"I think we will not conclude, insofar as we are able to ratify the regulation, by a vote, by a legally-binding vote but I am optimistic that it is possible to come - at the end of the Irish presidency - to a principle political agreement," the EP president told a Vilnius news conference on Thursday evening.
In his words, reaching political consensus on the main items of the financial perspective during the Irish presidency is not easy "but possible."
"I know that in the Council people think that the European Parliament is the responsible institution, that we have not yet an agreement, and this is, by the way, true. We refused the compromise found on February 8 by the 27 heads of states and governments," Schulz said when asked whether the EP was against the planned budget cuts.
Speaking about the documents necessary for the implementation of the budget, the president noted that he expected a lot from the fact that he already had experience of harmonizing the multi-annual 2007-2013 budget with Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaitė.
Lithuania will take over EU presidency from Ireland on July 1.
