Committee on Budgets Ordinary meeting
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BUDG European Parliament
Follow its sittingsVictor Negrescu
It is also a matter of resilience, strategic autonomy and preparedness. I believe Europe must retain the capacity to produce food across all Member States and to withstand future shocks.
Third, rural development. I call for a clearly identifiable and adequately funded rural development envelope. I believe rural communities are essential for territorial cohesion, generational renewal and economic vitality. People in rural areas deserve dedicated and visible support. Fourth, convergence of direct payment.
Parliament has repeatedly supported fairer conditions between Member States. Progress towards full external convergence remains necessary to reduce disparities and strengthen cohesion across the Union. Finally, budgetary governance.
The future CAP must remain transparent and accountable. We therefore call for a sufficiently detailed budgetary nomenclature and oppose merging CAP and fishery expenditure into a single budget line. Parliament must retain full oversight of how European taxpayers' money is being spent. This report focuses on what our committee must safeguard: sufficient resources, transparency, traceability, and sound financial management. I look forward to working with all shadow rapporteurs to build broad support before the vote.
Thank you so much.
Nina Carberry
Thank you, Chair. I want to thank the rapporteur, Mr. Negrescu, for your work on this budgetary assessment. The CAP, the next CAP really matters. It is not just about the next seven years. This CAP will shape Europe's food security, farm viability, and rural communities for a generation.
We need a strong, common, and well-funded CAP. Farmers have absorbed rising costs while helping keep food affordable for consumers. Now they need certainty, predictable payments, protected funding, and a CAP that remains clearly visible in the next long-term EU budget.
I welcome the report's focus on a stronger CAP budget, clear budgetary visibility, rural development, traceability of funds, and a proper parliamentary scrutiny. And at the same time, there are areas we should strengthen: keeping CAP money for CAP priorities, avoiding delays in farmer payments, and keeping controls proportionate, and ensuring rural development funding, including LEADER, remains visible and predictable. We also need to be careful when tabling amendments to respect the boundary between CAP regulation and the NRP regulation. I look forward to working constructively with my colleagues on this file. Thank you.
Rasmus Nordqvist
Yes, thank you, and thank you too to the rapporteur. I think also when we talk about this file, we have to be aware that with the new architecture, it's really an idea to link the CAP with the NRPPs, with the work being done in the member states, so that the CAP is aligned with other priorities. And here I can point to my own member state where there's a lot to be done when it comes to nature restoration, to the environmental protection of the environment. And what we see is that the pressure from the agricultural industry is heavy.
So how do we make sure in the budget that the idea behind NRRPs to actually align the different policies with each other also follow through in in what we're doing here in the Parliament and I think that would be be very important especially from BUDG perspective that we make sure this alignment is there across across the budget and and we don't have issues where things are working in different directions.
And then also, of course, and that's a bit linked to to to what's happening in in another committee, the Budg Control, I mean, we have to make sure that that when we do this budget opinion, that that it's it's assessment, that it actually also has the right design so so we're not going to see the problems we have faced with the CAP over the last many, many years. That's it for now, thank you.
Johan Van Overtveldt
Any other one MEP wanting to take the floor? If not, I pass the floor to the Commission, to Ms. Christiane Canenbley.
Speaker 9
Thank you very much, Chair, and thanks to all the colleagues here and also for the work and for this exchange, much appreciated. I think we we all agree very much on the important role of the CAP for the future, for the Common Agriculture Policy, on this one, a full agreement and full alignment.
Just let me, looking at the comments made, just make some small remarks. The one part was really on the amount dedicated to the common agriculture policy. Just to recall again, we have here the 295 billion as a minimum requirement. There are other parts which can contribute also to the CAP, so we have here the means to secure the stability of the payments, which was also one of the comments we just heard. But we think with the integrated programming, really building on the synergies with other parts of what we're funding here, even more can be done.
Also other possibilities really to finance specific parts which benefit the farmers at large and also the rural areas. I want here also to refer back to the rural target which is integrated in the proposal, the 10% of the rural target which helps of course the rural areas and rural development measures as well and can contribute there. In addition, we have the commonality of the agriculture policy ensured via having all the various objectives, the specific objectives related to food security and other parts integrated into the proposal, so they will need to be effective.
And as there was a question on the nomenclature, just to be clear, we will come with a more detailed nomenclature with the budget in 2028 once we propose this one, and that will reflect of course then also the state of play on where we are in the inter-institutional discussion on this file. Thank you.
Victor Negrescu
Well, thank you for your comments and constructive contributions. Our discussion confirms that despite the different perspectives, there is broad agreement on several essential principles. Farmers need certainty, rural communities need support, and the future common agricultural policy requires sufficient resources and clear budgetary governance.
And indeed, we would like to get additional resources to agriculture and to rural areas in comparison to the proposal made by the Commission. We are happy that the Commission adapts its proposal, but you are adapting your proposal because the Parliament pressured you to adapt the proposal. And we are happy that you are commenting on the nomenclature. That means that we have a good influence. Now you realize that you have to change the nomenclature.
So the objective of this assessment is to ensure that whatever political choices are made, they are supported by a credible, transparent, and adequately financed budgetary framework. So a strong CAP is not only about agriculture, it's about people. It's about farmers and citizens living in rural areas. So indeed, we are going to also try to emphasize the need to correlate these policies with other policies, in particular the European Competitiveness Fund. So I will carefully consider all amendments and will constructively work together in reaching a balanced compromise.
But I'm confident the position of the Budget Committee will be a strong one and will support a strong Common Agricultural Policy that is fair, predictable, and properly funded. Thank you.
Johan Van Overtveldt
Thank you. Let me also recall that the deadline for amendments is June the 3rd at noon, and that the vote in BUDG is June the 30th.
Sorry, June 30 at noon and that the vote in BUDG is planned for September the 10th. Thank you. We skip point number 5 as indicated at the start of this meeting. We go to point number 6, the budget section 3, 2024 DEC 10. I give the floor to Ms. Filipkova from the Commission.
Please.
Speaker 11
Thank you very much, Mr. Chair, and good morning to everyone.
Let me now shortly present the tenth transfer of this year, which is a transfer from the reserve to the operational line for the fisheries agreements. So we are proposing to transfer 5.8 million in commitments and 2.8 million in payments to fulfill the European Union's obligation arising from the new protocol under sustainable fisheries partnership agreements with the Republic of Seychelles. So the Commission proposal for the Council decision was proposed on 12th of May. At the same time, it was also sent to the European Parliament for information. The Council is expected to agree on the signing and provisional application of the protocol in July, with the final signature planned for September once all the necessary appropriations are made available.
Just for information, the old six-year protocol expired in February. The new negotiation on the new protocol started in April and in May it started to have been formalized. On the procedure, you know and I've explained before that we can only sign the agreement once we have the appropriations on the line and therefore we are coming with this DEC before you have your chance to express your consent on the protocol itself, but in any case we have to start paying for the provisional application.
There's a difference between the commitments and payments because for the full protocol per year is 5.8 million in commitments, but we have to pay immediately for the access to the fisheries waters in 90 days after the signature of the protocol. Therefore we need the 2.8 million in payments already now. Thank you very much.
Johan Van Overtveldt
Thank you. We don't have the rapporteur present, so I ask whether there are any comments or questions by other MEPs.
Jean-Marc Germain, please.
Jean-Marc Germain
No, just to say that on behalf of Nils Ušakovs, who is shadow rapporteur, we agree for this transfer and we also agree for the mechanism to put the money in reserve and then once the agreement, the protocol becomes an agreement, it goes to the operational line. Thank you very much.
Johan Van Overtveldt
Thank you. The vote is scheduled for July the 15th. This ends point number six of our agenda. Point number seven, budget other sections.
Briefly to briefly represent the different requests, I give the floor first of all to Mr. Federico Rossi, Deputy Director for Human Resources and Finance at the European Economic and Social Committee, then also for the for the European Committee of the Regions, Mr. François Filipek, Deputy Director of HR and Finance. Please, go ahead.
Federico Rossi
Thank you. Thank you, Chair. Good morning. The proposal concerns the transfer of approximately 1.3 million euros from remuneration and allowances to several operational budget lines. This transfer is made possible by savings on staff expenditure, notably due to unplanned retirements and some delays in recruitment.
The transfer supports three main priorities. First is training. Training for staff to prepare the transition to the inter-institutional financial system that is called SUMMA. In 2027, the ESC will onboard SUMMA and we need to prepare our financial community. The second priority is about financing IT investments, including cybersecurity, infrastructure renewal, and also the Digital Twin program.
A program that consolidates data and systems into a single user-centric environment.
And in this context, let me stress that our IT resources are mainly managed together with the Committee of the Regions through a Directorate for Innovation and Technologies. And in addition, part of the expenditure covers also services provided by the European Commission. So all this to inform that we make a systematic use of inter-institutional arrangements and also we strive for economies of scale. The third priority is to transfer money for some budget for financing communication activities, that is one of the three priorities for 2026 for the ESC.
The budget items receiving the transfers are item 1612, 2100, 2102 and 2600. We answered written questions that were addressed to us and of course I'm here at your disposal for any further questions. Thank you.
François Filipek
Dear chair, dear Mr. Rapporteur, honorable members of the Parliament, I'm here to represent the Committee of the Regions with a twofold request for transfers total amount 1.4 million euros.
The first one aims to support our digital resilience, operation efficiency and the second our communication capacity. On the digital side, as was already explained by the EESC, we need to replace some of our fragmented IT equipment and tools with a more integrated and user-centered environment to reduce administrative burden, improve decision-making process and create a more efficient service for our members and staff. The program that was already presented, the Members 360, is designed around interoperability and institutional control of data and processes, thereby also fully respecting the principles of European technological sovereignty.
The transfer will also support cybersecurity reinforcement, the renewal of our critical infrastructure with new servers, and the development of specific business applications, including the register of rapporteur experts, which responds directly to recommendations made by the European Court of Auditors.
On the communication side, we would like to proceed with the transfer to strengthen our web accessibility, the outreach, and data-driven engagement with stakeholders, with specific attention to accessibility compliance, responsible use of AI under human oversight, and improved management of our stakeholder relations, enhanced governance, and analytical capabilities. Both transfers would be possible also thanks to savings on the budget line 1200 due to a little higher than anticipated average vacancy rate in 2026 compared to 2025, and also because we have a little bit more retirements than expected, including at management level. Thank you very much for your attention.
Matjaž Nemec
Thank you, Chair.
As the rapporteur for the section for 2026 budget, I can confirm that we have carefully analyzed the request for the transfer of the corresponding replies. As our assessment is that the request is well-justified and reflects the need and changing environment of the institution, I can therefore confirm that as rapporteur responsible, my recommendation for the budget is positive and I ask the committee to support this request. Similarly to the previous request, we have carefully analyzed these two proposals from the Committee of the Regions and follow-up replies. Our assessment is also a positive one and well-justified. Therefore, I also ask the committee to vote in favor of these two transfer requests.
Thank you, Chair.
Thank you.
Johan Van Overtveldt
Thank you. So there are a few questions raised. I go back to our two, Mr. Rossi and Mr. Filipek, please.
Apologies, but we didn't hear the questions. My mistake. No questions, so we can proceed to the next point, point number eight on our agenda, the building policy. This morning for building policy, we have a request for prior approval from the Commission for the extension of the usufruct contracts of five buildings in Brussels. I first of all give the floor to our rapporteur, Olivier Chastel, please.
Olivier Chastel
Merci Monsieur le Président, chers collègues.
Donc notre commission est donc saisie d'une demande d'approbation de la Commission européenne concernant la prolongation de contrats d'usufruit pour cinq immeubles occupés actuellement par la Commission, et ce pour une durée maximum de 24 mois à compter du 1er février 2027. Ces cinq immeubles font partie, vous vous en souviendrez, du lot des 23 immeubles vendus par la Commission à l'État belge en 2024. La prolongation du contrat d'usufruit était clairement prévue dans les contrats de vente. Et elle se comprend, vu la rareté de l'offre des immeubles correspondant aux critères de l'OIB dans la zone de prospection.
Cette prolongation permettra également à l'OIB de poursuivre sa stratégie immobilière avec moins de pression, tout en garantissant la continuité des activités de la Commission. Le budget total de ces deux prolongations sur deux ans, donc jusqu'en 2029, pour ces cinq bâtiments, est de 41 300 000 euros. Je pense que nous pouvons marquer notre accord sur cette extension.
Johan Van Overtveldt
Thank you. I pass the floor now to the shadows, if present. First of all, Ms. Hohlmeier.
Monika Hohlmeier
Thank you very much. But I would have some questions to the Commission about the situation, ongoing situation of the further prolongation that you already announced and why this cannot be planned in a better way and how are the investigations ongoing? Is this delaying the procedure furthermore? Because I see there a lot of questions what is happening if you have two times prolonged, the second time when you prolong this will be more costly.
And if this becomes then if it this comes at an end and you haven't finalized, what are you doing then? At the moment I don't have a very good impression about the time planning of the commission of the OIB in this area.
Nils Ušakovs
Yes, thank you chair. In the documentation we received, the commission states that it has contracted virtually every compliant building that could be readily delivered in 2027-2029 and there remains a general scarcity of suitable buildings within the prescribed prospection zone of the European quarter.
And furthermore, the Commission adds that it has proved to be impossible to secure the required replacements in time for the buildings foreseen to be released in '26 and '27. So, what is the fallback scenario in case there are still no buildings available and no more extensions are also possible? Thank you.
Johan Van Overtveldt
Thank you. What a surprise.
No other MEPs wanting to intervene? If not, we go to Ms. Sara Leckonen, Head of Office Department on Management of Real Estate for the Office of Infrastructure and Logistics in Brussels. Please.
Sara Leckonen
Dear Chair, dear Vice-Chair, Monsieur le Rapporteur, honorable members. In reply to your questions, of course these extensions are needed to ensure business continuity of housing the concerned services and DGs until their future move to the future new buildings. And that's why we would like to very much to extend the usufructs. These usufructs are also foreseen in our budget planning in the 2027 budget proposal and they're fully programmed for the years to come.
However, and this is the part of the reply, in parallel we are actively working really with all our best abilities to secure the timely availability of replacement buildings. And we are trying to reduce as much as possible the impact of the extensions and the terms thereof. Firstly, in this regard, we have agreed in 2025 December to extend the prospection zone. So now the prospection zone in Brussels is one kilometer from the axis between the metro stations Arlon and Montgomery.
It used to be 500 meters. And this is really to widen the building of the prospection area. Secondly, we have already presented to you during the first quarter and we will present in second quarter this year for prior information other building files to procure new buildings. And that would be for a total of around 67,500 square meters gross floor area. And then there will be another two buildings for a total of 39,000 square meters.
And these files will be submitted for your approval in the third quarter of 2026, so still this year.
We are very confident that these solutions will be sufficient to have replacement buildings, especially in the crucial year of 2028. And that would really lessen the extension period finally required and the costs in relation. And finally, towards 2030, this would allow us to reach the very ambitious greening goals and the targets set for buildings. Yeah, I think that was it. Thank you for your attention.
Johan Van Overtveldt
Thank you. Monsieur Chastel, you, no? No further comments, then we can also close off this point. We have a voting session in something like 12, 13 minutes, so we take a break until then.
And the voting session will be chaired by Vice-Chair Hohlmeier. Thank you.
Speaker 27
Good morning, everyone. Welcome to the Committee on Budgets. We have a very full agenda today, so I'd like to get started right away. First, I'd like to welcome our guests from the European Commission and the European Court of Auditors. Thank you for being here today.
We'll start with the adoption of the agenda. Are there any objections to the agenda as presented? Seeing none, the agenda is adopted. Next, we have the approval of the minutes of our last meeting. Are there any comments or corrections to the minutes?
Seeing none, the minutes are approved. Now, we'll move on to the main item on our agenda today, which is the presentation of the draft budget for the next fiscal year. I'll turn the floor over to the Commissioner for Budgets and Administration to present the draft budget. Commissioner, the floor is yours.
Speaker 2
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. It's a pleasure to be here today to present the draft budget for the next fiscal year. This budget is a reflection of our priorities and our commitment to the European project. It's a budget that invests in our future, in our people, and in our planet. I'll start by giving you an overview of the main features of the draft budget, and then I'll go into more detail on some of the key areas.
Speaker 29
Good morning, everyone. I'm sorry for the delay, but we had some technical issues with the voting system. So, we are ready to start. I would like to welcome you to the meeting of the Committee on Budgets. I would like to remind you that the meeting is being webstreamed and that the interpretation is available in the usual languages.
The first item on the agenda is the adoption of the agenda. Are there any comments on the agenda? If not, the agenda is adopted. The second item is the Chair's announcements. The draft decisions of the coordinators' meeting of the 12th of June were circulated to all BUDG members on the 13th of June.
Since no objections have been raised, the decisions are deemed adopted. The third item is the approval of the minutes of the meetings of the 17th of April and the 22nd and 23rd of May. Are there any comments on the minutes? If not, the minutes are approved. Now we move to the voting session.
The first item for the vote is the 2023 budget, Section III, Commission, and we have the transfer DEC 10/2023.
Speaker 31
So let's take the take the things I want to be in. But now you sit in front. We can see the phone. Could you please move?
Monika Hohlmeier
So, dear colleagues. Dear colleagues. I try to start the voting. Thanks a lot for your understanding. So we start with the point nine of our agenda, the draft amending budget number one 2024.
Before we start the voting session, we try to do first our test.
And I open the vote for the test. If you agree that it is too hot, please vote yes. Let's see. Still some missing. Still two missing.
Now nobody is missing anymore. Okay. 18 have the same opinion as I have.
So, we start with number nine, draft amending budget number 1/2026, entering the surplus of the financial year 2025, rapporteur Andrzej Halicki. We have a roll-call vote. We open the vote. I close the vote. 25 plus, three minus, and four abstentions.
Then number 10, mobilization of the European Union Solidarity Fund to provide assistance to Romania regarding the floods, and to Cyprus following wildfires, and Spain following wildfires.
I start with the voting, one moment. So, amendment number 2, who is in favor? Who is against? Abstentions, adopted. 3, who is in favor?
Who is against? Abstentions, adopted. Amendment number 5, who is in favor? Who is against? Abstentions, adopted.
Then amendment number 6, who is in favor?
Who is against? Abstentions, adopted. Ten, who is in favor? Who is against? Abstentions, but that's not clear.
I have to verify. Open the vote on ten, amendment number ten. I close the vote. It's adopted. Then amendment number nine, who is in favor?
Who is against? Abstentions adopted. Amendment number 11, who is in favor? Who is against? Abstentions, rejected.
Number 12, who is in favor? Who is against? Abstentions adopted. 13, who is in favor? Against?
Abstentions adopted. 14, who is in favor? Against? Abstentions adopted. 15, who is in favor?
Against? Abstentions adopted. 1, who is in favor? Against? Abstentions, I think rejected, but we check it.
I open the vote. Close the vote. Ah, it's adopted. Then we go to the final vote, a roll call vote. I open the vote.
Close the vote. Oh, 31 plus. Wow, that's rare.
No abstentions and no... Okay, number 11, mobilization of the European Globalization Adjustment Fund application EGF 2026 technical assistance at the initiative of the Commission. We start with amendment number 7. Who is in favor? Who is against?
Abstentions? Rejected. 5, who is in favor?
Who is against? Abstentions? Adopted. Eight. Who is in favor?
Against? Abstentions? Reject that. Open the vote because it was not clear what EPP... Okay, we close the vote now.
We are becoming more now, 33. So 26 minus. Then that was very clear. This was number... We go to number nine.
So we go to nine. Who is in favor? It's nine. We continue with nine. Who is in favor?
Who is against? Abstentions rejected. 10, who is in favor? Who is against? Abstentions rejected.
12, who is in favor? Who is against? Abstentions rejected. 11, who is in favor?
Yes!
Speaker 34
Fabienne is for yes. Who is the... who is against? Abstentions. It's adopted, Fabienne. 13, who is in favor?
Who is against? Abstentions rejected. 14, who is in favor?
Monika Hohlmeier
Who is against? Abstentions adopted. Then we go to 16, who is in favor? Who is against? Abstentions adopted.
17, who is in favor? Who is against? Abstentions rejected. 18, who is in favor? Who is against?
Abstentions. I think adopted. Let's check it because I didn't see it really. 18, please raise the hands, that makes it easier. Everybody voting.
Vote is open.
Close, so everybody has voted. No, it's in favor. Everything fine. So 19, who is in favor? Who is against?
Abstentions rejected. Compromise number one. Who is in favor? Who is against? Abstentions adopted.
Then amendment four, who is in favor? Who is against? Abstentions rejected. Three, who is in favor? Who is against?
Abstentions.
I think it's adopted, but we can check it. Check, we open, check amendment number three, we open the vote. The colleague Halicki is in favor of his own amendment. That help him. 19 plus, 8 minus and 5 abstentions.
The final vote is a roll call vote, I open the vote. I close the vote. 26 plus, 2 minus and 5 abstentions.
Now we have a very big one but with only one vote. We go to number 12 establishing the European competitiveness fund including the specific program for defense research and innovation activities. We vote on the compromise by showing up hands and then on the full report by roll call vote. Compromise 1, who is in favor? Who is against?
Abstentions? It's adopted. Now roll call vote on the whole.
Monika Hohlmeier
Compromise 2 is deemed adopted with compromise 1. It's included.
I was explained. I trust the secretariat, so check. Okay, roll call vote on the full report. I open the vote. I close the vote.
22 plus, 8 minus, and 3 abstentions. Congratulations. Now 13, establishing Horizon Europe, the framework program for research and innovation for the period 2021 to 2027, laying down its rules for participation and dissemination and repealing Regulation 2021/695. I heard that Helder would like to take the floor as rapporteur.
Hélder Sousa Silva
Thank you, Madam Chair. We have a technical amendment on compromise amendment 1, Article 6, paragraph 1. It's a question of language, but we need to clarify and the language should be aligned to the agreed common compromise.
The article should then read, and I quote, the program envelope for the implementation instead the program envelope. And the rest, I will read all the proposal is the following.
The program envelope for the implementation of the program for the period 28-34 shall be 200 billion 3 million 562 thousand euros in current prices, representing in the 177 billion 10 million euros in 2025 prices. I mean the figures are the same, only the adjustment of the language in the beginning of this amendment. Thank you so much.
Monika Hohlmeier
Everybody understood? So, no comments? Then let's vote first on compromise number one. Who is in favor? Who is against?
Abstentions? Adopted. Then compromise two this time. Who is in favor? Who is against?
Abstentions? Adopted. And compromise three. Who is in favor? Who is against?
Abstentions? Adopted. Now we vote on the whole text as a roll call vote.
I open the vote. I close the vote. 29 plus, four minus, and one abstention. Now we are going to 14, establishing the specific program implementing Horizon Europe, the framework program for research and innovation for the period 2028 to 2034, laying down the rules for participation and dissemination under that program. Rapporteur Olivier Chastel, do you would you like to address the floor?
No. Then we directly go to the first compromise. Who is in favor?
Who is against? Abstentions. Adopted. Then compromise 2. Who is in favour?
Who is against? Abstentions. Adopted. Compromise 3. Who is in favour?
Who is against? Abstentions. Adopted. Now vote on the final text as amended. Roll call vote, I open the vote.
Close the vote. 26 plus, 3 minus, and 4 abstentions.
Thank you very much and congratulations to the rapporteurs. Now we go to the establishing point 15, establishing the Connecting Europe Facility for the period 2028 to 2034, amending Regulation 2024/1679 and repealing Regulation 2021/1153. Our rapporteur is Janusz Lewandowski. Would you like to take the floor?
Monika Hohlmeier
Ready to start, dear rapporteur. So, compromise four. Who is in favor?
Who is against? Abstentions? Adopted. Then compromise 2. Who is in favor?
Who is against? Abstentions? Adopted. Compromise 3. Who is in favor?
Who is against? Abstentions? Adopted. Now it's compromise 1. Who is in favor?
Who is against? Abstentions? Adopted. Now the final vote on a roll-call vote. I open the vote.
Close the vote, sorry. 28 plus, five minus, and one abstention. Now I go to the establishing the single market on the agenda point 16 and customs program for the period, and I don't say everything on it because it's a lot of numbers. Would the rapporteur like to take the floor? No, Danuța does not want, so we start with compromise four.
Who is in favor? Who is against? Abstentions? Adopted. Then we go to compromise two.
Who is in favor?
Who is against? Abstentions adopted. Now final vote as roll call vote I open the vote. I close the vote. 26 plus 6 minus and 2 abstentions.
Now we are coming to point 17 of the agenda Union Civil Protection Mechanism and Union support for health emergency preparedness and response and repealing the decision 1313. Nicolae you don't want to speak. Fine let's start with compromise 2. Who is in favor?
Who is against? Abstentions? Adopted. Now compromise 1. Who is in favor?
Who is against? Abstentions? Adopted. And that's it already. Final vote as roll call vote.
I open the vote. Close the vote. 22 plus, 7 minus and 4 abstentions. Let's go to 18, on point 18 on the agenda, establishing the Erasmus program for the period of 2028 to 2034. Our rapporteur is Lucia Yar.
Lucia Yar
Thank you. I will, I'll break this because everybody constantly keep on saying that the Erasmus is the, the greatest success story. So I think it is also for us and for this committee to say that if we want to, if we want for more Europeans, young Europeans to, to benefit from it, we must address the biggest obstacle to participation and it is money.
And this is precisely why the budgetary committee was working on it so hard. I wanted to thank all the shadows and technical team because it was not an easy job to put all the things together. And I'm very happy that we managed to consistently throughout this file deliver the message that the Erasmus grants often fail to match the costs of accommodation, living costs and travel and why we are addressing it. And the conclusion of our budgetary assessment is really helping stepping up and creating the truly inclusive Erasmus Plus. So thank everybody who was involved.
Monika Hohlmeier
Thanks a lot, dear Lucia. We start with compromise two. Who is in favor?
Who is against? Abstentions? Adopted. And then compromise one. Who is in favor?
Who is against? Abstentions? Adopted. Now final vote as a roll call vote. I open the vote.
I close the vote. And it's adopted, 27 to 4 and 3 abstentions.
Now we go to number 19 of the agenda, establishing the temporary decarbonization fund. Our rapporteur is Danuș-Seneru-Dov... no, she doesn't want to speak, so let's start with the compromise one. Who is in favor? Who is against? Abstentions?
And it is adopted. We go further with 13. Who is in favor? Who is against? Abstentions?
It's rejected. 14. Who is in favor? Who is against? Abstention?
It's rejected. Then 15. Who is in favor? Who is against? Abstentions?
Adopted. 16. Who is in favor?
Who is against? Abstentions? Rejected. 18, who is in favor? Who is against?
Abstentions? Rejected. It's 20, who is in favor? Who is against? Abstentions?
Rejected. 21, who is in favor? Who is against? Abstentions? Adopted.
22, who is in favor? Who is against? Abstentions? Rejected. 23, who is in favor?
Against? Abstentions? Rejected.
24 in favor? Against? Abstentions rejected. Three, who is in favor? Who is against?
Abstentions adopted. Four, who is in favor? Against? Abstentions adopted. Five, who is in favor?
Against? Abstentions adopted. 27, who is in favor? Against? Abstentions rejected.
28, who is in favor? Against? Abstentions rejected. Six, who is in favor? Against?
Abstentions rejected.
Seven, who is in favor? Against? Abstentions rejected. Eight, who is in favor? Wait, for seven it's not adopted.
Eight, who is in favor? Who is against? Abstentions adopted. 25, who is in favor? Who is against?
Abstentions rejected. One, who is in favor? Who is against? Abstentions adopted. 26, who is in favor?
Against? Abstentions adopted.
Two, who is in favor? Against? Abstentions adopted. Final vote and as roll call vote, I open the vote. Close the vote.
Twenty-one plus, eleven minus and no abstention. Yes. We continue with the amending regulation 2023/956 under agenda point 20 as regards the extension of its scope to downstream goods and anti-circumvention measures.
Rapporteur Sandra Gómez López, you would like to take the floor? No. So, then let's continue. We start with amendment number 7. Who is in favor?
Who is against? Abstentions?
It is rejected. Number eight, who is in favor? Against? Abstentions? Rejected.
Nine, in favor? Against? Abstentions? Rejected. Number ten, who is in favor?
Abstentions? Adopted.
Then 16, who is in favor? Against? Abstentions rejected. 17 in favor? Against?
Abstentions rejected. 18 in favor? Against? Abstentions rejected. 19 in favor?
Against? Abstentions rejected. 20 in favor? Against? Abstentions rejected.
21 in favor? Against? Abstentions adopted. Compromise 2, who is in favor? Who is against?
Abstentions adopted. Now we go to amendment 2, who is in favor? Who is against? Abstentions rejected. 3, who is in favor?
Against? Abstentions adopted. 4, who is in favor? Against?
Abstentions, it's rejected. Five, who is in favor? Against? Abstentions, it's rejected. Number six, who is in favor?
Who is against? Abstentions, adopted. Twenty-six, who is in favor? Against? Abstentions, adopted.
Twenty-seven, who is in favor? Against? Abstentions, it's adopted. One, who is in favor? Who is against?
Abstentions, adopted. Now the final vote as roll call vote, I open the vote.
I close the vote. It's 23 to 10 and one abstention. The next one, one moment, I give this to the table. So, we have some further. So, 21 now, the next one on the budget section three Commission, DEC 8/2024.
It's a roll-call vote. I open the vote. I close the vote. 34 plus, no minus. That's DEC 9/2024, roll-call vote.
I open the vote. I close the vote. 27 plus, 1 minus and 6 abstentions. Then we have 2024 budget other sections, EESC INF 2/2024, roll-call vote. I open the vote.
I close the vote. 27 plus, 4 minus, 3 abstentions.
Then Committee of the Regions, two votes. I open the vote, the roll call vote. I close the vote. 27 plus, five minus, two abstentions. Then building policy, we have the OIB extension of the use of contract for five buildings, roll call vote.
Speaker 40
I open the vote. Close the vote. 27 plus, 6 minus, and one abstention. Now we have to... That's this afternoon.
Yeah. We stop here. So we can close and we reconvene at 2:30 for workshop on own resources in the digital... And Mr. Stefanuta. Ah, Nicolae!
Nicolae Ștefănuță
One moment, dear colleagues. I simply wish to be put on record on the Erasmus file that we support and we congratulate Lucia Yar for. The Green and Socialist group have supported an amendment to reflect the cost of living as regards the individual Erasmus scholarships that was deemed unacceptable by the presidency of this committee, which I still believe it shouldn't be the case. This is the Budget Committee. It is not a non-technical committee.
We can make inferences as regards budget. We can make inferences as regards cost of living for students across the Union. Thank you.
Thanks a lot. I close the meeting and we see us this afternoon at 2:30.
Speaker 27
Good morning, everyone. I would like to ask you to take your seats. We are about to start the meeting of the Committee on Budgets. I would like to welcome you all to this meeting. I would like to welcome the Commissioner, Johannes Hahn, and his team.
I would like to welcome the representatives of the Council, the Spanish Presidency, and the team. And I would like to welcome all the colleagues and the staff of the European Parliament. We have a very busy agenda today.
Speaker 2
Are there any comments or corrections to the minutes? I see none, so the minutes are approved. Now, we move on to the main items on our agenda. We have several reports to consider, as well as some budgetary transfers. I'd like to start with the report on the draft general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2024.
Our rapporteur, Mr. Negrescu, will present the report. Mr. Negrescu, you have the floor. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Colleagues, it is my pleasure to present the report on the draft general budget for 2024. This budget comes at a critical time for the European Union, as we face numerous challenges, both internally and externally.
The budget aims to address these challenges by investing in key areas such as the green and digital transitions, research and innovation, and social cohesion. We have also included measures to support our partners in the neighborhood and beyond, as well as to strengthen our security and defense capabilities. I look forward to our discussion on this important topic. Thank you, Mr. Negrescu. Are there any questions or comments from the members?
Yes, Mr. Fernandes. Thank you, Mr. Chair. I'd like to thank the rapporteur for his excellent work on this report. I agree that the budget for 2024 must address the challenges we face, but I am concerned about the level of funding for some key areas, such as agriculture and cohesion policy. We must ensure that these policies are adequately funded to support our farmers and our regions.
Thank you, Mr. Fernandes. Are there any other comments? Yes, Ms. Gardiazabal Rubial. Thank you, Mr. Chair. I also want to thank the rapporteur for his work.
I think it's important that we focus on the social dimension of the budget, especially in light of the current economic situation. We need to ensure that the budget supports those who are most vulnerable and that it promotes social justice and equality. Thank you, Ms. Gardiazabal Rubial. If there are no further comments, we will move on to the next item on the agenda.
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