Budget

MEPs approved the European Commission's 2010 budget spending on 10 May, under the EU's annual budget discharge procedure. They also endorsed the financial management of almost all the other institutions and agencies and the European Development Fund. It was the Parliament's responsability to determine whether the EU spent European taxpayers' money wisely in 2010 in accordance with the rules that govern the implementation of the EU budget.

Are European Union countries, still facing economic crises, ready to support the ambitious EU 2020 growth strategy, or will it get tangled up in the claims of member states preoccupied by what they contribute to the budget and what they get back? And, if they do come up with a budget to support the 2020 targets, what will happen to traditional policy areas? These issues will be tackled when the EU negotiates its long-term budget, the so-called multiannual financial framework (MFF) for 2014-2020.

"The European Parliament will not accept less money for the European budget." These were the words with which the Parliament's president Martin Schulz opened the conference on the EU's long-term budget framework for 2014-2020 on 22 March. Only with a reasonable budget can Europe invest to boost growth at a time of austerity, Schulz said. He added that the EU budget should be fully funded by own resources, thus avoiding arduous negotiations with member states over national contributions.

The EU's long-term budget and how it should be financed will be discussed on Thursday 22 March at a high level conference on the EU´s budget for 2014-2020, known as the multiannual financial framework. Also on the agenda is the issue of how to ensure the EU will still be able the meet the objectives of growth strategy Europe 2020 despite the economic crisis. You will be able to follow the conference live on our website.

In a hectic six months, MEPs negotiated a 2012 budget that met EP concerns about growth, innovation and employment and got stuck into deciding how the EU long-term budget should look in future as well as the reform of farm policy. The EP marked the momentous events in the Arab world by awarding this year's Sakharov prize for freedom of thought to five Arab Spring activists.

The European Parliament's October vote on next year's EU budget marked the beginning of the final stage of negotiations. With the agreement on the size and priorities of the 2012 budget, reached on the evening of 18 November, it took a concrete step towards a final agreement. The EP and Council agreed that the 2012 budget should rise 1.86%.

"Now is the time for radical reform, to give substance to the EU Treaty provision that expenditure is to be financed by EU own resources, meaning tax resources," EP Budget Committee Chair Alain Lamassoure said during a workshop on new resources for the EU budget.

MEPs voted to boost EU 2012 spending by €30 million to support growth investments on Wednesday. The Committee's decision is an attempt to prevent Europe from slipping further into a crisis, as Italian MEP Francesca Balzani warned that the EU's "2020" growth strategy should not fall victim to the current austerity climate. At the same time, Members made cuts of €26 million in administration and foreign policy expenses.

The EU budget is no simple matter, but then no budget ever is. A yearly exercise based on a seven year "financial framework" and covering every euro spent by the EU, either directly or, most often, through governments, it is the blood that courses through Europe's veins making the Union function and deliver. On 15 December MEPs passed the draft budget during their Parliamentary session.

Last December the European Parliament adopted the final EU budget for 2010, which will be €141.4 billion in commitments and €122.9 billion in payments. In this focus we look at how the EU budget is adopted, how the money is collected and how it is used.