Debate: budgetary procedure: Joint text
Date: TUESDAY, 21 NOVEMBER 2023
Speaker: Johannes Hahn
Language: EN

I was pleased to see Parliament and Council working together, reaching a compromise on the Union budget for 2024. Due to the joint effort, the agreement was reached well before the conciliation deadline, as was already highlighted several times and I suppose it will be highlighted again several times. By the way, it was the first time, I think, since 2017. If I’m not wrong, also Mureşan was rapporteur in 2017. So, I think this is a kind of bar which is important for future rapporteurs. This year was nevertheless not ‘business as usual’ and, in such unprecedented times, it was more than ever important to put aside our differences and work together on reaching our shared goals and priorities. Like each year, the initial positions were quite far apart and not easy to reconcile. I therefore appreciate that all parties acted responsibly and made the necessary compromises to have a solid agreement on time, even if it is clear that we will need to come back to this as soon as the MFF mid-term revision is agreed. So, I would like to thank the European Parliament, especially the Committee on Budgets and all specialised committees, for the intensive work on the Commission’s proposal for the draft budget 2024. On behalf of the Commission, I would like to thank in particular the Chair, Mr Van Overtveldt and the two rapporteurs, Mr Mureşan and Mr Ušakovs, for their cooperation. I would also like to thank the Spanish Presidency and State Secretariat, Ms Samblás and her team, for their tough but constructive approach during the negotiations. It is not in my speaking, but I would like to include in my thanks also my own team, on top our director-general Stéphanie Riso. I think they all did an excellent job so that we could indeed reach a very good outcome. This has demonstrated that the institutions can work towards a compromise for the benefit of the European Union and its citizens. And for this, again, I applaud the negotiators and their teams. But let me now go through a few details on the agreement. The overall level of commitment appropriations in the 2024 budget is set at EUR 189.4 billion. The overall level of payment appropriations in the 2024 budget is set at EUR 142.6 billion. The budget will provide a significant amount of reinforcements for the key programmes and priorities of the Parliament, like Horizon Europe and Erasmus+. At the same time, the agreed budget meets important concerns of the Council by keeping some margins and availabilities for unforeseen events, something which should, by the way, guide us for the forthcoming MFF review negotiations. The rapporteurs have already explained the targeted reinforcements for Parliament’s priorities concentrated on a limited number of issues to maximise the effectiveness of our funding. Once adopted, the annual budget 2024 allows the Union to mobilise significant funds to address the most urgent consequences of the crisis in the Middle East through funding in the Union and in the Southern and Eastern neighbourhood, including migration, as well as a significant reinforcement of humanitarian aid. The budget will also support the ongoing economic recovery and create jobs, while strengthening Europe’s strategic autonomy. The budget 2024 will direct funds to where they can make the greatest difference, in line with the most crucial needs of the Member States and the Union’s partners around the world. Looking forward, it is clear that the swift agreement on the MFF revision is urgently needed to provide the necessary resources for crucial new needs and to keep adequate room for manoeuvre to respond to the consequences of Russia’s war of aggression on Ukraine, the continued migratory pressure and EU response to natural disasters and global competition. Again, I count on our joint efforts to make this work as soon as possible. The Commission will propose a draft amending budget as soon as the revision of the MFF regulation is agreed with a view to aligning the 2024 budget to the revised regulation.