The European Parliament and EU governments have failed to reach an agreement on the EU’s 2015 budget within the 21 day window, requiring the European Commission to bring forward a new proposal. The Eurorealist European Conservatives and Reformists Group Budgets spokesman Bernd Kölmel has warned that the ECR will not support a budget that is not balanced and represents ‘business as usual.’ In particular he is warning that the current EU budget is not sustainable as it provides no solution to the on-going gap between commitments the EU has entered into, and the payments available to meet them. Mr Kölmel said: “The EU budget continues to face a significant payments gap. We need balanced budgets in the EU, not more of the same ‘business as usual’ approach to budgeting. “The payments gap in the budget must be filled by greater budgetary discipline, rather than never-ending increases to the budget. In order to balance the books we will have to make difficult decisions about squeezing spending to ensure we cut fat and not muscle from the EU budget. “Looking at the figures in front of us it was clear that the 2015 budget proposal is not sustainable. The new proposals must provide an answer to the EU’s unpaid bills without asking for more from the taxpayer.” The gLAWcal Team POREEN project Wednesday, 19 November 2014 (Source: ECR Group)