Changes from report parliamentary committee draft to plenary report

67. Underlines the importance of the Southern Neighbourhood line in supporting political, economic and social reforms in the region and in meeting increased humanitarian needs as well as for other purposes of regional cooperation; proposes to increase appropriations for the line by EUR 35 million above the DB, with the aim of increasing funding to UNRWA given its vital role in delivering humanitarian aid and essential services like health and education to Palestinian refugees in Gaza and the wider region, to support reconstruction in Gaza, and to strengthen humanitarian and economic assistance in Syria, with support programmes addressing infrastructure reconstruction, accountability mechanisms, reinforcing the space for civil society and social stability in the country and to support ethnic and religious minorities in the Middle East;

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Changed57.68. Stresses that the Eastern Neighbourhood continues to be significantly affected by the Russian war of aggression, with countries providing shelter and assistance to refugees fleeing the warwar, experiencing hybrid threats by Russia and Belarus, and facing direct knock-on effects on their economies; stresses the need for targeted financial and technical assistance to help these countries stabilisebe more resilient through stabilising their economieseconomies, improving citizens' socio-economic situation, and strengthenstrengthening public infrastructure amidst these pressures; underlines the importance of supporting countries where, due to the recent suspension or redirection of US democracy and humanitarian assistance funding, including from USAID and the State Department's DRL bureau, many independent civil society organisations and media outlets, including Radio Free Europe, in Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia and Armenia have been forced to scale down, suspend, or close, which threatens democratic development and increases the vulnerability of these societies to authoritarian and Russian influence, and to increase support for independent civil society and media facing funding gaps, including Belarus-related outlets operating from the Union, to strengthen resilience against authoritarian influence; proposes, therefore, to increase appropriations by EUR 25 million above the DB for the Eastern Neighbourhood to address these complex challenges;

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Changed58.69. Shares the Council’s assessment that the needs for humanitarian aid are increasingly high; considers that, given the highly challenging international context, increasing geopolitical instability, escalating conflicts, accelerating humanitarian crises around the globe, rising extreme poverty and hunger, and the ongoing climate change-induced emergencies, humanitarian aid needs in 2026 are likely to be much higher than estimated by the Council and the Commission;Commission while the financial appropriations profile is decreasing and points out that the Union’s humanitarian aid budget has relied heavily on the Emergency Aid Reserve (EAR) for structural reasons reducing the Union’s ability to respond to emergencies; regrets that the modest increase proposed by the Council is made at the expense of other essential budget lines within Headingheading 6; proposes, therefore, taking into account the limited margin available and in addition to restoring all of the cuts unduly made by the Council, to increase appropriations for humanitarian aid by EUR 50 million compared to the DB;DB and regrets that the lack of available margin under heading 6 and flexibility does not allow for further reinforcement;

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Added70. Welcomes the fact that the introduction of the Ukraine Facility, Western Balkan and Moldova Facilities over the MFF ceilings provides a stable basis for support for those countries and releases some pressure on the availabilities within heading 6, particularly the Eastern Neighbourhood;

71. Wishes to add a new budget line dedicated to the Reform and Growth Facility for the Republic of Moldova; argues that this is the prerogative of the budgetary authority and is in line with the requirement set out in the Financial Regulation for budget nomenclature to comply with the principles of specification, sound financial management and transparency; believes that the creation of such a budget line is justified due to the fact that as a rule, each chapter of the Union budget shall correspond to a programme or an activity, in order to allow the budgetary authority to oversee and control the implementation of programmes and activities independently from one another;

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Changed60.72. Overall, reinforces Headingheading 6 by EUR 110 000 000 in commitment appropriations above the DB and the Council reading;

Heading 7 - European Public Administration

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Changed61.73. Recalls that spending under Headingheading 7 should be set at a level that guarantees that the Union has an effective and efficient administration; considers that the Council’s cuts in this heading are unjustified and would not allow the Commission to fulfil its tasks; restores therefore the DB for the Commission administrative expenditure, including with respect to the executive agencies and the Translation Centre for the Bodies of the EU (CdT);

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Added74. Notes the concerns about JSIS and its implementation; criticises that vulnerable persons do not receive adequate guidance and support; regrets the insufficient and outdated treatment catalogue for certain conditions and illnesses and regrets the severe lack of contact persons for the staff of the institutions; calls on the PMO to include innovative and modern diagnosis and treatment methods and to boost prevention, treatment and rehabilitation;

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Pilot projects and preparatory actions (PP-PAs)

75. Recalls the importance of pilot projects and preparatory actions (PP-PAs) as tools for the formulation of political priorities and the introduction of new initiatives that have the potential to turn into standing Union activities and programmes; adopts, following a careful analysis of all the proposals submitted and taking fully into account the Commission's assessment of their compliance with legal requirements and implementability, a balanced package of PP-PAs that reflects Parliament’s political priorities; calls on the Commission to swiftly implement PP-PAs and provide feedback on their performance and results delivered on the ground;

Payments

76. Underlines the need to provide a sufficient level of payment appropriations in the 2026 budget and decides, as a general rule, to reinforce payment appropriations on those lines which are amended in commitment appropriations;

Other Sections

Section I - European Parliament

77. Maintains unchanged the overall level of its budget for 2026 set at EUR 2 636 241 620, in line with its estimates of revenue and expenditure for the financial year 2026;

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Changed65.78. Reiterates the Parliament’s priorities for the forthcoming financial year, namely, continuing reinforcing the administrative support for Parliament to exercise its core functions of co-legislator, budgetary and discharge authority, the digital andtransformation greenand transitions,cybersecurity, including investments in cybersecurity and artificial intelligence, achieving the Green parliament, as well as continuing supporting multilingualism;

79. In line with its resolution of 3 April 2025 on Parliament’s estimates of revenue and expenditure for the financial year 2026 and taking into account the answers provided by the Secretary-General of the Parliament on 3 September 2025:

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Changed(a) welcomes the reforms of DG INLO, DG ITECITEC, DG COMM and DG COMMTRAD aiming at streamlining the services provided while offering more effective support to Members; takes note of further ongoing simplification initiatives being pursued by the administration and that an Action Plan was issued in June 2025 onin administrativethis simplification;context; asks the Secretary-General to provide the Committee on Budgets with estimation on the simplification impact achieved, comparing the actual results with the expected outcomes and then semestrial updates on the progress of that Action Plan with the impact in terms of budget and staff; recalls the importance of rationalising bureaucratic processes; welcomes therefore that several actions aiming at reducing administrative burdens for Members and facilitating their human resources management are on-going;

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Changed(b) highlights the potential of AI to gain efficiencies and streamline administrative processes; welcomes the establishment of an AI Governance Board, an AI Inter-DG Steering Group, and an AI Centre of Competence (DG ITEC);ITEC) while avoiding overlaps between different entities; calls for the implementation roadmap to provide solutions, such as applications and tools, to Members and staff and to be made available as soon as possible, while keeping in mind the related risks, including ethics and data protection; calls on the Bureau to evaluate the possibility of using AI tools, in particular for data analysis as part of the legislative process to support committee work; underlines that in developing and deploying AI applications, the Parliament's IT services should rely on European solutions in order to reduce dependency on non-Union providers for its own security;

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Changed(c) welcomes that the Parliament is progressing in its commitment to environmental sustainability, aiming to achieve a 55 % reduction in its greenhouse gas emissions per Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) by the end of 2028 compared to 2006; recalls that nearly two-thirds of Parliament's carbon footprint originate from the transportation of people; takes note that Parliament’s services are currently reviewing mission practices and revising staff mission rules with the overall goal of enhancing the effectiveness of staff missions and further diminishing their financial and environmental impact; asks that the revision of the staff mission rulesrules, which should also reduce administrative burden, be finalised as soon as possible; points out that the increase in seat capacity in the charter train between Brussels and Strasbourg is expected to further reduce emissions; takes note that a travel emissions calculation tool will be available by end of 2025 to enable staff, Members, and Parliament’s visitors to make more informed travel choices;

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Changed(d) welcomes that by the end of 2024, the Parliament’s total energy production from solar photovoltaic (PV) has increased substantially by 1040 % since 2020; deplorespoints out that the installation of PV in WEISS building is very difficult;difficult due to its structural design and would not warrant the investment; welcomes at the same time the installation of PVs in seven additional Parliament buildings in 2024, including in Strasbourg; emphasises that decisions on the sourcing of energy must be both ecologically sustainable and financially sound, in line with the applicable legislation;

(e) points out that multilingualism is a fundamental principle that makes the content of deliberations in the Union institutions more accessible and transparent, and ensures that proceedings are democratic; agrees that any AI solutions should ensure equal quality for all official languages of the Union; expects to be informed about the output of the revision of the Code of Conduct for Multilingualism due by the end of 2025;

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Changed(f) acknowledges that the decision to renovate the SPAAK building is the occasion to ensure the full compliance with applicable environmental and safety requirements; requests the Secretary-General to provide the Committee on Budgets with detailed information on a possible loan to cover the costs of the SPAAK building renovation, in accordance with Article 272(6) of the Financial Regulation, as soon as possible as well as the full planning of the works including the planning of the costs; takes note of the estimation of the costs of several preparatory actions to vacate the SPAAK building by 2027 with a temporary and permanent character; underlines that the total costs indicated in the Secretary-General’s answers mentioned above amount to EUR 28 million, mainly for DGs INLO, ITEC, LINC, SAFE; asks the Secretary-General and the Parliament’s services to find cost-effective solutions;solutions, including taking into account the infrastructures available in Strasbourg; recalls that, according to the Treaty on European Union, Parliament is to have its seat in Strasbourg; notes that permanent changes would require a Treaty change for which unanimity is needed;

(g) reiterates that Europa Experiences are an integral part of Parliament’s ongoing engagement with Union citizens; welcomes the adjusted concept of Europa Experiences as approved by the Bureau on 31 March 2025, to be more cost-efficient and more attractive to visitors; calls on the Secretary-General to update the Committee on Budgets about the savings following the implementation of this revised concept; reiterates its calls for the establishment of Europa Experiences in all Member States as soon as possible;

(h) highlights the role played by European Parliament Liaison Offices (EPLOs) in countering foreign interference and disinformation; takes note that the Bureau Working Group on Communication Outreach and Research endorsed and updated the strategy to counter dis-and misinformation; takes note of the actions taken by the services in that regard; expects that such activities are further strengthened, including the close cooperation with other Union institutions, such as Commission and the European External Action Service and security services in Member States;

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Added(i) strongly condemns the brutal attack on the EU delegation in Kyiv from 28 August 2025 hit by Russian missiles; luckily no staff member was harmed; welcomes the decision by the Parliament to open a permanent office of the European Parliament in Kyiv highlighting the ongoing commitment of the Parliament towards Ukraine; highlights the importance of continuous reinforcement of Parliament’s buildings security in all locations, as well as the security in all Union institutions;

Added(j) welcomes the recent initiatives endorsed by the Conference of Presidents and the Bureau to allow Members in the perinatal period to entrust their vote by proxy;

Added(k) reiterates its request for an impact assessment on the need to establish and equip a Strasbourg-like nursery (salle familiale) within the premises of the Parliament in Brussels to reinforce the institution’s commitment for family-friendly workplace policies;

Added(l) welcomes the measures that the Parliament has taken in order achieve a better geographical balance among Member States across all staff levels such as increasing its participation in career events, prioritising underrepresented Member States and organising nationality-specific competitions without compromising on its commitment to a strictly merit-based selection process;

Added80. Recalls the opinion of the Committee on Budgetary Control for the Bureau on the political group Identity and Democracy - Dissolution and final financial report 2024; recalls DG FINS’s findings that at least EUR 4 333 635,78 were unduly spent by the group over the 2019-2024 term, resulting in a significant damage to the budget and reputation of Parliament; welcomes the opinion of the Committee on Budgetary Control calling for the required procedures with a view to recover the full amount of ineligible expenditure without delay and to assess the potential liabilities of the responsible Members and hierarchy for intentional or gross-negligent authorisation of irregular expenditure;

81. Takes note of the early termination of the service contract concerning the SPINELLI self-serving canteen and welcomes the agreement reached to ensure continuity of business as well as certainty for the affected external staff; takes note that the agreement re-introduces for the first time since 2015 a subsidy for Parliament’s canteen services and asks the administration to keep the Committee on Budgets informed of the impact for the budget 2026 of this measure; invites the administration to seek, together with the service provider, technical and operational solutions to ensure long-term profitable operations of the SPINELLI self-serving canteen that avoid the use of subsidies, while maintaining a high quality, diverse and affordable offer as well as decent working conditions for staff;

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Added82. Recalls that the Parliament has, since 2018, consistently voted by an overwhelming majority in favour of lifting the overall ban on the participation of APAs in official delegations and missions; regrets that the Secretary-General and the Conference of Presidents continue to ignore the will of the majority of this House; reiterates its call on the competent bodies to amend the relevant provisions of its internal rules to allow, under certain conditions, the participation of APAs in official missions and delegations outside Parliament’s three places of work as a matter of urgency;

Other Sections (Sections IV-X)

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Changed68.83. Reiterates its deep concerns with the situation of Headingheading 7 of the current MFF; recalls that the constraints are the results of the cuts applied by the Council to the Commission’s already very low initial proposal when agreeing on the current MFF 2021-2027; regrets the Council’s opposition to the Commission’s proposal to increase the ceiling of Headingheading 7 in the MFF revision as from 2024; points to the failure to address the issue of the ceiling of Headingheading 7 in the MFF revision; highlights that the forecasted negative margin for 2026 presupposes the use of special instruments in Headingheading 7 for that purpose;

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84. Condemns the Commission’s horizontal approach to reduce the estimates of the institutions in order to adhere to the principle of stable staffing, and to a maximum increase of 2 % for non-salary related expenditure irrespective of new tasks given to the institutions by the Commission and the co-legislators; underlines the negative consequences of this approach on the work of the institutions;

85. Highlights that the largest parts of the institutions’ budgets are fixed by statutory or contractual obligations and impacted by inflation;

86. Highlights the need for the institutions to have sufficient staff in order to fulfil their mandate and adapt to challenges; welcomes the continuous efforts made by the institutions to redeploy staff and find additional efficiency gains but acknowledges the limits of this approach over the years; stresses the inevitability of reinforcing the amount of staff when necessary in order for the institutions to fulfil their mandates;

87. Increases, for the following duly justified cases, the level of appropriations or staff above the DB in order to give the institutions enough resources to perform adequately, efficiently and effectively the growing number of tasks from their mandate and to be equipped for the upcoming challenges, in particular as regards cyber-security and artificial intelligence; highlights that most of the issues are recurrent issues that were not solved in previous budgetary procedures; proposes therefore to:

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Changed(a) restore the level of appropriations in line with the estimates of the Court of Justice of the European Union and the European Ombudsman, by increasing the level of appropriations above the DB for budgetary lines that cover cyber-security and operational needs; recalls that the European Ombudsman is facing a growing number of complex complaints and is launching more proactive investigations into transparency, ethics, and accountability in Union institutions;

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(b) restore the level of appropriations partially in line with the estimates of the European Economic and Social Committee, the European Committee of the Regions, the European Data Protection Supervisor and European Data Protection Board and the European External Action Service by increasing the appropriations above the DB for budgetary lines covering building security, particularly in delegations, cyber-security and operational needs;

(c) increase the establishment plans above the DB with the corresponding appropriations in line with the institutions’ requests for the Court of Justice of the European Union and the European Committee of the Regions; restore the establishment plan in line with the estimates of the European Court of Auditors and the European Data Protection Board; finally, increase the establishment plans above the DB partially in line with the institutions’ requests for the European Economic and Social Committee and the European Data Protection Supervisor, to enable them to face increasing workload and cyber-security challenges.

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88. Instructs its President to forward this resolution, together with the amendments to the draft general budget, to the Council, the Commission, the other institutions and bodies concerned and the national parliaments.