An agreement on the 2027 EU budget was reached in the early hours of today after lengthy negotiations that ran through the night between the Commission, the Council and the European Parliament.
Speaking in Brussels, Nikolas Farantouris, a PASOK MEP and member of the European Parliament’s Committee on Budgets, said the major cuts proposed by the Commission had been averted, while increases had been secured for infrastructure, research, civil protection and Erasmus. He noted, however, that “the big battle lies ahead, over the 2028-2034 Multiannual Financial Framework and funding for the CAP, fisheries and Cohesion”.
What the agreement provides
The agreement on the 2027 EU budget provides for an overall increase of €300 million compared with the Commission’s proposal. Initially, Parliament had called for increases of €1 billion, while the Council (of Ministers) had proposed cuts of €1 billion.
In particular, the agreement provides for increases in funding for:
- Research programmes under “Horizon Europe” — €21.5 million
- The “Connecting Europe Facility” (CEF) — €22.5 million, of which €17.5 million for transport and €5 million for energy.
- The “Digital Europe” programme — €1 million.
- The Single Market Programme — €7 million.
- The Civil Protection Mechanism / RescEU — €13.5 million.
- The EU4Health programme — €1 million.
- The Erasmus+ programme — €14 million.
- The “Creative Europe” programme — €1 million.
- The EPPO (European Public Prosecutor’s Office) — €2 million.
- Worker training initiatives — €2 million.
- Promotion of agricultural products and support for young farmers — €7 million.
- The LIFE programme for the environment — €10 million.
- The Asylum and Migration Fund (AMIF) — €5 million.
- The Border Management Fund (BMVI) — €25 million.
- The Internal Security Fund (ISF) — €10 million.
- Military mobility — €10 million.
- The Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument (NDICI) — €40 million, of which €26 million for the South, €13 million for the East and €1 million for Moldova.
- Humanitarian aid — €30 million.
The agreement will be submitted for approval at the November plenary session in Strasbourg.
The full remarks by the PASOK MEP and member of the Committee on Budgets:
“At dawn, and in the rain here in Brussels, the European Union’s 2027 budget was agreed a short while ago after a difficult night. The Socialists fought hard and averted cuts, while securing increases in the budget compared with the Commission’s proposal for research, Erasmus, infrastructure and civil protection.
But the big battle lies ahead: the Multiannual Financial Framework, that is, the European Union’s budget for 2028-2034. That is where we will have to fight for the Common Agricultural Policy, fisheries and Cohesion. We will win.”