Lawmakers, countries clinch deal on 2024 EU budget

Negotiators from the European Parliament and the Council of the EU struck a deal late Friday on the bloc’s budget for next year.

Under the agreement, the budget includes commitments of €189.4 billion for 2024.

EU lawmakers said they secured additional funding, on top of the European Commission’s draft budget, for some of the Parliament’s priorities, such as humanitarian aid, the bloc’s R&D program Horizon Europe and the Erasmus exchange program.

Spain, current holder of the rotating Council Presidency, stressed that there is "enough financial leeway to respond to unforeseen circumstances."

The budget will help to address "the most urgent consequences of the crisis in the Middle East in the countries concerned, as well as in Europe and its neighborhood," the Commission said in a statement on the deal.

While there is a deal on the EU’s 2024 budget, talks are still ongoing for a review of the EU’s longer-term budget, the multiannual financial framework (MFF). The Commission stressed on Saturday that "swift agreement" on the MFF "is urgently needed."

Both the Parliament and Council still need to approve the 2024 budget deal.