On 21 October, the European Parliament voted to support the reversal of the cuts made by the European Council (equivalent to around EUR 1.43 billion) to the 2022 EU budget, restoring the levels originally proposed by the European Commission, whilst topping up key programmes. Of particular relevance for dementia is the decision of MEPs to increase funding for the Horizon Europe research programme (an additional EUR 305 million to that proposed by the Commission’s draft budget), as well as the EU4Health programme, which has been allocated an additional EUR 80 million to strengthen the European Health Union and to make national health systems more resilient.
An accompanying resolution, adopted with 521 against 88 votes and 84 abstentions, summarises Parliament’s position and is available here. The vote launches three weeks of “conciliation” talks with the Council, with the aim of reaching a deal for next year’s budget, which then has to be voted on by Parliament and signed by its President.
