EP rejects MFF proposal and demands changes
The European Parliament voted last week to reject the 960 billion euro deal agreed by Member States on the next Multiannual Financial Framework (2014 - 2020). “The European Parliament cannot accept the proposal from the member states without the fulfilment of certain essential conditions”, said the EP President, Martin Schulz.
EU governments agreed last month on a deal that would see the first ever cut in spending for the future. However, the EP did not challenge the overall spending limit, but insisted on a legal review of the budget deal after the 2014 elections which would reverse cuts if the economy in Europe improved.
Additionally, ‘maximum flexibility’ was demanded by MEPs on shifting unspent money from one year to the next and from one priority to another. This is expected to be rejected by some Member States as all unspent money would return to national reserves.
MEPs also demanded more money to be spent on areas such as innovation, research and education. However, according to a senior Eurozone official, it is unrealistic for the EP to try to renegotiate the spending limits and flexibility. “At the end of the day I think we can accommodate what the parliament wanted on the mid-term review. What we can do on the flexibility, I am not sure”, said the source quoted by Reuters.
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