European Parliament
Sergio Paolo Francesco Silvestris  (PPE ),
in writing.
(IT)
The mandate for the trilogue contains an assessment of the draft budget, adopted by the Commission on 25 April, and establishes Parliament’s position for the trilogue of 9 July and for the forthcoming negotiations on the EU budget, from autumn 2013. With a level of payment appropriations that has increased by 6.8% from compared with the 2012 budget, I believe that the draft budget is a positive step towards a realistic budget and a responsible financial year, but with room for improvement still required, particularly in the areas of cohesion and agriculture, to avoid a lack of funds in 2013. As regards commitments, there is still some concern about the fact that the proposed increase (+2%) would practically freeze commitments at EU level and about a forecast rate of inflation that would not allow EU priorities to be clearly identified.

