Negotiators from the Council of the EU and the European Parliament reached an agreement shortly before midnight on Monday 14 November on the main elements of the EU budget for 2023.
The European Parliament claimed victory with a €1 billion increase (compared to the European Commission’s initial draft) obtained after tough negotiations with the EU Council that began on Friday 11 November.
This increase in funding benefits the priority areas of the European Parliament and some EU countries, such as programmes and policies considered crucial to address the consequences of the war in Ukraine and the energy crisis.
Total commitment appropriations for 2023 amount to €186.6 billion. This is an increase of 1.1% compared to the 2022 budget as amended. €400 million have been left under the spending ceilings of the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF), allowing the EU to react to unforeseen needs.
Total payment appropriations amount to €168.6 billion, up by 1% compared to 2022, which represents 1.03% of EU Gross National Income (GNI).
MEPs obtained additional funding for the following programmes, among others: - Erasmus (+€120 million to support students and teachers in Ukraine); - humanitarian aid (+€150 million) ; - the ‘Asylum, Migration and Integration’ Fund (+€35 million); - the border management and visa instrument (+€10 million); - the Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument (NDICI - Global Europe) for the EU’s Southern and Eastern Neighbourhood (+€280 million); - military mobility (+€58.8 million).
The European Commission has provided the total figures by programme:
- €14.7 billion to support the EU’s neighbours and international development and cooperation. The agreement provides for targeted increases for NDICI - Global Europe (€12.3 billion), mainly for Ukraine and Moldova, migration in the Southern Neighbourhood, as well as for the humanitarian aid programme (€1.8 billion) to address crisis situations worldwide;
- €1.5 billion for the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund and €956.8 million for the Integrated Border Management Fund to strengthen cooperation on external border management and migration and asylum policy, including support to Member States hosting refugees from Ukraine;
- €3.0 billion for the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF), with a focus on strengthening the EU/Ukraine ‘solidarity channels’ and addressing the energy crisis (in addition to the REPowerEU proposal of €20 billion);
- 295.2 million for military mobility;
- 3.7 billion for Erasmus+ and 332.8 million for Creative Europe;
- 62.9 billion for economic, social and territorial cohesion;
- 53.6 billion for the Common Agricultural Policy;
- 12.4 billion for Horizon Europe;
- 602.8 million for the Single Market Programme;
- 739.3 million for the EU4Health programme;
- 1.5 billion for the ‘Just Transition Fund’ and 755.5 million for the LIFE programme (environment and climate);
- €309.9 million for the Internal Security Fund, €945.7 million for the European Defence Fund and 157 million for strengthening the European defence industry.
“War budget”. “This is a good agreement for all parties”, Jiří Georgiev, the Czech Republic’s deputy finance minister and the EU Council’s chief negotiator for the EU’s 2023 budget, told reporters. In his view, this compromise shows a “unity” between the EU institutions. The Czech Presidency of the Council welcomed an agreement that contains sufficient margins and flexibility to deal with unforeseen events and ensure the EU’s resilience in the context of the war in Ukraine and the energy crisis.
Nicolae Ștefănuță (Renew Europe, Romanian) spoke of a “war budget” and welcomed the significant increases in funding to deal with the energy crisis. He called for progress on military mobility. “The discussions were tough” with the EU Council, admitted the rapporteur on the 2023 budget. Hence the need, according to Mr Nicolae Ștefănuță, to revise the MFF “to go beyond the margins which are too narrow”. “We had to do more with less money”, the rapporteur noted.
“The €1 billion boost obtained by the Parliament last night is a victory for citizens and will help the Union tackle the many crises it faces”, said Janusz Lewandowski, EPP chief negotiator.
“The result is good”, said EU Commissioner Johannes Hahn, who noted that the agreement was reached “earlier” than last year’s.
The Council of the EU will adopt the compromise on the 2023 budget on 22 November (and which will also be discussed in the Committee on Budgets on Thursday 17 November). The European Parliament plenary vote on next year’s budget is scheduled for 23 November in Strasbourg. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)