Changes from report parliamentary committee draft to plenary report

RemovedAn equitable, fair and inclusive budget that offers better opportunities to all EU citizens

Added10. Regrets the fact that the capacity to respond to unforeseen events or to launch new initiatives is severely affected by budgetary scarcities and intends to rectify this situation to the extent possible and also taking account of the increased expectations by EU citizens; recalls that it is necessary to establish an additional special instrument over and above the MFF ceilings so that the EU budget can better adapt and quickly react to crises and their social and economic effects;

Removed9. Observes that affordable living and societal cohesion continue to be persistent challenges across EU Member States; considers, therefore, that the social dimension of EU spending, as a necessary feature for its acceptability and legitimacy, should become a prominent cross-cutting criterion for all policy areas; wishes to accentuate inclusiveness and accessibility to funding wherever appropriate and in accordance with pertinent eligibility criteria;

Added11. Is determined, despite these numerous constraints, to maintain a coherent and unified position which reflects its established policy priorities and institutional interests, including boosting the Union’s competitiveness, reducing strategic dependencies, accelerating clean energy deployment, ensuring the achievement of the Union’s climate and biodiversity mainstreaming targets, enhancing its security and defence capabilities as well as contributing to the green and digital transitions while minimising negative impacts on flagship programmes and maximising the spill-over benefits of economic growth for all people in the EU;

Removed10. Underlines that the EU budget is above all an investment budget with leverage effect, able to support policymaking, complementing national policies and, therefore, responding to the needs of all EU citizens; expects that ongoing efforts to deploy and spend the funds received under the RFF and the cohesion funds will benefit the Union; believes that no effort should be spared to ensure that these two major sources of EU funding are spent effectively and without further delay;

AddedAn equitable, fair and inclusive budget that offers better opportunities to all EU citizens and ensures economic growth

Removed11. Is firmly determined to use the EU budget to make a tangible and visible difference to citizens and to the economy in the single market by supporting quality job creation and fighting unemployment, enhancing European competitiveness, supporting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and young people, improving infrastructure, investing in social and territorial cohesion and inclusion, and supporting vulnerable, remote and rural communities, agriculture and research and innovation throughout the Union; underlines that funding possibilities should be maximised to support elderly people, young farmers, better working conditions, access to health, education and upskilling and reskilling, including through talent booster schemes;

Added12. Observes that affordable living and societal cohesion continue to be persistent challenges across EU Member States and their regions and recalls the role of high quality and accessible public services in this regard; wishes to accentuate inclusiveness and accessibility to funding wherever appropriate and in accordance with pertinent eligibility criteria, and maximise funding possibilities by leveraging existing funds; considers that the social dimension of EU spending, as a necessary feature for its legitimacy, should continue to be a cross-cutting criterion for all policy areas;

Removed12. Insists that a maximum of possible funding should be mobilised through Erasmus+ and the European Solidarity Corps to promote learning and entrepreneurship and to improve young people’s skills and employability, as well as promoting social inclusion; reiterates the need to ensure that both programmes offer greater opportunities to people from disadvantaged backgrounds; maintains its view that mobility grants in Erasmus+ must cover increases in living costs to ensure accessible and inclusive participation;

Added13. Underlines that the EU budget is above all an investment budget with leverage effect, able to boost the Union’s objectives and policymaking, complementing national policies and, thereby, responding to the needs of all people in the EU; recalls the importance of the Recovery and Resilience Facility in increasing the resilience of the Union and mitigating the socio-economic impacts of the past and ongoing crises; believes that no effort should be spared to ensure that these two major sources of EU funding are spent effectively and without further delay;

Removed13. Underlines the importance of implementing the European Pillar of Social Rights; highlights the crucial role of the EU budget in contributing to initiatives that reinforce social dialogue, strengthen local and regional social actions and provide access for all to vital key services; reiterates the need for a European strategy for elderly people, with specific actions to combat marginalisation, loneliness and isolation; highlights the case of European hauliers that are confronted with different challenges in each Member State, from rising costs to capacity shortages, and the need for flexibility and better working conditions; calls, therefore, for programmes to establish equity within this hard-working sector; calls for adequate resources to be allocated to support the monitoring of working conditions across the Member States;

Added14. Is firmly determined to use the EU budget to make a tangible and visible difference to citizens, to the economy in the single market and for achieving the objectives of the Green Deal by supporting quality job creation in cutting-edge industries, future-proofing the labour market through skills development and talent booster schemes, fighting unemployment, enhancing European competitiveness and increasing the Union’s defence readiness; considers that technological autonomy and sustainable growth are key to reaching the Union’s long term energy and climate objectives; reiterates its call to maintain adequate funding to support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) as the backbone of the European economy, start-ups and young people, farmers, teachers and transport workers; underlines the need to further improve the energy and transport infrastructure, invest in upgrading public health and welfare services, social and territorial cohesion and inclusion, and in supporting vulnerable, remote and rural communities including smart villages; points out that the budget needs to ensure the green transition while supporting quality agriculture, ensuring access to quality health and education;

Removed14. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to allocate adequate resources for the enforcement of EU regulations related to EU welfare systems in order to allow EU citizens, in particular mobile workers, to benefit from easier transfer of social benefits; calls for EU funds to be used to develop the Electronic Exchange of Social Security Information system and to support further digitalisation of the social security systems for fair labour mobility; acknowledges that technology and artificial intelligence (AI) are rapidly changing the employment landscape, and that some jobs are already becoming obsolete; calls for complementary support to national employment strategies for job retraining and mobility at EU level in a harmonised and coordinated way;

Added15. Stresses the significant impact of research and innovation on competitiveness, long-term growth and employment in the European Union; recalls the long-standing initiative to push EU research & development investment intensity to 3% of GDP; recognises the existing gap between the objective and the actual funding provided; underlines that European technology leadership is essential to implement the Green Deal and the Health Union as it creates high-skilled jobs in the Union along the entire value chain, and strengthens excellence of research and innovation within the Union; is deeply concerned that the funds available only cover a fraction of all applications submitted, resulting in high levels of oversubscription of programmes and researchers leaving the Union for competing regions;

Removed15. Calls on the Commission to rapidly implement the solutions identified as key during the European Year of Youth, including the youth test and banning unpaid internships;

Added16. Stresses that sustainable and long-term solutions must be provided in order to successfully fight structural demographic challenges, as well as to mitigate brain drain in less developed regions and cities of the EU; emphasises the need for financial resources to revitalise regions suffering from population decline through investments in social and demographic policies that support families and to provide ageing populations in Europe with adequate support in terms of access to healthcare, mobility and public services;

Removed16. Highlights the need to ensure sufficient funding for the EU civil protection mechanism and calls for a better consolidation of the EU’s emergency response capacities by strengthening the joint medical and emergency intervention teams;

Added17. Insists that a maximum of possible funding should be mobilised through Erasmus+ and the European Solidarity Corps to promote learning and entrepreneurship and to improve young people’s skills, formal, non-formal and informal education as well as employability, as well as promoting social inclusion; reiterates the need to ensure that both programmes guarantee equal opportunities, with a special focus on people from disadvantaged backgrounds across the EU and associated countries; maintains its view that mobility grants in Erasmus+ must be further supported in order to cover the increases in living costs and to ensure accessibility, equal opportunity and inclusive participation in particular by increasing the minimum grant per participant to an appropriate level;

Removed17. Underlines the importance of strengthening the European Health Union; acknowledges that the price of medicines and health technologies has a major impact on patients’ ability to access them; stresses that unaffordable medicine costs represent a real barrier to treatment in some Member States and calls for the implementation of specific measures, including under the EU4Health programme, to tackle these challenges and reduce inequalities between Member States; acknowledges that cardiovascular disease (CVD) remains the leading cause of death in the EU; considers that addressing CVDs by investing in actions targeted at personalised medicine and eHealth is key as this will increase prevention and treatment standards, and allow all citizens equal access to healthcare;

Added18. Underlines the importance of implementing the European Pillar of Social Rights and calls on the Commission to start reflections on a methodology for tracking social expenditure in the EU budget under the next programming period; highlights the crucial role of the EU budget in contributing to initiatives that reinforce social dialogue and strengthen local and regional social actions and provide access for all to vital key services; reiterates the need for a European strategy for elderly people, with specific actions to combat marginalisation, loneliness and isolation; recalls, furthermore the need for full implementation of the strategy for the rights of persons with disabilities 2021-2030 to improve their living conditions in the Union; highlights the case of European hauliers that are confronted with different challenges in each Member State, from rising costs to capacity shortages, and the need for flexibility and better working conditions; stresses the need to reinforce existing rules for their protection and allocate additional resources to monitor working conditions across the Member States; underlines in this regard the benefits of developing IT-tools at EU-level that help improve the implementation of bureaucratic requirements and the standardisation of certificates;

Removed18. Recalls the need to tackle the skills deficit, the issue of brain drain and the correlation between market needs and skills; considers that for the EU workforce to remain competitive in the future, defining key areas for training and reskilling is necessary; stresses that further investment is required to modernise the Union’s education systems, create talent booster schemes and incentivise young entrepreneurs; calls for the implementation of the European Year for Skills and the European Education Area to be accelerated; recalls the importance of establishing a European education plan with financial resources to support quality education and teacher training, and to reduce early school dropout rates;

Added19. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to allocate adequate resources for the effective implementation of EU rules on social security coordination in order to facilitate labour mobility and easier transfer of social security benefits; calls for EU funds to be used to develop the Electronic Exchange of Social Security Information system and to support further digitalisation of the social security systems for fair labour mobility;

Removed19. Underlines the added value of funding programmes in the areas of democracy and rights and values; wishes to see the relevant budget lines strengthened in order to address polarisation, low institutional trust, democratic backsliding, the erosion of the rule of law, the shrinking space for civil society and the instrumentalisation of Euroscepticism; emphasises the valuable work carried out under the Daphne and Equality and Rights strands of the Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values (CERV) programme; reiterates that the necessary resources should be devoted to fighting gender-based violence and to supporting access to safe sexual and reproductive health services and women’s rights organisations, as well as EU initiatives tackling discrimination against women;

Added20. Acknowledges that technology and Artificial Intelligence (AI) are rapidly changing the employment landscape; highlights the economic potential human-centred trustworthy AI technologies can bring to Europe’s economic growth while improving the lives of citizens in a number of areas such as health, agriculture, energy, transport and security; calls for this to be reflected in EU programmes and policies through the allocation of adequate financial resources; stresses the need to improve basic digital skills of the citizens to match the needs of companies and to equip the citizens against disinformation; supports the EU measures complementing the national employment strategies for job reconversion and mobility at EU level in a coordinated way, embracing the potential of these changes for a thriving, adaptable workforce including via fostering job reskilling and mobility, thereby ensuring a smooth transition into new and emerging job sectors;

Removed20. Underlines the need to strengthen journalistic freedom through adequate resources, in line with relevant regulations; calls for adequate support to the cultural sector, including for the promotion of the cross-border circulation of European films, music and video games;

Added21. Is alarmed by the increasing number of extreme weather events, such as severe fires, floods and other natural disasters linked to the worsening climate change throughout Europe; highlights, therefore, the need to ensure sufficient funding for the EU civil protection mechanism and calls for a better consolidation of the EU’s emergency response capacities by strengthening the joint medical and emergency intervention teams; calls on the Commission to ensure that resources can also be made available swiftly through the EUSF and the EAR;

Added22. Underlines the importance of appropriate funding to be allocated to the activities laid down in the EU4Health Regulation; acknowledges that the price of medicines and health technologies has a major impact on patients’ ability to access them; stresses that unaffordable medicine costs represent a real barrier to treatment and calls for the implementation of specific measures to tackle these challenges; calls in this respect for better coordination at EU level and joint procurement of medicines in order to reduce costs; underlines the importance of tackling child diseases with special focus on rare diseases;; stresses, in particular, the importance of the Beating Cancer Plan; calls for an ambitious budget for Cluster Health in Horizon Europe to ensure that the EU can respond effectively to future health crises, help strengthen health systems and improve people’s physical and mental health by making healthcare more affordable and accessible; acknowledges that cardiovascular disease (CVD) remains the leading cause of death in the EU; considers that addressing CVDs by investing in actions targeted at personalised medicine and eHealth is key as this will increase prevention and treatment standards, and allow all citizens equal access to healthcare; underlines the need to prevent medicine shortages faced in some member states in the recent years; recognises that health inequalities need to be reduced to provide equitable health for all women, including access to sexual and reproductive health, and reminds that it is essential for women’s health to remain a policy and research priority;

Added23. Recalls the need to tackle the skills deficit, the issue of brain drain and the correlation between market needs and skills, not least in the perspective of the situation in different EU regions; considers that for the EU workforce to remain competitive in the future, defining key areas for training and reskilling is necessary, especially for the promotion of green and digital skills; stresses further investment is required to modernise the Union’s education systems, create talent booster schemes and incentivise young entrepreneurs; calls for the implementation of the European Year of Skills and the European Education Area to be accelerated; calls on the Commission to rapidly implement the solutions identified as key during the European Year of Skills, highlighting the need for better cooperation with companies, including the EU youth test and banning unpaid internships; following the recommendations adopted in the Conference on the Future of Europe, recalls the importance of establishing a European education plan with financial resources to support quality education and teacher training, and to reduce early school dropout rates;

Added24. Underlines the added value of funding programmes in the areas of democracy and rights and values recalls the importance that the EU budget plays in the promotion of European values enshrined in Article 2 TEU, culture and citizens’ rights and building resilient societies, and supporting the key principles of democracy, rule of law, solidarity, inclusiveness, justice, non-discrimination and equality including gender equality; wishes to see the relevant budget lines and bodies strengthened in order to address polarisation, the rise of political extremism, low institutional trust, foster participatory democracy, promote fundamental rights, prevent democratic backsliding, the erosion of the rule of law, the shrinking space for civil society organisations working in this area at local, national and Union levels and the instrumentalisation of Euroscepticism; calls for ensuring sufficient EU funds for the Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values (CERV) Programme, emphasises the valuable work carried out under the Union Values strand, which provides direct funding to civil society organisations, as well as the Daphne and Equality and Rights; reiterates that the necessary resources should be devoted to fighting gender-based violence and to supporting rights and access to safe sexual and reproductive health services, to women’s rights organisations, as well as EU initiatives and bodies tackling discrimination against women; calls on the Commission to facilitate access to the CERV programme as well as to guarantee the flexibility in the re-granting process to local and grassroots organisations by operators in the Member States, in order to ensure that funding reaches those working closest with the citizens;

Added25. Calls on the Commission to increase the Union’s support to protect citizens, minorities and religious communities and public spaces against terrorist threats, to fight against radicalisation and terrorist content online, and to counter the spike in hate speech, antisemitism, anti-Muslim hatred and racism across Europe and worldwide;

Added26. Highlights the ever-increasing threats and dangers of organised and targeted disinformation campaigns against the European Union by foreign stakeholders; requests funding for Horizon Europe and activities under the management of the Commission and the EEAS to fight the spread of disinformation at a large scale and develop more effective countermeasures; calls on the Union and Member States to use EU funds for activities dedicated to increasing media literacy among citizens; calls for increased funding to counter hate speech and terrorist content online; underlines the need to strengthen journalistic freedom and media pluralism through adequate resources, in line with relevant regulations, and to support journalists, including investigative journalists, human rights defenders and members of civil society faced with retaliatory actions such as strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs); calls for adequate support to the cultural sector, including for the promotion of the cross-border circulation of European films, music and video games; calls, therefore, for increased financing for the Creative Europe programme;

A budget that delivers on strategic priorities

Change 2

Removed21. Maintains that the digital transition offers a host of opportunities to improve digital infrastructure and connectivity and to develop digital skills; points to the importance of the Digital Europe programme (DEP) and the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF-Digital) in this respect; reiterates the need for an AI and robotics education programme designed for teachers and learners, and financed through Erasmus+, DEP and CEF-Digital; underlines that the EU budget must adequately support the ethical use of AI, especially in the education and cultural sectors; recalls the need for EU-funded programmes to bridge the digital gap in education and lifelong learning;

Added27. Stresses the importance of reducing the Union’s strategic dependencies in key sectors; welcomes the new STEP regulation but points out the need for a structural answer to the investment needs of strategic industries in order to make it easier to identify, develop and scale up breakthrough technologies; regrets that the existing level of Horizon Europe funding is insufficient in this regard and calls for increased funding for Horizon Europe and other key Union programmes in this field, such as InvestEU, to deliver on the goal of open strategic autonomy; considers that the EU’s dependency in the supply of resources represents a growing concern; calls for further EU investment in building its open strategic autonomy by securing the acceleration of renewable energy, faster permitting processes, the decarbonisation of buildings, access to critical raw materials and developing resilient value chains for EU industrial ecosystems especially in key fields such as health and defence; requests adequate funding to ensure the continuous development of the current European flagship programmes in the space sector, including Copernicus, Galileo/EGNOS, the European initiative in satellite communication (GOVSATCOM) and on Space Situational Awareness (SSA);

Removed22. Underlines the central role of the budget in delivering on the European Green Deal and tackling climate change by reducing emissions, increasing the use of renewable energy, creating a circular economy and preserving biodiversity; underlines the central role that the LIFE programme plays in delivering on the European Green Deal, achieving the Union’s climate neutrality goal, in line with the Paris Agreement, supporting climate mitigation and adaptation measures, reducing emissions, increasing the use of renewable energy, creating a circular economy, protecting ecosystems and reversing the alarming trend of biodiversity loss;

Added28. Maintains that the digital transition offers a host of opportunities to improve digital infrastructure and connectivity and to develop digital skills; points to the importance of the Digital Europe programme (DEP) and the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF-Digital) as well as the Digital Education Action Plan in this respect; reiterates the need for an AI, coding and robotics education programme designed for teachers and learners, and financed through the relevant programmes; underlines that the EU budget must adequately support the ethical and non-discriminatory use of AI, especially in the education and cultural sectors; recalls the need for EU-funded programmes to further invest in improving digital literacy in society and closing the digital gap, including the digital gender gap, in education and lifelong learning;

Removed23. Highlights the central importance of the common agricultural policy (CAP) and the common fisheries policy for food security and greater EU autonomy in high-quality food production; underlines the role of CAP in ensuring a sustainable and decent income for EU farmers, notably young farmers; calls for additional and immediate resources to help farmers cope with the impact of inflation, fuel costs and new production standards; emphasises the need to help new and young farmers, thereby ensuring the sustainability of the sector and generational renewal, while addressing labour and skills shortages in the agri-food sector; notes that the labour shortage and difficult working conditions represent a real challenge for the agricultural sector and calls for adequate resources to be mobilised to facilitate the implementation of social conditionality measures; calls for appropriate investments to accelerate and facilitate the transition towards a sustainable and affordable food system;

Added29. Underlines the central role of the EU budget in delivering on the European Green Deal and tackling climate change by reducing emissions, increasing the use of renewable energy, creating a circular economy, protecting ecosystems and reversing the alarming trend of biodiversity loss, while safeguarding competitiveness and creating green jobs as well as growth within the EU; underlines the central role that the LIFE programme plays in delivering on the European Green Deal, achieving the Union’s climate neutrality goal, in line with the EU Climate Law and the Paris Agreement; is deeply concerned by the serious impacts of climate change including in the form of water scarcity;

Removed24. Reiterates that all EU programmes, policies and activities should be implemented in such a way that promotes gender equality in the delivery of their objectives; welcomes, in this regard, the Commission’s work on gender budgeting and a new methodology to measure the gender impact of Union spending as set out in the Interinstitutional Agreement;

Added30. Underlines that concerns about security of energy supply and high energy prices make the issue of energy poverty a crucial one and pose challenges for the European industry, in particular SMEs; in this regard, stresses the need to boost EU investments for the ongoing EU transition to climate neutrality, including for energy efficiency, research and innovation in sustainable low carbon and carbon-free technologies, and in particular in areas with positive impact on reducing the costs of living for households such as improving the energy efficiency for buildings, and deploying renewable energy sources; takes note of the massive investment needs for decarbonisation of transport and continued rise of the construction and raw material prices; recognises the strategic value of the extension of the TEN-T towards the eastern neighbourhood and stronger connectivity with the EU’s strategic partners; highlights the importance of the CEF-Transport programme and its positive role for achieving the Green Deal objectives and the clean energy transition;

Removed25. Considers that the EU’s dependency in the supply of resources represents a growing concern; calls for further EU investment in building its open strategic autonomy by securing access to critical raw materials and developing resilient value chains for EU industrial ecosystems;

Added31. Underscores that the 2025 budget must be aligned with the Union's policy objectives and international commitments; stresses the need for continuous work to achieve the climate and biodiversity mainstreaming targets for Union budget spending laid down in the IIA, as part of the broader aim of making the Union climate-neutral by 2050 at the latest; recalls the provision in the IIA to identify relevant measures to be taken in case the periodic stock taking indicates insufficient progress towards achieving applicable targets; is concerned by the Commission’s assessment that the 10 % target for biodiversity-related spending in 2026 and 2027 will most likely not be reached and by the absence of a clear path towards reaching the agreed targets; calls on the Commission to monitor the implementation of the ‘do no significant harm’ principle and to take necessary corrective measures when necessary;

Added32. Stresses the importance of the European Urban Initiative and its adequate funding to fulfil all its objectives; calls for more direct funding for local authorities in order to strengthen their capacity building, technical support and exchange of best practices; calls on reinforcing resources for relevant agencies, which must correspond with the workload stemming from the EU Green Deal agenda, in particular the ‘Fit for 55 package’;

Added33. Highlights the essential contribution of farmers and fishermen to society and underlines, therefore, the central importance of the common agricultural policy (CAP) and the common fisheries policy for food security and greater EU autonomy in high-quality food production; underlines the role of CAP in ensuring a sustainable and decent income for EU farmers, notably small-scale and young farmers; calls for concrete measures to address the root-causes of farmers’ discontent across the EU and in particular calls for immediate resources and measures to help farmers cope with the impact of inflation, fuel costs, new production standards and changes in the global food market; emphasises the need to help new and young farmers, thereby ensuring generational renewal, while addressing labour and skills shortages in the agri-food sector; points out that European farmers face many challenges, notably excessive red tape and administrative burden, increasing regulatory overlap, shortages, as well as difficult working conditions; stresses the need to better address the impact of increasing frequency and intensity of floods, droughts and wildfires on the sectors through dedicated support measures; calls for adequate income for all in the agricultural sectors; underlines the need for appropriate support for research and innovation, and for the respect of labour standards, as well as for appropriate investments to offer alternative income sources, and to facilitate the transition towards a more sustainable and affordable food system in particular through innovation, preserving farmer’s income, while avoiding a situation where European farmers face unfair competition from imports that do not meet our standards; expects the strategic dialogue on the future of agriculture to address all relevant issues including preventive aspects;

Added34. Reiterates that all EU programmes, policies and activities should be implemented in such a way that promotes gender equality in the delivery of their objectives; welcomes, in this regard, the Commission’s work on gender budgeting and stresses the need to further develop its gender tracking methodology to measure the gender impact of Union spending as set out in the Interinstitutional Agreement; calls on the Commission to demonstrate results of this methodology for the 2025 budget accompanied by the systematic collection, reporting and evaluation of gender-disaggregated data;

A future-fit budget for a changing world

Change 3

Changed26.35. Reiterates the need to implement a migration and asylum policy that is based on solidarity, shared responsibility and respect for human rights, in line with Union values and international commitments; stresses that effectiveeffective, humane and fair management and protection of the Union’s external borders are key to ensuring the security of the Union, guaranteeing the smooth and efficient implementation of the Union’s migration and asylum policy in particular in order to prepare the entry into application of the new Migration and preservingAsylum Pact including as regards effective, safe and dignified reception, integration and return and readmission procedures; underlines the vital role that the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF) and the Border Management and Visa Instrument (BMVI) play in that regard; recalls the need to preserve the free movement of people within the Union; recalls that Romania and Bulgaria willhave joinjoined Europe’s borderless Schengen travel zone by March 2024 and reiterates the importance of urgently concluding and operationalising a complete accession, including land and train connections; will strive to maximise the availabilities in the 2025 budget for these purposes,purposes; alsoconsiders inthat the lightEU must work closely with its neighbours and third countries of origin and transit to boost stable, sustainable and inclusive development and address the newroot Migrationcauses of migration, thereby preventing irregular migration and protecting vulnerable people from smuggling and trafficking networks, as well as death at sea; highlights in particular the increasing responsibilities of agencies in charge of border surveillance and management, support to Member States in carrying out their tasks under the Common European Asylum Pact;System and fundamental rights compliance; stresses the need for adequate funding, staffing and staff training for all agencies operating in the fields of security, justice, law enforcement, asylum and migration as well as border management in order to be able to fulfil their mandate; calls for particular focus on the accurate implementation and management of large-scale EU IT systems, which contribute to the Union’s security landscape;

Change 4

Changed27.36. ContinuesStresses that the security environment surrounding the EU remains very volatile; continues to put strong emphasis on European security and defence capabilities;capabilities to better respond to the unprecedented geopolitical challenges; believes that the EU budget is instrumental in the context of a common EU defence strategy and strengthened security and defence coordination between the Member States; wishes to reinforce its most successful and pertinent programmes such as the European Defence Fund and bodiesits agencies to boost European sovereignty; wishes to underline the synergies and efficiency of EU-level investments in thisthe context;area of defence, especially in the field of military mobility, protection and interoperability of infrastructure; underscores the necessity of addressing issues such as disinformation as a growing political and security challenge, particularly following the Russian war on Ukraine, cybercrime or organised crime with a cross-border dimension;

Change 5

Changed28.37. StressesReiterates its condemnation of Russia's war against Ukraine, and stresses that Russia’s war against Ukraine has brought back war to the European Union’s neighbourhood and has impacted supply chains, trade and economic relations; reiterates its full support for Ukraine in the fight for its freedom and democracy; deplores the terrible impact on lives, the suffering of the Ukrainian People, as well as the substantial economic and social consequences for the people of Europe;Europe caused by the unprovoked and unjustifiable Russian war of aggression; considers that the 2025 budget should contribute to mitigating the impact of the cost of living crisis and inflation; recalls that certain Member States, in particular frontline ones, and vulnerable sectors of the economy, remain particularly exposed to the consequences of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and deserve support in areas such as agriculture or infrastructure, but also military mobility in the spirit of EU solidarity;

Change 6

Changed29.38. Remains determined to help and support Ukraine through the proposed Ukraine Facility, which will provide support in the form of grants and loans for Ukraine’s repair, recovery and reconstruction, macro-financial assistance, reconstruction,institutional, social, economic and environmental upward convergence and public investments;investments, as well as for its EU accession path; stresses the urgency and the opportunity of combining the support for Ukraine and the reconstruction efforts with a constructive pre-accession process that fosters reforms and a progressive move towards the EU acquis; recalls that humanitarian aid for Ukraine will not be covered by the Facility and therefore underlines that sufficient resources for humanitarian aid will need to be provided in this context also in Budget 2025;

Change 7

Changed30.39. Considers that support for the Western Balkan countries remains important in view of EU enlargement remains important;and underlineswelcomes the importanceCommission’s ofnew sustainedGrowth supportPlan for candidate countries in implementing the necessaryWestern accession-relatedBalkans reformsas anda ingood enhancingstep theirto resiliencefurther andsupport preventingWestern andBalkan counteringcountries hybridin threats;economic welcomesconvergence with the decisionEU's tosingle grantmarket; underlines the Republicimportance of Moldova candidate country status andsustained insistssupport onfor thecandidate needcountries toin deployimplementing the necessary funds to support its accession process; stresses thataccession-related thereforms allocationnotably forregarding the Instrument for Pre-accessionrule Assistanceof (IPAlaw, III)anti-corruption and other pertinent budgetdemocracy linesand in 2025 should catalyse the cooperation with Moldovaenhancing intheir thisresilience regard,and aspreventing welland ascountering withhybrid Georgia;threats;

Change 8

Removed31. Notes that the Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument (NDICI) – Global Europe cushion has been depleted and should have benefited from reinforcements under the MFF revision;

Added40. Welcomes the decision to grant Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova candidate country status and insists on the need to deploy the necessary funds to support their accession process; stresses that the allocation for the Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance (IPA III) and pertinent budget lines under the NDICI - Global Europe in 2025 should catalyse the cooperation with Moldova as well as with Georgia in line with the agreement on the MFF revision;

Removed32. Stresses the importance of reinforcing the Southern and Eastern Neighbourhood lines in order to support political, economic and social reforms in the regions, to provide assistance to refugees, notably by ensuring adequate and predictable funding for the relevant agencies, and to enable support along the southern migration routes; supports the efforts made by the EU and its Member States to provide humanitarian assistance to the people in need in the Middle East region;

Added41. Underlines that the Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument (NDICI) – Global Europe is a vitally important instrument for the Union’s position as a leading global power and to fulfil its role as a peaceful stabilising force throughout the world, thereby reinforcing the Union’s geopolitical interests in the world; urges that its financial cushion has been depleted and should benefit from urgent reinforcements;

Removed33. Expects the financial needs for humanitarian aid to remain very high as a consequence of wars, increasing geopolitical instability, persistent extreme poverty and more frequent natural disasters; considers that the EU’s humanitarian aid for civilians in dire need is indispensable and contributes to building stability and peace in the affected regions and should be reinforced to respond to the intensified needs on the ground;

Added42. Highlights, moreover, the importance of the NDICI programme for the support to global challenges, the promotion of human rights, freedoms and democracy, as well as, for capacity building of civil society organisations and for delivering on the Union’s international climate and biodiversity commitments, within a comprehensive monitoring and control system;

RemovedBoosting implementation of programmes

Added43. Stresses the importance of reinforcing the Southern and Eastern Neighbourhood lines in order to support political, economic and social reforms in the regions, to provide assistance to refugees, notably by ensuring continuous, reinforced and predictable funding for the relevant actors and agencies commensurate to the level of needs to reach the people on the ground through a prudent distribution mechanism fully in line with EU rules to prevent illegal use of European funds;

Removed34. Recalls Parliament’s full support for the cohesion policy and reiterates its conviction that the objectives of cohesion policy can only be achieved if delays in programme execution are tackled head on; considers that such an approach would also be the most effective way of making the added value of EU spending visible and tangible for EU citizens;