A deadlock between the European Union’s three main branches of power is threatening to block the 2015 budget, and NGOs fear that many aid expenditures — and future EU-funded development projects in some of the world’s poorest countries — are at risk.
In a letter sent last week to EU heads of state and government, Plan International’s offices urged EU leaders to “protect the European development cooperation budget from severe and unjustified cuts.”
Initially, the European Commission — the EU’s executive arm — had proposed a budget of 142 billion euros ($174.6 billion) for 2015. The European Council, which represents the 28 EU member states, brought this back to 140 billion euros, but the European Parliament raised it again to 146 billion euros, including extra funding for humanitarian aid. The three institutions are now engaged in urgent talks to find a solution.
About the author
Diederik Kramers @DiederikKramers
Diederik Kramers is a freelance correspondent in Brussels covering EU and NATO affairs. A former spokesperson and communications officer for UNICEF and UNHCR, he previously worked as foreign desk and Eastern Europe editor for the Dutch press agency ANP and as editor-in-chief of the Dutch quarterly Ukraine Magazine.
