Brussels, 1 December – A full agreement was found at today's trilogue (Council, European Parliament, European Commission) on the funding of the experimental reactor "ITER" for the next two years.
"I am relieved that the extra financial needs of ITER are now covered, stated EU Budget Commissioner Janusz Lewandowski. The EU could not afford to lose credibility vis-à-vis its international partners involved in the project. Furthermore, I am pleased that this budgetary deal was made possible thanks to the positive spirit shown by the representatives of both the Council and the Parliament".
The "ad referendum" agreement will now have to be formally adopted by the two institutions according to their internal procedures, and is as such:
- €100M already included in the 2012 budget on the ITER budget lines
- €360M in commitments will be made available in the 2013 budget procedure without resorting to increasing the Multiannual Financial Framework ceilings.
- €840M from increasing the ceilings for commitments of Heading 1a (competitiveness for growth and employment) for 2012 (€650M) and 2013 (€190M). The increase will be compensated by decreasing commitments of Heading 2 (Natural resources) by €450M in 2011 and Heading 5 (administration) in 2011 and 2012 by €390M altogether.
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