MEP Victor Negrescu, S&D responsible for next year’s EU budget, welcomed the consensus reached between the co-legislating institutions on the EU budget for 2024. Total commitments are set at EUR 189,4 billion and total payments at EUR 142,6 billion.

According to the MEP, the adopted form of the budget reflects priorities that were negotiated and obtained by the S&D Group, reflecting increases in commitments compared to the Commission’s draft budget, including, inter alia:

• increasing agricultural funds, especially for young farmers, by €20 million;
• additional allocation of funds for education and youth, i.e. €60 million for Erasmus;
• the distribution of funds dedicated to the transport sector by an increase of €30 million for the CEF Transport
• additional allocations of €20 million for the LIFE programme;
• supporting emergency response mechanisms at European level by allocating an additional €10 million;
• financing the extension of the Schengen area with Romania and Bulgaria and the protection of external borders by allocating additional funds of EUR 2.5 million, as well as for securing external joint action, in particular in the Republic of Moldova, by increasing allocations for the Neighbourhood Policy by EUR 50 million;
• increasing allocations to support social policies by EUR 2 million and to support the most disadvantaged by EUR 1 million.

Even if the EU budget for 2024 includes an increase of commitments compared to the draft initially announced by the European Commission, ”these funds are insufficient for our current needs and the challenges that the European Union faces”, says Victor Negrescu.

In this regard, the MEP called on ”the European Commission to ensure that European money goes where it should so that citizens feel the benefits of the EU budget”.

The EU Council approved on 20 November the joint text on the EU’s general budget for 2024, that has been agreed in negotiations with the European Parliament on 11 November.

Two days later, the European Parliament also adopted the deal.