MEPs adopted the report by Siegfried Mureșan (EPP, Romanian) and Nils Usakovs (S&D, Latvian) on the proposed EU budget for 2024 (see EUROPE 13267/18) by 424 votes in favour to 101 against, with 102 abstentions, at the European Parliament plenary session on Wednesday 18 October, itself based on the proposed revision of the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) 2021-2024, voted by the European Parliament at the first October plenary session (see EUROPE 13263/7).
Since the adoption of the current MFF in 2020, the EU has been confronted with “unexpected events”, Siegfried Mureșan recalled, including the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine and the recent outbreak of war between Israel and Hamas (see other news).
On the eve of the vote on Tuesday 17 October, a large number of MEPs said that “the revised MFF regulation must provide the framework for the 2024 budget”.
However, the Council of the EU still has to decide on the revision of the MFF, which will be one of the items on the agenda of the European Council on 26 and 27 October 2023.
Given that the European Parliament has put forward a proposal on the basis of a revised MFF, which includes increases in the ceilings, the Spanish Secretary of State for the European Budget, Esperanza Samblas, said that this made the positions of the European Parliament and the Council “very difficult to reconcile in terms of figures” and that the Council “could not accept the European Parliament’s increases on the basis of a revised MFF”.
On Monday 16 October, the Council of the European Union voted against the amendments to the Council’s position adopted by MEPs in Parliament’s Committee on Budgets (BUDG) on 2 October (see EUROPE 13272/21).
In particular, the Parliament cancelled the cuts made by the Council (to the tune of €772 million) to return to the level of the initial budget proposed by the Commission and increased the funding for targeted programmes and policies (see EUROPE 13263/23), again in line with the European Parliament’s position on the proposed revision of the MFF.
“Positions diverge considerably, although less so than in previous years”, said the European Commissioner for the Budget, Johannes Hahn. “Inevitably, priorities will have to be set for the amendments and concessions to be made by both sides on a limited number of programmes or adjustments”.
The Conciliation Committee is therefore due to meet on 26 October for an initial meeting between the European Parliament and the Council, with the aim of reaching an agreement between the two institutions before the end of the year.
On the Middle East conflict, the European Parliament adopted an amendment condemning “the brutal terrorist attacks perpetrated by Hamas against Israel and its population” and “calls on the Commission to reassess the region’s needs in terms of humanitarian aid so that EU funding continues to reach those in need”.
To see the European Parliament report: https://aeur.eu/f/94l (Original version in French by Pauline Denys)