News

At the European Union’s General Affairs Council meeting on 12 September in Brussels, which discussed the EU’s Multiannual Financial Framework (2014–2020), Lithuanian Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs Egidijus Meilūnas said that Lithuania spoke in favour of a “proper balance of a budgetary discipline and need to respond to newly emerging and unexpected challenges.”

Moreover, the Vice-Minister thinks that it is essentially important to continue allocating the EU cohesion policy funds firstly to the least developed EU regions.

The participants of the meeting also discussed the preparation for the European Council meeting, which is to be held on 17–18 October, and drafts of the EU’s economic governance legislation.

Before attending the Council meeting, E.Meilūnas took part in the meeting of the Group of Friends of the cohesion policy that was organized by Portugal. During this meeting, countries aiming for bigger financing of the cohesion policy agreed to coordinate their positions in debates on the EU’s future financial framework.

During his visit to Brussels, the Vice-Minister had a separate meeting with Hungarian Minister of State for EU Affairs Enikő Győr and discussed with her issues of the future of EU cohesion policy and possibilities for further cooperation.

The overall amount proposed on 29 June by the European Commission for the EU’s budget for 2014–2020 is EUR 1025 billion, which is 1.05 percent of the EU gross national income. Compared with 2007–2013, the proposed EU budget is to increase by 3.2 per cent. It is expected that the inter-institutional agreement on the EU budget’s size and funding for specific purposes of the EU will have been achieved by the end of 2012.