The European Ministers of Economy and Finance are meeting in Brussels on Friday 11 November to try to reach an agreement with the European Parliament delegation on the main elements of the EU 2023 budget.
The EU Council will prepare, in the morning, the negotiations with the Parliament on the EU budget for 2023. Negotiations will take place at a meeting of the Conciliation Committee. The aim is to establish a common text. After the meeting of the Conciliation Committee, the EU Council will approve the agreed agreement or, in case of deadlock, decide on the next steps.
This year, the conciliation procedure is running from 25 October to 14 November. If this fails, the Commission will have to submit a new draft budget plan and the budgetary procedure will resume. If a budget is not adopted before the beginning of 2023, a sum equivalent to no more than one twelfth of the appropriations for 2022 or of the draft budget plan proposed by the Commission (whichever is lower) will be available for monthly expenditure in each budget chapter.
The Commission has proposed a total for 2023 of €185.59 billion in commitments and €166.27 billion in payments.
The EU Council, in its position adopted on 13 July 2022, expects commitments of €183.95 billion and payments of €165.74 billion.
In October 2022, the Parliament set the total commitments at €187.29 billion and the total payments at €167.61 billion.
The main issues to be discussed will be the level of commitment and payment appropriations (the EU Council wants to retain sufficient margins to cover financial needs, especially those arising from the war in Ukraine) and the use in 2023 (not desired by the EU Council) of Article 15(3) of the Financial Regulation on the use of appropriations resulting from decommitments following the non-implementation of research projects.
MEPs want the EU budget for 2023 to focus on Ukraine, energy and Covid-19 (see EUROPE 13046/8). They will seek significant increases for needs arising from the war in Ukraine (aid to young refugees, researchers, humanitarian aid, defence) and energy and climate actions (Horizon Europe, Connecting Europe Facility, LIFE programme).
Administrative expenses. The EU Council is asking the Commission to assess the effects and sustainability of the automatic updating of European officials’ salaries (+6.9% between 2022 and 2023) in a context of high inflation and to submit any proposal to “alleviate the pressure on administrative expenditure”. It expressed strong reservations about the European Parliament’s expenditure statement and establishment plan for 2023. The EU Council mentions 116 new posts, a figure contested by the Parliament, which puts forward 52 new posts in the field of cyber security. The European Parliament budget would be up by 3.96% and the EU Council by 5.96%. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)