Update on EU long-term budget negotiations (MFF)

In a resolution adopted on 13 March, the European Parliament reacted to the conclusions of the February meeting of the EU heads of state and government (European Council) in relation to the next long-term EU budget (2014-2020), the so-called Multiannual Financial Framework.
The resolution – adopted by 506 votes to 161, with 23 abstentions – states that the Parliament “rejects the agreement in its current form, as it does not reflect the priorities and concerns expressed by Parliament”. In particular, the Parliament wants more flexibility with the budget and that the issue of unpaid bills from 2012 be settled before concluding the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) negotiations. It also wants a political undertaking that all bills due in 2013 will be paid in 2013, so as to avoid "rolling over" a deficit into the new MFF.
The resolution also “reiterates the view that the MFF should ensure the successful implementation of the Europe 2020 strategy and endow the EU with the necessary means to recover from the crisis and come out stronger”. It stresses “the importance of substantially increasing its investments in innovation, research and development, infrastructure and youth, meeting the EU's climate change and energy objectives, improving education levels and promoting social inclusion, while fulfilling its international commitments”.
The Irish Presidency of the EU noted that the negotiations on the MFF would now continue with a view to reaching an agreement before the end of the Presidency in June. The informal negotiations should result in a regulation laying down the MFF, for which the Parliament's consent is required.
The Parliament is also negotiating the legal bases for the different EU programmes (including Erasmus for All and Horizon 2020) in parallel, but for these, the Parliament and the Council decide on the basis of co-decision. If there is no agreement by the start of 2014, the MFF ceilings from 2013, adjusted for inflation, will apply. Please see the European Parliament website for more information. More information on the European Council’s agreement was published in EUA’s newsletter in February.