Published by Gbaf News
Posted on March 20, 2013
4 min readLast updated: January 22, 2026

Published by Gbaf News
Posted on March 20, 2013
4 min readLast updated: January 22, 2026

The European Parliament’s mandate to negotiate the EU multiannual financial framework for 2014-2020 with the EU member states was approved in Strasbourg on Wednesday 13 March 2013.
Parliament rejects the agreement in its current form and calls for a forward-looking budget that can deliver growth and jobs, that provides maximum flexibility for adjusting spending priorities within the budget and from year to year, for a real revision possibility and for a system of genuine own resources to fund the EU budget.
President Schulz said yesterday:
“This important resolution paves the way forward for possible negotiations with the Council on the long-term EU budget 2014-2020. The European Parliament cannot accept the proposal from the Member States without the fulfillment of certain essential conditions”.
“There must be maximum overall flexibility and an ambitious agreement on own resources. The European Parliament also demands a compulsory, legally binding and comprehensive revision of the Multiannual Financial Framework decided by qualified majority in the Council. Parliament will not even start negotiations until all unpaid payment claims for 2012 are covered.”
In addition, Parliament also wants all bills falling due in 2013 be paid in 2013, so as to avoid “rolling over a deficit” into the new MFF; 2014 has to be started with a “clean sheet” and without an ever increasing structural deficit
Resolution adopted on 13 March with 506 in favour, 161 against and 23 abstentions
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