On 8 July, the Committee of Permanent Representatives (Coreper) approved the position of the Council on the draft 2011 EU budget as drawn up by the Budget Committee, on 29 June. Contrary to original intentions, this will not be adopted without debate by the Ecofin Council of 13 July, but via a written procedure, which will end on 12 August.

The aim is to respect the consultation period of the national parliaments of eight weeks after the availability of the European Commission’s draft budget in all linguistic versions (on 12 June), as it is now foreseen by the Lisbon Treaty. The Council vote will be its first and only reading in accordance with the provisions of the new treaty. This position anticipates a reduction of €3.6 billion in payment appropriations and €787.8 million in commitment appropriations compared with the Commission’s draft budget. In the context of the current crisis and the pressure on national budgets, this would make it possible to limit the increase to 2.91% and 0.22%, respectively, compared with 2010, instead of 5.9% and 2.2% (see Europolitics4010).

After the Council vote, a three-way meeting between the Commission, Council and Parliament is anticipated, on 11 October, then the Parliament will carry out its own reading during the plenary session from 18 to 22 October in Strasbourg. The Conciliation Committee will meet on 26 October and will have 21 days to reach a definitive agreement on the 2011 budget.

EP PREPARED TO VOTE AGAINST

For the time being, the positions of the two branches of the budget authority remain divided. Parliament has established six priority axes: financing of the ‘Europe 2020’ strategy, the External Action Service, youth programmes and Subheading 1a (competitiveness). MEPs also count on insisting on the revision of the financial framework for 2007-2013, which is proving to be too limited, and are calling for the creation of a legal basis for the EU’s €60 billion borrowing capacity established in the €750 billion stabilisation mechanism adopted on 9 May by the member states.

The chair of the EP’s BUDG committee, Alain Lamassoure (EPP, France), would like to conclude a “negotiation package”. He therefore proposes that the EP be “cooperative” and present a “responsible” position limiting the contributions of member states to the EU budget at a time when everybody is making an effort. But on condition that, in return, governments ensure that national parliaments will be involved in setting up economic governance, commit to financing the future policies of the new 2020 strategy and agree to reopen the ‘taboo’ debate on new own resources. Lamassoure adds that the EP “would be prepared to go as far as threatening to reject the 2011 budget” if no effort is made on the part of the Council, since the Lisbon Treaty lets it have the last word on the annual procedure.