The European Commission has proposed today adjustments to its proposal for the 2014 EU budget. The changes mainly reflect the political agreement reached on the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) 2014-2020 between the leaders of the European Parliament, Council and Commission on 27-28 June.
Reflecting the need to urgently tackle youth unemployment and strengthen research, the funding possibilities in 2014 will be increased by EUR 130 million for Erasmus+ (EU’s new programme for education, training and youth), by EUR 30 million for COSME (a new programme promoting entrepreneurship, in particular for small and medium enterprises) and by EUR 200 million for Horizon 2020 (the new programme for research and innovation).
The Commission also proposes to grant additional EUR 200 million to Cyprus (of which EUR 100 million in 2014). This will help Cyprus invest in energy efficiency, support small and medium-sized enterprises and create or maintain jobs that otherwise could be lost.
The proposal also covers human and financial resources needed for the creation of a new generation of joint technology initiatives (public-private and/or public-public partnerships) which aim at for example providing new and more effective diagnostics and treatments, developing new and competitive bio-based value chains or developing clean energy solutions. These initiatives will be funded from the new Horizon 2020 programme.