Special Report:Global Financial Crisis
BRUSSELS, Nov. 21 (Xinhua) -- European Union (EU) nations and lawmakers clinched a political deal Friday on the EU's budget in 2009, agreeing to grant one billion euros (1.25 billion U.S. dollars) in aid to farmers in poor countries.
Under the deal, the annual budget for the EU was set at 116.1 billion euros. It came in the middle between the 124.5 billion euros sought by the European Parliament and the 114.9 billion euros proposed by EU governments.
EU governments had been keen to trim their contributions to the EU budget since they are under tremendous funding pressure due to the massive financial bailouts and the need to stimulate a sluggish economy.
The budget plan will become effective after it is formally approved by EU governments and the European Parliament, usually in December.
EU member states also agreed to spend one billion euros over three years to buy seed and fertilizer for farmers in poor countries.
The European Commission proposed in July for the funding to help developing countries tackle rising food prices and improve their productive capacity.
Under the original proposal, the money should be taken from unused money from the EU's costly agricultural budget, including the unspent farm subsidies, but EU nations decided to divert budgets from external operations and an emergency aid reserve.
However, the agreement was welcomed by European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso.
"I m delighted by this positive decision, which shows that the EU is really committed to action in support of its development ideals. As we tackle the financial and economic crisis, we cannot forget the poorest people in the planet," said Barroso.
