European Union approves 2012 budget

European Union approves 2012 budget

2011-12-02 21:26:15 GMT+7 (ICT)

BRUSSELS (BNO NEWS) -- The European Union (EU) on Thursday announced that its Parliament has endorsed the final size and priority spending areas of the 2012 EU budget.

The budget, as agreed by the negotiating team and the EU Member States on November 18, was voted in on Thursday, focusing its priorities on growth, innovation, employment, border control, migration management, and support of democratic development in the Arab world.

As requested by the Member States, increase in payment appropriations will be limited to 1.86 percent. The Commission, Council and Parliament agreed to take stock in the course of next year to see if the budget is realistic or if repairs are necessary. Member States signed a declaration to this end.

The negotiated deal also included an additional €100 million ($135 billion) to finance the Nuclear Fusion Research (ITER) program in the south of France, but a much greater amount will be needed to accommodate all the additional costs for this program in future years, which will be further discussed in the Budgets Committee and with the Member States in "trailogue" meetings.

In addition, as the Commission could no longer pay the bills in some policy areas, Parliament also adopted an agreement on the additional financial needs for 2011. Apart from a reshuffle between budget lines, an additional €200 million ($270 million) will be added to the budget so that payments can again be made for Social Fund projects and research.

Next week, another draft amending budget for 2011 will be voted on in the Budgets Committee. It should meet the financial needs to cover EU Solidarity Fund aid totaling €38 million ($51 million) to Spain and Italy to repair damage caused by earthquakes in Lorca and flooding in the Veneto region.

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