Next year’s EU budget will climb by 3&percent; to 90 billion ecu

Date: 02/05/1996

under spending plans tabled by the European Commission this week. The plans include increases in expenditure on Trans-European Networks, research and development, the Mediterranean and the Union's links with Central and Eastern Europe, offset by reductions in spending on various internal and external policies totalling 120 million ecu. The proposed budget will be considered by the Council of Ministers and the European Parliament before being adopted in December.