European Union President Herman Van Rompuy early Friday proposed that the bloc's budget for 2014-20 be cut to 960 billion euros (1.3 trillion dollars) in commitments, diplomats said, in a bid to implement austerity during the economic crisis. Van Rompuy's plan, which was presented to EU leaders in Brussels 15 hours after budget talks began, also foresees a lower-than-expected 908.4 billion euros in actual payments. Commitments include money that is paid out beyond the time-frame of the budget, for instance to fund long-running EU programmes. Payments are the amounts actually disbursed in that period. The national leaders were in drawn-out talks over how and where to cut the bloc's budget, amid disagreements between advocates of austerity and those favouring more stimulus. Diplomats said lowering the payment figure would accommodate British Prime Minister David Cameron, who had been pushing for cuts so he can present a conservative EU budget back home.
