BUDGET: COUNCIL AND MEPS DIVIDED OVER TSUNAMI FINANCING.(Brief article)

In its draft amending budget for 2005, the European Commission had proposed financing the entire 98 million from the EU's euro 200 million flexibility instrument which is meant to pay for unexpected crises. The Council agreed during the meeting on July 11 to find 15 million from this instrument while both the Council and the EP agreed that a further 50 million could come from the emergency aid instrument. This leaves an additional euro 33 million to be found from somewhere in the budget itself. This will be one of the key issues for EU Finance Ministers to resolve when they meet t