Changes from plenary report to plenary report

AddedANNEX

Removed– having regard to Regulation (EU) 2021/1119 establishing the framework for achieving climate neutrality and amending Regulation (EU) 2018/1999 (European Climate Law),

AddedFINAL Budget 2025 – Elements for joint conclusions

Removed– having regard to the Interinstitutional Proclamation on the European Pillar of Social Rights of 13 December 2017 and its resolution of 19 January 2017 thereon,

AddedThese joint conclusions cover the following sections:

Removed– having regard to the EU Gender Equality Strategy 2020-2025,

Added1. Budget 2025

Removed– having regard to the Agreement adopted at the 21st Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC (COP21) in Paris on 12 December 2015 (the Paris Agreement) and to the Agreement adopted at the 15th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Biodiversity Conference on 19 December 2022 (the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework),

Added2. Statements

Removed– having regard to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals,

AddedSummary overview

Removed– having regard to its resolution of 25 April 2024 on Parliament’s estimates of revenue and expenditure for the financial year 2025,

AddedAccording to the elements for joint conclusions:

Removed– having regard to its resolution of 15 December 2022 on upscaling the 2021-2027 multiannual financial framework: a resilient EU budget fit for new challenges,

Added- The overall level of commitment appropriations in the 2025 budget is set at EUR 199 438,4 million. Overall, this leaves a margin below the MFF ceilings for 2025 of EUR 800,5 million in commitment appropriations.

Removed– having regard to the Interinstitutional Agreement of 16 December 2020 between the European Parliament, the Council of the European Union and the European Commission on budgetary discipline, on cooperation in budgetary matters and on sound financial management, including the climate, biodiversity and gender-related provisions, as well as on new own resources, including a roadmap towards the introduction of new own resources,

Added- The overall level of payment appropriations in the 2025 budget is set at EUR 155 209,3 million. Overall, this leaves a margin below the MFF ceiling for 2025 of EUR 28 302,7 million in payment appropriations.

Removed– having regard to the draft general budget of the European Union for the 2025 financial year, which the Commission adopted on 19 June 2024 (COM(2024)120),

Added- The Flexibility Instrument for 2025 is mobilised in commitment appropriations for an amount of EUR 1 162,4 million, of which EUR 4,7 million for sub-heading 2a Economic, social and territorial cohesion, EUR 1 136,8 million for sub-heading 2b Resilience and Values, EUR 15,6 million for heading 5 Security and Defence and EUR 5,2 million for heading 6 Neighbourhood and the World.

Removed– having regard to the position on the draft general budget of the European Union for the 2025 financial year, which the Council adopted on 13 September 2024 and forwarded to Parliament on 16 September 2024 (12684/2024 – C10 0099/2024),

Added- In accordance with Article 11(1) a of the MFF Regulation, the Single Margin Instrument is mobilised in commitment appropriations for an amount of EUR 721,0 million for heading 7 European Public Administration.

Removed– having regard to Rule 96 of its Rules of Procedure,

AddedThe 2025 payment appropriations related to the mobilisation of the Flexibility Instrument in the years 2022 to 2025 are estimated by the Commission at EUR 1 398,8 million. The estimated payment schedule of the related outstanding amounts for these years is detailed in the following table:

Removed– having regard to the opinions of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development and the Committee on Fisheries,

Added1. Budget 2025

Removed– having regard to the letters from the Committee on Development, the Committee on Budgetary Control, the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs, the Committee on Environment, Public Health and Food Safety, the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy, the Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection, the Committee on Transport and Tourism, the Committee on Culture and Education, the Committee on Constitutional Affairs and the Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality,

Added1.1. 'Closed' lines

Removed– having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgets (A10-0008/2024),

AddedUnless stated otherwise below in these conclusions, all budget lines are confirmed as proposed by the Commission in the Draft Budget for 2025 as amended in Amending Letter No. 1/2025.

RemovedSection III – European Commission - A people-centred EU budget 2025: Investments tailored to improving people’s lives and boosting the Union’s competitiveness and sustainability

AddedAdditionally, unless stated otherwise, all budget lines amended by the Council and agreed by the Parliament in its reading are confirmed as amended by the Council.

Removed1. Is adamant that, in times of geopolitical and institutional change, financial pressure, climate change and biodiversity crisis, as well as of societal challenges, a reliable, robust, flexible, investment oriented EU budget remains instrumental for the implementation of the Union’s policies and is key in responding to people’s increasing needs, in leaving no-one behind through the green and digital transitions, in delivering prosperity and security for people and in boosting the competitiveness and sustainability of the Union economy, in order to defend the social dimension of Union spending; reinforces, therefore, in its reading, budgetary lines that have a direct impact on improving peoples’ lives and that respond to the global challenges;

AddedFor the other budget lines, the Conciliation Committee has agreed on the conclusions included in sections 1.2 to 1.7 below.

Removed2. Emphasises that Russia’s illegal and unjustifiable war of aggression against Ukraine has brought further substantial economic and social consequences for people across Europe, especially the most vulnerable, in frontline countries and in Ukraine; acknowledges that a confluence of political, security, socio-economic, climate, biodiversity and environmental challenges demand a comprehensive and resolute response from the Union, including by exploiting to the fullest possible extent the prevention as well as the crisis response capacity of the EU budget; considers it crucial for the Union to be able to act swiftly and adequately in emergency situations caused by major natural disasters, linked to the worsening climate and biodiversity crisis, humanitarian emergencies or public health crises in Member States and accession countries as well as to support third countries suffering from such crises;

Added1.2. Horizontal issues

Removed3. Notes with concern that while inflation has begun to subside compared to previous years’ peaks, its longer-term impact on the cost of living, energy insecurity, energy poverty and food prices continues to be a burden for people across Europe, on households’ purchasing power and on companies’, in particular SMEs’, competitiveness and productivity; stresses that, against this background, a combination of policy responses will have to be deployed to adequately address the broad range of challenges; reminds that the Union budget, in complementarity with the national budgets of the Member States and private finance should play a central role in this regard; recalls that the EU budget is an investment budget in line with Union’s political priorities and programmes which generates a return on investment and growth possibilities; emphasises that more solidarity among people of Europe, as well as between Member States is needed, as well as more investments in efficient policies and programmes which improve the Union's security and competitiveness and which have a positive impact on people’s lives, in particular in areas such as public health, housing and environment;

AddedDecentralised agencies

Removed4. Highlights that the Budget 2025 procedure takes place in a context of institutional changeover where the next Commission’s policy priorities, strategic focus and legislative initiatives and their budgetary implications are not yet known in any detail; stresses that most expenditure programmes of the 2021-2027 financial programming period are being executed according to plan and that the obligation to implement multiannual programmes in a reliable and predictable manner must be in line with the necessity to swiftly respond to new developments and unforeseen events and crises; highlights that, given the new institutional cycle, cooperation across the institutional settings is crucial as investments and political decisions taken today will shape the EU’s agenda for the next decades and beyond;

AddedThe EU contribution (in commitment and payment appropriations) and the number of establishment plan posts for all decentralised agencies are set at the level proposed by the Commission in the Draft Budget for 2025 as amended in Amending Letter No. 1/2025, with the following exceptions:

Removed5. Underlines that while the MFF revision represented a clear improvement on the status quo, the EU budget is still under pressure, with limited margins and flexibility, with cuts and redeployments to key programmes and with reduced ambition in important future-oriented policy areas; acknowledges that the revision has resulted in providing additional resources for Ukraine, the Western Balkans, the implementation of the new Asylum and Migration Pact, the European Defence Fund as well as moderate increases in the flexibility mechanism; regrets, however, that the revision has also resulted in cuts to flagship programmes, such as Horizon Europe and EU4Health; welcomes that the Commission has proceeded with translating the outcome of the MFF revision into the Financial Programming as well as amending budgets 2024 and the draft general budget for 2025 (the “DB”);

Added Under sub-heading 2b:

Removed6. Notes that the 2025 Budget will be the first full annual budgetary procedure under the revised MFF ceilings and rules; insists that the spirit and letter of the MFF revision be respected and the additional appropriations resulting from the revision be fully authorised and committed; reminds that a certain level of redeployments, in particular under headings 1 and 6 was part of the MFF revision package; stresses its firm position to not see such reductions repeated or made worse in the annual procedure;

Added The European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO, budget article 07 10 08), for which the level of commitment and payment appropriations is increased by EUR 2,0 million including to finance additional 14 SNEs to support the work of the permanent chambers.

Removed7. Recalls its long-standing position that new policy priorities or tasks should be accompanied by fresh money and that Union institutions, bodies, decentralised agencies and the EPPO, must be properly staffed and adequately resourced to fulfil their mandate; points out that it is the responsibility of the Union to make sure that all institutions, bodies and agencies have sufficient level of cybersecurity in place; emphasises that all spending through the Union budget must be subject to parliamentary scrutiny;

Added Under heading 5:

Removed8. Regrets, that, despite the MFF revision, overall ceilings and margins are still very low in the Financial Programming and the DB and stand at zero in several headings (Heading 2b, Heading 5, Heading 7); takes note with concern that the NGEU overrun costs, i.e. the needs for the EURI refinancing costs which have not yet been programmed, amount to approximately EUR 2,6 billion, twice the Commission’s forecast; is aware that the Amending Letter 1/2025 will update the needs estimation for 2025; is keenly aware that identifying the sources of financing this amount, without causing undue collateral damage to essential programmes and maintaining some flexibility for unforeseen future events, constitutes the biggest challenge in the 2025 procedure;

Added The European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (Europol, budget article 12 10 01), for which 15 posts are added to the establishment plan and the level of commitment and payment appropriations is increased by EUR 5,0 million.

Removed9. Recalls that the Commission in the DB proposed a total level of appropriations, including special instruments (which are counted outside the MFF ceilings), amounting to EUR 199 716.8 million in commitment appropriations corresponding to 1.08% of GNI, and EUR 152 684.1 million in payment appropriations, corresponding to 0.83% of GNI;

AddedExecutive agencies

Removed10. Deplores that the Council, in its position which it calls “prudent”, proposes to cut commitment appropriations by EUR 1.52 billion across the MFF headings, leaving a total of EUR 191.527 billion, and reduces payment appropriations by EUR 876 million across the MFF headings; stresses that, by applying such largely unjustified cuts across headings on programme lines to generate additional unallocated margins, the Council’s reading sticks to an approach that is not fit for purpose in times of crisis; underlines that this approach is not based in the reality of current budgetary needs, as these margins are not intended for use in the annual budget 2025 at all; considers that many of the budgetary cuts from important programmes such as Erasmus are made with the sole intention of repaying the NGEU interest costs cutting precisely from funding for the next generation that is supposed to benefit the most from such programmes;

AddedThe EU contribution (in commitment and payment appropriations) and the number of establishment plan posts for executive agencies are set at the level proposed by the Commission in the Draft Budget for 2025 as amended in Amending Letter No. 1/2025.

Removed11. Emphasises its strong preference for covering a larger share of EURI borrowing costs by availabilities in the de-commitment compartment of the EURI Special Instrument over and above the MFF ceilings which would have the effect of restoring some margin within Heading 2b and creating budgetary space in the Flexibility Instrument; proposes, therefore, to cover 65% of the overrun costs in 2025 by the de-commitment compartment of the EURI special instrument;

AddedPilot Projects/Preparatory Actions

Removed12. Reiterates its calls on Council and Commission to apply Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2020/2092 on a general regime of conditionality for the protection of the Union budget in full; stresses in particular that compliance with the rule of law is a fundamental pre-requisite to access EU funds; stresses that systemic issues with the rule of law, such as the violation of the principle of separation of powers or recent attempts in some Member States to attack the independence of the judiciary or to dismantle the institutions to fight against corruption constitute clear risks to the financial interests of the EU and the protection of the EU Budget and calls on the Commission to allow no backsliding on achievements in the area of rule of law and safeguarding institutions;

AddedA comprehensive package of 33 pilot projects/preparatory actions (PP/PA), of which 22 new, for a total amount of EUR 104,5 million in commitment appropriations is agreed as proposed by the Parliament.

Removed13. Recalls that, in accordance with the Financial Regulation, when implementing the budget, Member States and the Commission must ensure compliance with the Charter of Fundamental Rights, and respect the Union’s values enshrined in Article 2 TEU; underlines, in particular Articles 137, 138 and 158 of the Financial Regulation and recalls the Commission’s and Member States’ obligation to exclude from Union funds any persons or entities found guilty by a final judgment of terrorist offences as well as final judgements on terrorist activities, inciting, aiding, abetting or attempting to commit such offences , corruption or other serious offences;

AddedThis package respects the ceilings for pilot projects and preparatory actions set out in the Financial Regulation.

Removed14. Reaffirms the significance of the horizontal principles concerning climate, biodiversity and gender equality that underpin the MFF and all related EU policies, also in the context of annual budgetary procedures; calls on the Commission to fulfil its obligation under the Interinstitutional Agreement of 16 December 2020 to ensure that the agreed targets related to climate and biodiversity, as well as the obligation to respect the ‘do no significant harm’ principle and to promote gender equality are fully met;

Added1.3. Expenditure headings of the financial framework - commitment appropriations

Removed15. Deplores the absence of progress in the Council and Member States on the reform of the own resources system; recalls its position on the amended Commission proposal, which endorses the introduction of new own resources; considers that the introduction of fresh genuine revenue sources, in line with the roadmap in the Interinstitutional Agreement, would serve to cover the additional budgetary burden arising from NextGenerationEU borrowing and would thereby shield the margins and flexibility mechanisms, which in turn would facilitate budgetary decision-making on unforeseen needs as well as new strategic foresight initiatives; reiterates the need to fully respect the timeline of the legally-binding roadmap for the introduction of new own resources annexed to the IIA and underlines that swift progress on new own resources is essential both for the repayment of EURI borrowing costs and for the financial robustness and implementation of the current and future MFFs; urges, furthermore, the Commission to continue the efforts to identify fresh, new and preferably genuine own resources and other revenue sources for the EU budget beyond the IIA;