The Commission has adopted its proposal for the 2004 budget (preliminary draft budget)

After 1 May 2004 the EU budget will contain appropriations for 25 Member States. Under the Commission's proposal the volume of expenditure for the enlarged Union will come to €100 billion. Commissioner Michaele Schreyer stated: "2004 is an historical year for the EU budget. In addition to the expenditure for the current Member States, the budget contains appropriations for 10 new Member States. However, the EU's expenditure quota will drop to less than 1%. This shows that there is a firm foundation for the financing of enlargement. We have managed to reconcile ambitious expenditure programmes for the enlarged Union and budget discipline." The 2004 budget is also special in another respect - for the first time it has been drawn up under the new activity-based structure. For the first time too, the date of enlargement falls not on a 1 January but on 1 May. The preliminary draft therefore contains estimates for the EU-15 and the EU-25. The budget for the EU-15 will take effect at the start of 2004 and the increase for enlargement will follow on the date of accession, 1 May. The major priority for 2004 is enlargement. The budget proposal for enlargement contains substantial increases for the Structural Funds and internal policies in particular. As with agricultural expenditure, the preliminary draft remains within the limits of the financial framework negotiated in Copenhagen and approved by Parliament on 9 April. In terms of expenditure (payment appropriations), the 2004 budget keeps far below the ceilings laid down.