EU Council meeting of Heads of State and Government held in Brussels between November 22 and 23, ended without an agreement for the next financial framework. Although important differences between Member states still remain, the talks and discussions held at this summit have shown certain points for convergence to work on over the next months in order reach an agreement early next year.

Although an agreement over the next Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) for the European Union was not possible in this round of negotiations, Council's President Herman Van Rompuy reminded the complexity of the process and highlighted the existing consensus on the need for a moderate budget given the current circumstances. As it was already highlighted in the discussions on Union's MFF held in March 2012, the budget for the remainder of the decade should be focused on job creation, innovation and development in order to EU put back on the growth path.

Further to the debates held within the Council and the positions put forward by the different delegations, President Van Rompuy presented a new version of its proposal. This new version keeps the budget's overall total at a stable level and is €80 billion bellow Commission's proposal. It also represents a significant reduction compared to 2007-2013. The new proposal includes an increase of over 50% in spending on jobs and competitiveness, as well as a budget increase in agriculture and cohesion funds over the previous version.

Members of the European Council have given a mandate to president Van Rompuy and presidente Barroso so that the Council and the European Commission will work together and pursue consultations in order to reach an agreement by the beginning of 2013. Member States highlighted in their final statement that, despite the differences in their positions, there are still important points of consensus in order to reach such an agreement.