Parliament's Budgets Committee voted on Tuesday at second reading on the draft EU budget for 2009. MEPs endorsed the agreement concluded with the Council on the level of payments (€116.1 billion) while increasing some expenditure on the EP's priorities (growth, cohesion, employment) above the level of the preliminary draft budget. The agreement on the "food facility" for developing countries was also approved.

The committee, voting on the report by Jutta Haug (PES, DE), confirmed the overall level of payments for the 2009 budget at €116,096,062,329, the figure agreed with Council on 21 November. MEPs believe this amount will enable Parliament to preserve the policy priorities it identified at first reading, in particular the funding for Heading 1 (employment, growth, cohesion, competitiveness). Thus, for a number of measures and programmes, including research and the Galileo programme, MEPs voted for spending levels higher than those in the preliminary draft budget and the Commission's amendments thereto.

They also restored the spending increases adopted at first reading for Frontex (the European Agency for the Management of Operational Cooperation at the External Borders of the EU Member States), the European Refugee Fund (Heading 3 - Citizenship, Freedom, Security, Justice) and climate change and energy-related measures and policies.

Implementing the budget better

The Budgets Committee also confirmed the overall figure for commitments (€133,778,879,246) at the level set by Parliament at first reading. MEPs are still concerned at the widening gap, year after year, between maximum expenditure levels (commitments) and expenditure that can actually be used (payments). In addition, they want the Commission and the Member States to improve the utilisation of cohesion funding and take steps to improve the implementability of the EU budget. The resolution accompanying the second reading of the budget in plenary on 18 December is likely to include these matters.

"Food facility" for developing countries

In addition, MEPs approved the agreement with Council that will allow the payment of around €1 billion in farm aid to developing countries. Parliament successfully pressed for this instrument, known as the "food facility", to be financed mainly from €760 million of new money, with transfers from Heading 4 (external relations) being limited as far as possible. It was on this condition that MEPs agreed to spread the programme, originally earmarked for 2008/2009, into 2010.

For 2009, the Budgets Committee has created a special budget heading of €568 million in commitments and rectified the structure of the expenditure, to take account of the amounts needed to finance this aid.