The European Parliament's budget for next year was discussed at a meeting between Labour MEP Louis Grech and Finnish Finance Minister Ulla Maj Wideroos yesterday.

Finland will take over the presidency of the European Union in July.

During the meeting, Mr Grech, the European Parliament's rapporteur on the budget, raised a number of issues he included in his reports to the Parliament, among them the need to limit the increase in personnel expenditure while assuring that all measures are taken to prepare for further enlargement and the need of more inter-institutional cooperation, especially in the area of information.

The meeting, attended by various officials of the European Parliament and of the Finnish government, formed part of the series Mr Grech had in recent days to discuss his report on the estimates of revenue and expenditures of the European Parliament for the 2007 financial year. The final vote on the report is expected to be taken in plenary this week.

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