Adoption of 2010 budget

 

If the full Parliament endorses the proposals of its Budgets Committee, the total 2010 budget will be €141.453 billion in commitments and €122.937 billion in payments.

 

The main part of EU's 2010 budget was agreed at the 18 November budget conciliation meeting with the Council of Ministers. To finance the economic recovery plan, the conciliation committee agreed to use margins and leftovers from heading 2 (mainly agriculture) and heading 5 (administration) in 2009 and 2010. The Member States will also add some extra money through the flexibility instrument, which will also finance support for the closure of the Bulgarian nuclear plant Kozloduy.

 

The Budgets Committee made some final adjustments in its second reading on 2 December.

 

This annual budget, like the last one, was negotiated under the Nice Treaty rules, which meant that Parliament had no formal power over farm expenditure. Nevertheless, Parliament managed to introduce a €300 million budget line to support milk farmers, an aid that MEPs have demanded for years. According to the rapporteur, László Surján (EPP,HU), this was the "the spirit of Lisbon" already influencing this year's budget process. With the Lisbon Treaty, Parliament has gained full powers over the EU budget.

 

 

 

Budget 2010	Comparison 2009 Budget*		Financial Perspective 2010		Final budget 2010
	Com.	Pay.	Com.	Pay.	Com.	Pay.
Heading
1a Competitiveness for growth and employment	13775	11106	14362	-	14862	11342
1b Cohesion for growth and employment	48427	34963	49388	-	49388	36385
2 Preservation and management of natural resources	56721	52566	59955	-	59499	58136
3a Freedom security and justice	864	617	1025	-	1006	739
3b Citizenship	663	691	668	-	668	659
4 The EU as a global partner	8104	8324	7893	-	8141	7788
5 Administration	7695	7695	7882	-	7889	7889
Total	136458	116172	141173	134155	141453	122937
As % of GNI	1.18%	1.00%	-	-	1.20%	1.04%

 

In addition to voting on the budget 2010, Parliament will also vote on two related reports, by Reimer Böge (EPP, DE). One report adapts the financial perspective for 2009 and 2010 and the other mobilises the flexibility instrument. These adoption of these reports is a condition for the fulfilment of the conciliation agreement.