The Council of the European Union and the European Parliament reached agreement on Monday 18 November in Brussels, shortly before midnight, on the main elements of the EU budget for 2020, with growth and competitiveness, climate action, security and management of migration as priorities.
The compromise reached just before the end of the conciliation period sets total commitments for next year at €168.7 billion, which represents an increase of 1.5% compared to the 2019 budget. An amount of €1.5 billion have been kept available under the expenditure ceilings of the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) for the period 2014-2020, "allowing the EU to react to unforeseeable needs", a press release states.
Total payments amount to €153.6 billion, rising 3.4% from 2019. The aim is to ensure timely payments to beneficiaries and to avoid a substantial accumulation of payment claims over the next few years, in particular in relation to cohesion policy. The agreed figures are based on the premise that the United Kingdom will continue to participate fully in the financing and implementation of the EU budget for 2020.
Climate. Twenty-one percent of the overall budget will be devoted to measures to combat climate change. The European Parliament welcomed the fact that it had been able to obtain an increase of more than €500 million compared to the Commission's initial proposal for climate protection investments.
The Parliament and the EU Council agreed to put more emphasis on climate-related actions in several areas such as research and development (Horizon 2020), transport and energy infrastructure (Connecting Europe Facility, CEF) and the EU’s external action. Additional funds have also been allocated to the EU's LIFE programme, which will receive €590 million (+5.6% compared to 2019) and the European Environment Agency for recruiting new staff (+6) to support the fight against climate change.
Other important elements of the agreement include the following: €25.3 billion (+7.9% compared to 2019) have been allocated to programmes under subheading 1a (competitiveness for growth and jobs) for Horizon 2020 (€13.5 billion in total, +8.8%), European satellite navigation systems (EGNOS and Galileo) (€1.2 billion, +74.8%) and the energy strand of the CEF (€1.3 billion, +35.0%).
Erasmus + will receive €2.9 billion (+3.6%).
The Youth Employment Initiative envelope has been set at €145 million (an increase of €23.8 million). Before giving its agreement, the S&D group in the Parliament fought a long battle to obtain more funds for this programme. According to a joint statement by the European Parliament, the EU Council and the Commission, the plan is to add an additional €50 million next year, if the Commission confirms that this is necessary.
In the fields of security and migration, €949 million have been allocated to the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund for management of migration, including to support the frontline Member States. The Internal Security Fund will receive €501 million. Additional funds compared to 2019 will be provided for several agencies, including the recruitment of new staff by FRONTEX (+191 staff), the European Asylum Support Office (+82), Europol (+24) and the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (+10). Eurojust will receive an additional €3.7 million.
The EU's external action instruments have been reinforced to cover the EU's contribution to the Syria pledge and to combat the root causes of migration via the North Africa window of the EU Trust Fund for Africa.
As in 2018 and 2019, the pre-accession funds for Turkey have been significantly reduced compared to the draft budget proposed by the Commission (-€85 million), given the distancing of Turkey from EU values.
More funds, on the other hand, have been provided for the Western Balkans.
The EU Council and Parliament also agreed to further discuss the use of unspent funds from previous years (use of Article 15(3) of the Financial Regulation on 'de-commitments' resulting from the non-execution of research projects).
The European Parliament and the EU Council must formally approve the text within 14 days.
According to Budget Commissioner Günther Oettinger, the EU budget for 2020 "will channel resources to where the needs are".
Jan Van Overtveldt (ECR, Belgium), Chair of the Parliament’s Budgets Committee, welcomed the fact that the net increase in 2020 compared to the draft budget presented by the Commission "is the largest" of the other years of the 2014-2020 MFF.
Monika Hohlmeier (EPP, Germany), rapporteur on the 2020 budget, noted that the Parliament had succeeded in adding (compared to the Commission's draft budget) €850 million for the Parliament's priorities: for climate (over €500 million), innovation, research and development, and youth. In particular, she welcomed the fact that funding for the Horizon 2020 research programme has been increased by €402 million and the CEF by €133 million. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)