EU budget 2017 will focus on strengthening economy and responding to the refugee crisis
On 17 November the EU institutions reached an agreement on the 2017 EU budget. As proposed by the Commission earlier this year, in 2017 the EU will spend more money on competitiveness and security. Likewise, more money will go to support for the reception and integration of refugees and to address the root causes of migration in the countries of origin and transit.
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The 2017 EU budget is set at €157.9 billion in commitments and €134.5 billion in payment credits. Some key features include:
- Nearly half of the funds - €74.9 billion in commitments – will stimulate growth, employment and competitiveness. For instance, €21.3 billion will go to programmes like Horizon 2020, Erasmus+, COSME and Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) and €2.7 billion to the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI). Further €53.59 billion will go to fostering convergence among Member States and among regions via the European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF).
- Support to European farmers amounts to €42.6 billion.
- Nearly €6.0 billion to reinforce the protection of our external borders and to address the migration and refugee crisis. Half of this amount will fund actions within the EU, the other half will be for actions outside the EU to address the root causes of migration. As a part of this, a total of €200 million will be for the new instrument to provide humanitarian assistance within the EC
Source: ERA-PORTAL AUSTRIA