The three EU institutions reached a compromise at around midnight on Tuesday 4 December on the various elements of the EU budget for 2019, including a 3.2% increase in commitments.
After the failure of the negotiations during the conciliation period, Tuesday's budget trilogue was a success (see EUROPE 12151).
The European Parliament delegation and the Austrian Presidency of the Council agreed on an EU budget for next year of €165.795 billion in total commitments, an increase of 3.17% compared to 2018. For payments, the budget is €148.198 billion (+2.37% compared to the 2018 budget).
The European Parliament is expected to approve the EU budget for 2019 on Wednesday 12 December, after confirmation of the agreement on 10 December in the European Parliament’s Committee on Budgets and on 11 December in the General Affairs Council.
No to Article 15.3. The European Parliament did not obtain, as it would have liked, the application of the new Article 15.3 of the Financial Regulation on the use of 'decommitted' funds for research projects.
"Discussing this matter with the Council has not been possible", regretted one parliamentary source. The Council wanted to act within the framework of the 2019 European budget, which provides greater clarity, rather than by recycling decommitted funds.
Research and Erasmus+. The European Parliament has obtained larger increases than the Commission had foreseen in its initial draft for the programmes which it is committed to: - an additional €150 million for the Horizon 2020 research framework programme, representing a 10% increase in the programme’s budget compared to 2018, and - an additional €240 million for the Erasmus+ youth mobility programme, representing a 12% increase compared to the current annual budget.
In addition, the European Parliament’s Delegation welcomes the fact that, at the beginning of 2019, the Commission will present a draft amending budget providing for an additional €100 million for Horizon 2020 and for Erasmus+.
Compared to the Commission's initial draft budget, the increase in commitments amounts to €820 million, according to the European Parliament.
The 2019 EU budget increases accordingly, as a result of the funding of the European Facility for Refugees in Turkey. It will contribute €1.45 billion to this facility, in line with the agreement reached in the Council on the funding arrangements for the second instalment of €3 billion (€2 billion from the EU budget and €1 billion from contributions from EU Member States).
Pre-accession funds to Turkey have been cut by €146.7 million, due to problems in the country as regards democracy, the rule of law, human rights and press freedom.
Main elements of the agreement: - commitments of €23.3 billion (+6% compared to 2018) to support growth under sub-heading 1a competitiveness for growth and jobs; - €12.3 billion for Horizon 2020; - €3.8 billion for the Connecting Europe Facility; - €2.8 billion for Erasmus+ ; - €400 million for SMEs (COSME); - an additional €350 million for the Youth Employment Initiative; - €1.1 billion for the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (+55.85% compared to 2018); - €533.5 million for the Internal Security Fund. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)