With strong support from the Socialists and Democrats Group, the European Parliament today gave the green light to the 2015 EU budget and to a €4.7 billion package to settle some of the EU's unpaid bills.
The 2015 budget is now fixed at €141.2 billion in payments and €145.3 billion in commitments.
Eider Gardiazábal, the S&D Group's spokesperson on the budget and the European Parliament's negotiator for the 2015 budget, commented:
"The negotiations with the Council were extremely difficult. We avoided a European budget crisis – but only just.
"We managed to successfully undo the cuts initially proposed by the Council. We even achieved increases for Erasmus + (the exchange programme for young Europeans), Horizon 2020 (supporting research and innovation) and aid for refugees. For the Socialists and Democrats it was crucial to strengthen these programmes."
Isabelle Thomas, S&D vice-president responsible for the budget, added:
"In terms of finding a real, sustainable solution to the payments crisis, we're a long way from done. While the €4.7 billion from the payment of fines will allow the EU to settle some of the €30 billion in unpaid bills, we need a global strategy.
"We have also got a commitment from the Commission and the member states that they will produce a plan by the spring to balance the accounts. The S&Ds will closely monitor this commitment and the credibility of this plan.
"In the longer term, the composition of the EU's budget must be reviewed, especially the EU's 'own resources' so that national interests in the Council do not undermine the budget. We will return to the discussions in 2015."
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