2012 budget: priorities - other sections

The Council took note of the presentation by the Commission of its draft for the EU's general budget for 2012.

Some delegations considered the Commission proposal not to be in line with the national fiscal consolidation measures and argued for further efforts to limit the increase of the EU's 2012 budget. Other delegations regarded the draft budget as a starting point for the discussions and stressed the need to continue implementing EU programmes in particular in the cohesion area.

It asked the Permanent Representatives Committee to examine the draft, with a view to enabling the Council to establish its position.

On 15 February, the Council established its priorities for the 2012 budget.

As regards administrative expenditure, the Council recalls the common objective of increasing administrative efficiency along the same line adopted by Member States to optimise the use of limited resources given the rigorous fiscal consolidation Member States are undertaking. The Council intends to continue to monitor and to improve EU institutions' effectiveness with a view to increasing administrative efficiency and stresses the crucial importance of redeployment of resources and reprioritisation.

The Council expects all institutions to provide in advance all the necessary information for a clear, comprehensive, and consolidated picture of all administrative expenditure, including administrative expenditure financed under other headings and sub-headings of the multiannual financial framework, thus allowing the budgetary authority to evaluate the situation and take well-founded decisions on the allocation and use of resources. Due attention should be paid to the comprehensiveness and comparability over time and between institutions of information provided.

The Council is concerned about the evolution in appropriations for pensions and their impact on administrative expenditure in the future.

The Council is expected to establish its position on the draft budget at the end of July, and the Parliament at the end of October. If their positions diverge, a three-week conciliation process will start on 1 November.