EU signs off on 2012 budget

摘要

The European Parliament and finance ministers have finally signed off the EU's spending plans for next year, paving the way for a budget increase that is less than the rate of inflation. Following a series of conciliation talks over the past month, EU member states and MEPs last week agreed to increase commitments by 1.86 per cent year on year, with payments set at €129.1 billion (see EE&PL. November 30 2011, p21-22). An agreement on the funding of the EU's nuclear fusion "ITER" project appears to have been pivotal in clinching the overall deal. An additional €100 million was agreed to finance the research, after the European Commission had proposed member states pick up the tab as a way of cutting EU spending.