Following the usual autumn update of EU funding needs in agriculture, and reflecting the international fisheries negotiations, the European Commission agreed on Friday to decrease by EUR 25.1 million its draft budget for 2013.
The planned needs for agricultural expenditure now amount to EUR 44.1 billion.
The Commission, in its initial proposal of April 25, limited the increase of commitments at the level of inflation (2%) to EUR 1,509 billion and proposed an increase in payments by 6.8%, which amounts to EUR 1,379 billion, to take into account the legal obligations to pay beneficiaries as a result of past commitments already agreed by Member-States.
The Council adopted its position on Budget 2013 in July setting the commitments even below inflation (1.27%) and limiting the increase in payments to 2.79%, EUR 5.2 billion less than the Commission's proposal.
The European Parliament will vote on the draft budget in Strasbourg on October 23 to be followed by three weeks of negotiations between MEPs and the Council, with the European Commission acting as a broker, the Commission said in a press release.
For comments and feedback: editorial@rttnews.com