YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 20, ARMENPRESS. The Council of the European Union and the European Parliament ended negotiations on the EU budget for 2019 without agreement on November 19, Armenpress reports citing the EU website.

The two arms of the budgetary authority concluded that they were not able to bridge their differences by midnight - the legal deadline laid down in the treaties.

"The Council regrets that it was not possible to reach an agreement on the 2019 EU budget today," said Hartwig Löger, Minister for Finance of Austria and chief Council negotiator for the 2019 EU budget. "Throughout the conciliation process the Council tried hard to find a solution that would equip the Union for the challenges ahead. But I am still confident that we will be able to agree on next year's budget before the end of the year."

While the Council made a constructive offer that would have gone beyond the initial proposal by the Commission, the Parliament preferred to use unspent funds from previous years related to research projects. The Council was however concerned that this would create a precedent, with unknown consequences for the future.