The European Union’s parliament has finally approved the first spending cut in the history of the 28-nation group.

The budget allows the EU to invest up to 960 billion euros in commitments and 908.4 billion euros in payments, for the seven years between 2014 and 2020. According to the EU, the budget will allow investment of almost 1 trillion euros in some sectors that could boost economic growth and employment.

The cut had been sought by several EU countries which wanted to see austerity at the EU level at a time when many were pursuing cutbacks at home.

EU President Herman Van Rompuy called the spending commitments "a realistic budget for Europe" which has been struggling through years of financial crisis.