2022 general budget: all sections
The European Parliament adopted by 521 votes to 88, with 84 abstentions, a resolution on the Council's position on the Council position on the draft general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2022.
Parliament considered that the Council's position on the draft budget, which has reduced commitment appropriations under the headings of the multiannual financial framework (MFF) by EUR 1.43 billion compared to the Commission's proposal, falls far short of Parliament's expectations for a recovery budget. It therefore decided to restore the level of appropriations in the draft budget for all lines where appropriations were cut by the Council, both for operational and administrative expenditure, and to use the draft budget as a starting point for its position.
Parliament therefore:
- set the overall level of appropriations in the budget for 2022 (all sections) at EUR 171 802 114 290 in commitment appropriations, i.e. an increase of EUR 4 008 766 380 compared to the draft budget;
- decided to make available an amount of EUR 486 000 000 in commitment appropriations following decommitments under Article 15(3) of the Financial Regulation;
- set the overall level of budget appropriations for 2022 (all sections) at EUR 172 467 593 189 in payment appropriations.
Parliament wants to support the recovery process from the pandemic, boost investment, tackle unemployment and lay the foundations for a more resilient and sustainable Union.
Heading 1 - Single Market, Innovation and Digital
Parliament increased the commitment appropriations of the heading by EUR 668 593 067 compared to the draft budget, financed by the available margin and the use of special instruments. In particular, Parliament:
- increased the appropriations for the research and innovation programme Horizon Europe by EUR 305 million in commitment appropriations compared to the amount entered in the draft budget;
- increased funding for the three strands of the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) by a total of EUR 207.3 million in commitment appropriations;
- increased by just over EUR 71 million the amount allocated to the Digital Europe programme, which is a key tool for increasing the EU rates of digitalisation;
- supported the increases in the various strands of the Single Market cluster by a total amount of just over EUR 37 million in commitment appropriations above the level of the draft budget.
Members are convinced that an EU programme in the field of tourism would effectively support the revival of this sector and put it on the road to a sustainable future. They also believe that InvestEU is a cornerstone of the recovery strategy and stressed the need to provide sufficient funding in the 2022 budget.
Sub-heading 2a - Economic, social and territorial cohesion
Parliament decided to create a separate budget line under the European Social Fund Plus (ESF+), to provide a special additional allocation to foster the implementation of the European Child Guarantee in order to contribute to eradicate child poverty and to meet targets of the European Pillar of Social Rights Action plan, while mitigate the negative effects of the pandemic on children.
Members reinforced, for this purpose, Sub-heading 2a by EUR 700 000 000 above the draft budget.
Sub-Heading 2b - Resilience and values
Parliament reinforced the sub-heading by EUR 296 065 210 in commitment appropriations compared to the draft budget. In particular, it decided:
- to increase resources of the EU4Health Programme by EUR 80 million in the context of the COVID-19 crisis;
- to increase funding to meet the growing demand for the Erasmus+ programme by a total amount of just over EUR 137 million, as a 5% increase represents 40 000 additional mobility exchanges;
- increase by EUR 10 million the EU Civil Protection Mechanism (RescEU) in order to improve the protection of EU citizens and to strengthen preparedness for future disasters due to climate change;
- increase by EUR 10 million the Culture strand of the Creative Europe Programme to support the recovery of Europe's cultural and creative sectors and industries, particularly affected by the COVID crisis;
- to strengthen the ESF+ strand on employment and social innovation with a focus on promoting the participation of women in the labour market;
- to increase funding for the European Public Prosecutor's Office and increase its staffing levels to enable it to carry out its tasks.
Heading 3 - Natural resources and environment
Parliament requested an increase of EUR 212 750 473 in commitment appropriations under this heading compared to the draft budget.
Underlining the urgent need for action on climate change, Parliament decided (i) to increase budgetary support for the LIFE programme by EUR 171 million (i.e. by 25% compared to the draft budget) for the different strands of the programme and (ii) to significantly increase the budget of the European Environment Agency.
Heading 4 - Migration and border management
Parliament reinforced the heading by EUR 106 231 750 in commitment appropriations above the draft budget.
Members stressed the importance of (i) increasing the appropriations for the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund, particularly in view of recent developments in Afghanistan; (ii) increasing the funding and staffing of the European Asylum Support Office (EASO) and (iii) increasing the staffing of the eu-LISA agency by helping it to implement a number of critical EU projects in the field of internal security and border management in 2022.
Parliament reversed the Council's cuts to the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex) as this agency needs to be given the necessary means. It decided to place EUR 90 million in the reserve for the recruitment of 20 fundamental rights monitors.
Heading 5 - Security and defence
Parliament increased the overall heading by EUR 82 621 461 above the draft budget, to be financed by using part of the available margin.
Members suggested increasing funding for the European Defence Fund and for military mobility, to support the implementation of an innovative and competitive defence industrial base that will help ensure the much-needed strategic autonomy of the Union. Targeted increases are also needed for the European Union Law Agency for Law Enforcement Training (CEPOL), the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) and the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (Europol).
Heading 6 - Neighbourhood and the World
Parliament increased the level of commitment appropriations for Heading by EUR 563 429 451 above the draft budget.
Members proposed to increase funding for the Western Balkan countries and the Eastern and Southern Neighbourhood countries and to significantly increase the humanitarian aid budget for Afghanistan. They called on Member States to commit an additional EUR 2 billion, either to COVAX or in vaccine doses, in the first half of 2022. They called for any successor to the EU Refugee Facility in Turkey to be financed by fresh appropriations and additional contributions from Member States and to be accompanied by the corresponding revision of the MFF Regulation.
Heading 7 - European public administration
Members considered that the Councils cuts are unjustified and would not allow the Commission to fulfil its tasks. They therefore restored the draft budget for the Commission's administrative expenditure, including for its offices.
Payments
Parliament stressed the need to provide for a sufficient level of payment appropriations in the 2022 budget and therefore decided to reverse Councils cuts and reinforce payment appropriations on those lines which are amended in commitment appropriations.
European Parliament
Parliament decided to maintain the overall level of its budget for 2022 at EUR 2 112 904 198, in line with the estimates of revenue and expenditure adopted in plenary on 29 April 2021. It made budget-neutral technical adjustments to take account of updated information that was not yet available at the beginning of the year.