Budget of the European Parliament 

Parliament is able to support the work of its 720 MEPs and operate in 24 different languages thanks to its annual budget.

How is the budget decided?

The procedure for drawing up Parliament’s budget normally starts in February, each year. The Parliament’s Secretary-General comes up with a proposal, defining the priorities and resources for the following year. The Bureau, composed of the European Parliament President and the 14 Vice-Presidents, uses this as the basis for adopting preliminary draft estimates and submits them to the budgets committee.

One of the committee members - known as the budget rapporteur - is appointed to draw up a report outlining Parliament’s work priorities and proposing how much money should be spent on them. First, the budgets committee votes on the report and then all MEPs vote on it during a plenary session, usually in May. These estimates are then incorporated in the EU’s draft budget for the following year, which MEPs amend and adopt during a plenary session in December at the latest.