Parliament's position on the 2011 draft budget
The EU budget is the Union's central overarching policy instrument deciding on expenditure in domains as varied as subsidies for bullfighting, pilot programmes for peace-building instruments in the European External Action Service (EEAS), and agricultural export subsidies, which can harm farmers in developing countries.
At the end of each year, the Commission submits a proposal, which is amended by the Member States and Parliament, in that order.
The Council and Parliament then team up to produce a final joint text, on which Parliament votes
What was the Greens' position?
The Greens believe that the EU budget should be used to promote European and international solidarity, sustainable investment, and European integration to create synergies which cannot be achieved at national level.
Every year we fight for a budget that promotes the ecological and social transformation of Europe's economy.
The budget serves as a powerful economic stimulant for many European regions, and this is especially important in the context of the current crisis.
It can also break new ground in other domains, triggering snowball effects.
For all these reasons, the Greens want a well-funded EU budget.
Did other MEPs accept the Greens' position?
Some of the Greens' key ideas were successfully adopted in the 2011 EU budget, like the mainstreaming of 'fair trade' principles into external trade and development budget lines.
Other adopted Green proposals concerned domains including cycling, support for farmers' and consumers' initiatives for lowering CO2 emissions, one-stop-shops designed to encourage building renovation and nano research.
Which points did the Greens lose?
Amendments tabled by the Greens that failed to gain the necessary support included proposals about cancelling agricultural export subsidies, the creation of a financial facility for sustainable energy projects and the discontinuation of subsidies for nuclear reactors, including the extremely expensive ITER fusion reactor.
We also failed to prevent EU funds from being used to finance lethal forms of bullfighting.
Procedure:Budgetary procedure
Reference(s):2010/2001(BUD)
Lead MEP:Sidonia Elzbieta Jedrzejewska (EPP)
Green MEP responsible:Helga Trüpel, Sidonia Elzbieta Jedrzejewska
Voted:20/10/2010
Staff contact:Tom Köller (Email)
Outcome of the vote
Below you find the results of the final vote in plenary. How did the political groups vote? What about national delegations? And what was the position of your MEP?