E.E.C. Budget approved

Press, Volume CXIII, Issue 33407, 13 December 1973, Page 20

E.E.C. Budget approved

(X.Z.P.A -Reuter—Copyright) BRUSSELS, Dec. 11. Budget Ministers from the jnine Common Market countries gave their final approval I in Brussels yesterday to European Economic Community spending of more than 5000 million units of account (about 54050 m) next year. They accepted a parliamentary call for an extra 35 million units to be spent on famine relief in Central Africa, and for an extra 5 million for the transport of -food to the worst-hit areas of Ethiopia and the countries I just south of the Sahara that i were struck by a severe drought this year. But they rejected- a recommendation that they should restore funds cut from original E.E.C. Executive Commission proposals for expenditure on social and industrial Ipolicy and modernisation : grants for poor farmers. The European Parliament [has only a consultative role lin drawing up the annual E.E.C. Budget,, but it has been pressing strongly this year for increased influence, particularly in view of plans to make E.E.C. revenues independent of national Parliamentary controls by 1975. Besides the extra African aid provision, the Ministers accepted a number of other' proposals, the main one being the inclusion of an 8.5- \ \ million-unit compensation i payment to Dutch farmers, toi make up for income lost be-1 cause of this years 5 per cent Dutch guilder revaluation. * K ****^* , *****^#^*^r^e^^# I <^< M

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