European Parliament rejects 2014-20 draft budget

MEPs vote yesterday at the Strasbourg parliament: Photo: EPA/Patrick Seeger

Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk had earlier enthused hat Poland had “emerged as a greater victor than any other country in Europe,” after securing 106 billion euros out of the 960 billion draft budget of 8 February.

However, yesterday's vote in Strasbourg could lead to significant delays in the eventual spending of EU funds. Some 506 MEPs voted to adopt the resolution, 161 were against, and there were 23 abstentions.

“Parliament won't accept the proposed long-term budget for the EU until all payments for 2012 have been made and there are agreements on future funding and a comprehensive revision,” President of the European Parliament Martin Schulz said at a press conference following the vote, as cited on the EP's official web site.

“This important resolution paves the way for possible negotiations with the Council on the long-term EU budget 2014-2020,” he added.

The nuts and bolts of the long-term budget are covered in the so-called multiannual framework (MFF), which resolves EU expenditure for the seven-year period, according to specific policy areas.

“The resolution highlights the growing problem of payment shortfalls, which prevent bills being paid and jeopardize EU programmes,” the EP stressed in a press statement released yesterday.

“The EU cannot legally run a deficit.”

"There must be maximum overall flexibility and an ambitious agreement on own resources,” Schulz argued.

Meanwhile, Pole Janusz Lewandowski, the EU's Budget and Financial Planning Commissioner, reflected that while most Polish MEPs had voted against the resolution, he was “full of optimism” concerning the final talks scheduled for June, as cited by the Dziennik Gazeta Prawna daily. (nh)