"MEPs criticise member states' excessive focus on cuts in budget talks"

The European Parliament complains,

Most leaders of political groups in the EP criticised member states's determination to seek ever bigger cuts in the EU's budget for 2014-2020 during a debate on 27 December to discuss last week's summit dedicated to the budget negotiations. EP leaders called for an agreement that would enable the EU to make progress on its political priorities.

Hm, wonder why member states are determined to seek cuts.... Could a reason be they are running out of money? Unfortunately member states are not seeking to cut the EU budget by nearly enough (they should instead put the budget at zero and dissolve this soviet union style central planning experiment that history shows will fail - it has already failed many years ago).
And then Barroso states,

José Manuel Barroso, president of the European Commission, pointed out: "We had the most complex and difficult negotiations ever. For the first time we are discussing the cuts of the [long-term budget] in relation to the previous one." He also added: "We are all net beneficiaries - Europe is a shared project. Even net contributors gain enormously from the joint programmes."

The first time discussing cuts? Result of late action: Debt/GDP = 90%, euro area unemployment: 11.6%. You Barroso and the other eurocrats are the beneficiaries and the member states pay the penalties.