Voorzitterschap begint aan zwaarste deel van de budgetonderhandelingen (en)

Agriculture and cohesion policy tops the agenda, when Minister Wammen once again chairs the Council negotiations on the Multiannual Financial Framework.

Photo: Council of the European Union

Minister for European Affairs, Nicolai Wammen, is chairing the third round of negotiations on the multiannual budget of the EU in the General Affairs Council on Tuesday 24 April. The meeting will address the part of the budget, which concerns the EU’s Cohesion Policy and Common Agricultural Policy.

Negotiations on the EU multiannual budget (the Multiannual Financial Framework) continue. At tomorrow's Council meeting negotiations will primarily focus on how much of the EU budget should be allocated to agriculture and cohesion policy. Precisely these two areas are the two largest budget categories in the Multiannual Financial Framework 2014-2020. The negotiations are part of the process of the preparation a draft budget agreement, which will be the basis for a final agreement in the second half of 2012.

The Minister for European Affairs Nicolai Wammen states: ”The EU budget plays an important role for the possibilities within the European Union to create growth and jobs in Europe. It is one of the most important issues on the agenda during the Danish Presidency and we are working for a future-oriented budget compromise. We need to invest in initiatives, which create growth and new jobs, among other things through research and development and green transformation in Europe. But as we now embark on the heaviest budget categories, the interests of the Member States are equally strong - and the views of Member States very different. Therefore, I am looking forward to intense, but hopefully constructive, discussions at the meeting tomorrow.”

The reform of the European Cohesion Policy will be discussed for the first time during the Danish Presidency. The European Cohesion Policy aims at reducing disparities in development between the European regions, and to facilitate economic development of the weakest regions. Significant progress has already been achieved in the negotiations of the cohesion policy during the Danish Presidency. The Council is expected to take note of the progress already achieved and to discuss elements where negotiations could be completed provisionally by the end of the Danish Presidency.