The European Parliament ,

1.  Welcomes the political agreement reached on 27 June 2013 at the highest political level between Parliament, the Council Presidency and the Commission on the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) 2014-2020, following long and strenuous negotiations; acknowledges the significant efforts of the Irish Presidency in reaching this agreement;

2.  Stresses that – thanks to Parliament's persistence in the negotiations – a number of provisions have been adopted for the first time which will be instrumental in making the new financial framework operational, consistent, transparent and more responsive to the needs of EU citizens; highlights, in particular, the new arrangements relating to revision of the MFF, flexibility, own resources and the unity and transparency of the budget, which were key priorities for Parliament in the negotiations;

3.  Is ready to put the MFF Regulation and the new Interinstitutional Agreement to the vote in the early autumn, as soon as the necessary technical and legal conditions for the finalisation of the relevant texts are fulfilled, so that the latter reflect the overall agreement reached between the Council and Parliament;

4.  Reiterates, however, its position, as set out in its aforementioned resolution on the MFF of 13 March 2013, that the consent vote on the MFF Regulation cannot be granted unless there is an absolute guarantee that the outstanding payment claims for 2013 will be covered in full; expects the Council, therefore, to take a formal decision on Draft Amending Budget 2/2013 for an amount of EUR 7.3 billion, no later than the Ecofin Council to be held on 9 July 2013; insists that the Council stick to its political commitment to adopt without delay a further amending budget to avoid any shortfall in payment appropriations that could lead to a structural deficit in the EU budget at the end of 2013; states that Parliament will not give its consent to the MFF Regulation or adopt the Budget 2014 until this new amending budget, covering the remaining deficit as identified by the Commission, has been adopted by the Council;

Data: European Commission - 26 June 2013

More information on the draft budget 2014-2020

The  Lithuanian Presidency of the Council of the European Union started on 1 July 2013. The following priorities have been defined in the field of Cohesion Policy, macro-regional strategies and youth unemployment.

Cohesion Policy

The Presidency will continue negotiations with the European Parliament on the regulations for 2014-2020, aiming for the adoption of the legislation before the end of 2013. An informal meeting of ministers in charge of Cohesion Policy is scheduled for November. The Lithuanian Presidency will also work on the Commission's proposal regarding the amendment of the General Regulation for 2007-2013, in order to provide certain measures for EU countries experiencing difficulties in relation to the economic and financial crisis (for example, the n+3 rule for Romania and Slovakia).

Macro-regional strategies

The Presidency will propose the adoption of the Council conclusions on the added-value of macro-regional strategies and will propose actions to further strengthen their regional and thematic role. The Presidency will host the 4th Annual Forum of the Baltic Sea Strategy, dedicated to environmental protection.

Youth unemployment

The Presidency will also dedicate full political attentions to the implementation of the Youth Guarantee and initiate discussions with social partners regarding the European Alliance for Apprenticeships. For this purpose, the Presidency will seek the adoption of a Council declaration. Another point on the Agenda of the Presidency will be the improved cooperation of Public Employment Services.

Read the Programme of the Lithuanian Presidency

Source: Lithuanian Presidency of the Council of the European Union

The European Alliance for Apprenticeships is launched today by Commissioners Androulla Vassiliou (Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth) and László Andor (Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion) at the 2013 WorldSkills competition in Leipzig, Germany. The Alliance will help to fight youth unemployment by improving the quality and supply of apprenticeships across the EU through a broad partnership of key employment and education stakeholders. It also seeks to change attitudes to apprenticeships. It will in particular identify the most successful apprenticeship schemes in the EU and apply appropriate solutions in each Member State.

The Alliance is supported by the first-ever joint Declaration by the European Commission, the Presidency of the EU's Council of Ministers and European level trade union and employer organisations (the European Trade Union Confederation - ETUC, BusinessEurope, the European Centre of Employers and Enterprises providing Public services - CEEP and the European Association of Craft, Small and Medium Sized Enterprises - UEAPME). The Alliance promotes measures which will be supported by the European Social Fund, the Youth Employment Initiative and Erasmus+, the new EU programme for education, training and youth.