The European Parliament today adopted its draft guidelines for the 2019 EU budget. The European Commission will present its draft budget for 2019 at the end of May and then negotiations will begin between the Council and Parliament before a final budget is adopted before the end of the year.  

 

 

“Today we outlined the Parliament’s main priorities for the 2019 EU budget. The S&D Group’s aim is for a budget that reinforces solidarity and prepares Europe for a sustainable future. We need to do more to support young people, who still face major problems in finding high-quality jobs or training. We want to see the Youth Employment Initiative and Erasmus+ schemes reinforced to help people get the best start possible to their careers. We also need to invest more in policies that boost jobs and growth, such as Horizon 2020 that provides funding for research and COSME that helps support small and medium sized businesses. 

 

 

“We need to use the EU budget to tackle the most pressing issues facing Europe and the world. Inside Europe, we are calling for more money to tackle poverty and address growing inequalities. Externally we want to see more money to address the root causes of the migration crisis and to boost development aid. We need to mobilise all means available to help reach the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.

 

“The Parliament today also made clear again that for new initiatives put forward by the Union, fresh money must be made available, and existing programmes budgets should not be cut as a consequence.”