On Saturday morning, negotiators from the European Parliament and the Council reached a provisional agreement on the 2025 EU Budget, before the deadline of the conciliation period.
A solution to cover repayment costs for the EURI
Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) have ensured that the financing for the repayment costs of the European Recovery Instrument (EURI)—which are now double the initially forecasted amount for 2025—can be managed without jeopardising funding for essential programs like Erasmus+ and research and development (R&D). MEPs successfully reversed all budget cuts by member states and advocated for effectively implementing the new “EURI cascade mechanism.” This mechanism, introduced in revising the EU’s long-term budget, aims to manage the rising borrowing costs associated with the Next Generation EU initiative while safeguarding key initiatives and maintaining the budget’s flexibility and responsiveness.
Parliament secured additional funding for EU programmes
In February, the Parliament secured significant increases for critical programmes during the revision of the EU’s long-term budget. MEPs obtained an additional €230.7 million beyond the Commission’s initial proposal for the 2025 budget, focusing on improving lives, boosting competitiveness, and addressing challenges.
Notable increases include €82 million for Erasmus+ and €20 million for Horizon Europe.
Key funding changes are:
On Research and Innovation, Horizon Europe +€25 million (including +€7.5 million for the European Innovation Council); on social policies, the Citizens, Equality, Rights, and Values Programme +€1 million; on environmental initiatives, the LIFE Programme +€5 million for biodiversity and climate action; and on Crisis Response, the Civil Protection Mechanism +€8 million.
In migration and border management, there’s +€10 million for Border Management and +€50 million for humanitarian aid.
Additional resources were allocated to the European Public Prosecutor’s Office and Europol. The preliminary figures are €199.44 billion in commitment appropriations and €155.1 billion in payment appropriations, with detailed statistics to follow.
Providing help for regions affected by climate disasters
As part of next year’s budget, negotiators have agreed to frontload payment appropriations of up to €3 billion to support regions affected by natural disasters, including recent floods. Once the legal framework is confirmed, member states can use up to 10% of their Cohesion Policy funds to prevent and recover from such disasters, provided they submit an amended program to the Commission.
Once the Council formally adopts this deal, a vote is expected during the Parliament’s plenary session scheduled for November 27 in Strasbourg. After the vote, the President will sign the legislation into law.
