It was revealed at the end of the upcoming summit’s preparatory meeting that President of the European Council Herman Van Rompuy will prepare his latest medium-term EU budget framework plan by Thursday, directly before the start of the extraordinary meeting of EU heads of state and government.

Member state officials responsible for European affairs – among them Minister of State for EU affairs Enikő Győri – were informed on Monday by President Van Rompuy that after presenting his latest framework figures he will suspend the meeting to allow representatives to study the proposal, following which a plenary discussion would commence on the 2014-2020 EU budget framework.

Speaking to journalists after Monday’s meeting in Brussels, Minister of State Győri emphasized: one cannot automatically assume that the President’s proposal will be based on the partial agreement reached in November, as it is going to be a completely new document.

Some of the better situated “net contributors” want a serious reduction, while “net beneficiaries” – countries that receive more from the common funds than what they contribute to it – would like to preserve the level of EU funds currently available. Cohesion funding is of outstanding significance for Hungary, just as the future of the country’s agricultural policy.

The medium-term budget framework also requires the European Parliament’s approval. The EP wants greater flexibility between the different budget chapters and also wishes to prevent Member States from cutting the budget further. The Hungarian Minister of State however thought that further cuts were possible.

Speaking at the Monday meeting, she explained again, that it would be unacceptable from the Hungarian perspective if the country received more than 30% less from the cohesion funds in the coming years than currently, since the country’s level of development is 75% below the EU average. In respect of agricultural funds, Hungary would also like to prevent any decisions on further cuts. Minister of State Győri revealed that the Friends of Cohesion group will discuss their negotiating positions prior to the EU Summit.

(Ministry of Foreign Affairs)