European Parliament okays EU budget for 2014-2020
20 Nov 2013 11:20 PM GMT
The European Parliament approved the EU's first-ever trimmed-back longterm budget on Tuesday after months of acrimonious dispute between EU institutions on spending cuts for the 2014-2020 period.
The budget was approved by a large majority of 682 MEPs, including the conservatives and the socialists. The greens and the radical left voted against.
Known as the Multi-annual Financial Framework (MFF), it provides for 908 billion euros in payments against 960 billion euros in funding commitments, 3.7 per cent and 3.5 per cent less than in the previous 2007-2013 budget.
The last step for the European Union's seven-year blueprint, which sets out the 28-nation bloc's spending priorities according to its economic and political aims, will go for formal approval by EU states in the next few days.
Tuesday’s vote marks the end of a bitter battle in which the budget went back and forth between austerity-minded governments and the European Union’s executive (European Commission) and MEPs, who wanted more funds to boost growth and jobs.
The budget was approved by a large majority of 682 MEPs, including the conservatives and the socialists. The greens and the radical left voted against.
Known as the Multi-annual Financial Framework (MFF), it provides for 908 billion euros in payments against 960 billion euros in funding commitments, 3.7 per cent and 3.5 per cent less than in the previous 2007-2013 budget.
The last step for the European Union's seven-year blueprint, which sets out the 28-nation bloc's spending priorities according to its economic and political aims, will go for formal approval by EU states in the next few days.
Tuesday’s vote marks the end of a bitter battle in which the budget went back and forth between austerity-minded governments and the European Union’s executive (European Commission) and MEPs, who wanted more funds to boost growth and jobs.
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