Council outlines ‘growth and employment’ budget

The Council of the European Union has presented its position on the draft 2014 EU budget during the European Parliament’s plenary session in Strasbourg.

The Council is prioritising EU programmes encouraging economic growth and job creation in addition to more efficient management of administrative costs and greater EU budget flexibility.

After presenting the budget to MEPs, Lithuanian Vice-Minister Algimantas Rimkūnas said: “I am convinced that the Council’s position represents the necessary balance between the financial capacity of member states and the need to finance growth-oriented programmes. The economic situation in EU countries remains difficult and national budgets are constrained. We must ensure the timely and appropriate implementation of EU budget programmes on the one hand, and at the same time limit deficits in the national budgets of EU member states to the required levels.”

The Vice-Minister took positive note of the first trialogue on the EU budget which took place last week in Brussels. The Parliament and the Council agreed on several key budget priorities, including tackling youth employment and investing in research, ERASMUS and SMEs. Further negotiations on the budget are expected to take place during October and November 2013.

Concerns were raised last week by European Budget Commissioner Janusz Lewandowski after it was revealed that the Council was calling for further EU spending reductions during 2014, including decreased funding for support staff administrating Horizon 2020. Lewandowski said it was wrong for ministers to “ignore” an agreement made by the European Council.