EU budget talks to resume in February
EU leaders will reconvene in Brussels next month in another attempt to agree the next Union budget.
EU heads of government will meet between 7-8 February with the hope of “finding a deal on the first day of the summit,” according to an EU spokesman, Preben Aamann. Negotiations on the 2014-2020 Multiannual Financial Framework broke down last November after member states were unable to find agreement on cuts to the EU’s expenditure.
An official close to Herman Van Rompuy said he was not expected to make any new budget proposals ahead of the summit. In November, the President of the European Council proposed an EU budget worth €973bn last year, although member states including Germany, the Netherlands and the UK are expected to push for further reductions in EU spending.
However, it’s feared that any further cuts could see less money for Horizon 2020, the EU’s forthcoming research and innovation programme, and the Connecting Europe Facility, a pan-European infrastructure project with investment in energy, communications and transport technology.
