The budgets committee is currently engaged in formulating the European Parliament's position on the draft budget for 2015. The procedure kicked off when Commissioner Janusz Lewandowski presented the draft proposal in the European Parliament. The budget shall be adopted once the Council and the Parliament give their approval.
With such a task at hand, the Budgets Committee will be in discussions with other committees within the European Parliament to get the necessary input to form a holistic position. During the discussions, MEPs are also to keep in mind the Council's stand. It is envisaged that the vote in plenary will take place by the end of September, with the subsequent vote taking place in October.
As it usually happens, the European Parliament will agree on a set of amendments to the Council's position. In the case that the Council does not accept these amendments, a conciliation committee will be convened. This is usually composed of representatives of both sides who will work to reach a compromise. Once a compromise has been reached, the budget is deemed as approved.
In past experiences, the European Parliament has managed to get more funding to support young people and funding for growth initiatives.
This breaks the myth that the EU budget is in the hands of Eurocrats and away from the EU citizen. The European Parliament, a directly elected European institution, is a key player in decision making process for the EU budget, thus increasing democratic accountability. Moreover, event within the Council, we have ministers who are elected at a national level. Moreover, today's media allows European citizens to closely follow the process of budgetary negotiation. For instance, citizens can make use of the European Parliament's website to follow such discussions in committee meetings.
The 2015 EU draft budget, as presented by the Commission, is focused on triggering economic growth despite the financial constraints which the EU currently faces. Despite scarcer resources, Europe should have the smart measures which help in recovering from the crisis. The budget envisages both commitments and payments. Most of the commitments are dedicated to future projects, while around 40% of payments are aimed to covered EU funded projects (2007-2013). According to the Commission, the estimated 2015 inflation rate is expected to absorb the proposed increase in commitment and payments.
Money allocated to commitments will focus on new programmes within the 2014-2020 Multiannual Financial Framework. Over half of the commitment appropriations are intended to support research and innovation, youth and businesses in the EU.
On the other hand, payment appropriations go to measures such as Horizon 2020 which is focused on research, energy networks, ICT and transport and youth employment initiatives. This is expected to boost economic growth and the creation of jobs. Other areas which are targeted by the 2015 EU draft budget, under payment appropriations, the asylum, migration and integration fund and also the protection of citizens' health and consumers.
The Commission also announced that it is proposing a 1% reduction in its staff members. This is expected to amount to around 368 posts. This cut is part of an overall commitment by the Commission to lower its staff by 5%. Once this overall target is reached, it is expected to save the EU a total of 23 million Euros. This is the third cut of 1% in three years.
Last year, regulations for Commission staff were changed in such a way to raise the minimum number of working hours without introduction of additional compensation and retirement ages raised.
David Casa is a PN MEP