Budget 2025, Council cuts Commission proposal by 8.17 billion

Brussels – A budget €8.17 billion lighter, reflecting “a prudent approach” to spending. The EU Council has approved its negotiating position for the Budget 2025: a downward revision from the proposal put on the table by the European Commission, which had proposed commitments of €199.7 billion. Instead, the Twenty-Seven have opted for a new annual cycle of €191.53 billion in commitments (what is willing to support net of available cash) and €146.21 billion in payments (available cash).

The 2025 budget is not only limited to the multi-year budget (MFF 2021-2027) but is complemented by actions to support recovery through the NextGenerationEU anti-pandemic program, which, according to the EU executive’s intentions, should add an additional €72 billion to the amount under inter-institutional negotiation.

According to Péter Banai, Hungarian minister of state in charge of budget negotiations, “the agreement reached provides a good starting point for negotiations with the European Parliament, which we hope will allow the budget to be adopted on time.” 

After the understanding reached in COREPER, there is time until September 13 for a minister-level approval, which the Hungarian presidency of the EU Council intends to approve by written procedure. At that point, there will be two months to attempt an inter-institutional understanding with the new Parliament. The legal deadline for reaching an agreement on the annual budget is November 18, 2024, at midnight.

So far, the process for the 2025 budget seems to reflect an established practice whereby, compared to the Commission’s proposal, the Council revises downward while the Parliament plays upward. The new EU Parliament will now have to express itself, and possibly confirm dynamics that have become typical of the confrontation on the dossier.