EP Approves Increase of EU 2011 Budget

Euro deputies vote for the general 2011 budget during the Plenary Session at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, 15 D?cember 2010. Photo by EPA/BGNES

The European Parliament has approved the revised EU budget for 2011, which envisions a 2,9% increase of spending, the BBC informed.

The total EU budget for 2011 will be EUR 126, 5 B, as it was decided Wednesday in Strasbourg, France.

Several disputes have surrounded the budget. One of them started when governments of the EU member states rejected the demand from MEPs for a 6% increase. The MEPs also wanted to have a bigger say in the EU budget for 2013-2020.

The new 2011 budget, which was revised by the European Commission, includes an increase of EUR 100 M in extra funding for the Palestinians and the Middle East peace process.

MEPs and the EU governments have not yet agreed on a contingency fund to deal with emergencies. However, MEPs were satisfied with the promise to be involved in future budget decisions.

Many member states, which are applying austerity measures at home, refused to back a big increase for the EU itself. Under the compromise agreement, the parliament says it made sure that special programs would be priority.

"The new budget will enable the whole of Europe to address next year's burning issues with more strength," Janusz Lewandowski, the European Union's budget commissioner, said in a statement, as cited by the Wall Street Journal.

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