Eu special summit to decide dispute over spending

The special summit on the EU’s financial planning for the years 2014 to 2020 is intended to avoid a situation in which the dispute over spending, with a ceiling of around one billion euros, dominates the next regular EU summit on 18 december./19. October in brussel overshadowed, said EU diplomats in brussel. Presumably, the summit will take place in the second half of november.

Cypriot european minister mavroyiannis said the council presidency in september wants to identify options for a compromise between net contributor countries and those receiving eu funds. For the first time, figures are to be included in the negotiating document. This will "eventually be discussed by heads of state and government, most likely at an extraordinary meeting in november.".

In the discussions on the EU’s multi-annual financial framework (MFF), there was again no sign of agreement between the different interests of the EU member states on thursday. The rich "net contributors," including germany, again called for a cut of at least 100 billion euros in the one billion euros in spending proposed by the eu commission.

"It’s not a question of increasing the budget volume, but of spending the money better," said german auben state minister michael link in nicosia. "Money must be spent in such a way that all budget areas contribute to growth and employment."Link again rejected the commission’s proposal to create new revenue for the eu through a financial transaction tax. So far, it has been financed mainly by allocations from the member states.

The group of poorer "friends of cohasion", that is, the multi-billion euro aid fund for better economic and social development, however, supported the proposal of the EU commission. The solidarity of the rich EU states with the poor members of the union is also indispensable in the coming years. "Between the two positions there is a difference of 300 billion euros," mavroyiannis calculated.

He said the cypriot EU presidency wants to reach an agreement in november. However, diplomats expressed skepticism that this would be possible by then. It is more likely that the financial planning can only be decided at the beginning of 2013 – then under the irish council presidency.