Legislative Observatory
European Parliament
Please fill in this field to find a procedure

New general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2019

2018/2275(BUD)

The Council adopted its position on the second draft budget of the European Union for the 2019 financial year. This position follows the trilogue of 4 December 2018, at the end of which the European Parliament and the Council reached an ad referendum agreement on a draft joint conclusions, comprising the second draft budget for 2019 and draft statements.

According to that agreement, the second draft budget for 2019 was amended as follows:

 

  • the overall level of commitment appropriations (c/a) in the budget 2019 is set at EUR 165 795.6 million. Overall, this leaves a margin below the MFF ceilings for 2019 of EUR 1 291.1 million in c/a;
  • the overall level of payment appropriations (p/a) in the budget 2019 is set at EUR 148 198.9 million;
  • the Flexibility Instrument for 2019 is mobilised in c/a for an amount of EUR 1 164.3 million for sub-heading 1a (Competitiveness for Growth and Jobs) and heading 3 (Security and Citizenship);
  • the Global Margin for Commitments is used at the level of EUR 1 476.0 million for sub-heading 1a (Competitiveness for Growth and Jobs), sub-heading1b (Economic, Social and Territorial Cohesion) and heading 4 (Global Europe);
  • the Contingency Margin mobilised in 2017 is offset for EUR 253.9 million against the unallocated margins under heading 5 (Administration);
  • the 2019 p/a related to the mobilisation of the Flexibility Instrument in 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019 are estimated by the Commission at EUR 961.9 million.

As part of the overall compromise, the European Parliament and the Council also agreed on the following joint statements on:

Payment appropriations

The European Parliament and the Council recall the need to ensure, in the light of implementation, an orderly progression of payments in relation to the appropriations for commitments so as to avoid any abnormal level of unpaid invoices at year-end. If the figures show that the appropriations entered in the 2019 budget are insufficient to cover the needs, the European Parliament and the Council invite the Commission to present as soon as possible an appropriate solution, inter alia amending budget, with a view to allow the Budgetary Authority to take any necessary decisions in due time for duly justified needs. Where applicable, the European Parliament and the Council will take account the urgency of the matter.

The Youth Employment Initiative

The European Parliament, the Council and the Commission recall that reducing youth unemployment remains a high and shared political priority and reaffirm their determination to make the best possible use of budgetary resources to reach this goal, and in particular through the Youth Employment Initiative (YEI). They invited the Commission to present a legislative proposal for smooth implementation of the increased budgetary resources for YEI.

Climate mainstreaming

The European Parliament and the Council agreed to invest at least 20% of the EU budget in climate-related expenditure over the period 2014-20. They called on the Commission to make every effort to reach the 20% target for the whole 2014-20 period.

The reinforcement of sub-heading 1a through an amending budget

Due to the limited availabilities of the Flexibility Instrument and the Global Margin For Commitments, the European Parliament and the Council have agreed to budget EUR 100 million in an amending budget in 2019 to reinforce Horizon 2020 and Erasmus+.