The European Council and the European Parliament have reached an agreement on next year’s EU budget that will feature money for climate action, EU border protection and setting up a European satellite system.
According to the budget deal, the EU can commit up to €168.7 billion for a variety of projects. Originally the Parliament wanted commitments of €171 billion while the more tight-fisted council proposed commitments of €166.8 billion.
Monika Hohlmeier, chief budget negotiator of the European Parliament said that the final figures mean an additional €500 million for climate protection and higher spending on youth programs such as Erasmus+ and DiscoverEU, a program which offers support for European youth to travel the continent and learn about other member states.
Another €14 billion will be used for border security, including the newly created European border guard’s 10,000 staff and equipment for operations. The border guard will protect the EU’s external borders from illegal migrants and drug smugglers.
The 2020 budget will also offer nearly €59 billion in cohesion funds to reduce economic differences between European regions and around €60 billion to farmers and fisheries.
The agreement was reached at the last minute on Monday evening. If an agreement had not been reached by midnight, the European Commission would have had to submit a new budget proposal. The agreement is pending final approval from both bodies.
Title image: Flags in front of the European Parliament
