Liberal Democrats in the Budget Committee of the European Parliament voted against a proposed 6.85% increase in the EU 2013 budget yesterday. George Lyon, MEP for Scotland and Vice President of the Budget Committee, said:
There is still much uncertainty over the Commission’s estimates on what it needs in 2013 to pay the bills from Member States. The prudent approach at a time when there is huge pressure on public spending across Europe and people are under serious financial strain is to aim for a budget freeze if possible. Once the bills from Member States are in, if there is a shortfall it can be addressed then. I welcome that Parliament has agreed a real term cut in its own budget, frozen MEP allowances and cut MEP travel allowances by 5%.
The budget proposals will now be put in front of the full plenary in Strasbourg in October.
This follows on from the resolution passed by the European Liberal Democrats at their Congress in Palermo last November, which called for greater realism in setting future EU budgets.
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6 Comments
solid work.
George Lyon is, of course, just spinning the result into what he hopes is an acceptable and dignified form.
But in fact it’s a shameful shambles.
Everone knows you have to predict. Every household knows that you have to be able to predict next weeks’ income an expenditure. Every company knows that you don’t make purchaes or take on work contracts without a very good idea of what and when the cash flows will be.
Politics may be a little messier, but that’s no excuse, it’s a reason to put more effort into sorting things out properly.
So, if they don’t have good estimates of what those bills will be – good enough to set an approximate budget – then the MEPs or the Euro-civil-servants or both need to be fired for incompetence.
But then again, it’s not that ant all, really, is it?
6.85% increase. It’s good news that the LibDems have voted this down. But given that there are riots in the streets of Greece, Spain, and ‘coming to a country near you!’, wouldn’t you think that Brussels might have done the decent thing, and put greed on the back burner for a couple of years ?
Naah,.. maybe not. Austerity is for the little people.
Overheard conversation in Luxemburg wine bar :
“…… we really need about 4.2% to keep a heads up on our expenses. Get old whatsisname to put a bid in for 6.85%. That’ll freak them out, and the Lib Dems will go ape-shit, stamp their feet, and say NO, of course. But by the end of November when they’ve patted each other on the back for ‘standing their ground’, they’ll see our revised bid of 4.6% as ‘a good all round compromise’, and a clear sign that Europe can work cooperatively ! …………Well I think that was a good afternoons work,… so whose round is it? C’mon, don’t be shy Mr Kinnock…”
“Full plenary” is a tautology. “Plenary” comes from the Latin word for “full”.
Voting against a 6.85% increase is not good enough.
The Lib Dems should be voting for a 10% cut Anything less than this is denial of the situation facing all EU governments – they have overspent in the past and now have to pay.
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