Parliament wants 6.5% increase in 2011 budget

MEPs defy calls for belt-tightening and say they want to increase the Parliament’s spending.

The European Parliament is looking for a 6.5% increase to its budget next year, in defiance of calls from member states for general belt-tightening.

Talks between the Parliament, the Council of Ministers and the European Commission on next year’s EU spending plans get under way at the level of officials today (25 March).

A draft of spending estimates for 2011, written by the Parliament’s secretariat, sets out a plan for a budget of €1.7 billion, up by more than €100 million from 2010. The plan foresees the creation of 177 new posts in the secretariat, which it says are necessary to cover the increase in tasks and roles under the Lisbon treaty and EU enlargement. So far the Parliament has budgeted €5m to meet these needs in the first six months of 2011.

The increase also includes €9.4m in wages and allowances for the 18 extra MEPs provided for under the Lisbon treaty, who are scheduled to take up their seats over a transitional period during the current Parliamentary term. A further €5.6m is earmarked for Croatia’s entry into the EU in 2011.

However, beyond these identified contingencies, the plan is to spend in excess of €80m more next year than this year. For the first time, the Parliament’s budget would exceed the long-established limit of 20% of total EU institutional spending. The Parliament’s bid would take its share to 20.46%.

“The target of 20%…as agreed by political leaders in 1988, is now outdated,” according to a statement from the Parliament’s political group leaders – which has also been endorsed by the Parliament’s bureau – included in the draft spending estimates.

A report on the 2011 budget guidelines, written by Helga Trüpel, a German Green MEP, and debated on Wednesday by the Parliament, also recommends a rethink of the 20% ceiling. “Since 2006, Parliament has had to include expenditure not foreseen in its self-imposed 1988 declaration, such as the statute for members and direct and indirect expenditure related to its new role following the Lisbon treaty,” Trüpel writes.

The plan for an expanded Parliament budget emerges as negotiations continue on the contentious amending budget for 2010, which already foresees the hiring of 150 more staff at a cost of €13.4m and a €1,500 increase in allowances for each MEP to help cope with a heavier workload under the Lisbon treaty.

The draft spending estimate says that an increase in funds for the Parliament “should take place gradually” over several years during the current five-year legislative term “to ensure it has no damaging effects on the budgets of other institutions”. As of the 2011 budget, the Parliament will get a full say over how the EU budget is decided.

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These are the first spending estimates for next year to appear from the three main institutions, and are likely to be bitterly contested by member states and the European Commission. “The usual wrestling is more notable this year because of cut-backs to national budgets,” said one diplomat. A Commission official said that agreement on 2011 spending would be especially difficult because of the pressure on the EU to cut back spending in the wake of the crisis. The difficulties have been compounded by a late start to the negotiations caused by delays to the new Commission taking up office three months behind schedule.