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The EU budget for 2024 provides key funding to the Union’s political priorities, notably to boost the post-pandemic recovery and putting the EU states on a solid path towards sustainable future, protecting strategic interests and creating jobs. Proposed EU annual budget for 2024 reaches about €189 billion in commitments; it will be complemented by €113 billion in payments for grants under NextGenerationEU, which is the EU-wide post-pandemic recovery program.
The EU-2024 budget will contribute to the following main directions in growth: recovery and modernisation in the member states socio-economic development, fostering the green and digital transitions, secure more resilient European perspectives and facilitate stronger EU role in the world. These directions are among six headline ambition goals set out by the Commission President: i.e. the European Green Deal; digital transformation, social market economy, promoting “European way of life”, stronger Europe in the world, and a new push for democracy.
As the Commission noted, the EU-2024 budget was aimed at supporting the green and digital transition of the Union and remained one of the most powerful tools delivering added value to people’s lives.
Additional means
NextGenerationEU provides the EU-2024 budget with the additional means necessary to respond decisively to urgent global challenges and the post-pandemic calamities. This additional – about €113 billion – will be used to support investment and reform priorities under the Recovery and Resilience Facility and reinforce programs that are key to national recovery. It also funds actions to build resilience for the future, for example, through an enhanced RescEU as part of the EU Civil Protection Mechanism.
To finance NextGenerationEU program (so-called NGEU), the Commission is borrowing about €807 billion on the capital markets; to obtain the necessary funding under optimal financial terms, the Commission uses a unified funding approach. The funds are disbursed via grants or loans, either through the Recovery and Resilience Facility, RRF or through several other EU budget programs: i.e. presently the Commission has disbursed €153.36 billion to EU countries under the RRF, on top of further support to other EU programs benefiting from NextGenerationEU funding (€23.9 billion as of end-December 2022).
Source: https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/QANDA_23_3063/ June 7,2023.
Budget’s adaptation
Following adoption by the College, the European Commission submits the draft 2024 EU budget to the European Parliament and the Council, which take the final decision together. The Council usually adopts its opinion on the budget by the end of July, and the European Parliament announces its official position in the autumn. A specific conciliation committee is convened, usually in late autumn, to reconcile the positions of the Parliament and the Council; the committee has to agree within 21 days on a common budget, which both institutions should afterwards approve. This year, the adaptation period runs between 24 October and 13 November.
The Commission intends to present a mid-term review of the long-term budget to the European Parliament and the Council in the coming weeks.
Financing the EU-27 priorities in 2024
The Commission proposes to allocate the following amounts for the following socio-economic sectors in the member states:
= €53.8 billion for the Common Agricultural Policy and €1.1 billion for the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund, for Europe’s farmers and fishers, but also to strengthen the resilience of the agro-food and fisheries sectors and to provide the necessary means for crises management.
= €47.9 billion for regional development and cohesion to support economic, social and territorial cohesion, as well as infrastructure supporting the green transition and priority projects.
= €15.8 billion to support EU partners and interests in the world, of which €11.4 billion under the Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument-Global Europe (NDICI-Global Europe), €2.1 billion for the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA III), and €1.7 billion for Humanitarian Aid (HUMA).
= €13.6 billion for research and innovation, of which €12.8 billion for Horizon Europe, the Union’s flagship research program; the draft budget also includes the financing of the European Chips Act under Horizon Europe and through redeployment from other research programs.
= €10.3 billion for people, social cohesion and values, of which: a) €3.96 billion will go for the rising borrowing costs for NGEU, b) €3.7 billion for Erasmus+ to create education and mobility opportunities for people, c) €332 million to support artists and creators around Europe, and d) €215 million to promote justice, rights and values.
= €4.6 billion for European strategic investments, of which €2.7 billion for the Connecting Europe Facility to improve cross-border infrastructure, €1.3 billion for the Digital Europe Program to shape the Union’s digital future, and €348 million for key priorities within the InvestEU program which include e.g. research and innovation, twin (“green and digital”) transition, the health sector and strategic technologies.
= €2.4 billion for environment and climate action, of which €745 million for the LIFE program to support climate change mitigation and adaptation, and €1.5 billion for the Just Transition Fund to make sure that the green transition works for all.
= €2.2 billion for protecting EU-27 external borders, of which €1.1 billion for the Integrated Border Management Fund (IBMF), and €874 million (total EU contribution) for the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex).
= €2.1 billion for financing activities dedicated to space, mainly for the European Space Program, which will bring together the member states’ actions in this strategic field.
= €1.7 billion for migration-related spending, of which €1.5 billion to support migrants and asylum-seekers in line with the EU values and priorities.
= €1.6 billion to address defence challenges, of which €638 million to support capability development and research under the European Defence Fund (EDF), €241 million to support Military Mobility, €260 million for the new short-term defence instrument (EDIRPA) and €343 million to support the production of ammunition.
= €947 million to ensure the functioning of the Single Market, including €602 million for the Single Market Program and €200 million for work on anti-fraud, taxation and customs issues.
= €754 million for EU4Health program to ensure a comprehensive health response to people’s needs, as well as €230 million to the Union Civil Protection Mechanism to be able to deploy operational assistance quickly in case of a crisis.
= €726 million for security, of which €315 million for the Internal Security Fund (ISF), which will combat terrorism, radicalization, organised crime and cybercrime.
= €213 million for secure satellite connections under the new Union Secure Connectivity Program.
Source: EU-2024 budget in sectoral division: https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_23_3062
Note: first five socioeconomic sectors are most vital: i.e. they amount to about €150 billion. Besides, “green business” directions would account for about €67 billion in different supporting programs for 2024.
More information in the following Commission’s websites: = Press release on draft annual budget 2024; = Documents; = Annual budget procedure; = 2021-2027 long-term EU budget & NextGenerationEU; = EU budget in motion; and = EU as a borrowe