Council of the EU:Budget 2025: Council agrees on guidelines for next year's EU budget

Press material Tuesday 12 March 2024

● Council of the EU   12/03/2024 13:54 | Press release | Budget 2025: Council agrees on guidelines for next year's EU budget   The Council today reached an agreement on its guidelines for the 2025 EU budget. The approved guidelines will provide political guidance to the Commission in preparing the budget for next year. In its conclusions, the Council underlines that the EU budget for 2025 has a key role in the development and delivery of the long-term objectives and political priorities agreed by the Union. The Council reconfirms that the EU remains committed to providing, along with partners, financial relief to Ukraine, for as long as it takes, and supporting its resilience and long-term reconstruction. The Council stresses the importance for the budget for 2025 to continue showing the Union’s solidarity with the people of Ukraine and to respond to the related crises. The Council considers that the budget for 2025 should be realistic, in line with actual needs, ensure prudent budgeting and leave sufficient margins under the multiannual financial framework (MFF) ceilings to deal with unforeseen circumstances and address the Union’s challenges. At the same time, the budget for 2025 should provide sufficient resources to ensure the implementation of Union programmes and to allow commitments already made under the current MFF to be paid in due time. The Council urges the Commission to align the draft budget for 2025 with the outcome of the agreement on the revision of the MFF 2021-2027, as outlined in the European Council conclusions of 1 February 2024. In this regard, the Council stresses the need that the Commission identifies the redeployments necessary to finance the priorities laid down in the MFF revision, as well as the decommitments that are being made available again. The Council calls on the Commission to take into account and reflect in the draft budget for 2025 all the commonly agreed priorities in the European Council conclusions of 1 February 2024. Background The EU’s annual budget lays down all the European Union’s expenditure and revenue for one year. It provides for the funding of EU policies and programmes in line with the EU’s political priorities and legal obligations. Draft Council conclusions on the budget guidelines for 2025 The EU’s annual budget (background information) European Council conclusions, 1 February 2024

Meetings Tuesday 12 March 2024

● Council of the EU   12/03/2024 14:29 | MEETING | Main results - Economic and Financial Affairs Council, 12 March 2024   The Council approved guidelines for the 2025 EU budget and adopted its recommendation on the 2022 EU budget discharge. Ministers exchanged views on the mid-term review of the Recovery and Resilience Facility and the economic and financial impact of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine. Ministers of economic and financial affairs were joined by employment and social affairs ministers for a debate on social investments and reforms for resilient economies.

Press material Tuesday 12 March 2024

● Council of the EU   12/03/2024 15:10 | Press release | EU-Switzerland: Council adopts mandate for negotiations on future relationship   The Council today authorised the Commission to negotiate, on behalf of the EU, a broad package of measures with Switzerland as the basis for future EU-Switzerland relations. It also approved the corresponding directives for the negotiation. The aim of the negotiation is to modernise and deepen bilateral relations between the EU and Switzerland, to ensure fair competition between EU and Swiss companies operating within the internal market, and to guarantee the protection of the rights of EU citizens in Switzerland, including preventing discrimination between citizens of different member states. The mandate also addresses Switzerland’s concerns by allowing limited exceptions to alignment with EU rules in the areas of free movement of persons, the posting of workers, and rail and road transport. "The EU and Switzerland have a close relationship, based on shared values and strong economic ties. The negotiating mandate we have approved today will allow us to develop our partnership and achieve its full potential. I am looking forward to swift progress in the negotiations." Hadja Lahbib, Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of Belgium The key elements of the package include: institutional provisions to be included in existing and future agreements with Switzerland related to the internal market, providing for dynamic alignment with the EU acquis, uniform interpretation and application, and dispute resolution state aid provisions to be included in existing and future agreements related to the internal market an agreement allowing for Switzerland’s participation in EU programmes, including Horizon Europe an agreement on Switzerland's permanent financial contribution to social and economic cohesion in the EU as a counterpart to its participation in the internal market relaunch of negotiations on agreements on electricity, food safety and health Negotiations on the different elements of the package will be conducted in parallel. Next steps On the basis of the mandate, the Commission will now be able to engage in formal negotiations with Switzerland on the broad package of measures. The negotiations are expected to start in the coming days. The Commission will report on progress in the negotiations to the Council. Background In May 2014, the Council authorised the opening of negotiations between the EU and Switzerland on an institutional framework agreement governing bilateral relations. The European Commission and Switzerland finalised the draft text of an institutional framework agreement in November 2018. In May 2021, Switzerland unilaterally terminated negotiations on this agreement. In February 2022, the Swiss Federal Council proposed an alternative way forward for relations between the EU and Switzerland, consisting of a broad package of measures, including institutional elements to be included in each bilateral agreement related to the internal market. Exploratory talks between the Commission and representatives of Switzerland's Federal Council followed on the basis of this alternative approach. On 15 December 2023, the Commission and the Federal Council published a Common Understanding that provides a written record of the outcome of the exploratory talks. The EU mandate has been agreed in line with this Common Understanding, reflected in the Commission’s recommendation for a mandate, presented on 20 December 2023. The mandate builds on the 2014 mandate for an institutional framework agreement as well as earlier mandates for agreements on electricity, health, food safety and the participation of Switzerland in the European Union Agencies for the Space Programme and for Railways. The Swiss Federal Council approved Switzerland’s negotiating mandate on 8 March 2024. Council decision authorising the opening of negotiations Negotiating directives Commission proposes mandate for negotiations with Switzerland to Council (Commission press release, 20 December 2023)