EU new draft budget puts €2.6bn increase from 2014

The European Commission on Friday adopted a new draft EU budget for 2015, after the European Parliament and the Council did not strike an agreement on the budget issue earlier this month.
The new draft budget for 2015 foresees 145.2 billion euros (about 181.30 billion U.S. dollars) in commitments, a 1.8 percent growth compared with that in 2014, and 141.3 billion euros in payments, with a 0.7 percent year-on-year increase.
The proposal had been transmitted to the European Parliament and the Council and with a view to continuing negotiations early next week, according to a press release with the Commission.
The proposal for a new Draft Budget 2015 is focused on supporting in particular policies in favor of competitiveness and economic convergence, contributing to growth and jobs, as well as those budget lines which allow Europe to address crises especially in its neighborhood.
"Our new budget proposal takes into account the views of the European Parliament and the Council, thus providing a sound basis for the renewal of negotiations," said Kristalina Georgieva, Vice-President for Budget and Human Resources.
The Commission firstly presented the draft budget in June, and due to the inconsistency between the Council and the Parliament, a 21-day conciliation procedure followed to find a compromise between the two institutions.
As the conciliation procedure failed, the Commission therefore must present a new draft budget.
The latest proposal will be followed by meetings between the Parliament, the Council and the Commission to seek to reach an agreement in time for the Parliament to formally adopt it at its last plenary session of the year.