Finland’s Presidency of the Council of the European Union
Member States advocate a disciplined budget for the EU

EU Member States and the European Parliament will seek agreement on the EU’s budget for 2020 on Friday 15 November. As the country holding the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, Finland will strive for a balanced solution.

The EU Member States will discuss the EU’s budget in the Economic and Financial Affairs Council (Budget) in Brussels. On the same day, the Council and the European Parliament will seek agreement on the budget in a meeting of the Conciliation Committee.

State Secretary Kimmo Tiilikainen will chair the Council meeting. He will represent the Council in the negotiations with the European Parliament.

Shared priorities, different views on size

The Council and the European Parliament have a number of shared priorities for the next year’s budget. The key themes are

• climate change mitigation
• job creation
• security and migration.

The Council and Parliament are further apart on the size of the budget than they have been in recent years. The Council insists on budgetary prudence and discipline.

“There must be sufficient leeway in the budget to allow the EU to react to unforeseen needs next year,” says State Secretary Tiilikainen.

Finland will strive to reach a balanced agreement between the institutions on the EU’s budget for 2020. Finland’s aim is to reach agreement primarily within the conciliation period but no later than the end of the year. The conciliation period ends on 18 November. If no deal is found by the end of the conciliation period, the European Commission has to present a new draft budget.

Member States stress growth and jobs in their position on the EU budget for 2020 (news item, 10 July)

Information about the meetings (Council website)

Inquiries:

Anna Hyvärinen, Ministerial Adviser, tel. +358 2955 30405, anna.hyvarinen(at)vm.fi