European Union News - European Union

The Spring 2012 Standard Eurobarometer published by the European Commission shows a strong public support for Europe 2020 Strategy. People’s views on the Europe 2020 strategy, which is the EU's growth strategy, are encouraging to the Commission, particularly in relation to the importance of the initiatives and the level of ambition.

Ministers took note of a revised proposal for the EU's multiannual financial framework (MFF) for the 2014-2020 period in a meeting celebrated on 24 of July. The Cyprus presidency announced its intention to put the MFF on the agenda of each General Affairs Council meeting and to continue work through the instrument of the "negotiating box" in order to reach an agreement on this subject by the end of the year.

The 2011 report on the Instrument for Stability (IfS) has been adopted by the European Commission. The report highlights that with new and ongoing actions in some 50 countries, the EU has used the IfS to respond rapidly to events around the world, such as the unfolding Arab Spring. In its fifth year of operation, the IfS budget has more than doubled from an amount of €139 million in 2007 to €282 million in 2011.

Ministers at the General Affairs Council reached an agreement on the Council's position on the EU 2013 EU draft budget. However, the Dutch, Swedish and UK delegations voted against and the Austrian delegation abstained. The decision limits the increase in payments to 2.79% compared to 2012.

The Foreign Affairs Ministers agreed in strengthening the enforcement of the EU arms embargo against Syria and reinforced sanctions against the Syrian regime. With regard to the situation in Mali, the Council invited the High Representative and the Commission to make proposals with a view to a gradual return to development cooperation.

The Eurostat's figures show that at the end of the first quarter of 2012, the government debt to GDP ratio in the euro area stood at 88.2%, compared with 87.3% at the end of the fourth quarter of 2011. In the EU the ratio increased from 82.5% to 83.4%. The highest ratios of government debt to GDP were recorded in Greece, Italy, Portugal and Ireland, and the lowest in Estonia, Bulgaria, and Luxembourg.

The Eurogroup decided on 20 of July to grant financial assistance for the recapitalisation of financial institutions in Spain. The financial assistance will be accompanied by policy conditionality focussing on the financial sector, and the Spanish government will retain the full responsibility of the financial assistance.

The 10th edition of the OPEN DAYS 2012 (8 – 11 October 2012) will be a time for positive reflection during the overall discussions on the future European cohesion policy, according to the Committee of the Regions. The preliminary programme for this event is now available as well as the registration at the event website.

The European Commission published a report which shows that the EU budget fell by 35% in 2011, and this fall responds to stronger measures and better controls implemented for EU funding; there are also a number of technical explanations for the drop in fraud rate in 2011. In total, €295 million in EU funds were affected by fraud, or 0.2% of the budget.

The new measures proposed by the European Commission have as main goal to enable researchers, research institutions and businesses to better move, compete and co-operate across borders. Almost 80% of the research community indicated that lack of open and transparent recruitment hinders international mobility.

The Permanent Representatives Committee endorsed on 11 of July the draft Council's position on the 2013 EU draft budget, limiting the increase in payments to 2.79% compared to 2012. This decision paves the way for the formal adoption of the Council's position scheduled on 24 July. However, MEPs assured that this decision led to confusion. According to them, Member States made several declarations that MEPs described as inconsistent and irresponsible, although the proposed budget cuts were approved without any changes.