2024 general budget: all sections
The Council adopted its position on the draft general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2024 (DB 2024).
The Council's position on the DB 2024 would amount to:
- EUR 187 008.20 million in commitment appropriations (EUR 189 340.98 million in the Commission’s DB 2024);
- EUR 141 167.37 million in payment appropriations (EUR 143 053.38 million in the Commission’s DB 2024).
The total amount of payment appropriations provided for in the Council's position on the DB 2024 corresponds to 0.80 % of the EU gross national income (GNI).
Approach taken by the Council
The Council's position on the 2024 DB has been defined in accordance with the guiding principles of prudent and realistic budgeting and the provision of sufficient resources to support clearly defined priorities.
These guiding principles have led the Council to undertake a detailed analysis of the commitment appropriations under each programme and action by budget line, in order to ensure:
- a realistic absorption capacity;
- an appropriate acceleration of the implementation of programmes by avoiding excessive
increases compared to 2023;
- sufficient margins under the ceilings to deal with unforeseen circumstances
The result of the Council’s assessment is reflected in the proposal to adjust downwards the commitment appropriations by EUR 771.92 million. Very targeted adjustments are limited to headings 1 (Single Market, Innovation and Digital), 2 (Cohesion, Resilience and Values), 3 (Natural Resources and Environment), 4 (Migration and Border Management) and 5 (Security and Defence) and aim at reducing lines that were increased compared to the voted budget 2023, in order to prevent risks in terms of absorption capacity.
A targeted adjustment is also proposed for sub-heading 2b (Resilience and Values) for the European Union Recovery Instrument (EURI) line.
An upward adjustment under heading 6 (Neighbourhood and the World) in Humanitarian Aid (HUMA) is also suggested to maintain the same level of humanitarian support as in the voted budget 2023, in order to respond to the consequences of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine.
As regard payment appropriations, the result of the Council’s assessment is reflected in the proposal to adjust the level downwards by EUR 514.62 million.
As regards administrative expenditure, it is suggested to accept the Commission’s proposal as such.
EXPENDITURE BY HEADING OF THE MFF 2021-2027
The Council amended the commitment appropriations (C/A) and updated the payment appropriations (P/A) for the 2024 DB as follows:
1) Single Market, Innovation and Digital (heading 1 of the MFF): EUR 21 201 352 987 in c/a and EUR 20 908 212 003 in p/a
- the heading is characterised by a total reduction of EUR 230 million in commitment appropriations on a number of specific budget lines related to: Research and Innovation (-EUR 178 million); European Strategic Investments (-EUR 22.5 million); Single Market (-EUR 27.5 million) and Space (-EUR 2 million).
The margin available under heading 1 would be EUR 396.65 million.
2) Cohesion, Resilience and Values (heading 2 of the MFF): EUR 74 366 546 565 in c/a and EUR 33 613 222 445 in p/a
a) Economic, Social and Territorial Cohesion (sub-heading 2a of the MFF)
- the Council accepted the level of both commitment and payment appropriations as it stands (EUR 64 665.20 million and EUR 24 155.65 million respectively) in the DB 2024 as proposed by the Commission.
The margin available under sub-heading 2a would be EUR 17.80 million, as proposed by the Commission.
b) Resilience and Values (sub-heading 2b of the MFF)
- the sub-heading is characterised by a total reduction of EUR 612.82 million in commitment appropriations relating to the following: Recovery and Resilience (-EUR 572.82 million on the Financing cost of the European Union Recovery Instrument (EURI)); Investing in People, Social Cohesion and Values (-EUR 40 million on Creative Europe).
As there would be no margin available under sub-heading 2b, it is suggested to mobilise the Flexibility Instrument for an amount of EUR 1 095.35 million (-EUR 240 million).
3) Natural Resources and Environment (heading 3 of the MFF): EUR 57 378 890 839 in c/a and EUR 54 227 567 941 in p/a
- the heading is characterised by a reduction of EUR 10 million in commitment appropriations (of which -EUR 5 million on the Programme for Environment and Climate Action (LIFE) and -EUR 5 million on decentralised agencies, namely on the European Environment Agency (EEA)).
The margin available under heading 3 would be EUR 70.11 million.
4) Migration and Border Management (heading 4 of the MFF): EUR 3 876 705 671 in c/a and EUR 3 237 967 443 in p/a
- the heading is characterised by a reduction of commitments appropriations of EUR 20 million for decentralised agencies, namely on the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (FRONTEX).
The margin available under heading 4 would be EUR 143.29 million.
5) Security and Defence (heading 5 of the MFF): EUR 2 287 177 926 in c/a and EUR 2 021 413 531 in p/a
- the heading is characterised by a total reduction of commitment appropriations of EUR 17 million (of which EUR 7 million for decentralised agencies, namely on the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction and EUR 10 million on Union Secure Connectivity).
As there would be no margin available under heading 5, it is suggested to mobilise the Flexibility Instrument, in line with the “EDIRPA” proposal from July 2022, for an amount of EUR 283.18 million (-EUR 17 million).
6) Neighbourhood and the World (heading 6 of the MFF): EUR 15 947 900 000 in c/a and EUR 15 209 357 313 in p/a
- the Council established the level of commitment appropriations, targeting a total increase of EUR 117.90 million in the appropriations requested and set the level of payment appropriations, increasing the appropriations requested in the DB 2024 by a total amount of EUR 98.20 million, related to external action (Humanitarian aid (HUMA)).
As there would be no margin available under heading 6, it is suggested to mobilise the Flexibility Instrument for an amount of EUR 117.90 million.
7) European public administration (heading 7 of the MFF): EUR 11 949 625 456 in c/a and EUR 11 949 625 456 in p/a
For the European Parliament, it is suggested that the DB 2024 (Section I) be approved as it stands (EUR 2 354.86 million).
As there would be no margin available under heading 7, it is suggested to mobilise the Single Margin Instrument for a total amount of EUR 176.6 million, of which EUR 131.00 million for administrative expenditure of the institutions and EUR 45.62 million for pensions of all institutions and bodies, to allow the institutions to meet their legal obligations, as proposed by the Commission.
Special instruments
It is suggested to maintain the appropriations entered in the DB 2024 for the Solidarity and Emergency Aid Reserve, the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund and the Brexit Adjustment Reserve.
The commitment appropriations entered in the DB 2024 for the Flexibility Instrument are established at EUR 1 496.43 million (-EUR 139.1 million) and for the Single Margin Instrument at EUR 176.62 million (-EUR 372.82 million). The payment appropriations for both are maintained as they stand in the DB 2024.
Revenue
It is suggested to accept the DB 2024 after the technical adjustments arising from the changes made to expenditure in the Council's position.