The EU agrees on a budget for 2020 that prioritizes the fight against climate change

The European Parliament and the Council (the countries) reached an agreement on Monday on the budget of the European Union (EU) for 2020 that plans to increase the funds by 1.5%, to 168,690 million euros, and allocate one in five euros to programs involved in the fight against climate change.

“Both institutions share the same political priorities: combating climate change, funding research and innovation, ensuring that there are resources for young people and alleviating the migration situation,” said Kiimo Tiilikainen, Secretary of State for Finance of Finland, the country that chairs the EU this semester.

The agreement came at the stroke of midnight on Monday, when the deadline for states and Parliament to reach a consensus expired, and after having had to extend negotiations last Friday to forge a pact.

The budget for 2020 sets commitments – the maximum amount of future payments that the EU can promise – of 168,690 million euros and payments – which will actually be disbursed – of 153,570 million, which is 1.5% and 3.4% more than in 2019, respectively.

21% of the total budget will be allocated to different programs that contribute to the fight against climate change, such as the LIFE program, which will receive 589.6 million (5.6% more) or Horizon 2020, which will take 13,460 million (8.8% more).

It also increases its allocation to 1,280 million (35% more) the energy branch of the Connecting Europe program, which helps the deployment of renewable energies by financing infrastructure.

Increasing climate funds was a priority for the EU, which seeks to become a world leader in this regard.

On the other hand, the Erasmus+ exchange program increased its endowment to 2,890 million (3.6% more), as well as the European Solidarity Corps, aimed at young volunteering, with 166.1 million (15.9% more).

The Youth Employment Initiative, against youth unemployment, will be endowed with 23.8 million, but Parliament has started the commitment that an additional 50 million will be added in the summer if the countries use all the funds.

Despite increases in these items, cohesion and agricultural funds still account for most (65%) of the budget.

Specifically, €58,650 million (35%) will be allocated to Structural and Investment Funds and €58,120 (30%) to aid to agriculture.

In terms of security and immigration management, a total of 2,360 million euros will be allocated to the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund, the Internal Security Fund and the Agencies working on the ground, such as Europol, Frontex or the European Asylum Office, among others.

However, in general terms, it has reduced by 1.5% the allocation for the Item of Security and Citizenship, to 3,729 million, and by 9.3% that of Global Europe, to 10,262 million, which are those that frame this type of initiatives.

As far as science is concerned, the increase of 74.4% in the allocation for the Galileo satellite navigation system to 1,200 million stands out.

The European Parliament, which has supported the agreement with a large majority of five groups, has welcomed the fact that the amount agreed is higher than the initial proposal of the European Commission and not lower, as requested by the countries, although they have not reached their goal of raising commitments to 171,000 million and payments to 159,100 million.

The European Parliament and the Council must give their final approval to the agreement at the end of the month so that it can enter into force.

Source: Expansión