The European Parliament adopted by 543 votes to 136, with 23 abstentions, a resolution on the joint text on the draft general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2020 approved by the Conciliation Committee under the budgetary procedure.
Parliament approved the joint text agreed by the Conciliation Committee.
As a reminder, the main elements are as follows:
- the overall level of commitment appropriations in the 2020 budget is set at EUR 168 688.1 million, leaving a margin below the MFF ceilings for 2020 of EUR 1 492.3 million;
- the overall level of payment appropriations in the 2020 budget is set at EUR 153 566.2 million;
- the Flexibility Instrument for 2020 is mobilised in commitment appropriations for an amount of EUR 778.1 million for heading 3 Security and Citizenship;
- the Global margin for commitments is used at a level of EUR 269.6 million for headings 1a Competitiveness for Growth and Jobs and 1b Economic, Social and Territorial Cohesion;
- the Contingency margin mobilised in 2017 is offset for EUR 252 million against the unallocated margins under heading 5 Administration;
- the 2020 payment appropriations related to the mobilisation of the Flexibility Instrument in 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020 are estimated by the Commission at EUR 849.8 million.
Expenditure headings of the financial framework - commitment appropriations (C/A)
Heading 1a - Competitiveness for growth and jobs
The agreed level of C/A is set at EUR 25 284.8 million (of which EUR 302 million for Horizon 2020 and EUR 50 million for Erasmus+), without leaving a margin under the expenditure ceiling of heading 1a and using the overall margin for commitments of EUR 93.8 million.
Heading 1b - Economic, social and territorial cohesion
The agreed level of C/A is set at EUR 58 645.8 million (including EUR 28.3 million for the Youth Employment Initiative), without leaving a margin under the expenditure ceiling of subheading 1b and using the overall margin for commitments of EUR 175.8 million.
Heading 2 - Sustainable growth: Natural resources
The level of C/A is set at EUR 59 907.0 million, leaving a margin of EUR 514.0 million under the expenditure ceiling of heading 2.
Heading 3 - Security and citizenship
The agreed level of C/A is set at EUR 3 729.1 million, without leaving a margin under the expenditure ceiling of heading 3 and by mobilising the flexibility instrument for an amount of EUR 778.1 million.
Heading 4 - Global Europe
The level of C/A is set at EUR 10 261.6 million, leaving a margin of EUR 248.4 million below the expenditure ceiling of heading 4.
Heading 5 - Administration
The agreed level of C/A is set at EUR 10 272.1 million, leaving a margin of EUR 729.9 million below the expenditure ceiling of heading 5, after using EUR 252.0 million of the margin to offset the mobilisation of the contingency margin in 2017.
Joint statements
Parliament confirmed the joint statements by Parliament, the Council and the Commission annexed to the resolution, which concern in particular:
- the orderly progression of payments in relation to commitment appropriations in order to avoid an abnormal level of unpaid invoices at the end of the financial year;
- the funding of the European Union Asylum Agency (EASO), once the legislative proposal to strengthen the Agency's operational support capacities has been adopted;
- the determination to make the best use of the envelope under the Youth Employment Initiative (YEI);
- the need to move closer to the 20% target for climate-related expenditure for the period 2014-2020.