EU budget for 2021: Council agrees position
Today EU ambassadors agreed the Council’s position on the 2021 EU draft budget. In total, the Council’s position for next year’s budget amounts to €162.9 billion in commitments and €164.8 billion in payments.
The 2021 budget will help the EU to address the damage of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has deeply affected our societies and economies. The Council’s position is fully aligned with the priorities agreed by EU leaders in July for the next multiannual financial framework. It provides appropriate means to support a sustainable recovery as well as the EU’s green and digital transition.
Olaf Scholz, Germany’s Federal Minister for Finance and Vice Chancellor.
The 2021 budget will be complemented by actions to support the COVID-19 recovery, which will be funded by Next Generation EU, the EU’s €750 billion pandemic recovery plan.
This is the first annual budget under the long-term EU budget for 2021-2027, the multiannual financial framework (MFF). As the trilateral talks with the Parliament on the next MFF are ongoing, the Council will re-evaluate its position in light of the final text of the MFF and the letter of amendment expected from the Commission later in the procedure.
A summary of the Council’s position is set out in the table below*
| Council’s position on DB 2021 | Council’s changes on DB 2021 | |||
| c/a | p/a | c/a | p/a | |
| MFF headings | ||||
| 1. Single Market, Innovation and Digital | 20 691 823 712 | 17 251 950 531 | – 668 146 388 | – 321 366 275 |
| 2 Cohesion and Values | 52 423 840 797 | 66 008 897 578 | + 936 690 636 | + 3 383 715 737 |
| 2.1 Economic, Social and territorial cohesion | 48 191 000 000 | 62 005 416 732 | + 1 041 528 559 | + 3 318 126 194 |
| 2.2 Investing in Competitiveness, People and Values | 4 232 840 797 | 4 003 480 846 | – 104 837 923 | + 65 589 543 |
| 3 Natural Resources and Environment | 58 577 683 873 | 56 879 737 700 | + 136 556 868 | + 630 191 252 |
| 4 Migration and Border Management | 2 340 947 222 | 2 583 803 611 | – 719 866 537 | – 139 679 938 |
| 5 Resilience, Security and Defence | 1 681 907 319 | 686 561 468 | – 507 118 461 | -1 123 895 160 |
| 6 Neighbourhood and the World | 15 318 190 665 | 10 361 698 045 | – 795 429 335 | – 57 107 310 |
| 7 European Public Administration | 10 406 729 663 | 10 408 004 752 | – 44 495 508 | – 44 495 508 |
| Total for MFF headings | 161 441 123 251 | 164 180 653 685 | -1 661 808 725 | + 2 327 362 798 |
| Special instruments | 1 470 834 288 | 646 362 112 | – 2 172 415 712 | – 1 015 449 888 |
| Emergency Aid Reserve (EAR) | 1 273 449 600 | 636 724 800 | – 1 910 174 400 | – 955 087 200 |
| European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF) | 197 384 688 | 9 637 312 | – 212 241 312 | – 10 362 688 |
| European Union Solidarity Fund (EUSF) | p.m. | p.m. | – 50 000 000 | – 50 000 000 |
| Brexit Adjustment Reserve (BAR) | p.m. | p.m. | p.m. | p.m. |
| Total for Special instruments | 1 470 834 288 | 646 362 112 | – 2 172 415 712 | – 1 015 449 888 |
| Total appropriations | 162 911 957 539 | 164 827 015 797 | – 3 834 224 437 | + 1 311 912 910 |
*in €, c/a: commitments, p/a: payments, DB: draft budget
Next steps
The Council is expected to formally adopt its position at the end of September and will submit it to the Parliament on 1 October. The latter is expected to adopt its amendments to the Council’s position in the week starting 9 November. If the Council’s and the Parliament’s positions diverge, a three-week conciliation period will start on 17 November.
