The budget shall not be touched

The EU 2012 budget, security, public procurement, preparations for the G20 summit: these are some of the themes addressed during the plenary meeting at the European Parliament in Strasbourg October 24-27. MEPs adopted the directive to combat child abusers and child pornography as well as a motion demanding no more violence against Christians in Egypt along with the resignations of Syrian president Assad. At the end of the meeting, attended by EU Council and Commission presidents to evaluate the outcomes of the summit of October 26, EP president Jerzy Buzek made known that the 2011 Sacharov Prize for Freedom of Speech was awarded to representatives of the “Arab Spring”. The ceremony for the presentation of the prize will take place during the plenary in December.Budget, no cuts. Maybe the highlight of the week in Strasbourg lies in the fact that the European Parliament has rejected the proposals of cuts in the 2012 Community budget submitted by the Council (representing EU27 governments), thus endorsing the initial position of the Commission and demanding adequate funding for research, agriculture, foreign policy, structural and cohesion funds. With the report adopted in the EP in Strasbourg the negotiations with the Council, due to take place in November, are resumed in order to reach the definitive adoption of the 2012 budget in the plenary session of November 30-December 1 – provided there are no conflicting stances. “In general, MEPs sought to restore the draft budget proposed by the Commission, which the Council cut in July. Parliament’s position implies an increase in payments of 5.2% as compared to this year’s budget, resulting in a budget of €133.1 billion”, the EU Parliament writes in a release. “The spending categories that see the biggest increases in payments are Research and Development (10.35%) and Cohesion and Structural funds (8.8%). This is because “these policies in fact consist of long-term investment projects which now, in the fifth year of the current multiannual financial framework (MFF), are up to full speed and for which money committed earlier now needs to be paid out”.“Promoting growth”. Italian MEP Francesca Balzani, who is steering the budget through Parliament, stressed that despite the ongoing recession “investments are needed to secure future growth and employment” in the framework of the EU2020 strategy. The same MEP explained that the difference between the EP’s position and Council’s position is €1.5 billion in commitments and €4 billion in payments. The EP is talking about €147.766 billion in commitments and €133.143 billion in payments, while the Council wants to limit commitments to €146.254 billion and payments to €129.088 billion. MEPs call for the funding – via the 2012 budget – of policies for the management of migration flows, economic development, social inclusion (Europe 2020), common agricultural policy, education, support to backward regions. The rapporteur for the EP budget and those of the other institutions, Mr. José Manuel Fernandes proposed further cuts to Parliament’s budget. The proposal now includes the accommodation of 18 extra MEPs as a result of the Lisbon Treaty and “numerous activities that require further funding”. To bring expenses down, MEPs intend to save money on translation and interpretation reduce travel expenses. All allowances will be frozen at 2011 levels. Combating organized crime. The themes address include a report aimed at countering the interests of organized crime across Europe, with stricter rules to prevent misuse of EU funds by mafia-style organizations. “Criminal organizations have created a support network in the political world and the legal economy”, states the report. The EP proposed a set of measures to this regard that include a special committee to investigate infiltration of the public sector and their “contamination of the legal economy and financial system”. MEPs also called for new rules “to prevent convicted members of criminal organisations from standing in European elections”, which requires the adoption of “ethical codes” on the part of all political groups.