On Wednesday 13 July, the EU Member States confirmed the agreement reached at technical level on the EU Council’s position on the draft EU budget plan for 2023, which is significantly lower than the draft presented by the European Commission.
The Committee of Permanent Representatives of the Member States to the EU (Coreper) confirmed the compromise of a total budget for next year of €183.95 billion in commitments and €165.74 billion in payments, which is €1.6 billion and €530 million less respectively compared to the Commission’s draft budget plan.
The cuts mainly concern heading 1 of the EU budget (single market, innovation and digital), which is reduced by €783.2 million, including €663.2 million less for Horizon Europe and €120 million less for the international thermonuclear experimental reactor ITER. Appropriations reductions also affect the InvestEU fund (-€177.6 million) and Digital Europe (-€180 million).
The Council is not making changes to the Commission’s proposal on the European Parliament’s expenditure (€2.2 billion in total for 2023). However, in a draft statement it says it has “strong reservations” about the European Parliament’s statement of expenditure and the establishment plan for 2023.
The Council will formally adopt its position on 6 September.
Link to the Council’s position: https://aeur.eu/f/2lv
Link to the Council’s draft statements: https://aeur.eu/f/2lu (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)