2023 general budget: all sections

The European Parliament adopted by 421 votes to 137, with 82 abstentions, a resolution on the Council's position on the draft general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2023.

Parliament deplored the Council's position on the draft budget, which cuts EUR 1.64 billion in commitment appropriations and EUR 530 million in payment appropriations for the headings of the multiannual financial framework (MFF) compared to the Commission's proposal. Members believe that the cuts proposed by the Council do not reflect the seriousness of the challenges facing the Union and that the Council's position falls short of Parliament's expectations.

Parliament has therefore decided to restore, for the lines whose appropriations have been reduced by the Council, the level of appropriations in the draft budget, both for operational and administrative expenditure, and to use the draft budget as a starting point for Parliament's position. It also maintained the appropriations entered in the draft budget for the special thematic instruments, namely the Solidarity and Emergency Aid Reserve, the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund for redundant workers and the Brexit adjustment reserve.

Members stressed the need to respond to the consequences of Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine as well as the COVID-19 pandemic, rising inflation and increasing energy and food insecurity at EU level. They stressed in particular the need for sufficient green investments to strengthen the Union's energy independence and to implement the Green Deal.

Consequently, Parliament set the overall level of appropriations for the budget for 2023 (all sections) at i) EUR 187 293 119 206 in commitment appropriations, an increase of EUR 1 702 055 778 compared to the draft budget and ii) EUR 167 612 834 087 in payment appropriations.

Heading 1 of the MFF - Single market, innovation and digital

Parliament increased the commitment appropriations of the heading by EUR 663 650 000 compared to the draft budget, financed by the available margin and the use of special instruments. It also made available to the heading a total amount of EUR 836 090 000 in commitment appropriations corresponding to decommitments made under Article 15(3) of the Financial Regulation, thus increasing the decommitments made available again by EUR 677 278 157 compared to the draft budget.

Members insisted that the exceptionally high amount of research decommitments (EUR 836.09 million), which the Commission had not foreseen during the MFF negotiations, should be made available in full to Horizon Europe.

Parliament reversed the redeployments proposed by the Commission to fund the Chips Act and the Secure Connectivity Programme, in line with its position that new initiatives should be funded using fresh money. It deleted the relevant Council reserves, thereby ensuring a proper level of funding for priorities in Horizon Europe, the Digital Europe Programme and the Union Space Programme.

Parliament also proposed:

- to increase funding for the transport and energy components of the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) by a total of EUR 90 million in commitment appropriations;

- an increase of EUR 10 million for the SME strand of the Single Market cluster, as well as an increase of EUR 1 million to support the ongoing work of the European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG) on the development of high quality reporting standards.

Sub-heading 2a - Economic, social and territorial cohesion

Parliament accepted the Council's position on the sub-heading. It called on the Member States and the Commission to accelerate the process of programming so that 2023 marks the start of implementation of the cohesion funds.

Sub-Heading 2b - Resilience and values

Parliament increased the sub-heading overall by EUR 272 821 707 in commitment appropriations compared to the draft budget, financed by using the available margin and the use of special instruments. In particular, the Parliament proposed to:

- increase the Erasmus+ flagship programme by EUR 200 million

- increase the appropriations for the European Solidarity Corps (ESC) by EUR 8 million;

- increase by EUR 25 million the EU Health Programme, in particular to support actions to achieve universal health coverage across the EU;

- reinforce the EU Civil Protection Mechanism by EUR 20 million;

- increase the 2023 appropriations of the Creative Europe programme by EUR 12 million to support the cultural and creative sectors, which have been hard hit by the COVID-19 pandemic;

- increase the Daphne strand of the Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values programme by EUR 2 million to combat gender-based violence, as well as all forms of violence against refugees, children, young people and other groups at risk, and the strand on citizens' engagement and participation by EUR 1.5 million, in particular to ensure a follow-up to the Conference on the Future of Europe;

- restore the level of the draft budget on the lines aimed at ensuring adequate funding for institutional communication, combating disinformation and contributing to citizens' participation in democratic life.

Heading 3 - Natural resources and environment

Parliament increased the allocation for the heading by EUR 61 240 000 in commitment appropriations compared to the draft budget, financed by part of the available margin.

Recalling that 2023 is the first year of the new Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), Parliament considers that the crisis situation justifies the partial mobilisation of the new agricultural reserve to the tune of at least EUR 10 million for young farmers. It called for an increase in the level of budgetary support for the LIFE programme in support of climate action and environmental protection for the different strands of the programme and insisted on the need for a significant increase in the budget of the European Environment Agency (EEA).

Heading 4 - Migration and border management

Parliament increased the heading overall by EUR 130 430 664 compared to the Council's position and by EUR 80 430 664 compared to the draft budget, financed by using part of the available margin.  In particular, it proposed to:

- increase the 2023 appropriations of the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF) by EUR 100 million;

- increase the 2023 appropriations of the Border and Visa Management Instrument (BVI) by EUR 25 million to allow support to the Member States most directly exposed to the consequences of the war in Ukraine, but also to support the further integration of Romania, Bulgaria and Croatia into the Schengen area;

- increase the staffing of the European Union Asylum Agency.

Parliament decided to support the Council's proposal to reduce the appropriations for Frontex by EUR 50 million in 2023. It nevertheless stressed the need to ensure that Frontex has the budgetary means to fulfil its mandate and obligations.

Heading 5 - Security and defence

Parliament increased the overall heading by EUR 81 192 700 compared to the draft budget, financed by the available margin and the use of special instruments.

Members called for an increase in funding for the capability development strand of the European Defence Fund to promote an innovative and competitive defence industrial base that will contribute to the Union's strategic autonomy. They also proposed increasing funding for military mobility.

Heading 6 - Neighbourhood and the world

Parliament increased the heading overall by EUR 465 000 000 compared to the draft budget, financed by the mobilisation of special instruments.

Russia's aggression against Ukraine and its global repercussions have considerably increased the need for humanitarian aid. Members called for a significant increase in humanitarian aid and for an urgent increase in the ceiling of the heading. They also called for:

- continued and substantial support for the Eastern Neighbourhood, in particular for countries helping refugees fleeing Ukraine and facing inflation and high energy and food prices;

- additional resources for the Southern Neighbourhood to support political, economic and social reforms;

- reinforced thematic programmes and rapid response actions of the NDICI-Global Europe, in particular through the People Programme, to address the consequences of the war in Ukraine;

- an increase in funding for the Western Balkan countries under the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA) and an upward revision of the programme envelope with a view to including Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova in the scope of IPA as soon as possible.

Heading 7 - European public administration

Parliament considers that the Council’s cuts in this heading - which are designed to obviate recourse to the Flexibility Instrument, as proposed in the draft budget - are unjustified and would not allow the Commission to fulfil its tasks. It restored therefore the DB for the Commission administrative expenditure, including with respect to its Offices.

European Parliament

Parliament maintained unchanged the overall level of its budget for 2023 at EUR 2 268 777 642, in accordance with its estimates of revenue and expenditure adopted by the plenary on 7 April 2022 and updated on 3 May 2022. It decided to include, artificially and in a budgetary neutral way, 98 posts in its establishment plan for one year only in order to allow for the integration of the laureates of an internal competition in the light of the application of the Staff Regulations, similarly to what has been done in the 2020 budget.