The European Parliament and EU member states reached an agreement early this morning on the European Union's budget for 2025. According to the European Commission, the budget focuses on the bloc's main political priorities and the current challenging geopolitical context.
The total commitments in the EU budget for 2025 have been set at over €199.44 billion, with total planned payments around €155.2 billion. In EU terminology, 'commitments' refer to legally binding promises to spend money on activities carried out over several financial years, while 'payments' cover costs arising from commitments in the current or previous financial years.
Of the total budget, €800.5 million is earmarked for unforeseen needs within the EU. Following the agreement, Hungary's Secretary of State for Public Finances and chief negotiator for the EU budget, Péter Banai, stated that a balanced annual budget framework has been agreed upon, which provides the Union with resources to cover priority commitments while considering taxpayer interests.
Banai noted that the budget for the upcoming year ensures a prudent approach, maintaining sufficient financial flexibility to respond to unforeseen circumstances. This is a realistic approach, taking into account the current economic and geopolitical context and the need to adapt to new challenges that may arise in 2025.
The agreed budget allocates nearly €78 billion for commitments under the 'Cohesion, Resilience and Values' category, over €56.7 billion for 'Natural Resources and Environment', nearly €21.5 billion for 'Single Market, Innovation and Digitalization', €16.3 billion for 'Neighbourhood and the World', over €12.8 billion for 'Public Administration', €4.8 billion for 'Migration and Border Management', over €2.6 billion for 'Security and Defence', and nearly €6.7 billion for special purposes.
Following the agreement, the European Parliament and the Council of the EU now have 14 days to officially approve the agreed budget. The Council is expected to adopt the budget on November 25, while the European Parliament will do so during its parliamentary session from November 25 to 28. A qualified majority in the Council of the EU is required for the adoption of the annual budget.