V4 PMs to call on MEPs to support EU budget

Warsaw, March 6 (CTK correspondent) - The prime ministers of the Visegrad Four (V4) countries, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia, agreed Wednesday that they would call on their MEPs to support the EU budget for 2014-2020, Czech PM Petr Necas has told reporters.

The V4 heads of state reached this conclusion at a meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande Wednesday.

The statesmen agreed that the prepared EU long-term budget was a compromise achieved with difficulties and that its approval would help secure stability and growth in the European Union.

Hollande said he expected the EU budget to be approved in the first half of 2013, that is ahead of the Irish EU presidency.

Merkel also supported the framework EU budget saying she considered it a basis for "a serious discussion" in the EP.

"We have a certain advantage that out of the four prime ministers we belong to three EP groups so our impact on the MEPs might be broader," Necas noted.

A month ago, the European Council agreed on the EU budget outlooks for 2014-2020 with the expenditures of 960 billion euros, which is several tens of billions lower that the original draft expected.

However, the budget might meet with opposition in the EP as some MEPs do not like the cuts.

The EU summit in Brussels where the long-term budget was agreed on proved a strong "political potential" of the V4 group, especially in the past two years, Necas said.

Merkel appreciated that the V4 countries are opened to the consolidation of their budgets and they cooperate with the euro zone countries that reckon with a gradual entry of all EU member states.

Hollande stressed that the EU should protect its members from economic problems, currency instability and the risk of lowering living standards.

"We want the members of the monetary and economic union to coordinate their economic policies in the best possible way and manifest solidarity and responsibility," Hollande said about the euro zone.

However, the countries outside the euro zone are also responsible for the respective support and their policy should endorse competitiveness and growth, Hollande said.

Necas again stressed the Czech priority, which is the completion of the common European market, mainly in the services area.