The Budget Committee of the European Parliament and the EU Finance Ministers have not reached an agreement over the European Commission's budget package in the past three weeks. If they do not come to an agreement by Monday evening at the latest, the European Commissioners will have to submit a new budget.
MEPs reject the cuts (€1.43 billion) that the ministers have made to the Commissioners' plans. Furthermore, the politicians want additional funds for pandemic control and investments addressing unemployment.
Support for youth remains a top priority for the European Parliament: Erasmus+ has been increased by €137 million, corresponding to an additional 40,000 educational exchanges, and €700 million extra is allocated for the implementation of the European Child Guarantee.
EP members have increased funding for humanitarian aid by 20% and have provided the asylum, migration, and integration fund with an extra budget, mainly due to the situation in Afghanistan. In the area of security and defense, the members of the European Parliament have raised the respective budget lines by more than €80 million.
A resolution from the Budget Committee was adopted with 521 votes in favor, 88 against, and 84 abstentions. With this vote, Parliament has set the level of commitments for 2022 at €171.8 billion, representing an increase of €2.7 billion compared to the draft budget proposed by the Commission.