2013 general budget: all sections

Blockage on the 2113 Budget negotiations

The two branches of the budgetary authority, meeting within the Conciliation Committee, could not yet reach agreement on the 2013 EU budget and other related items.

Key sticking points: despite a certain convergence of views on elements of the package, divergent views persisted in particular as to the extent by which the 2012 EU budget needs to be increased in order to bridge the gap between the payments jointly agreed last year and actual implementation.

Budget benchmarks:

·        in its draft budget, the Commission proposed for 2013 an amount of EUR 150.93 billion in commitments and EUR 137.92 billion in payments, leading to an increase by respectively 2.05% and 6.85% compared to 2012;

·        in its position adopted on 24 July, the Council agreed to limit the EU budget for next year to EUR 132.70 billion in payments (corresponding to 0.99% of the EU's Gross National Income (GNI). This represents an increase of 2.79% compared to 2012, which is well above inflation and reflects the fact that 2013 is the last year of the current multiannual financial framework. As regards commitments, the Council's position amounts to EUR 149.78 billion, representing an increase of 1.27%;

·        in its position adopted on 23 October, the European Parliament requested an amount of EUR 151.15 billion in commitments (+2.20%) and EUR 137.90 billion in payments (+6.82%).

Blockage in conciliation: while the Council and the European Parliament shared the same priority for focusing the EU 2013 budget on growth and jobs-enhancing measures, the Council wished to ensure that the current budgetary constraints of all Member States concerned are also taken into account.

Divergent views persisted notably on the extent by which the 2012 EU budget needs to be increased in order to bridge the gap between the payments jointly agreed last year and actual implementation (draft amending budget no 6 for 2012 aimed at increasing this year's budget by EUR 9.0 billion in payment appropriations in order to close the gap between the amount agreed last year and the actual implementation) and on the question whether the Commission proposal exploited all possibilities for redeployment.

However, the Conciliation Committee reached agreement on the mobilisation, as soon as possible, of the EU’s Solidarity Fund in favour of Italy for an amount of EUR 670 million as proposed by the Commission in amending budget no 5 for 2012, which will be finalised in the overall agreement.

Next steps: the Cypriot Presidency will continue its efforts for finding a compromise. The 21-day-conciliation-period provided for by the Lisbon Treaty expires on 13 November 2012. If an agreement can be reached by then, the Council and the European Parliament have 14 days to formally approve the agreement, following the finalisation of the text. If conciliation fails, the Commission has to present a new draft budget for 2013.

In line with Article 315 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU, should the budget not be adopted at the beginning of 2013, a sum equivalent to not more than one twelfth of the budget appropriations for 2012 or of the draft budget proposed by the Commission, whichever is smaller, may be spent each month for any chapter of the budget.