On the Council position on the draft general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2025

MOTION FOR A EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT RESOLUTION

on the Council position on the draft general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2025 (12084/2024 – C100099/2024 – 2024/0176(BUD))

The European Parliament,

– having regard to Article 314 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU),

– having regard to Article 106a of the Treaty establishing the European Atomic Energy Community,

– having regard to Council Decision (EU, Euratom) 2020/2053 of 14 December 2020 on the system of own resources of the European Union and repealing Decision 2014/335/EU, Euratom,

– having regard to Council Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2020/2093 of 17 December 2020 laying down the multiannual financial framework for the years 2021-2027 and to the joint declarations agreed between Parliament, the Council and the Commission in this context and the related unilateral declarations,

– having regard to Council Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2022/2496 of 15 December 2022 amending Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2020/2093 laying down the multiannual financial framework for the years 2021 to 2027,

– having regard to the Council Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/765 amending Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2020/2093 laying down the multiannual financial framework for the years 2021 to 2027 (MFF Revision),

– having regard to its resolution of 13 March 2024 on general guidelines for the preparation of the 2025 Budget - Section III,

– having regard to its resolution of 16 December 2020 on the draft Council regulation laying down the multiannual financial framework for the years 2021 to 2027,

– having regard to its resolution of 3 October 2023 on the proposal for a mid-term revision of the multiannual financial framework 2021-2027,

– having regard to its resolution of 27 February 2024 on the draft Council regulation amending Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2020/2093 laying down the multiannual financial framework for the years 2021 to 2027,

– having regard to its resolution of 10 May 2023 on the impact on the 2024 EU budget of increasing European Union Recovery Instrument borrowing costs,

– having regard to its resolution of 25 April 2024 on Parliament’s estimates of revenue and expenditure for the financial year 2025,

– having regard to its resolution of 15 December 2022 on upscaling the 2021-2027 multiannual financial framework: a resilient EU budget fit for new challenges,

– having regard to the Interinstitutional Agreement of 16 December 2020 between the European Parliament, the Council of the European Union and the European Commission on budgetary discipline, on cooperation in budgetary matters and on sound financial management, as well as on new own resources, including a roadmap towards the introduction of new own resources,

– having regard to Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, amending Regulations (EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014 and Decision No 541/2014/EU and repealing Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012 (the ‘Financial Regulation’),

– having regard to the draft general budget of the European Union for the 2025 financial year, which the Commission adopted on 19 June 2024 (COM(2024)120),

– having regard to the position on the draft general budget of the European Union for the 2025 financial year, which the Council adopted on 13 September 2024 and forwarded to Parliament on 16 September 2024 (12684/2024 – C10 0099/2024),

– having regard to Rule 96 of its Rules of Procedure,

– having regard to the opinion of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development, the Committee on Fisheries and the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs,

– having regard to the letters from the Committee on Development, the Committee on Budgetary Control, the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs, the Committee on Environment, Public Health and Food Safety, the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy, the Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection, the Committee on Transport and Tourism, the Committee on Culture and Education, the Committee on Constitutional Affairs and the Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality,

– having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgets (A100000/2024),

Section III – European Commission - A people-centred EU budget 2025: Investments tailored to improving people’s lives and boosting the Union’s competitiveness

1. Emphasises that Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and its economic and societal consequences continue to put a severe strain on the everyday lives of people across Europe and frontline countries; acknowledges that a confluence of political, security, socio-economic, climate and environmental challenges demand a resolute response from the Union, including by exploiting to the fullest possible extent the crisis response capacity of the EU budget; considers it crucial for the Union to be able to act swiftly and adequately in emergency situations caused by major natural disasters, humanitarian emergencies or public health crises in Member States and accession countries and to support third countries suffering from conflicts, refugee crises or natural disasters;

2. Notes with concern that while inflation has begun to subside compared to previous years’ peaks, its longer term impact on the cost of living, energy and food prices continues to be a burden on households’ purchasing power and companies’ competitiveness and productivity; stresses that, against this background, a combination of policy responses comprising regulatory, fiscal and budgetary measures will have to be deployed to adequately address the broad range of challenges; reminds that the Union budget, in complementarity with the national budgets of the Member States and private finance should play a central role in this regard; recalls that the EU budget is an investment budget in line with Union’s political priorities and programmes which generates a return on investment and growth possibilities; emphasises that the 2024 European Parliament elections have sent a clear message for more solidarity between Member States and more investments in policies and programmes which improve people’s lives; highlights that this call must not be answered by ever more budgetary cuts and by a reduction in badly needed resources to help people go through these difficult times;

3. Highlights that the Budget 2025 procedure takes place in a context of institutional changeover where the next Commission’s policy priorities, strategic focus and legislative initiatives and their budgetary implications are not yet know in any detail; stresses that most expenditure programmes of the 2021-2027 financial programming period are finally being executed according to plan and that the obligation to implement multiannual programmes in a reliable and predictable manner must be squared with the necessity to swiftly respond to new developments and unforeseen events and crises; highlights that, given the new institutional cycle, cooperation across the institutional settings is crucial as investments and political decisions taken today will shape the EU’s agenda for the next decades and beyond;

4. Underscores that the revision of the Multiannual Financial Framework has been partly successful and partly unsatisfactory; acknowledges that the revision has resulted in providing additional resources for Ukraine, the Western Balkan and several other budget lines of strategic importance as well as replenished flexibility mechanism; welcomes that the Commission has proceeded with translating the outcome of the MFF revision into the Financial Programming as well as amending budgets 2024 and the draft general budget for 2025 (the “DB”); underlines once again that the higher than foreseen repayment costs of the European Union Recovery Instrument (EURI) should have been placed fully in a EURI special instrument over and above the MFF ceilings with a view to restoring some margin within Heading 2b and protecting budgetary space in the Flexibility and Single Margin Instruments; recalls the Interinstitutional Agreement adopted as part of the 2020 MFF agreement, according to which expenditure to cover NGEU financing costs “shall aim at not reducing programmes and funds”;

5. Stresses that the 2025 Budget will be the first full annual budgetary procedure under the revised MFF ceilings and rules; insists that the spirit and letter of the MFF revision be respected and the additional appropriations resulting from the revision be fully authorised and committed; reminds that a certain level of redeployments, in particular under headings 1 and 6 was part of the MFF revision package; wishes to not see such reductions repeated or made worse in the annual procedure;

6. Reiterates its concern, that, despite the MFF revision, overall ceilings and margins are still very low in the Financial Programming and the DB and stand at zero in several headings (Heading 2b, Heading 5, Heading 7); takes note that the NGEU overrun costs, i.e. the needs for the EURI refinancing costs which have not yet been programmed, amount to approximately EUR 2,6 billion, twice the Commission’s forecast; is aware that the Amending Letter 1/2025 will update the needs estimation for 2025; is keenly aware that identifying the sources of financing this amount, without causing undue collateral damage to essential programmes and maintaining some flexibility for unforeseen future events, constitutes the biggest challenge in the 2025 procedure;

7. Recalls that the Commission in the DB proposed a total level of appropriations, including special instruments (which are counted outside the MFF ceilings), amounting to EUR 199 716.8 million in commitment appropriations corresponding to 1.08% of GNI, and EUR 152 684.1 million in payment appropriations, corresponding to 0.83% of GNI;

8. Takes note that the Council, in its position which it calls “prudent”, proposes to cut commitment appropriations by EUR 1.52 billion across the MFF headings, leaving a total of EUR 191,527 billion, and reduces payment appropriations by EUR 876 million across the MFF headings; stresses that, by cutting across headings on programme lines to generate additional unallocated margins, the Council’s position may convey an ambiguous message of creating additional availabilities for 2025; underlines that this approach, however, is not in accordance with the reality of current budgetary needs, as these margins are not intended for use in the annual budget 2025;

9. Is adamant that, in times of geopolitical and institutional change, financial pressure, climate change and societal challenges, a reliable, robust, flexible, investment oriented EU budget remain instrumental for the implementation of the Union’s policies and central in responding to people’s increasing needs, leaving no-one behind through the green and digital transitions, in delivering prosperity and security for people and in boosting the competitiveness of the Union economy; to defend the social dimension of Union spending in all policy areas, in other words, we will work to reinforce budgetary lines that have a direct impact on improving peoples’ lives;

Special Instruments and Cascade mechanism

10. Highlights that the 2025 annual budgetary procedure will be the first exercise based entirely on the MFF Revision; recalls that, according to the MFF Revision, the Flexibility Instrument has been reinforced and that a maximum allocation of EUR 1 546.1 billion to be mobilised in 2025 has been topped up by 495 million and amounts carried over from 2024; notes that the Commission proposes to use an amount of EUR 1 192.8 million under the Flexibility Instrument for the EURI cascade Step 2 but the Council deviates from the Commission approach in several significant aspects;

11. Notes, further, that the initial 2025 availabilities for the Single Margin Instrument for Commitments (Article 11(1)(a) of the MFF regulation) stand at EUR 1 124 million and that the Commission proposes to use EUR 490.4 million for heading 7 European Public Administration; resumes that as a result, a total amount of EUR 1 468.9 million remains available for unforeseen expenditure in 2025, of which an amount of EUR 835.1 million under the Flexibility Instrument and an amount of EUR 633.8 million under the Single Margin Instrument (assuming that the neither the Flexibility Instrument, nor the SMI are still mobilised in the course of 2024);

12. Highlights that the Commission’s DB estimates the EURI ‘overrun’ costs to amount to EUR 2,5 billion and applies a 50:50 approach to the cascade mechanism; notes that the Commission proposes, therefore, to cover an amount of EUR 1.24 billion from the budget - i.e. 50% of the costs overruns - stemming by the unallocated margin under sub-heading 2b for an amount of EUR 46.2 million and by the Flexibility Instrument for an amount of EUR 1 192.8 million, with the remaining half to be mobilised through the new EURI instrument over and above the ceiling, covered by de-commitments made since 2021; acknowledges that no recourse to the ‘back-stop’ is required;

13. Regrets the Council’s approach to opt for what it calls “prudent” budgeting, creating artificial margins under the MFF ceilings; notes that the Council, in its position on the 2025 budget, and similar to 2024, reduces appropriations dedicated for EURI borrowing costs; points out that the Council’s position to cover only around 35% of the overrun costs by the EURI Special Instrument runs counter to the 50:50 benchmark that the Council itself insisted on during the MFF negotiations; alerts that in order to finance the difference and create additional unallocated margin (mostly in H2b but also in other headings, presumably in view of using it in future years through the SMI), sizeable reductions to a number of flagship programme envelopes have been proposed that have repercussions in 2025 as well as in 2026 and 2027; recalls that the most affected programmes, Horizon Europe, CEF digital and Erasmus, are well-established priorities for the European Parliament and flagship programmes of the Union; highlights that the Council targets for reductions are across several headings and even touch some programmes that were already subject to the MFF redeployments, such as Horizon, reduced by 400 million; or lines that were topped up in previous years, such as Erasmus+, reduced by 295 million, EU4Health or LIFE;

14. Recalls the Interinstitutional Agreement adopted as part of the 2020 MFF agreement, whereby expenditure to cover NGEU financing costs “shall aim at not reducing programmes and funds”; questions whether the Council’s approach is in line with the MFF agreement on the cascade;

15. Intends, therefore, to restore the cuts proposed by Council; to ensure that programmes are properly resourced and that the budget’s flexibility and response capacity are maintained throughout the annual budgetary procedure; insists on the need for the Commission to provide reliable, timely and accurate information on NGEU borrowing costs and on expected Recovery and Resilience Facility disbursements throughout the budgetary procedure; recalls that Parliament is deeply concerned about the impact of the inherent uncertainty for the EURI interest line and questions the forecast from the Commission on NGEU borrowing costs and expected Recovery and Resilience Facility disbursements throughout the budgetary procedure;

16. Underlines, once again, that repayment of the EURI borrowing costs is a legal obligation for the Union and a non-discretionary expenditure item in the EU budget; is adamant, therefore to cater fully and timely for the NGEU repayment costs that will fall due in 2025; agrees to apply, in this regard, the newly established EURI cascade mechanism, in the letter and the spirit of the recently revised MFF Regulation; proposes to finance 65% of the overrun costs by the de-commitment compartment of the EURI Special Instrument; deems the margin of EUR 46.2 million, which was programmed before the DB was submitted, to be available for reinforcing programmes under the ceiling of Heading 2b; intends to revisit the amendments linked to the cascade mechanism once the Amending Letter provides updated estimations of the actual needs for the EURI line in 2025;

Heading 1 - Single market, Innovation and Digital

17. Recalls that programmes under Heading 1 play a key role in ensuring that the green and digital transitions leave no-one behind by providing the necessary support for research and innovation, in key sectors such as health, climate and natural resources, by boosting funding for cross-border infrastructure, in particular in the transport sector, by bolstering the Union’s investment in cutting-edge technology, and by improving the competitiveness of the Union economy, with an emphasis on SMEs and youth entrepreneurship;

18. Highlights the vital role that Horizon Europe plays in this context; recalls that the programme remains heavily over-subscribed and is therefore unable to support a large number of research projects evaluated as ‘excellent’; proposes, therefore, to increase allocations for the programme by a total of EUR 242 million compared to the DB, with reinforcements for the European Research Council, Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions and Clusters ‘Health’, ‘Culture’ ‘Climate, Energy and Mobility’, ‘Food’, EIC and ‘Widening participation’;

19. Proposes, moreover, to make available again EUR 180 million in research de-commitments under Article 15(3) of the Financial Regulation under Horizon Europe, EUR 60 million each in assigned revenue for the European Research Council, for Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions and for European Innovation Council;

20. Recalls that the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) is key to boosting investment in high-performance, sustainable trans-European networks and to decarbonising the Union economy, thereby accelerating the green transition and promoting interconnectivity; proposes, to increase appropriations for CEF Transport by EUR 40 million above the DB in 2025; further proposes to top-up CEF Energy with an additional EUR 30 million;

21. Highlights the added value of the Digital Europe Programme in view the Union’s technological progress and competitiveness and proposes an increase of EUR 10 million for the budget line Artificial Intelligence and EUR 5 million above the DB for the skills strand of the programme;

22. Stresses that a well-functioning Single Market is critical for the Union’s competitiveness and to enhance access to markets for EU businesses; emphasises that SMEs in particular have been hit hard by high inflation and energy prices and proposes, as a result, an increase of EUR 5 million above the DB for the SME strand of the Single Market programme;

23. Further proposes a number of additional reinforcements for selected budget lines in Heading 1, among which InvestEU, the Anti-Fraud Programme, Space and Customs cooperation;

24. Reiterates the important role played by the decentralised agencies active under this heading; proposes to increase appropriations for the European Union Agency for Railways and for the BEREC Office; in line with their identified needs and expanding mandates;

25. Reinforces Heading 1 by EUR 341 566 628 in commitment appropriations above the DB (excluding pilot projects and preparatory actions) and by EUR 984 803 912 compared to the Council reading;

Heading 2a - Economic, social and territorial cohesion

26. Underlines the key role cohesion policy plays in delivering on Union policy priorities and boosting the Union economy by contributing to fair and sustainable growth and development, promoting economic and social convergence between countries and regions, supporting the green and digital transitions, and fostering innovation and employment; calls on the Commission and the Member States to accelerate implementation of cohesion policy;

27. Recalls that the execution of operational programmes in the Member States and regions should be accelerated and that delays caused by a lack of administrative capacity should be avoided at all levels of governance; wishes to allocate the remaining margin of EUR 755 965 to the budget line for Operational technical assistance;

28. Reinforces Heading 2a by EUR 755 965 in commitment appropriations, i.e. by the remaining margin under the sub-ceiling, above the DB (excluding pilot projects and preparatory actions) and by EUR 889 718 compared to the Council reading;

Heading 2b - Resilience and values

29. Underlines that the expenditure programmes under Heading 2b have to share the tight resources and margins under Heading 2b with the EURI budget line which covers the NGEU debt management and interest costs and, eventually, debt repayments; is intent on covering these borrowing costs in a reliable and transparent manner without having to reduce programme allocations for this purpose; is convinced that, for 2025, the cascade mechanism and the newly created EURI Special Instrument make it possible that this objective can be achieved; emphasises that this is a crucial message to the beneficiaries of EU funding and the public at large;

30. Recalls that programmes under Heading 2b play a key role in ensuring resilience and values by providing support and opportunities for young people through Erasmus+, including the Special Olympics World Games (SOWG) 2025, and through the European Solidarity Corps; reinforcing support for the Union Civil Protection Mechanism and the Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values programme; investing in preventing cardiovascular diseases (CVD), cancer diseases affecting children and improving mental health by increasing EU4Health; investing in skills development; ensuring social security coordination in order to facilitate labour mobility and easier transfer of social security benefits; supporting vulnerable communities, as well as rural, isolated and mountainous areas, social dialogue and trade unions, cultural and creative industries;

31. Stresses, in an effort to spare the programmes under this heading from undue budgetary rigidity, that it deems the margin of EUR 46.2 million to be available for the programme top-ups in Heading 2b; wishes the equivalent amount for the EURI cascade to be covered by the de-commitment compartment of the EURI special instrument;

32. Emphasises its strong preference for covering a larger share of EURI borrowing costs by availabilities in the de-commitment compartment of the EURI Special Instrument over and above the MFF ceilings which would have the effect of restoring some margin within Heading 2b and creating budgetary space in the Flexibility Instrument; proposes, therefore, to cover 65% of the overrun costs in 2025 by the de-commitment compartment of the EURI special instrument;

33. Is alarmed by the growing impact of natural disasters in Europe and its neighbourhood and concerned about the Union’s ability to respond effectively; underlines that these disasters are often linked to climate change and are therefore likely to occur with greater frequency and intensity in the future; wishes to protect human lives and to augment the Commission’s crisis response capacity; increases, therefore, appropriations for the Union Civil Protection Mechanism by EUR 42 million above DB; calls for a prioritisation of investments that help reduce the impact of natural disasters; stresses that the Union, being based on solidarity, will find the resources for the citizens affected by the recent floods;

34. Underlines the importance of a stronger Health Union and enhanced preparedness; highlights the vital role that the EU4Health programme plays in this respect; proposes, therefore, to increase the programme’s appropriations by EUR 50 million above DB in support of investments in preventing cardiovascular diseases (CVD), cancer, diseases affecting children and improving mental health;

35. Reiterates its unwavering support for promoting the learning mobility of young people; proposes to reinforce, against this background, the Erasmus+ and European Solidarity Corps (ESC) programmes, which play a vital role in supporting learning mobility opportunities, improving people’s skills and employability and promoting social inclusion; emphasises that both programmes aim to boost participation rates among people with fewer opportunities - an objective that is challenged by soaring inflation and the increased cost of living; is committed to ensuring that Erasmus+ does not become a de facto selective programme open only to those who can afford to participate and recalls that the Commission is required to put in place financial support measures for people with fewer opportunities; proposes, therefore, an increase of EUR 70 million for Erasmus+ (57 million EUR for Promoting learning mobility of individuals and groups, and cooperation, inclusion and equity, excellence, creativity and innovation at the level of organisations and policies in the field of education and training — Indirect management; 5 million EUR for Promoting non-formal and informal learning mobility and active participation among young people, and cooperation, inclusion, creativity and innovation at the level of organisations and policies in the field of youth; 8 million EUR for Promoting learning mobility of sport staff, and cooperation, inclusion, creativity and innovation at the level of sport organisations and sport policies); insists that the top-up be used to contribute in particular to the programme’s over-arching aim of becoming more accessible, including by providing the necessary increased financial support per participant with fewer opportunities; proposes, moreover, a reinforcement of EUR 1 million for the ESC above DB, specifically to ensure the programme is accessible for all;

36. Underscores the continued socio-economic challenges in the cultural and creative sectors, which are often made up of small organisations and individual artists; proposes, therefore, to increase financing for the various strands of the Creative Europe programme by a total of EUR 8 million above the DB;

37. Reiterates the indispensable role of the Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values programme in promoting European values and citizens’ rights, in fostering active civic engagement, in building resilient societies, in combatting gender-based violence and in supporting the key principles of democracy, the rule of law, solidarity, inclusiveness, justice, non-discrimination and equality; proposes, therefore, to increase appropriations for the programme by EUR 9 million above the DB, with reinforcements for the equality and rights, ‘citizens’ engagement and participation’, Daphne and ‘Union values’ strands;

38. Deems it necessary to allocate adequate resources for the effective implementation of EU rules on social security coordination in order to facilitate labour mobility and easier transfer of social security benefits, by financing the relevant line by EUR 2 million;

39. Underlines the significance of the social dimension in the Union budget and the need for effective social dialogue, proper information and training for workers’ organisations; free movement of workers, coordination of social security schemes and the EaSI strand of ESF+; reinforces, therefore, financing for the relevant lines;

40. Recalls the important role played by the decentralised agencies under Heading 2b; reinforcing funding and staffing levels for the Fundamental Rights Agency, for the European Institute for Gender Equality, the European Labour Authority and the European Union Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation in line with the agencies’ identified needs; proposes, furthermore, to reinforce the European Public Prosecutor’s Office in terms of financing and staff to allow the body to fulfil its duties and protect the Union’s financial interests;

41. Reinforces Heading 2b overall by EUR 241 750 000 in commitment appropriations above the DB levels (excluding pilot projects and preparatory actions) and by EUR 1 050 328 669 compared to the Council reading;

Heading 3 - Natural Resources and Environment

42. Recalls that programmes under Heading 3 play a key role in bolstering support for farmers, especially the younger generation, across the Union, in particular given the extreme weather conditions, ongoing challenges of the Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and the critical role that agriculture plays in food security; highlights the critical importance of LIFE, given its role in protecting biodiversity and fostering climate action and the clean energy transition;

43. Reiterates its concern about the negative impact of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine on global food security and affordability and about farmers’ ability to withstand inflationary pressure and increased input prices; emphasises the need to help new and young farmers as well as small and medium-sized farmers with additional means and thereby ensure the sustainability of the sector and generational renewal; proposes, therefore, to increase income support to young farmers by EUR 40 million above the DB;

44. Underscores the negative impact of droughts and other extreme, climate change induced, weather patterns on the agricultural sector; underlines the importance of the fruit and vegetables sector, of school schemes as well as promotional measures of agricultural products under the Common Agricultural Policy; decides, therefore, to increase the allocation of these budget lines under the European Agricultural Guarantee Fund by a total of EUR 56 million above the DB; emphasises equally the importance of investing in the digitalisation of small and medium-sized farms and the acquisition of equipment to implement good environmental practices in farming and to contribute to environmental sustainability in Union agriculture;

45. Underlines the indispensable and complementary role that the LIFE programme plays in delivering on the European Green Deal and achieving the Union’s climate neutrality goal by investing in nature and biodiversity, reducing emissions and increasing the use of renewable energy, creating a circular economy; proposes, therefore, to increase appropriations for the programme by EUR 49 million above the DB; supports the EEA with a modest increase in funding and staff;

46. Recalls that, traditionally, an Amending Letter will complete the picture regarding available resources under the European Agricultural Guarantee Fund and that the approach to amendments can be adjusted accordingly in the course of the conciliation;

47. Reinforces Heading 3 by EUR 145 250 000 in commitment appropriations above the DB (excluding pilot projects and preparatory actions) and by EUR 149 134 000 compared to the Council reading;

Heading 4 - Migration and Border Management

48. Recalls that programmes under Heading 4 play a key role in reinforce funding for migration and effective border management in light of the migratory challenges resulting from the current geopolitical context, and to ensure necessary funding for the full accession of Romania and Bulgaria to the Schengen Area;

49. Underlines that instability in neighbouring regions, as well as poverty and underlying trends in economic development, demographic changes, globalisation in transport and communications continue to create migration flows towards the Union, placing significant pressure on programmes and agencies under Heading 4;

50. Notes that additional financing is needed under the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF) in order to ensure appropriate and speedy implementation of the Asylum and Migration Pact; decides, therefore, to reinforce the AMIF by EUR 25 million above DB in 2025 given AMIF’s positive contribution in providing immediate support to refugees;

51. Underlines the important role that the Border Management and Visa Instrument (BMVI) plays in managing the Union’s external borders and in particular in supporting Member States with reinforced border protection capabilities including physical infrastructure, buildings, equipment, systems and services required at border crossing points; underlines that the instrument should also support the acceleration of Romania’s and Bulgaria’s accession to the Schengen area; proposes therefore to increase appropriations for the BMVI by EUR 35 million above DB;

52. Highlights the need for the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex) to have the requisite resources to carry out its operational activities effectively and decides, therefore, to restore the DB for the agency; notes, however, with concern, that the Agency continues to struggle with its absorption capacity and has not yet managed to hire the necessary staff to fulfil its mission; reiterates that the enhanced competences and resources allocated to the Agency must be accompanied by increased transparency and accountability, as well as full respect for and protection of fundamental rights; calls on the Agency to continue to improve its efficiency and effectiveness;

53 Proposes to reinforce the European Union Agency for the Operational Management of Large-Scale IT Systems in the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice (eu-LISA) by EUR 2 million and to reinforce staff at the European Union Agency for Asylum (EUAA);

54. Reinforces Heading 4 overall by EUR 62 000 000 in commitment appropriations above the DB and by EUR 127 873 362 compared to the Council reading;

Heading 5 - Security and Defence

55. Recalls the highly unstable geopolitical situation and international environment around the Union giving rise to greater security and defence challenges since the beginning of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine;

56. Underlines the need to top up the Internal Security Fund to ensure sufficient funding for the fight against serious and organised crime with a cross border dimension as well as cybercrime; considers a reinforcement of EUR 5 million to be justified for this purpose; restores Secure Connectivity to the level of the DB in order not to delay the advancement of a recently agreed programme;

57. Highlights in particular the importance of reinforcing the means for European cooperation in defence matters; considers that such cooperation not only makes Europe and its citizens safer but also leads to greater efficiency, potential savings and strategic autonomy; notes the importance of ‘military mobility’ in funding dual-use transport infrastructure, enabling Member States to rapidly concentrate military power in the context of the war and to support missions and operations under the common security and defence policy; underlines that the programme is oversubscribed and has substantial absorption capacity; decides, therefore, to increase appropriations for ‘military mobility’ by EUR 20 million above the DB;

58. Recalls the crucial role played by decentralised agencies operating in the field of security and law enforcement, in particular with regard to the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (Europol) and the European Union Drugs Agency (EUDA) which have both seen their mandates expanded; proposes targeted staffing increases to allow them to properly perform their new tasks;

59. Reinforces Heading 5 overall by EUR 41 000 000 in commitment appropriations above the DB and by EUR 46 000 000 compared to the Council;

Heading 6 - Neighbourhood and the World

60. Emphasises that, and once more as a consequence of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, the international context has deteriorated rapidly as a result of the food, energy and economic crises, which have dramatically increased pressure on Heading 6; welcomes the fact that the introduction of the Ukraine Facility and the Western Balkan Facility over the MFF ceilings provides a stable basis for support for Ukraine and the Western Balkan countries and releases some pressure on the availabilities within Heading 6 and more particularly on the cushion and buffers in the NDICI envelope; reminds that the commensurate redeployments leave behind gaps on some other budget lines which are difficult to manage;

61. Stresses the importance of the Southern Neighbourhood line in supporting political, economic and social reforms in the region; taking into consideration the increasing humanitarian needs in the region as well as other purposes of regional cooperation in providing assistance to refugees, in particular Syrian and Palestinian refugees, and in enabling support along the southern migration routes; proposes to increase appropriations for the line by EUR 60 million above the DB, including to reinforce funding for UNRWA based on EU regulations and values;

62. Underlines that the war continues to have significant effects on countries in the Eastern Neighbourhood, such as Moldova, that have provided shelter and assistance to refugees fleeing the war and faced the knock-on effects of sky-high inflation and energy prices; underlines the importance of sustained support for candidate countries in implementing the necessary accession-related reforms and in enhancing their resilience and preventing and countering hybrid threats; decides, therefore, to increase appropriations by EUR 50 million above the DB for the Eastern Neighbourhood; proposes, furthermore, to increase accession-related support under the Instrument for Pre-Accession (IPA III) by EUR 3 million in 2025;

63. Proposes to place an amount of EUR 30 million in reserve that can be lifted upon an unconditional withdrawal by the Georgian Government of the controversial law on 'transparency of foreign influence' and a clear commitment that it would not propose such a law again;

64. Shares the Council’s assessment that the need for humanitarian aid needs have reached new heights; considers that, given the highly challenging international context and the ongoing climate change-induced emergencies, humanitarian aid needs in 2025 are likely to be even higher than estimated by the Council, in particular since humanitarian aid to Ukraine will continue to be covered under Heading 6 rather than the Ukraine Facility; proposes, therefore, to increase appropriations for humanitarian aid by EUR 120 million compared to the DB;

65. Wishes to add item lines in the new budget article for the Western Balkan Facility, following up on a previous declaration and the intention of the Council regarding a new nomenclature; proposes to create one line per beneficiary country in the region without putting into question the facility’s reform incentives and intervention logic]; ensures, thus, better transparency and accountability to the budget authority;

66. Further to strengthening the availabilities in the external policies heading, proposes to add EUR 4 million to the budget line for civilian CSDP missions and EUR 1 million to Nuclear Safety;

67. Overall, reinforces Heading 6 by EUR 256 200 000 in commitment appropriations above the DB and by EUR 234 461 645 compared to the Council reading;

Heading 7 - European Public Administration

68. Recalls that spending under Heading 7 should be set at a level that guarantees that the Union has an effective and efficient administration; considers that the Council’s cuts in this heading are unjustified and would not allow the Commission to recruit suitable staff in Luxembourg and to fulfil its tasks; restores therefore the DB for the Commission administrative expenditure, including with respect to its Offices;

Pilot projects and preparatory actions (PP-PAs)

69. Recalls the importance of pilot projects and preparatory actions (PP-PAs) as tools for the formulation of political priorities and the introduction of new initiatives that have the potential to turn into standing Union activities and programmes; adopts, following a careful analysis of all the proposals submitted and taking fully into account the Commission's assessment of their compliance with legal requirements and implementability, a balanced package of PP-PAs that reflects Parliament’s political priorities; calls on the Commission to swiftly implement PP-PAs and provide feedback on their performance and results delivered on the ground;

Payments

70. Underlines the need to provide a sufficient level of payment appropriations in the 2025 budget and decides, as a general rule, to reinforce payment appropriations on those lines which are amended in commitment appropriations;

Other Sections

Section I – European Parliament

71. Maintains unchanged the overall level of its budget for 2025 set at EUR 2 499 233 329, in line with its estimates of revenue and expenditure for the financial year 2025; incorporates budgetary-neutral adjustments to reflect updated information which was not available earlier this year;

72. Reiterates the Parliament’s priorities for the forthcoming financial year, namely, focusing Parliament’s budget on its core functions of co-legislator, acting as one arm of the budgetary authority, representing citizens and scrutinizing the work of other institutions, as well as providing the resources for cyber-security and IT development and priority projects on engaging with citizens as well as green and accessible Parliament;

73. In line with its resolution of 25 April 2024 on its estimates of revenue and expenditure for the financial year 2025 and taking into account the answers provided by the Secretary-General of the Parliament on 2 September 2024:

(a) welcomes the fact that the Secretary-General will propose to the Quaestors to adjust the ceilings in line with the increase of costs to be covered; expects the decision on the adjustment of the ceilings to be taken as soon as possible;

(b) notes that it is planned to have 19 European Experiences opened outside Brussels by end of 2025; reiterates its calls for the establishment of Europa Experiences in all Member States as soon as possible; recalls that Europa Experiences should allow all citizens to have a better understanding of the functioning of the Union institutions;

(c) notes that Parliament is working on a building renovation plan and a comprehensive long-term building strategy to take into account new ways of working and the targets and objectives of the Green Deal and ‘Fit for 55’ legislative package;

(d) highlights that one of the most powerful weapons against disinformation is fact-based communication regarding the Parliament’s activities; welcomes the comprehensive actions taken by the services, including the EPLOs, in that regard; expects that such activities are further strengthened, including the close cooperation with other EU institutions and security services in Member States;

(e) recalls that the Secretary-General committed to initiate discussions with the responsible governing bodies before the end of 2024 on the possibility for APAs, subject to certain conditions, to accompany Members of the European Parliament on official Parliament delegations and missions during the conciliation between the Bureau and the Committee on Budgets on Preliminary Draft Estimates of the European Parliament for 2025 last April.

Other Sections (Sections IV-X)

74. Is deeply concerned with the situation of Heading 7 of the current MFF; recalls that the constraints are the results of the cuts applied by the Council to the Commission’s already very low initial proposal when agreeing on the current MFF 2021-2027; regrets the Council’s opposition to the Commission’s proposal to increase the ceiling of Heading 7 in the MFF revision as from 2024; points to the failure to address the issue of the ceiling of Heading 7 in the MFF revision; highlights that the forecasted negative margin for 2025 presupposes the use of special instruments in Heading 7 for that purpose;

75. Condemns the Commission’s horizontal approach to reduce the estimates of the institutions in order to adhere to the principle of stable staffing, and to a maximum increase of 2 % for non-salary related expenditure, despite the inflationary context and irrespective of new tasks given to the institutions by the Commission and the co-legislators; underlines the negative consequences of this approach on the work of the institutions and working conditions of their staff;

76. Highlights that the largest parts of the institutions’ budgets are fixed by statutory or contractual obligations impacted by inflation; is concerned about the high cost of living and the increasing prices in Luxembourg, in particular the rising housing costs entailing difficulties for all institutions based in Luxembourg in recruiting staff; highlights the importance of the housing allowance as a temporary solution to this challenge; rejects the Council’s horizontal approach to cut the appropriations for the housing allowances in these institutions;

77. Rejects the Council decision to reduce the estimates of the Commission, of the Court of Justice and of the European Court of Auditors by an additional amount in order to compensate for the housing allowance in the Parliament budget;

78. Highlights the need for the institutions to have sufficient staff in order to fulfil their mandate; welcomes the continuous efforts made by the institutions to redeploy staff and find additional efficiency gains but recognises the limits of this approach over the years; stresses the inevitability of reinforcing the amount of staff when necessary in order for the institutions to fulfil their mandates;

79. In line with the gentlemen’s agreement, does not modify the Council’s reading concerning the Council and the European Council;

80. Increases, for the following duly justified cases, the level of appropriations or staff above the DB in order to give the institutions enough resources to perform adequately, efficiently and effectively the growing number of tasks from their mandate and to be equipped for the upcoming challenges, in particular as regards cyber-security; proposes therefore to:

(a) restore the level of appropriations in line with the estimates of the Court of Justice of the European Union and the European Ombudsman, by increasing the level of appropriations above the DB for budgetary lines that cover cyber-security and operational needs;

(b) restore the level of appropriations partially in line with the estimates of the European Court of Auditors, the European Economic and Social Committee, the European Committee of the Regions, the European Data Protection Supervisor and the European External Action Service by increasing the appropriations above the DB for budgetary lines that cover cyber-security and operational needs;

(c) increase the establishment plans above the DB with the corresponding appropriations in line with the institutions’ requests for the Court of Justice of the European Union and the European Data Protection Supervisor and European Data Protection Board and partially in line with the institutions’ requests for the European Economic and Social Committee and the European Committee of the Regions, to enable them to face increasing workload and cyber-security challenges.

o

o o

81. Instructs its President to forward this resolution, together with the amendments to the draft general budget, to the Council, the Commission, the other institutions and bodies concerned and the national parliaments.