EU FAILS TO COME UP WITH NEW BUDGET, BULGARIA VOTES ON UPDATE TODAYКОПИРАНО ОТ STANDARTNEWS.COM

EU governments and the European Parliament have been unable to reach an agreement on a new budget. While the parliament wants an 8 percent increase, member countries are keen on saving money, DW reports.

The European Union's governments and parliament failed to reach an agreement on the 2015 budget by a Monday night deadline.

"We haven't won the race against the clock today," said Italian State Secretary for Economic Affairs, Enrico Zanetti, whose country holds the EU's rotating presidency.

Having failed to reach the deadline, the bloc will have to try again on negotiations. Billions of euros are at stake, mostly to expand EU programs in newer and less developed member states, but also for farmers, researchers and students.

Cost-conscious EU governments and a more generous European Parliament have to come to agreement over a budget of 146.4 billion euros ($182.6 billion) for next year - an increase of 8 percent from 2014. If the two sides fail to reach an agreement, the bloc will be restricted to spending one-twelfth of its current budget per month until a deal is found.

The EU must also find a solution to finance outstanding payments for 2014 and earlier, and opinions vary widely on priorities.

Meanwhile, Bulgaria's National Assembly is voting on the most recent update of its state budget today. The extraordinary session of the National Assembly will start at 11.00 am.