Budgets committee fights against cuts to research spending

The European Parliament’s budgets committee has voted against the Council of Ministers' cuts to the proposed 2014 EU budget.

In a lengthy vote held over 2-3 October, the MEPs decided to try and reverse budget cuts in areas they deemed “vital” to boosting the economy, including research and entrepreneurship.

In its 2014 budget, the Council reduced payments by over €1 billion, compared to the amounts proposed by the European Commission. The largest cuts have fallen under heading 1a, where programmes including Horizon 2020 were put down for a reduction of €426m.