Economic recovery is at the heart of next year’s spending, as put forward by the preliminary draft budget for 2010 adopted by the Commission on April 29th, with €139bn expenditure. The proposal channels the biggest share of funds (45%) into growth and employment measures to help restore competitiveness across the Union. Funds for major programmes linked to research and energy will increase by more than 12% and cash for cohesion policy will grow too, with the EU-12 set to receive 52% of cohesion and Structural Funds. All headings in the budget will see an increase, reaching a total of €138.6bn in commitments (1.18% of GNI) and €122.3bn in payments (1.04% of GNI).

The essential priority within the 2010 preliminary budget adopted by the Commission will be channelling funds into projects to save and create jobs, help companies and restore competitiveness will be the EU's top priority. Trans-European transport and energy networks will receive 12.7% more funding compared to 2009 (€1.08bn) and the Competitiveness and Innovation programme (CIP) will grow by 3.3% (€0.5bn). 2010 will be the European Year for Combating Poverty and Social Exclusion with a budget of nearly €20m and a range of initiatives planned for all Member States. For its second year, the EU’s flagship satellite navigation project Galileo will receive an additional 8% in funding (€0.9bn).

April 2009 saw the European Parliament, Council and Commission agree on the need for a fresh €5bn to finance major European projects in the areas of energy and broadband infrastructures and to face new challenges in rural areas linked to the CAP health check. Following the first injection of €2.6bn in 2009, a further €2.4bn in will be added to the 2010 budget, the source of the funds being decided later on in the 2010 budget procedure.

As part of the €62bn set for jobs and competitiveness, €49bn will go towards cohesion in the EU-27. The trend to phase-in funding for the Member States that joined the EU in 2004 and 2007 (EU-12) is continuing. For the first time ever, the EU-12 will receive the biggest share of the EU’s Cohesion and Structural Funds (52%). Agricultural support for these regions will also grow, making a real impact with the EU-12 now receiving nearly 20%, €11bn in agricultural support. Thanks to the CAP, the single market and higher market prices, farmers’ income in the EU-12 is now 47% higher than before accession. Funding for natural resources in the EU-27 stands at €59bn and, as part of this, spending for environment and rural development will grow by nearly 2.5% to almost €15bn.

In 2010, the EU will continue its efforts to help poorer countries and maintain a strong stance on the world stage so it can meet global challenges like climate change, food security and globalisation. The EU's aid to developing countries channelled through the Development Cooperation Instrument will increase by 1.7%, reaching €2.4bn. Pre-accession assistance (IPA) increases by nearly 5%, €1.6bn.

Funding for the EU’s Common and Foreign Security Policy (CSFP) will rise by 16% (to €282m). The last part of the €1bn Food Aid Facility will also be financed in the 2010 budget (€170m).

The part of the budget to receive the biggest boost in spending (in line with the EU’s seven-year financial programming) will be projects to fight crime, terrorism and manage migration flows, increasing by 13.5% to almost €1bn.