The EU has agreed on the projects into which it would like its money - 186.6 billion euros - to flow in the coming year. One focus of the budget is combating the consequences of the Ukraine war.
The EU budget for 2023 is in place with extra money to deal with the aftermath of Russia's war against Ukraine. After the EU states had given the green light, the EU Parliament also formally agreed. This means that 186.6 billion euros can be budgeted for in the coming year. Negotiators from Parliament and the EU countries had agreed on this in mid-November.
The EU Parliament had prevailed by providing a little more money than requested by the EU Commission and the states. A total of one billion euros is to be used primarily to deal with the consequences of the war and energy investments as well as further recovery from the Corona crisis.
Specifically, around 14.7 billion euros are planned for neighboring European countries and international development, especially for Ukraine and Moldova. Since there are currently many people in the EU who have fled Ukraine, funds are being increased in the area of migration: the Erasmus exchange program is being expanded to support young refugees, as well as 1.5 billion euros for the Fund for Asylum, Migration and integration planned.
In view of the ongoing energy crisis, the money pot for investments in cross-border transport and energy infrastructure is also being increased. A total of three billion euros are earmarked for this. At the same time, more money should flow into health programs. The traditionally largest items in the budget in the coming year are the cohesion programs for regional development with 62.9 billion euros and agricultural policy, for which 53.6 billion are planned.
