EU medium-term budget dystocia: next side to talk about side modify

Brussels, November 23

After two days of heated debate, the special summit of EU leaders on the 23rd fruitless, the countries failed to reach an agreement on the EU's medium-term budget plan for 2014-2020. The experts believe that the country to the dictates of their own "small thinking" interim budget "dystocia" On the one hand, but also a vivid manifestation of the difficult process of European integration.

Van Rompuy: continue to coordinate

"We're in the next phase of negotiations to further modify the budget plan."

23 afternoon news conference held after the end of the Extraordinary Summit of the European Union, European Council President Herman Van Rompuy said: "European leaders failed to reach agreement on the interim budget, the Council of Europe and European Commission President decided to give in the coming weeks to continue coordination of the powers of the Member States stand, so that the 27 countries to reach a consensus on the interim budget. "(Editor's Note: According to the Xinhua News Agency reported, the 24th EU Internal Market and Services Commissioner Michel Barnier told French Europe the 1st radio interview that the EU summit failed to reach agreement on the EU's medium-term budget plan, not a failure, just interrupt the negotiations only the 2014-2020 medium-term budget of the European Union is a seven-year budget, rather than the one-year budget, the EU member States a few months time to reach a consensus in this regard.)

When asked about the talks fruitless reasons, Van Rompuy said: "My feeling is that we can go further, but our decision must be balanced, not purely in order to reach an agreement to act hastily ... some countries insist on more budget cuts, some countries do not agree with in the next phase of negotiations to further modify the budget program. "

He further explained that the budget negotiations are too complex, generally after two rounds of negotiations. Negotiations in 2005 on a seven-year budget is so difficult.

The summit, Van Rompuy € 1 trillion size of the budget proposed by the European Commission proposal to cut 80 billion euros, slightly lower than the last 7 years, the total budget, including cuts in farm subsidies and aims to provide development to the backward areas assistance "cohesion fund". Britain welcomes, but France, Spain and Italy and other countries to benefit from these subsidies and funds that the program is unacceptable. Summit, Van Rompuy adjust the budget plan, the maintenance of existing agricultural subsidies and the size of the "cohesion funds". In this regard, the United Kingdom, Germany and some Nordic countries expressed strong opposition.

Countries habitual screw around with "small thinking."

More conducive to their own countries striving to make budget allocation.

Analysts pointed out that the EU countries on the major differences of the medium-term budget in its scale, but in fact advocate and oppose spending cuts proposed by both parties the amount of the specific budget gap is not large. If this difference is an average seven years longer on average to 27 countries of view, even more trivial. Therefore, the the interim budget dystocia key reason is that countries are habitually screw around with "small thinking" striving to make the allocation of the budget is more in their favor.

According to the proposal of the European Commission, the EU's 2014-2020 budget of around one trillion euros, an increase of about 5% on a seven-year budget. As the main contributor of the budget, the United Kingdom, Sweden, the Netherlands, Germany, led by several EU Wells Fargo, in the context of the European debt crisis, countries are carrying out different degree of fiscal austerity and, therefore, the expenditure of the EU institutions should also decrease . The other party is mainly using Southern and Eastern Europe countries, they are opposed to reducing the size of the budget, emphasizing in particular to ensure the maintenance of the existing agricultural subsidies and "cohesion funds".

The Yingde countries such as advocated cuts in farm subsidies, as the largest beneficiary countries of the European Common Agricultural Policy, France resolutely resist reducing agricultural subsidies accounted for nearly 40% of the entire EU budget. As a comeback, France asked reassess special rebate provided by the European Union to the United Kingdom policy. For Spain, Italy, as well as a number of Central and Eastern Europe and the southern European countries, the preservation of the "cohesion funds" is their biggest target.

In addition, within each camp there are different voices. For example, Finland has advocated cutting the EU budget, but insisted the budget funds used to subsidize the sparsely populated areas can not be reduced.

Even the European Commission and the European Parliament also has its own small thinking. They oppose the budget cuts, mainly worried about 6% share of the entire budget of the European Union EU administrative operating expenses will be affected. Yingde and other countries have made it clear that more significant reduction in the expenditure. British Prime Minister David Cameron told the media after the meeting, said: "We want to cut that we can not afford to pay the expenses we have no reason not to take a tougher attitude in the issue of reducing the administrative costs of the EU institutions, EU institutions are are not willing to even consider this is an insult to the taxpayers of Europe. "

From another perspective, the reason why the EU's medium-term budget dystocia, but also because many countries are not eager to agree. EU law, member states next year are still unable to time on the interim budget to reach agreement, the seven years from 2014 budget year to year basis, the annual size of the budget in the previous year, based on year inflation growth sync up . EU inflation rate is generally around 2%, so this will be lower than the growth rate of 5% proposed by the European Commission. However, most do not want negotiations eventually broke down, the United Kingdom, because it would cut the total budget expectations run counter to its.

Integration difficult vivid manifestation

EU countries in the negotiations on the EU plan for the future, "often" Strange Bedfellows "phenomenon.

Analysts pointed out that if the EU can not reach agreement on the interim budget, will give hundreds of billions of euros worth of EU-led medium-and long-term public investment projects to bring uncertainty to crack down on the already fragile EU economic. More importantly, it will also dispersed EU energy deal with the debt crisis, and dampen public confidence in the EU.

Martens, the person in charge of the EU think tank, the European Policy Centre, told reporters that the EU countries in the negotiations on the matter of EU development plans "often the phenomenon of" Strange Bedfellows ", from the" financial contract "aimed at strengthening fiscal discipline to the establishment of a bank cartel, each time the results of the negotiations are different from the initial ideas and proposals.

Martens said, this is a vivid manifestation of the difficult process of European integration. If countries even develop throughout the EU gross domestic product (GDP) accounted for only about 1% of the budget should be such a quarrel, to establish the future requirements of the Member States have transferred sovereignty fiscal union, banking alliance, even political union will certainly be more very difficult. In fact, if there is no debt crisis in Europe, the European Union has recently made some progress within 2012 to strengthen fiscal discipline Originally unthinkable.