STASBOURG - The European Parliament yesterday adopted the 1997 EU Budget which provides for nearly £71 billion in commitments and just over £66 billion in payments, Sean McConnell reports.
The president of the Budget Council, Mr Hugh Coveney, the Minister of State who presided over the final part of the two day debate, welcomed the outcome.
Next year, he said, will be very important from a budgetary point of view because it is the year on which member states will be adjudged to qualify for the EMU on the basis of their performance against the Maastricht criteria.
He said that while there had been differences of opinion on the budget between some members of the parliament and the council, compromise solutions had been found.
"As one who was personally involved in the Peace Process negotiations, I was glad to note that the funding for the Northern Ireland Peace Programme is fully secured," he said.
The Minister for Justice, Mrs Owen, outlined the achievements in her area over the Irish Presidency. Many members praised the new international policing arrangements under which the European Drug Unit now has the power to investigate trafficking in human beings.