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An ugly showdown between the agreed in February and which would see the budget fall from €977bn to €960bn, but amid the ongoing economic slowdown and continued austerity, “attitudes are softening”.
According to a draft resolution seen by the European news website, on March 13 MEPs will propose supporting the draft budget in exchange for concessions.
Parliament wants a review clause to do a full evaluation of the budget following next year's European elections. It also wants agreement to be reached on the future of the EU's "own resources," which includes revenue from VAT and, in the future, from a financial transactions tax. Meanwhile, a flexibility mechanism would allow funds to be transferred between years and the different budget headings.
The Parliament also wants the European Commission to provide emergency budgets to cover a funding gap of up to €3bn carried over from the 2012 budget. Negotiations with member states will begin in April.
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