The European Parliament adopted by 529 votes to 130, with 43 abstentions, a resolution on the Council position on the draft general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2020.
Parliament:
- set the overall level of budget appropriations for 2020 (all sections) at EUR 170 971 519 973 in commitment appropriations, an increase of EUR 2 699 813 994 over the draft budget;
- decided to make available EUR 280 700 000 in commitment appropriations further to de-commitments under Article 15(3) of the Financial Regulation;
- set the overall level of budget appropriations for 2020 (all sections) at EUR 159 146 168 195 in payment appropriations.
In its resolution, Parliament stressed that the 2020 budget should pave the way for the 2021-2027 Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) and is the last chance for the Union to come closer to meeting the political commitments set for that period, including towards reaching the EU climate target and implementing the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and delivering on the European Pillar of Social Rights and the Union's target to reach a carbon-neutral economy by 2050.
Restoring appropriations
Parliament took note of the Council position on the draft budget, which reduced commitment appropriations by EUR 1.51 billion compared to the Commission's proposal. Considering that the Council’s cuts flatly contradict the Union’s priorities, they called for appropriations to be restored on all lines cut by the Council to the level of the DB, for both operational and administrative expenditure, and to take the DB as the starting point to build its position upon.
Enhanced climate budget
Parliament stressed the need to tackle climate change and protect the environment in a way that promotes employment, enhances competitiveness, promotes sustainable development and ensures social prosperity. It regretted that, under the current MFF, the Union budget has limited means to address the climate challenge on its own and points to the much higher needs for investment in this area, estimated by the Commission in the range of EUR 175 to 290 billion a year. The 2020 budget should also prepare the Union for an even more ambitious target for climate and biodiversity mainstreaming in the 2021-2027 MFF.
While calling for a concrete proposal on the European Green Deal, Parliament proposed to substantially increase by more than EUR 2 billion above the draft budget levels for budget lines across the different headings - in particular subheading 1a. of the MFF - to respond to environmental challenges and climate change.
Other additional financing
Parliament made a series of observations and recommendations for each subheading of the MFF. In particular, it:
- (i) significantly increased - EUR 737.8 million in commitment appropriations - the appropriations allocated to Horizon 2020 above the draft budget levels and (ii) allocated to the most relevant Horizon 2020 budget lines for climate-related research projects the full amount of EUR 280.7 million in commitment appropriations decommitted in 2018 as a result of the non-implementation of research projects;
- proposed to increase the funding for the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) (CEF-Transport and CEF-Energy) by a total amount of EUR 545 million in commitment appropriations above the draft budget levels;
- adopted an increase of EUR 50 million in commitment appropriations for the COSME programme in order to further stimulate the programme's capacity to promote entrepreneurship, especially among women, and to improve competitiveness and market access for EU companies;
- adopted an increase of EUR 123.4 million in commitment appropriations above the draft budget level to meet future demands for Erasmus+, the main programme for education and training, including vocational education and training, youth and sport in Europe.
Parliament also recommended:
- strengthening the Youth Employment Initiative (YEI) beyond the amount proposed by the Commission, also to ensure a smooth transition to the European Social Fund Plus (ESF+) in the next MFF;
- reinforcing budget lines relating to Parliament's priorities, in areas such as SMEs, digitalisation, artificial intelligence, cancer research, security and justice cooperation, customs, migration and external policy, including humanitarian and development aid.
Flexibility Instrument
In order to adequately financing the pressing priorities and considering the very tight or inexistent margins under certain Headings in 2020, Parliament stated that the Flexibility Instrument and the Global Margin for Commitments need to be fully mobilised, the Contingency Margin needs to be mobilised, while part of it also remains available for the financing of unforeseen events that may occur in the course of next year.
Payments
Members pointed to the unprecedented margin of EUR 20 067.6 million left under the payment ceiling in the DB, as a result of the very late take-off of the 2014-2020 programmes and a corresponding accumulation of unused payments, notably in Subheading 1b. They stressed the necessity to prevent a substantial accumulation of payment claims in the beginning of the next MFF that may lead to another payment crisis in the Union budget.
Parliament, therefore, increased payments for European Structural and Investment Funds by an overall EUR 3 billion based on the expectation that Member States will further accelerate the implementation of their operational programmes in the last year of the current MFF, and better adhere to their own forecasts.
Lastly as regards Parliament, Members proposed to restores the appropriations established in the estimates on the basis of a careful and responsible analysis of the needs of Parliament for 2020. However, they expressed concern about the Commission's cuts to Parliament's budget.