EU budget for 2017: Council agrees its position

20 July 2016

The Council's Permanent Representatives Committee agreed its position on the 2017 EU draft budget for the upcoming negotiations with the European Parliament.

Total figures 

The Council's position, agreed on the basis of a compromise text of the Slovak presidency, amounts to €156.38 billion in commitments and €133.79 billion in payments. This is a 0.9% increase in commitments and a 7.0% decrease in payments compared to the 2016 EU budget. The significant reduction of total payments is mainly due to two factors: the implementation of the programmes from the EU's multiannual financial framework (MFF) for 2007-2013 has been finalised and the programmes of the MFF for 2014-2020 are not yet fully up and running. 

Boosting growth and creating jobs 

The Council wants to spend the bulk of next year's EU budget for measures supporting smart and inclusive growth, with €74.3 billion in commitments and €56.1 billion in payments. 

Actions financed under this heading include notably 

• the EU's research and innovation programme Horizon 2020 with €10.2 billion in commitments and €10.1 billion in payments, which is an increase by 6.9% and 0.7% respectively compared to the 2016 EU budget
• the European fund for strategic investments, with €2.7 billion in commitments (+ 29.5%) and €2.3 billion in payments (+341.3%)
• Erasmus+, with €2.0 billion in commitments (+16.2%) and €1.9 billion in payments (+4.5%)
• European aid for the most deprived (€546 million in commitments and €421 million in payments)
• the youth employment initiative with €600 million in payments. [...]

Full press release

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