EU budget: controversy until the deadline

It was a struggle until shortly before the deadline. Only in the last minute did the European Parliament and the Member States agree on the EU budget for the coming year. As the European Commission announced on Monday evening, both sides agreed on a ceiling of 168.7 billion euros. This is 1.5 percent more than in 2019. Representatives of the European Parliament praised the compromise for additional funding for the fight against climate change and the promotion of youth.

The European Parliament and the Member States had at the beginning of the final phase of the negotiations last week still well over four billion euros apart. The EU governments had demanded an annual budget of a maximum of 166.8 billion euros, the Parliament wanted 171 billion euros. Now both sides met pretty well in the middle.

The Budget 2020 is "a budget of transition", pointing to the future, said outgoing Budget Commissioner Günther Oettinger with a view to the new EU Commission, which is due to take office on 1 December.

According to Oettinger, 21 percent of the total budget goes into measures "to tackle climate change". At 58.1 billion euros, agriculture accounts for around one third of expenditure.

500 million more for the climate, 80 million more for youth programs

The ceiling of € 168.7 billion relates to payment commitments that the EU 2020 can also make for the following years. Brussels can pay just under 153.6 billion euros. This amount increases by 3.4 percent compared to the previous year.

The CSU MEP Monika Hohlmeier spoke of "an additional 850 million euros for climate, digitization and youth". This was "a good result". According to Green MEP Rasmus Andresen, Parliament was able to negotiate an additional € 500 million for climate policy and € 80 million for youth development.

According to the EU Commission, 2.9 billion euros will go into education in the coming year through the Erasmus + student and student exchange program. This is 3.6% more than in 2019.

The Social Democrats would not have agreed

The Social Democrats were critical. The Member States have blocked "constructive proposals" by Parliament, for example, in the reuse of unused funds, said SPD MP Jens Geier. "The negotiators of the Parliament have accepted the compromise now presented only to avert the next European crisis."

On Friday evening, the European Parliament and the Member States had to postpone negotiations for lack of progress. Had there been no agreement by midnight on Monday, the European Commission would have been obliged to come up with a new draft budget. Without a breakthrough by the end of the year, the EU would only be able to work with an emergency budget starting in January without additional expenditure.