COUNCIL REGULATION (EU, Euratom) 2020/2093

of 17 December 2020

laying down the multiannual financial framework for the years 2021 to 2027

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular Article 312 thereof,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Atomic Energy Community, and in particular Article 106a thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission,

Having regard to the consent of the European Parliament (1),

After transmission of the draft legislative act to the national parliaments,

After consulting the European Economic and Social Committee,

After consulting the Committee of the Regions,

Acting in accordance with a special legislative procedure,

Whereas:

(1) Taking into account the need for an adequate level of predictability for preparing and implementing medium-term investments, the duration of the multiannual financial framework (MFF) should be set at seven years starting on 1 January 2021.

(2) The economic impact of the COVID-19 crisis requires the Union to provide a long-term financial framework paving the way to a fair and inclusive transition to a green and digital future, supporting the Union’s longer-term strategic autonomy and making it resilient to shocks in the future.

(3) The annual ceilings for commitment appropriations by category of expenditure and the annual ceilings for payment appropriations established by this Regulation are to respect the applicable ceilings for commitments and own resources, which are set in accordance with the Council decision on the system of own resources of the European Union in force that has been adopted in accordance with the third paragraph of Article 311 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) (the ‘Own Resources Decision’).

(4) Where it is necessary to mobilise the guarantees given under the general budget of the Union for financial assistance to Member States authorised in accordance with Article 220(1) of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council (2) (the ‘Financial Regulation’), the necessary amount should be mobilised over and above the ceilings for commitment and payment appropriations of the MFF, while respecting the own resources ceiling.

(5) The MFF should not take account of budget items financed by assigned revenue within the meaning of the Financial Regulation.

(6) The MFF should be laid down in 2018 prices. The rules for annual technical adjustments to the MFF to recalculate the ceilings and margins available should also be laid down.

(7) Rules should be laid down for other situations that might require the MFF to be adjusted. Such adjustments might be related to the delayed adoption of new rules or programmes under shared management, to measures linked to sound economic governance or to measures adopted under the Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on a general regime of conditionality for the protection of the Union budget. Rules should also be laid down for a mechanism for programme-specific adjustment.

(8) Specific and maximum possible flexibility should be implemented to allow the Union to fulfil its obligations in compliance with Article 323 TFEU.

(9) The following thematic special instruments are necessary to allow the Union to react to specified unforeseen circumstances or consequences and thereby allow the budgetary procedure to run smoothly: the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund, the Solidarity and Emergency Aid Reserve and the Brexit Adjustment Reserve. The Solidarity and Emergency Aid Reserve is not aimed at addressing the consequences of market related crises affecting the agricultural production or distribution.

(10) The following non-thematic special instruments are necessary to further enhance flexibility: the Single Margin Instrument and the Flexibility Instrument. The Single Margin Instrument should enable shifting margins available below the ceilings for commitment and payment appropriationsrespectively between financial years and, for commitment appropriations, between MFF headings, without exceeding the total amounts of the MFF ceilings for commitment and payment appropriations for the entire period of the MFF. The Flexibility Instrument should allow the financing of specific unforeseen expenditure for a given financial year.

(11) Specific provision should be made for the possibility to enter commitment and corresponding payment appropriations into the budget over and above the ceilings set out in the MFF where it is necessary to use special instruments.

(12) It is necessary to provide for a revision of the MFF in the event of revision of the Treaties with budgetary implications, of the reunification of Cyprus or of the enlargement of the Union, as well as in the light of the implementation of the budget.

(13) This Regulation might also need to be revised in relation to unforeseen circumstances that cannot be dealt with within the limits set out in the MFF. It is therefore necessary to provide for the revision of the MFF in such cases.

(14) Specific rules are also necessary for dealing with large-scale projects the lifetime of which extends well beyond the period set for the MFF. It is necessary to establish maximum amounts for the contributions from the general budget of the Union to those projects, thereby ensuring that they do not have any impact on other projects financed from that budget.

(15) It is necessary to lay down general rules on interinstitutional cooperation in the budgetary procedure, while respecting the budgetary powers of the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission (the ‘Institutions’) as laid down in the Treaties as well as transparency requirements.

(16) The Commission should present a proposal for a new multiannual financial framework before 1 July 2025, to enable the institutions to adopt it sufficiently in advance of the start of the subsequent multiannual financial framework. In accordance with Article 312(4) TFEU, the ceilings corresponding to the last year of the MFF set out in this Regulation are to continue to apply in the event that a new multiannual financial framework is not adopted before the end of the term of the MFF laid down in this Regulation,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

CHAPTER 1

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1 Multiannual financial framework This Regulation lays down the multiannual financial framework for the years 2021 to 2027 (MFF).

Article 2 Compliance with the ceilings of the MFF 1. The European Parliament, the Council and the Commission (the ‘Institutions’) shall, during each budgetary procedure and when implementing the budget for the year concerned, comply with the annual expenditure ceilings set out in Annex I (the ‘MFF ceilings’). The sub-ceiling for heading 3 as set out in Annex I is established without prejudice to the flexibility between the two pillars of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). The adjusted ceiling to be applied to pillar I of the CAP following the transfers between the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development and direct payments shall be laid down in the relevant legal act and the MFF shall be adjusted accordingly under the technical adjustment provided for in Article 4 of this Regulation. 2. Where it is necessary to use the resources from the special instruments provided for in Articles 8, 9, 10 and 12, commitment and corresponding payment appropriations shall be entered in the budget over and above the relevant MFF ceilings. Where it is necessary to use the resources from the Single Margin Instrument as laid down in Article 11, commitment and corresponding payment appropriations shall be entered in the budget over and above the relevant MFF ceilings for a given year. 3. Where it is necessary to mobilise a guarantee for financial assistance to Member States authorised in accordance with Article 220(1) of the Financial Regulation, the necessary amount shall be mobilised over and above the MFF ceilings.

Article 3 Respect of own resources ceiling 1. For each of the years covered by the MFF, the total appropriations for payments required, after annual adjustment and taking account of any other adjustments and revisions as well as the application of Article 2(2) and (3), shall not be such as to produce a call-in rate for own resources that exceeds the own resources ceiling set out in the Council decision on the system of own resources of the European Union in force that has been adopted in accordance with the third paragraph of Article 311 TFEU (the ‘Own Resources Decision’). 2. Where necessary, the MFF ceilings shall be lowered in order to ensure compliance with the own resources ceiling set out in the Own Resources Decision.

CHAPTER 2

ADJUSTMENTS TO THE MFF

Article 4 Technical adjustments 1. Each year the Commission, acting ahead of the budgetary procedure for year n+1, shall make the following technical adjustments to the MFF: (a) a revaluation, at year n+1 prices, of the ceilings and of the overall figures for appropriations for commitments and appropriations for payments; (b) a calculation of the margin available under the own resources ceiling set out in the Own Resources Decision; (c) a calculation of the amount of commitment appropriations available under the Single Margin Instrument as referred to in point (a) of the first subparagraph of Article 11(1), as well as of the total maximum amount referred to in point (a) of the first subparagraph of Article 11(2); (d) a calculation of the adjustment of the ceiling for payment appropriations under the Single Margin Instrument as referred to in point (b) of the first subparagraph of Article 11(1), as well as of the maximum amount referred to in point (b) of the first subparagraph of Article 11(2); (e) a calculation of the additional allocations for specific programmes referred to in Article 5(1) and the result of the annual adjustment referred to in Article 5(2). 2. The Commission shall make the technical adjustments referred to in paragraph 1 on the basis of a fixed deflator of 2 % per year. 3. The Commission shall communicate the results of the technical adjustments referred to in paragraph 1 and the underlying economic forecasts to the European Parliament and to the Council. 4. Without prejudice to Articles 6 and 7, no further technical adjustments shall be made in respect of the year concerned, either during the year or as ex post corrections during subsequent years.

Article 5 Programme-specific adjustment 1. An amount equivalent to the revenue from fines imposed under Council Regulations (EC) No 1/2003 (3) and (EC) No 139/2004 (4) by Union institutions, which is entered in the budget of the year n-1 in accordance with Article 107 of the Financial Regulation, after deduction of the amount for the year n-1 referred to in Article 141(1) of the Agreement on the withdrawal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community (5), shall be available for an additional allocation of: (a) commitment appropriations for year n+1, starting for the year 2022 and ending in 2027, to the programmes listed in Annex II, in accordance with percentages set out for those programmes in the column ‘Distribution key’ of the table in Annex II; and (b) payment appropriations for year n+1, starting for the year 2022 and ending in 2027. The total amount of additional allocations for the period 2022 to 2027 for commitment and payment appropriations respectively shall be EUR 11 000 million (in 2018 prices). For each of the years 2022 to 2026, the annual amount of additional allocations for commitment and payment appropriations respectively shall be at least EUR 1 500 million (in 2018 prices) and shall not exceed EUR 2 000 million (in 2018 prices). The total amount of additional allocations for commitment appropriations for the programmes in the period 2022 to 2027 is set out in the column ‘Total additional allocation of commitment appropriations under Article 5’ of the table in Annex II. 2. The ceilings for commitment appropriations of the relevant headings for year n+1, starting for the year 2022 and ending in 2027, shall be adjusted upwards with the amounts corresponding to the additional allocations set out in paragraph 1, in accordance with the percentages set out for those headings in the column ‘Distribution key’ of the table in Annex II. The ceiling for payment appropriations for year n+1, starting for the year 2022 and ending in 2027, shall be automatically adjusted upwards with the amounts corresponding to the additional allocations set out in paragraph 1.

Article 6 Adjustments related to measures linked to sound economic governance or to a general regime of conditionality for the protection of the Union budget 1. In the case of the lifting of a suspension of budgetary commitments concerning Union funds in accordance with the relevant basic acts in the context of measures linked to sound economic governance or to measures adopted under the Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on a general regime of conditionality for the protection of the Union budget, the amounts corresponding to the suspended commitments shall be transferred to the following years and the corresponding MFF ceilings shall be adjusted accordingly. 2. The Commission shall communicate the result of any adjustments under paragraph 1 to the European Parliament and to the Council. 3. Suspended commitments of year n may not be entered in the general budget of the Union beyond year n+2.

Article 7 Adjustment following new rules or programmes under shared management 1. In the event of the adoption after 1 January 2021 of new rules or programmes under shared management for the Structural Funds, the Cohesion Fund, the Just Transition Fund, the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development, the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund, the Asylum and Migration Fund, the Internal Security Fund and the Border Management and Visa Instrument under the Integrated Border Management Fund, the amounts corresponding to the allocations not used in 2021 shall be transferred in equal proportions to each of the years 2022 to 2025, and the corresponding MFF ceilings shall be adjusted accordingly. 2. The Commission shall communicate the result of any adjustments under paragraph 1 to the European Parliament and to the Council.

CHAPTER 3

SPECIAL INSTRUMENTS

SECTION 1

Thematic special instruments

Article 8 European Globalisation Adjustment Fund 1. The European Globalisation Adjustment Fund, the objectives and scope of which are set out in Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund, shall not exceed a maximum annual amount of EUR 186 million (in 2018 prices). 2. The appropriations for the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund shall be entered in the general budget of the Union as a provision.

Article 9 Solidarity and Emergency Aid Reserve 1. The Solidarity and Emergency Aid Reserve may be used to finance: (a) assistance to respond to emergency situations resulting from major disasters that are covered by the European Union Solidarity Fund, the objectives and scope of which are set out in Council Regulation (EC) No 2012/2002 (6); and (b) rapid responses to specific emergency needs within the Union or in third countries following events which could not be foreseen when the budget was established, in particular for emergency responses and support operations following natural disasters not covered by point (a), man-made disasters, humanitarian crises in cases of large-scale public health, veterinary or phytosanitary threats, as well as in situations of particular pressure at the Union’s external borders resulting from migratory flows, where circumstances so require. 2. The Solidarity and Emergency Aid Reserve shall not exceed a maximum annual amount of EUR 1 200 million (in 2018 prices). Any portion of the annual amount not used in year n may be used up to year n+1. The portion of the annual amount stemming from the previous year shall be drawn on first. Any portion of the annual amount from year n which is not used in year n+1 shall lapse. 3. The appropriations for the Solidarity and Emergency Aid Reserve shall be entered in the general budget of the Union as a provision. 4. On 1 October of each year, at least one quarter of the annual amount referred to in paragraph 2 shall remain available in order to cover needs arising until the end of that year. Without prejudice to the first subparagraph, the following maximum percentages of the overall amount available until 1 September of each year may be mobilised: — 50 % for assistance under point (a) of paragraph 1; the amount resulting from that calculation shall be reduced by any amount mobilised in the previous year in application of paragraph 5, — 35 % for assistance to third countries under point (b) of paragraph 1, — 15 % for assistance within the Union under point (b) of paragraph 1. Without prejudice to the first subparagraph, as of 1 September of each year, the remaining part of the amount available may be used for any assistance referred to in the second subparagraph to cover needs arising until the end of that year. 5. In exceptional cases and if the remaining financial resources available in the Solidarity and Emergency Aid Reserve are not sufficient to cover the amounts considered necessary for assistance under point (a) of paragraph 1 in the year of occurrence of a disaster as referred to in that point, the Commission may propose that the difference be financed through the annual amounts available for the Solidarity and Emergency Aid Reserve in the following year, up to a maximum amount of EUR 400 million (in 2018 prices).

Article 10 Brexit Adjustment Reserve 1. A Brexit Adjustment Reserve shall provide assistance to counter unforeseen and adverse consequences in Member States and sectors that are worst affected by the withdrawal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community, subject to and in accordance with the conditions set out in the relevant instrument. 2. The Brexit Adjustment Reserve shall not exceed an amount of EUR 5 000 million (in 2018 prices). 3. The appropriations for the Brexit Adjustment Reserve shall be entered into the general budget of the Union as a provision.

SECTION 2

Non-thematic special instruments

Article 11 Single Margin Instrument 1. The Single Margin Instrument shall comprise: (a) as of 2022, amounts corresponding to margins left available below the MFF ceilings for commitment appropriations of year n-1 to be made available over and above the MFF ceilings for commitment appropriations for the years 2022 to 2027; (b) as of 2022, amounts equivalent to the difference between the executed payments and the MFF payment ceiling of year n-1 to adjust upwards the payment ceiling for the years 2022 to 2027; and (c) additional amounts which may be made available over and above the MFF ceilings in a given year for commitment or payment appropriations, or both, as the case may be, provided that they are fully offset against the margins in one or more MFF headings for the current or future financial years as regards commitment appropriations and are fully offset against the margins under the payment ceiling for future financial years as regards payment appropriations. Amounts may only be mobilised under point (c) of the first subparagraph if the amounts available pursuant to points (a) and (b) of that subparagraph, as applicable, are insufficient, and in any case as a last resort to react to unforeseen circumstances. Recourse to point (c) of the first subparagraph shall not result in exceeding the total amounts of the MFF ceilings for commitment and payment appropriations for the current financial year and future financial years. Any amounts offset in accordance with that point shall therefore not be further mobilised in the context of the MFF. 2. Recourse to the Single Margin Instrument under points (a) and (c) of the first subparagraph of paragraph 1 shall not exceed, in any given year, a total of: (a) 0,04 % of the gross national income of the Union in commitment appropriations, as calculated in the annual technical adjustment of the MFF referred to in Article 4; (b) 0,03 % of the gross national income of the Union in payment appropriations, as calculated in the annual technical adjustment of the MFF referred to in Article 4. Recourse to the Single Margin Instrument in any given year shall be consistent with the own resources ceilings set out in the Own Resources Decision. 3. The annual adjustments referred to in point (b) of the first subparagraph of paragraph 1 shall not exceed the following maximum amounts (in 2018 prices) for the years 2025 to 2027 as compared to the original payment ceiling of the relevant years: — 2025 – EUR 8 000 million, — 2026 – EUR 13 000 million, — 2027 – EUR 15 000 million. Amounts referred to in the second subparagraph of Article 5(2) shall be in addition to the maximum amounts referred to in the first subparagraph of this paragraph. Any upward adjustment shall be fully offset by a corresponding reduction of the payment ceiling for year n-1. 4. Amounts referred to in points (a) and (c) of the first subparagraph of paragraph 1 of this Article may be mobilised by the European Parliament and the Council in the framework of the budgetary procedure provided for in Article 314 TFEU to allow the financing of expenditure which could not be financed within the limits of the relevant MFF ceilings available in a given year. The upward adjustment referred to in point (b) of the first subparagraph of paragraph 1 of this Article shall be carried out by the Commission, starting in 2022, as part of the technical adjustment referred to in Article 4.

Article 12 Flexibility Instrument 1. The Flexibility Instrument may be used for the financing, for a given financial year, of specific unforeseen expenditure in commitment appropriations and corresponding payment appropriations that cannot be financed within the limits of the ceilings available for one or more other headings. The ceiling for the annual amount available for the Flexibility Instrument shall be EUR 915 million (in 2018 prices). 2. The unused portion of the annual amount of the Flexibility Instrument may be used up to year n+2. Any portion of the annual amount stemming from previous years shall be used first, in order of age. Any portion of the annual amount from year n which is not used by year n+2 shall lapse.

CHAPTER 4

REVISION OF THE MFF

Article 13 Revision of the MFF 1. Without prejudice to Article 3(2) and Articles 14 to 17, in the event of unforeseen circumstances, the MFF may be revised in compliance with the own resources ceiling set out in the Own Resources Decision. 2. As a general rule, any proposal for a revision of the MFF in accordance with paragraph 1 shall be presented and adopted before the start of the budgetary procedure for the year or the first of the years concerned. 3. Any proposal for a revision of the MFF in accordance with paragraph 1 shall examine the scope for reallocating expenditure between the programmes covered by the heading concerned by the revision, with particular reference to any expected underutilisation of appropriations. 4. Any revision of the MFF in accordance with paragraph 1 shall take into account the scope for offsetting any raising of the ceiling for one heading by the lowering of the ceiling for another heading. 5. Any revision of the MFF in accordance with paragraph 1 shall maintain an appropriate relationship between commitment and payment appropriations.

Article 14 Revision related to implementation When notifying the European Parliament and the Council of the results of the technical adjustments to the MFF, the Commission shall, where appropriate, submit any proposal to revise the total appropriations for payments which it considers necessary, in the light of implementation, to ensure a sound management of the yearly payment ceilings, and in particular their orderly progression in relation to the appropriations for commitments.

Article 15 Revision in the event of a revision of the Treaties In the event of a revision of the Treaties with budgetary implications, the MFF shall be revised accordingly.

Article 16 Revision in the event of enlargement of the Union In the event of an accession or accessions to the Union, the MFF shall be revised to take account of the expenditure requirements resulting therefrom.

Article 17 Revision in the event of the reunification of Cyprus In the event of the reunification of Cyprus, the MFF shall be revised to take account of the comprehensive settlement of the Cyprus problem and the additional financial needs resulting from the reunification.

CHAPTER 5

CONTRIBUTION TO THE FINANCING OF LARGE-SCALE PROJECTS

Article 18 Contribution to the financing of large-scale projects 1. A maximum amount of EUR 13 202 million (in 2018 prices) shall be available from the general budget of the Union for the period 2021 to 2027 for large-scale projects under the Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing the space programme of the Union and the European Union Agency for the Space Programme. 2. A maximum amount of EUR 5 000 million (in 2018 prices) shall be available from the general budget of the Union for the period 2021 to 2027 for the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor project (ITER).

CHAPTER 6

INTERINSTITUTIONAL COOPERATION IN THE BUDGETARY PROCEDURE

Article 19 Interinstitutional cooperation in the budgetary procedure 1. The Institutions shall take measures to facilitate the annual budgetary procedure. 2. The Institutions shall cooperate in good faith throughout the procedure with a view to reconciling their positions. The Institutions shall, at all stages of the procedure, cooperate through appropriate interinstitutional contacts in order to monitor the progress of the work and analyse the degree of convergence. 3. The Institutions shall ensure that their respective calendars of work are coordinated as far as possible, in order to enable proceedings to be conducted in a coherent and convergent way, leading to the final adoption of the general budget of the Union. 4. Trilogues may be held at all stages of the procedure and at different levels of representation, depending on the nature of the expected discussions. Each institution, in accordance with its own rules of procedure, shall designate its participants for each meeting, set out its mandate for the negotiations and inform the other institutions in good time of the arrangements for the meetings.

Article 20 Unity of the budget All expenditure and revenue of the Union and the European Atomic Energy Community shall be included in the general budget of the Union in accordance with Article 7 of the Financial Regulation, including expenditure resulting from any relevant decision taken unanimously by the Council after consulting the European Parliament, in the framework of Article 332 TFEU.

CHAPTER 7

FINAL PROVISIONS

Article 21 Transition towards the next multiannual financial framework Before 1 July 2025, the Commission shall present a proposal for a new multiannual financial framework.

Article 22 Entry into force This Regulation shall enter into force on the third day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union. It shall apply from 1 January 2021.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States. Done at Brussels, 17 December 2020. For the Council The President S. SCHULZE

(1) Consent of 16 December 2020 (not yet published in the Official Journal).

(2) Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, amending Regulations (EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014, and Decision No 541/2014/EU and repealing Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012 (OJ L 193, 30.7.2018, p. 1).

(3) Council Regulation (EC) No 1/2003 of 16 December 2002 on the implementation of the rules on competition laid down in Articles 81 and 82 of the Treaty (OJ L 1, 4.1.2003, p. 1).

(4) Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 of 20 January 2004 on the control of concentrations between undertakings (the EC Merger Regulation) (OJ L 24, 29.1.2004, p. 1).

(5) OJ L 29, 31.1.2020, p. 7.

(6) Council Regulation (EC) No 2012/2002 of 11 November 2002 establishing the European Union Solidarity Fund (OJ L 311, 14.11.2002, p. 3).