As we anticipated (see EUROPE 11825), the EU ambassadors on Wednesday 12 July confirmed an agreement on the Council’s position on the EU budget 2018.
This stands at a total of €158.9 billion in commitments and €144.4 billion in payments, representing +0.6% and +7.4% on the 2017 budgets respectively. The Council will formally approve its position on next year’s budget in early September. Its position will serve as a mandate to the Estonian Presidency of the Council to negotiate the 2018 EU budget with the delegation of the European Parliament. The Parliament is expected to object (as it does every year at this stage in proceedings) to the cuts in funding decided upon by the Council (€1.7 billion less in commitments and €1 billion less in payments) compared to the European Commission’s draft budget.
The payments side of the 2018 budget rises considerably, “because the implementation of the 2014-2020 programmes is expected to reach cruising speed”, a Council press release explains.
The Council position lays emphasis on measures aiming to stimulate jobs and growth, reinforce security and manage migration flows. The Council is maintaining sufficient margin in the multi-annual financial framework (MFF) of the EU for 2014-2020 in the event of unforeseen contingencies.
For heading 1 (growth and cohesion), €76.5 billion in commitments and €66.4 billion in payments is earmarked, up 2.1% and 17.5% on 2017 respectively. The actions to be paid for under this heading include: Horizon 2020 (+2.6% in commitments and +5.8% in payments compared to 2017), the trans-European networks (+3.9% in commitments and +31.7% in payments, including the contributions under the cohesion funds); Erasmus + (+9.5% in commitments and +13.1% in payments), the European Solidarity Corps (€72.8 million in commitments and €55.7 million in payments) and the Youth Employment Initiative (€233.3 million in commitments and €600 million in payments).
Security and migration. Under heading 3, there will be €720 million in commitments and €481.2 million in payments for the European internal security fund.
The Council provides €719.2 million in commitments and €594.4 million in payments under the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund, to deal with migratory pressure. The Council position also contains €200 million in commitments and €220.6 million in payments under the emergency aid instrument for use within the EU, to help member states facing a natural or human disaster, such as the sudden and massive influx of refugees and migrants.
As regards administrative expenditure, the Council acknowledges the efforts made by the EU institutions to reach the target of cutting staff numbers by 5%.
Budget 2017. The Committee of Permanent Representatives of the Member States to the EU (Coreper) also approved the Council position on two draft amending budgets for 2017. Draft amending budget no. 3 increases the EU budget by €500 million in commitments, to bolster the Youth Employment Initiative. Draft amending budget no. 4 mobilises €1.2 billion under the EU Solidarity Fund following earthquakes in Italy (Abruzzo, Lazio, Marche and Umbria). (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)