The agreement came in Paris at an emergency summit of the 15 euro countries. Leaders of all 27 EU governments are expected to examine the plan when they meet in Brussels on 15 October.
Economic growth in the bloc expected to slow to 2% this year – down 0.4 percentage points – as world financial markets grapple with ongoing financial turmoil.
The euro is gaining acceptance – five years after first landing in the pockets of over 315m Europeans. And this, despite widespread ignorance of the benefits it has brought.
In a matter of days, the euro will take the place of the tolar as Slovenia's legal tender. Having met the necessary criteria, Slovenia is ready to join the 12-member euro area on 1 January 2007.
The amount of individual subsidies governments can pay out to businesses
without seeking EU approval has been raised from €100 000 to
€200 000. This follows a decision by the European Commission to simplify
the rules, in a bid to help small firms. Subsidies for companies in difficulty
and those for which the amount cannot be calculated in advance have been
excluded, to prevent distortions of competition.
Economic growth in 2006 is set to reach 2.8% in the EU and 2.6% in the euro
area. The EU as a whole is expected to create 7 million new jobs over the
period 2006-2008 (5 million in the euro area). Inflation is also forecast to
gradually decline to below 2% in the euro area in 2008. These are the main
findings of the Commission's autumn economic forecasts 2006-2008 published on 6
November.
The yearly report on the allocation of the EU budget gives a positive
assessment for 2005: more EU resources were directed towards competitiveness,
research, growth and jobs; benefits were shared by all Member States; and
execution of payments was higher than in previous years. Dalia Grybauskaité,
Commissioner for Financial Programming and Budget, explained the record
execution was made possible through better advance planning and enhanced
monitoring. She stressed however that a further increase in the amounts
allocated to economic progress was necessary. "A profound revision of
European finances in 2008/2009 remains a vital necessity," the Commissioner
said.
One week after the signing of the agreement on the new financial framework,
the Commission adopted a package of revised proposals for EU programmes putting
the focus on modernisation and economic progress. These proposals, covering the
2007-2013 period, aim to meet the EU's objective of boosting Europe's economy
and creating more and better jobs.
