EU Annual Budget 2024 Agreement Welcomed by Commission

Swift agreement on the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) revision, as proposed by the Commission in June 2023, is urgently needed in order to provide the necessary resources for crucial new needs, which cannot be financed under the MFF ceilings as they currently stand. This is particularly necessary to enable the EU to respond to the consequences of Russia's war of aggression in Ukraine on a stable footing, the continued migratory pressures and their root causes, EU response to natural disasters, and the global competition on key critical technologies.

However, today, the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union have reached an agreement on the EU budget for 2024, which notably will help address the most urgent consequences of the crisis in the Middle East in the countries concerned, as well as in Europe and its neighbourhood.

The Commission welcomes this agreement, which will ensure funding for the EU's priorities for next year. The agreement on the 2024 budget is for commitments of €189.4 billion, and payments of €142.6 billion. The 2024 budget will continue supporting the ongoing economic recovery while strengthening Europe's strategic autonomy. Green and digital spending will continue to be prioritised to make Europe more resilient and fit for the future, including through NextGenerationEU.

The budget agreed today will direct funds to where they can make the greatest difference.

To address the Union's priorities, it has been agreed to finance, among others:

• €16.2 billion to support our neighbours and international development and cooperation. The agreement includes targeted increases for the Humanitarian Aid programme (€1.9 billion) to address crisis situations across the globe, including pressing needs in the EU's neighbourhood. The funding for the Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument (NDICI) – Global Europe (€11.5 billion) focusses for instance on migration in the southern neighbourhood, on root causes of migration in Africa and elsewhere as well as on funds to Moldova to carry out the necessary reforms on its enlargement path to the EU. €2.1 billion will be available for the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA III) to support for example reforms in the Western Balkans;
• €53.7 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 agri-food and fisheries sectors and to provide the necessary scope for crisis 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 Union priority projects;
• €13.6 billion for research and innovation, of which €12.9 billion for Horizon Europe, the Union's flagship research programme. The budget also includes the financing of the European Chips Act under Horizon Europe and the Digital Europe Programme;
• €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 Programme to shape the Union's digital future, and €348 million for InvestEU for key priorities (research and innovation, twin green and digital transition, the health sector, and strategic technologies);
• €2.3 billion for spending dedicated to space, mainly for the European Space Programme, which will bring together the Union's action in this strategic field;
• €21.9 billion for people, social cohesion, and values, €16.8 billion for the European Social Fund (ESF+), €3.8 billion Erasmus+ to create education and mobility opportunities for people, €335 million to support artists and creators around Europe, and €261 million to promote justice, rights, and values;
• €3.3 billion for the rising borrowing costs for NextGenerationEU;
• €2.4 billion for environment and climate action, of which €765 million for the LIFE programme 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 our borders, of which €1.2 billion for the Integrated Border Management Fund (IBMF), and €859 million (total EU contribution) for the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex);
• €1.7 billion for migration-related spending, of which €1.5 billion to support migrants and asylum-seekers in line with our 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), €251 million to support Military Mobility, €260 million for the new short-term defence instrument (EDIRPA) and €343 million to support the production of ammunition;
• €958 million to ensure the functioning of the Single Market, including €602 million for the Single Market Programme, and €200 million for work on anti-fraud, taxation, and customs;
• €754 million for EU4Health to ensure a comprehensive health response to people's needs, as well as €240 million to the Union Civil Protection Mechanism (rescEU) to be able deploy operational assistance quickly in case of a crisis.
• €733 million for security, of which €322 million for the Internal Security Fund (ISF), which will combat terrorism, radicalisation, antisemitism, organised crime, and cybercrime.

The full breakdown per heading is available here:

EU budget 2024 (in million euro)

Source: European Commission: Figures expressed in €million, in current prices

Next steps

The annual budget for 2024 will now be formally adopted by the Council of the European Union and by the European Parliament. The vote in plenary, which will mark the end of the process, is currently scheduled for 22 November 2023.