The Commission has proposed an EU budget of €168.3 billion for 2020 for a more competitive European economy, and for solidarity and security in the EU and beyond.
Investing in a competitive economy and young people
More than €83 billion in commitments will boost economic growth, European regions and will support young people. Of them:
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€13.2 billion for research and innovation across Europe under Horizon 2020 – the biggest and final tranche of the EU research and innovation programme (+6.4% compared to 2019) – including the final pilot phase of the European Innovation Council to support top-class innovators, small companies and scientists with the potential to scale up rapidly in Europe and globally;
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€2.8 billion for education under Erasmus+;
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€117 million for the Youth Employment Initiative (YEI) to support young people living in regions where youth unemployment is high (bringing the total funding for YEI between 2014 and 2020 to €4.5 billion);
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€1.2 billion (+75% compared to 2019) for Europe's own global satellite navigation system Galileo – to enable it to continue expanding its market uptake from the current 700 million users around the world to reach 1.2 billion by the end of 2020.;
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€255 million for the European Defence Industrial Development Programme (EDIDP) to incentivise European companies to work together to develop defence products and technology. The EDIDP allows defence cooperation at EU level to be tested under this budget period until a fully-fledged European Defence Fund is in place as of 2021.
Strengthening security and solidarity in the EU and beyond
Many of Europe's challenges know no borders. The EU has repeatedly used all flexibility in the budget to respond to disasters, address migration challenges and strengthen the EU's external borders. By mobilising its various instruments, the 2020 EU budget will continue to invest in solidarity and security in Europe and beyond:
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€420.6 million (+34.6% compared to 2019) for the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex) following the agreement reached by the European Parliament and the Council in March 2019 to set up a standing corps of 10 000 border guards by 2027;
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€156.2 million for the new rescEU programme (an upgrade of the existing Civil Protection Mechanism) to better respond to earthquakes, wildfires and other disasters. This will help to build up a reserve of response capacities at EU level, for example forest fighting planes and helicopters, as well as emergency medical capacities;
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€560 million for people in need inside Syria as well as refugees and their host communities in the region. This is the budgetary response to a pledge made at the Brussels III Conference on the future of Syria in 2019 (the EU budget for 2019 already foresees funding for Syria of €2.01 billion);
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Continued support for the development of the Entry-Exit System, the European Travel Information and Authorisation System, the upgraded Schengen Information System and the European Fund for Sustainable Development, with the overall objective of making EU information systems more interoperable to keep EU citizens safe.
Full press release
Draft EU budget 2020 documents
© European Commission
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