双语新闻：欧盟特别峰会未能就中期预算达成一致

2012-11-26 00:00:00来源：新东方网

　　Negotiations on the European Union's trillion-euro budgetframework for 2014-2020 have been postponed until early 2013 after a two-day special summit ended here Friday withouta deal.

　　"Based on my proposal, there is no agreement," EuropeanCouncil President Herman Van Rompuy said in a press conference, referring to an 80-billion-euro (103.2 billion U.S. dollars) cut from the European Commission's original proposal of one-trillion-eurospending program.

　　The summit still showed a sufficient degree of potential convergence to make an agreementpossible in the beginning of next year, the president added.

　　He has been mandated by EU member states to continue working towards consensus in thecoming weeks, together with European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso.

　　"There is an interest in compromise. The costs of no agreement will be huge, including political, economic and social costs," Barroso said in the same press conference.

　　The so-called multiannual financial framework is to decide the ceiling and structure of EU spendingover a seven-year period, which also shapes the bloc's policy priorities, although its actual budget isdecided annually in separate negotiations.

　　It only accounts for about one percent of the EU's gross domestic product and is mainly used foragricultural and infrastructure projects in southern and poorer regions. There has been a majorclash between net contributors of the budget and net recipients at a time of three-year debt crisis.

　　In particular, British Prime Minister David Cameron insisted on cutting "unaffordable spending", adding that Van Rompuy's proposal was not good enough for his country and many others.

　　A source of both solidarity and tension, the EU budget reflects the conflict of national interests, aswell as opposing arguments on how to fix the crisis and save Europe's future.

　　However, Van Rompuy emphasized that it would be a budget for growth, as agreed by all EUleaders, focusing on jobs, innovation and research.

　　If no deal can be reached by the end of next year, the 2013 budget ceiling will be rolled over into 2014 with two-percent inflation adjustment, which may bring much uncertainty for long-termprojects.

　　欧洲理事会主席范龙佩23日宣布，为期两天的欧盟特别峰会未能就2014年至2020年欧盟中期预算的方案达成一致。

　　范龙佩在会后的新闻发布会上说：“欧洲理事会决定赋予我和欧盟委员会主席在未来几周继续协调各成员国立场的权力，以使27个国家就中期预算达成共识。”

　　范龙佩在回答峰会无果而终原因的提问时说：“有的国家坚持更多地削减预算，有的国家不同意。所以我们在下一阶段的谈判中要进一步修改预算的方案。”

　　范龙佩解释说：“预算谈判太过复杂，因此一般都需要两轮。2005年就上一个七年预算进行谈判时也是如此困难。”

　　范龙佩对与各成员国就中期预算最终达成一致表示有信心。他说：“昨天我与各国领导人逐一进行的双边会谈以及此后的首脑全体会议表明，各国很可能在2013年初就预算达成一致。我将在未来的几周或者几个月里进一步帮助缩小分歧。”

　　根据欧盟委员会的提议，欧盟2014年至2020年预算为1万亿欧元左右，其中绝大部分资金将以农业补贴、支持落后地区发展的“凝聚基金”、公路与其他基础设施建设、研发投入等形式直接投向成员国，剩余的6%为欧盟机构的运行费用。该预算比此前七年的预算增加5%左右。

　　以英国、瑞典、荷兰、德国为首的几个欧盟“富国”(预算的主要出资国)认为，欧债危机背景下，各国都在进行不同程度的财政紧缩，因此欧盟机构的支出也应有所减少。另一方则以南欧和东欧国家为主，它们反对减少预算规模，强调要确保维持现有的农业补贴以及“凝聚基金”。

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