BRUSSELS, Oct. 1 (Xinhua) -- European Parliament President David Sassoli said Thursday that his institution was not blocking a deal on the next seven-year budget of the European Union (EU), but it was the EU Council that seemed to lack the political will to reach an agreement.
He told European leaders at a special EU summit that a deal could be reached quickly if they respected what the European Parliament had proposed.
"Parliament is not obstructing anything. Our demands are in the interests of European citizens. The delays are due to a lack of counter-proposals from the Council. Parliament has made many concessions to the Council. If there is a will, a political agreement can be reached quickly," he said in the speech.
During a press conference later Thursday, Sassoli said the parliament is willing to find an agreement but "everyone has to play their part" in order to reach an agreement.
"We have been regretful about certain rumors concerning parliament's responsibility for delays... the European Parliament isn't blocking anything," he told reporters.
It took EU leaders four days in July to reach an agreement on a seven-year budget worth 1.07 trillion euros (1.26 trillion U.S. dollars) which was negotiated in conjunction with a 750-billion-euro economic recovery package that aims to help EU countries bounce back from the recession caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
But MEPs were not pleased with the proposed cuts in certain areas which they deemed of utmost importance, including in education.
Heads of states and governments of the 27 EU member states arrived in Brussels early Thursday for the two-day summit, which deals with the bloc's foreign affairs including its relations with Turkey concerning the Eastern Mediterranean situation and the relations with China. (1 euro = 1.175 U.S. dollars) Enditem
