Brussels blog

The clash over next year’s EU budget has widely been viewed as a contest between the austere and the profligate. The end result, after a final round of negotiations collapsed in the wee hours of the night, is that the forces of austerity, led by UK prime minister David Cameron and his Dutch and Danish allies, prevailed over a spendthrift European parliament.

But there is another – often overlooked – element to the debate that animated the member states’ unexpectedly stubborn stance: a desire to punish a Parliament that has grown increasingly assertive – some say grasping – since the Lisbon treaty came into force in December.

“There’s a feeling that they’re just going to keep pushing and pushing for more power. So it’s better to confront them now,” one diplomat explained.

Exhibit A, at least in the budget negotiations, was the parliament’s attempt to tie negotiations over the 2011 budget to far-reaching political concessions that would expand its power over future EU spending. In return for accepting a smaller 2.9 per cent raise for next year’s budget than the 5.9 per cent they had originally requested, MEPs were demanding a more secure role in future budget deliberations and the consideration of an EU tax.

Having conceded on the money, MEPs were confident that member states would reward them with at least some of those concessions. They have also pointed out that Lisbon, which dramatically expanded their powers, has also created new responsibilities for the EU, which require money.

But they did not grasp just how irritated member states have become with the ranks of what was once the ugly duckling of the Brussels institutions. Under Lisbon, MEPs have missed no opportunity to flex their muscles, holding up the establishment of the new diplomatic corps, the external action service, among other stunts, until their demands were met.

For MEPs, this is simply democracy. They are, after all, the only popularly-elected body in Brussels (however low the voter turnout figures might be) and they must be reckoned with.

Until now, member states and the European Commission have gone along with this, reciting again and again through clenched smiles the need to consult the parliament and take its wishes on board. The budget debacle was an indication of what lurks behind those smiles.