The EU’s main institutions, from its Parliament to the Court of Justice, have been ordered to cut spending in line with national austerity policies across Europe, a document obtained by AFP yesterday said.

In a letter dated February 3, European Budget Commissioner Janusz Lewandowski told the European Union’s sprawling institutional set-up that they “cannot ignore the broader economic and budgetary context”.

The European Commission itself would keep the increase in administrative costs below one per cent in 2012 compared to this year, he said in a two-page letter.

“Reaching this aim will require significant cuts in expenditure for IT, meetings, conference and missions as well as studies and publications.”

The 27 commissioners heading the EU’s executive arm spent almost €4 million in 2009 in trips and missions.

Administrative costs are set to amount to €8.3 billion in 2011, or 5.7 per cent of the EU’s total budget of €126.5 billion – tantamount to 1.04 per cent of EU gross national income.

The EU Budget is essentially funded by its member states, with contributions amounting to €246 per year per person. Administrative costs represent just over six per cent of the Budget.

Led by Britain, big member states have demanded a freeze in the next EU Budget, saying Brussels could not carry on spending more money as countries fight to sort their finances out.

Britain, France and Germany, backed up by Finland and the Netherlands, have told Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso there should be a real terms freeze at 2013 levels, as the EU this year begins negotiations for the 2014-2020 period.

The leaders said the next EU spending round would come as states in the 27-member bloc made “extraordinary efforts to clean up public finances”, bringing down debts and deficits to a sustainable level. The EU finances “cannot be exempt” from such attempts to bring public spending “under control”.