Liberals and Democrats welcomed today the budget proposals from the European Commission for 2013 which emphasize the twin priorities of growth and jobs. All efforts however should underpin the success of the EU 2020 strategy and the level of payments should reflect the legal commitments undertaken.

Carl Haglund (Swedish People's party, Finland) and ALDE coordinator on Parliament's budget committee said: "We welcome the general emphasis on competitiveness and growth and we will pay attention to the distribution of this increased support to ensure that it targets the sectors which contribute most to the EU economic recovery. The proposed increase in payments is a direct result of the budgets of 2011 and 2012, where payment levels were kept too low in relation to projects that the EU had engaged itself if. The Union has to be a reliable partner that pays its bills and the Commission proposal is in this sense logical. However in times of austerity the Commission should also strive to cover costs through reallocations."

Alexander Alvaro (FDP Germany), ALDE spokesperson on the 2013 budget added: "In these times of austerity one can understand perfectly well that those countries which are net contributors to the EU budget wish to question the proposed increase in payment appropriations. Nevertheless, investment at EU level can bring added value in terms of growth and jobs if the money is used productively for research and innovation. The Commission needs the necessary means to support its EU 2020 strategy."

Jan Mulder (VVD, Netherlands), Budget committee rapporteur for the outstanding commitments (RALs), concluded: "With outstanding commitments reaching 240 billions euros, it is urgent to start closing the gap between commitments and payments. To that extent, ALDE welcomes the very moderate increase in commitment appropriations, which correspond to the inflation rate and will give the payments a chance to catch-up".