An extra €11.2 billion is needed to cover unpaid bills from the EU budget, the European Commission said on Wednesday (March 27).
Budget commissioner Janusz Lewandowski said he tabled the amending budget in a bid to plug gaps in the 2012 and 2013 spending plans.
The request for cash "cannot come as a surprise," he said, adding that earlier postponement of payments had created a "snowballing effect of unpaid claims transferred onto the following year."
"The ostrich policy ca...
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Already a member? Login hereBenjamin Fox is a seasoned reporter and editor, previously working for fellow Brussels publication Euractiv. His reporting has also been published in the Guardian, the East African, Euractiv, Private Eye and Africa Confidential, among others. He heads up the AU-EU section at EUobserver, based in Nairobi, Kenya.
Benjamin Fox is a seasoned reporter and editor, previously working for fellow Brussels publication Euractiv. His reporting has also been published in the Guardian, the East African, Euractiv, Private Eye and Africa Confidential, among others. He heads up the AU-EU section at EUobserver, based in Nairobi, Kenya.