Commission delays EU budget proposal until after Brexit vote

Brussels says it needs more time to consider costs of migration crisis.

The European Commission has postponed its presentation of a draft EU budget for 2017 until late June, after the British referendum on whether to leave the union.

Kristalina Georgieva, the Commission’s vice president in charge of budget issues, notified members of the European Parliament’s budget committee Tuesday that the draft proposal required extra preparation time in order to factor in new spending to deal with the migration crisis. A diplomatic source in the Council of Ministers said the budget presentation, which had been scheduled for May 25, will now come a month later.

A Commission official said there was “no link” between the delay and the British referendum, which is set for June 23. But parliamentary sources said the decision was widely seen as an effort to avoid a discussion of EU spending before the crucial vote. Critics of Britain’s EU membership have based much of their campaign for a “Brexit” on Brussels’ alleged over-spending and regulatory zeal.

Commission officials insisted there was a need to rethink the budget to deal with migration-related expenses, including financial assistance to Turkey and Africa. The draft proposal is now likely to be unveiled around June 27, according to an email sent to budget committee members and seen by POLITICO.

“This is a key moment in the refugee crisis and we need to adapt our budget proposals accordingly,” said Alexander Winterstein, the Commission spokesman for the budget and human resources. “As always, we will propose a draft budget before the summer.”

The Commission has been cautious about feeding “Leave” campaign supporters in Britain by making too many new regulatory proposals in the run-up to the vote. It had already delayed the presentation of its mid-stream review of the EU’s seven-year budget plan until the autumn so as not to fuel British Euroskeptic arguments before the referendum.

According to the EU budgetary procedure, the Commission has to present a draft budget for the coming year before September 1. In past years, the draft has been published by the end of May or the beginning of June.

As soon as the Commission proposal is out, it will be discussed by MEPs and by EU governments, who are expected to finalize their amended versions by October. After negotiations, a final version of the budget is often delivered by the second half of November.

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