"Four billion euros’ ready cash being allocated to such programs as Erasmus, education, support of small and medium companies". Josep Borrell, president of the EU Parliament, announced this morning in the hall of Strasbourg that agreement has been reached on the Financial prospects for 2007/2013 among the representatives of the three EU institutions: the Council, Parliament and the Commission. After the position taken at the December meeting by the heads of state and government of the 25 member states, the inter-institutional debate had gone on during the first three months of 2006, while Austria chaired the EU Council. The 4 billion euros Borrell spoke about (Parliament had asked for 12, the Council was prepared to grant 1.8) will add up to the 862.4 that had been decided last December as the disposable expenditure of the European Union. Part of the extra funds, explained the president of the EU Parliament, "will be allocated to research and development in the area of transport". During the discussion at Parliament, the Austrian Chancellor Wolfgang Schüssel stated that "a serious and factual compromise is better than no agreement at all".
