E.E.C. Budget — offers less to farmers

Press, 28 May 1981, Page 7

E.E.C. Budget — offers less to farmers

INZPA-Reuter Brussels The European Economic Community proposed a $23.9 billion European Currency Unit Budget yesterday that would increase spending to ease unemployment and poverty and lessen the percentage devoted to agriculture. The Budget prepared by the E.E.C. Commission would devote 62.3 per cent of spending to the 10-nation group’s much-criticised agriculture programme, compared with 67 per cent this year.

Budget Commisioner Christopher Tugendhat said that while agriculture spending would rise 12.8 per cent,

programmes for, poor regions would get 25 per cent more than last year and other social programmes would get 40 per cent more. “A particular effort is required this year in the social fund because of the terrible problems of unemployment in the Community,” Mr Tugendhat said. Much of the money would help finance benefits for unemployed steel workers.

The 1982 Budget will be $3.2 billion E.C.U. higher than this year's. That means that even though agriculture spending will increase next year its share of the Budget decreases.

An E.C.U. is worth SNZI.2S. The budget also envisions

a 33 per cent hike in aid to a group of developing nations in Asia and Latin America, from $l5B million E.C.U. to $2lO million E.C.U. The only significant nonagriculture section that lost ground in next year's Budget was energy. Energy research went up from 283 million E.C.U. to 437 million E.C.U, but the over-all energy funding dropped from 108 million E.C.U. to 94 million E.C.U. Mr Tugendhat said the outlays were based on the Commission’s best estimates of revenues and costs next year.