EU governments and the European Parliament have been unable to reach an agreement on a new budget. While the parliament wants an 8 percent increase, member countries are keen on saving money, reports GHN based on DW.
The European Union's governments and parliament failed to reach an agreement on the 2015 budget by a Monday night deadline.
"We haven't won the race against the clock today," said Italian State Secretary for Economic Affairs, Enrico Zanetti, whose country holds the EU's rotating presidency.
Having failed to reach the deadline, the bloc will have to try again on negotiations. Billions of euros are at stake, mostly to expand EU programs in newer and less developed member states, but also for farmers, researchers and students.
While Monday's talks failed, Zanetti expressed optimism that a deal could be reached. He said the negotiations "allowed us to narrow down the gap between our positions, which should allow us to continue the talks on the basis of a fresh European Commission proposal."
Cost-conscious EU governments and a more generous European Parliament have to come to agreement over a budget of 146.4 billion euros ($182.6 billion) for next year - an increase of 8 percent from 2014. If the two sides fail to reach an agreement, the bloc will be restricted to spending one-twelfth of its current budget per month until a deal is found.
The EU must also find a solution to finance outstanding payments for 2014 and earlier, and opinions vary widely on priorities.
"We must have a concrete response to the unbearable problem of unpaid invoices accumulating on the desks of the Commission," said French MEP and negotiator Jean Arthuis.
Haggling over unpaid bills "puts into danger the credibility of the EU authority and feeds the arguments of europhobes," he added.