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20/04/2011
EU Draft Budget 'A Balancing Act'
Budget and Financial Programming Commissioner Janusz Lewandowski has described the draft EU budget 2012 adopted by the Commission today as "A delicate balancing act combining austerity and growth boosting measures for 500 million Europeans".
The draft budget 2012 endeavours to be in tune with the current austerity climate at national level. The Commission has made a particular effort and opted for a freeze of its administrative expenditure for 2012 i.e. a 0.0% increase compared to the 2011 budget. This has been achieved by significantly reducing expenditure linked to buildings, information and communication technology, studies, publications, missions, conferences and meetings. Furthermore, for the third year in a row, the Commission does not request any additional new post.
Janusz Lewandowski added: "The Draft Budget adopted today focuses on the EU and its citizens. Firstly we propose cuts in many areas of administration such as staff training, publications, travel and office expenditure in order to keep the portion on internal costs at the lowest level; secondly we have gone to great lengths to identify areas of the budget that were not performing as well as expected to shift funds towards programmes or initiatives that deliver concrete results on the ground. Thirdly we have opted for investing in areas that contribute to economic growth and development: the EU budget is an anti-crisis package! "
The Council will make its position known on the Draft Budget in June, followed by the European Parliament in October. In case of disagreements between them, a 21-day conciliation procedure will be triggered with the European Commission in the role of the honest broker. The final 2012 budget is expected to be adopted by the Parliament in November.
(BMcN)
The draft budget 2012 endeavours to be in tune with the current austerity climate at national level. The Commission has made a particular effort and opted for a freeze of its administrative expenditure for 2012 i.e. a 0.0% increase compared to the 2011 budget. This has been achieved by significantly reducing expenditure linked to buildings, information and communication technology, studies, publications, missions, conferences and meetings. Furthermore, for the third year in a row, the Commission does not request any additional new post.
Janusz Lewandowski added: "The Draft Budget adopted today focuses on the EU and its citizens. Firstly we propose cuts in many areas of administration such as staff training, publications, travel and office expenditure in order to keep the portion on internal costs at the lowest level; secondly we have gone to great lengths to identify areas of the budget that were not performing as well as expected to shift funds towards programmes or initiatives that deliver concrete results on the ground. Thirdly we have opted for investing in areas that contribute to economic growth and development: the EU budget is an anti-crisis package! "
The Council will make its position known on the Draft Budget in June, followed by the European Parliament in October. In case of disagreements between them, a 21-day conciliation procedure will be triggered with the European Commission in the role of the honest broker. The final 2012 budget is expected to be adopted by the Parliament in November.
(BMcN)
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