It is time for the European Parliament to approve the EU’s hotly contested budget for the next seven years and give the struggling bloc a much needed spending boost, Irish Foreign Minister David Gilmore said Tuesday.
Ireland is pressing for an accord before the end of its current EU presidency on June 30 rather than have to hand over unfinished negotiations to Lithuania which takes up the post on July 1.
Heading into another round of talks with European lawmakers, Gilmore called for Parliament’s “agreement so that we can move ahead.”
“We cannot afford to delay any longer in reaching agreement. Our citizens need certainty,” he said. “Our negotiations will require willingness to compromise on all sides.”
“This is what is needed if we are to insure that new investment can start flowing” in January, Gilmore added.
At a summit in February, a hardline Britain supported by Germany shot down a European Commission request to increase 2014-20 spending by 5.0 percent, saying that was unacceptable at a time of austerity.
Instead, the EU leaders agreed a spending cut of 3.0 percent, sparking uproar in Parliament where MEPs charged they were cutting funds desperately needed to bring growth and create new jobs.
Parliament, whose approval is needed for the budget to come into effect, has repeatedly made clear it will not accept the first ever spending cuts in the European Union budget.
There was no sign of that position changing Tuesday.
“Without a new initiative from the Irish (EU) presidency, I do not think we can come to an accord,” French MEP Alain Lamassoure told AFP.
“We have had 10 meetings at the political level and I do not know what more I can say. Without some new proposals, I think we have exhausted the possibilities of negotiation,” said Lamassoure, who heads the Parliament’s budget committee.
In negotiations since February, Lamassoure and EU Budget Commissioner Janusz Lewandowski have said they could go along with figures from the February accord but feel their own demands have been ignored.
“We have made an enormous sacrifice in agreeing not to question the figures again,” Lamassoure said. “In return, we have got nothing on our demands.”
In return for its agreement, Parliament wants to have greater flexibility in the budget, for example allowing funds not used in one area to be transferred to another sector.
MEPs also want a mid-term review in the hope that if the economy picks up, the spending constraints might be eased.
Caught up in the negotiations are outstanding issues on the EU budget for this year, with MEPs seeking an extra 11.2 billion euros to help cover an expected shortfall.
Member states have so far only agreed to pay another 7.3 billion euros, demanding that Parliament approve the 2014-20 budget before they will go any further.
Ireland makes push for EU budget deal
