BRUSSELS, Dec 9 (AFP): EU member states and the European parliament said Tuesday they have reached a deal on a new 2015 budget for the 28-country bloc after bridging gaps that threatened to scupper a deal.
The two had failed to reach an agreement in November as cost-conscious EU governments came under heavy domestic pressure to cut the size of a Brussels bureaucracy viewed as profligate.
Complicating matters this year was an angry row over the recalculation of member state contributions to the EU budget that saw Britain tapped to pay an extra 2.1 billion euros.
In the end, both sides said they agreed to a budget that calls for 141.2 billion euros ($174.5 billion) in payments.
"We have a deal," liberal European MP and negotiator Jean Arthuis told AFP. "It's now just left for us to formalise it."
The agreement also provides for an increase of payments by 3.5 billion euros for the 2014 budget to tackle what the European Council -- which groups the leaders of the member states -- called "the unprecedented scale of unpaid bills."
EU states, parliament agree new 2015 budget
FE Team | Published: December 10, 2014 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2026 06:01:00
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