Deal reached over last say on EU budget

By Martin Banks

Date: 27/05/04

MEMBER states have reached a deal with the European Parliament on the thorny issue of who should have the last say over the Union's budget.

Under an agreement won by the Irish presidency as part of negotiations on the EU constitution, Parliament regained the power to make the last decision.

The original text of the draft treaty had proposed that the assembly should have the final say but, towards the end of last year, several member states objected to MEPs having such sweeping powers. However, a compromise deal was struck during negotiations on the intergovernmental conference (IGC) in Brussels this week.

Under the deal, if Parliament and the Council of Ministers are unable to reach agreement on a draft budget put forward by the European Commission, the matter will have to go to conciliation.

If Parliament rejects the draft budget issued from conciliation, the Commission must present a new plan. Conversely, if the Council votes against the agreement in conciliation, the budget may still be adopted by Parliament if it votes within 21 days by a three-fifths majority. Parliament was determined to preserve its prerogatives on the key annual budgetary procedure - something it regarded as a "red line" issue.

Irish Foreign Affairs Minister Brian Cowen said the new text "struck a balance" between the interests of member states and the Parliament. The deal was welcomed as "acceptable" by German MEP Klaus Hänsch, one of two Parliamentary representatives on negotiations on the constitution.

The Socialist deputy said: "This represents a significant change…under the last proposal, it was member states who would be given the final say." However, Parliament's other IGC representative, centre-right German MEP Elmar Brok, was less satisfied, saying: "I suppose it is the best we could do but I am not entirely happy with it as I would have preferred it if Parliament did not have to go through the conciliation process."

Under an agreement won by the Irish Presidency of the European Union as part of negotiations on the EU constitution, the European Parliament will have the power to make the final decision over the EU's budget.