherlands, Slovenia and Sweden.
Click Here: New Zealand rugby store