On the 14th of March member states agreed on the Council’s guidelines for the establishment of the EU’s budget for 2024. The EU’s annual budget lays down all the European Union’s expenditure and revenue for one year. It provides for the funding of EU policies and programmes in line with the EU’s political priorities and legal obligations. The relevant Council conclusions read as follows:

The Council underlines that the budget for 2024 has a key role in the development and delivery of the long-term objectives and political priorities agreed by the Union. Following Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, the Council, in line with European Council guidance, reiterates that the European Union remains committed to providing, along with partners, financial relief to Ukraine, and supporting its resilience and long-term reconstruction. The Council stresses the importance for the budget for 2024 to continue showing the Union’s solidarity with the people of Ukraine and to respond to the related crises.

The Council recalls the principle of solidarity and underlines that effective use of the EU budget will bolster the credibility of the Union with the European citizens.

The Council considers that the budget for 2024 should be realistic, in line with actual needs, ensure prudent budgeting and, without prejudice to the provisions of the Interinstitutional Agreement (IIA)2, leave sufficient margins under the multiannual financial framework (MFF) ceilings to deal with unforeseen circumstances. At the same time, the budget for 2024 should provide sufficient resources to ensure the implementation of Union programmes and to allow commitments already made under the current and previous MFF to be paid in due time. To this end, if necessary and in duly justified cases, after implementing all possible reallocations within the budget, adequate appropriations should be ensured through the use of available flexibilities, in order to avoid any unpaid claims submitted by the member states.

You can find more details at the Council’s website.

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