Explanatory Memorandum to COM(2013)639 - Amendment of Regulation (EU, EURATOM) No 966/2012 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union - Main contents
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This page contains a limited version of this dossier in the EU Monitor.
| dossier | COM(2013)639 - Amendment of Regulation (EU, EURATOM) No 966/2012 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union. |
|---|---|
| source | COM(2013)639  |
| date | 20-09-2013 |
In the framework of the negotiations on the Financial Regulation, the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission agreed to revise the Financial Regulation in order to take into account the outcome of the negotiations on the multiannual financial framework for the years 2014-2020.
Therefore, the adoption of the new Financial Regulation was accompanied by the following joint statement of the European Parliament, Council and the Commission:
" The European Parliament, the Council and the Commission agree that the Financial Regulation would be revised in order to include amendments made necessary by the outcome of the negotiations on the multiannual financial framework for the years 2014-2020, including on the following issues:
- the carry-over rules for the Emergency Aid Reserve and for projects financed under the Connecting Europe Facility;
- the carry-over of unused appropriations and of the budgetary balance, as well as the related proposal to enter these in a reserve for payments and commitments;
- the possible inclusion of the European Development Fund in the Union budget;
- the treatment of funds resulting from the agreements on the fight against the illegal traffic in tobacco products."
On 27 June 2013, a political agreement was reached between Parliament, the Council Presidency and the Commission on the Multiannual Financial Framework 2014-2020 (MFF) package and on the draft Regulation of the European Parliament and the Council establishing the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF).
The proposal modifies Article 13 of the Financial Regulation in order to include the carry-over rules for the Emergency Aid Reserve and for projects financed under the Connecting Europe Facility.
New flexibilities for unused commitment and payment appropriations have been introduced in the draft Council Regulation laying down the multiannual financial framework for the years 2014-2020 (MFF Regulation). They will be implemented by means of the technical adjustments of the MFF as provided for in the draft MFF Regulation and mobilised in the framework of the budgetary procedure pursuant to Article 314 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. Therefore, no further modifications of the FR are required for those flexibilities.
Concerning the European Development Fund (EDF) and as noted by the European Council of 8 February 2013, the Commission intends to propose the budgetisation of the EDF as of 2021.
No further agreement was reached in the context of the multiannual financial framework for the years 2014-2020 concerning the treatment of funds resulting from the agreements on the fight against the illegal traffic in tobacco products. Therefore, the Commission will continue implementing the agreements and propose, as it has done in its proposal for the Hercule III programme, appropriate financial means necessary to fight cigarette smuggling and counterfeiting by the EU, in addition to efforts undertaken by the Member States.
Contents
As the present proposal merely implements the outcome of the negotiations on the multiannual financial framework for the years 2014-2020 and has a very limited scope, no public consultation was carried out.
Article 9(2) of the draft MFF Regulation foresees that the annual amount of the Emergency Aid Reserve (EAR) is fixed at EUR 280 million (2011 prices) and may be used up to year n+1 in accordance with the Financial Regulation. The Reserve shall be entered in the general budget of the Union as a provision. The portion of the annual amount stemming from the previous year shall be drawn on first. That portion of the annual amount from year n which is not used in year n+1 shall lapse.
This requires two modifications in Article 13 of the Financial Regulation (FR): the addition of the EAR in Article 13(2) FR and as an exception in Article 13(6) FR as the corresponding appropriations are entered in the budget in Title 40 (reserves) as a provision.
As regards the carry-over rule for projects financed under the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF), the Commission proposed already to modify the Financial Regulation in the explanatory memorandum to the proposal for a Council Regulation laying down the multiannual financial framework for the years 2014-2020 the carry-over of commitment appropriations to the year n+1[1]. Due to their nature those infrastructure projects will in many cases require complex contracting procedures. Under those circumstances, even limited delays may result in a loss of annual commitment appropriations and undermine the viability of those projects and thus of the Union's political determination to modernise its transport, energy and telecommunications networks and infrastructure.
The agreed compromise text for the CEF provides in its Article 19 that:
"Appropriations which have not been used at the end of the financial year for which they were entered shall be carried-over in accordance with Regulation (EU) No XXXX/2012 [New Financial Regulation]."
The current wording of the FR would not allow the carry-over of commitment appropriations to n+1, consequently a modification of the FR is necessary as it constitutes a derogation from the principle of annuality. Accordingly, Article 13(2) of the Financial Regulation needs also to be amended to allow for automatic carry-over to the following financial year of commitment appropriations not used at the end of a financial year for projects financed under the CEF.