MEPs threaten to freeze part of EU budget

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Series Details Vol 6, No.37, 12.10.00, p9
Publication Date 12/10/2000
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Date: 12/10/00

By Simon Taylor

MEPS are threatening to withhold more than €1.5 billion from next year's EU budget unless the European Commission improves its record on paying out money.

The European Parliament's budget committee has told the Commission that it will only release cash from a special performance reserve fund if the executive demonstrates that it has taken steps to reduce its huge spending backlog and improve the general management of its financial procedures.

UK Socialist MEP Terry Wynn denied that the Parliament was imposing unreasonable demands on the Commis-sion. "We are trying to make it easier for the Commission to improve how it does things," he said, adding that money should be redirected to projects which have a good track record in using public funds efficiently. "If the money has not been well spent, we want to spend it in other areas."

Regional aid spending would be hardest hit by the Parliament's stance, with MEPs insisting that €880 million from the EU's €29-billion budget for 2001 should be held back. The committee has also voted to freeze €756 million of the €4.6 billion earmarked for external relations projects in 2001, plus the entire €45 million which the Commission has requested to pay for an extra 375 posts next year.

The Strasbourg-based assembly is also set to lay down a range of conditions which the Commission would have to meet before the money was released. These include drawing up an effective plan by 15 November to reduce the backlog of unspent funds, which stood at more than €11 billion at the start of this year, and shortening the time between deciding to fund projects and getting them off the ground.

The committee's recommendations will be voted on by the full Parliament at its plenary session later this month. Officials expect MEPs to endorse the committee's approach because it has the support of the assembly's two largest political groups, the Socialists and the European People's Party.

Commission officials say they are confident that their institution would be able to comply with these conditions because efforts are already under way to tackle the problems highlighted by the Parliament. External Relations Commis-sioner Chris Patten has, for example, been working to streamline approval procedures.

But officials warn that the criteria which the committee wants to attach to releasing money for the new Commission jobs would be hard to meet. "It is a very extensive list of conditions, some of which are very difficult to fulfil because they involve action by the Council of Ministers," said one, referring to the Parliament's desire to re-examine the role of specialist member-state committees in taking key funding decisions.

MEPs are threatening to withhold more than €1.5 billion from the EU's budget for 2001 unless the European Commission improves its record on paying out money.

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