Germany refuses a bigger burden
The European Union's biggest paymaster, Germany, dug its heels in last week over increasing the bloc's budget after 2007.
German Finance Minister Hans Eichel repeated that Berlin would not allow the EU's 2007-2013 budget to grow above the current one percent of gross national income (GNI).
"Our position stays. The whole system doesn't work and we have to stay firm," Eichel said after meeting EU finance ministers in Luxembourg.
The EU executive commission has proposed raising spending to 1.14 percent of GNI on average in 2007-2013, or E930 (zł.3,810) billion, a plan generally backed by the bloc's poorer members in the south and those who joined in May 2004.
Germany's demand that expenditure be capped at one percent of GNI would translate into a budget of E815 (zł.3,338) billion over seven years.
Some ministers said the German stance would make it hard for EU leaders to meet their end-of-June deadline for a budget deal.
"It will be very, very difficult to clinch a deal by the end of June," said Slovak Finance Minister Ivan Miklos.
The Commission has warned that delaying the deal would throw EU financial planning into chaos and deal a serious political blow to the EU at a time when its member states are struggling to ratify the bloc's first constitution.
Since it takes 12-18 months to prepare the legal basis for multi-annual funding programs, a late agreement would mean about 40 percent of the budget could not be executed in 2007.
German Finance Minister Hans Eichel repeated that Berlin would not allow the EU's 2007-2013 budget to grow above the current one percent of gross national income (GNI).
"Our position stays. The whole system doesn't work and we have to stay firm," Eichel said after meeting EU finance ministers in Luxembourg.
The EU executive commission has proposed raising spending to 1.14 percent of GNI on average in 2007-2013, or E930 (zł.3,810) billion, a plan generally backed by the bloc's poorer members in the south and those who joined in May 2004.
Germany's demand that expenditure be capped at one percent of GNI would translate into a budget of E815 (zł.3,338) billion over seven years.
Some ministers said the German stance would make it hard for EU leaders to meet their end-of-June deadline for a budget deal.
"It will be very, very difficult to clinch a deal by the end of June," said Slovak Finance Minister Ivan Miklos.
The Commission has warned that delaying the deal would throw EU financial planning into chaos and deal a serious political blow to the EU at a time when its member states are struggling to ratify the bloc's first constitution.
Since it takes 12-18 months to prepare the legal basis for multi-annual funding programs, a late agreement would mean about 40 percent of the budget could not be executed in 2007.
