FINANCIAL ACTIVITY REPORT 2019

Section II – European Council and Council

(2020/C 266/01)

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. INTRODUCTION 2

2. OBJECTIVES AND BUDGET FOR THE FINANCIAL YEAR 2019 2

2.1. Main financial objectives 2

2.2. Establishment of the budget for the European Council and Council in 2019 2

2.2.1. General approach 2

2.2.2. 2019 Budget 2

2.2.3. 2019 budget and the Financial Perspectives of Heading 5 of the EU Budget 3

3. GLOBAL OVERVIEW OF BUDGET IMPLEMENTATION IN 2019 5

3.1. Activities and objectives of the European Council and Council in 2019 5

3.1.1. Meetings 5

3.1.2. Legislative activities 5

3.1.3. Administrative modernisation 6

3.1.4. Achievement of objectives in 2019 6

3.2. Revenue 7

3.3. Expenditure in 2019 8

3.3.1. Modification of the budget in 2019 8

3.3.2. Overview of implementation of the budget in 2010–2019 10

3.3.3. Implementation of the appropriations by category in 2019 11

3.4. Appropriations carried over 12

3.4.1. Appropriations carried over automatically from 2018 to 2019 12

3.4.2. Appropriations carried over automatically from 2019 to 2020 13

3.4.3. Appropriations carried over by decision from 2017 to 2018 carried over for payment to 2019 15

3.5. Assigned revenue 15

3.5.1. Assigned revenue accrued before 2019 15

3.5.2. Assigned revenue carried over for payment from 2018 16

3.5.3. Assigned revenue accrued before 2019 carried over to 2020 for payment 17

3.5.4. Assigned revenue accrued in 2019 18

1. INTRODUCTION

In conformity with Article 249 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council (1) (‘Financial Regulation’ — FR) this document constitutes a report on budgetary and financial management of Section II of the EU budget (European Council and Council) for the financial year 2019.

The report is based on the provisional accounts for 2019, the findings in the annual activity reports of the Council’s authorising officers and the budget implementation information from the Council’s financial system.

Chapter 2 of this report presents a summary of the framework which was established for the financial year 2019. A global overview of the implementation of the budget appropriations available in 2019 is given in Chapter 3.

The implementation of the 2019 budget by budget line is presented in Annex.

2. OBJECTIVES AND BUDGET FOR THE FINANCIAL YEAR 2019

2.1. Main financial objectives

The main financial objectives of the General Secretariat of the Council for 2019 were:

— to ensure continuous support to the President of the European Council and to the Council by effective and efficient use of financial resources,

— to further proceed with the process of administrative modernisation with the objective of enhancing the quality of its organisation and the proper use of resources,

— to execute the final payment for the Europa Building to the Belgian government.

2.2. Establishment of the budget for the European Council and Council in 2019

2.2.1. General approach

The establishment of the 2019 budget for the European Council and Council (hereafter: EC/C) was based on the general objective of not exceeding, in nominal terms, the overall level of the 2018 budget for non-salary-related expenditure.

Increases related to statutory or contractual obligations, or in areas which have been considered as essential for the proper functioning of the GSC, have been compensated for by prioritising and reprogramming certain projects taking into account budget implementation in recent years.

As for the establishment plan, the GSC continued to streamline the organisation by implementing the following actions:

— transforming 30 AST 5 posts into 30 AD 5 posts as part of the continuation of the administrative modernisation,

— transfer of 1 AD 5 and 1 AST 5 post to the Commission as part of the Service Level Agreement on SYSPER,

— addition of 3 AD 5 posts and 1 AST 1 post to reflect the new language regime for Irish translation, as instructed by the Commission.

2.2.2. 2019 Budget

The budget authority established the overall 2019 EC/C budget at EUR 581,9 million. This corresponds to an increase of EUR 9 million (+1,6 %) compared to 2018.

The number of posts in the establishment plan for 2019 for the EC/C was fixed at 3 033.

Table 1 gives an overview on the 2019 budget by different categories.

Table 1

EC/C budget for 2019 compared to 2018 (by category)

(EUR) Category Budget 2018 Budget 2019 Change 2019/2018 1 2 3=2/1 Establishment plan 328 800 000 336 749 511 2,4 % Other staff expenditure 24 359 000 25 077 000 2,9 % Buildings (excluding acquisitions) 56 360 377 55 888 948 -0,8 % Computer systems 41 300 000 41 355 000 0,1 % Furniture 733 000 951 000 29,7 % Technical equipment 4 344 000 5 745 000 32,3 % Transport 1 496 000 1 134 000 -24,2 % Delegations’ travel expenses 17 802 000 17 372 000 -2,4 % Interpreting costs 79 316 000 81 694 000 3,0 % Meetings and conferences 4 945 000 5 237 000 5,9 % Information 10 152 000 9 125 000 -10,1 % Miscellaneous 1 787 000 1 267 000 -29,1 % Reserve 1 500 000 300 000 -80,0 % Total (excl. acquisition) 572 894 377 581 895 459 1,6 % Acquisition of immovable property — — Grand total 572 894 377 581 895 459 1,6 %

2.2.3. 2019 budget and the Financial Perspectives of Heading 5 of the EU Budget

Table 2 gives an overview of the evolution of the EC/C budget in 2010–2019. The EC/C share in Heading 5 of the multiannual financial perspectives has declined from 8,0 % in 2010 to 5,4 % in 2019.

Table 2

Evolution of Section II of the EU budget (European Council and Council) under Heading 5 of the Financial Perspectives in 2010–2019

2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 (Amounts at current prices) M€ change M€ change M€ change M€ change M€ change M€ change M€ change M€ change M€ change M€ change Heading 5 7 962 4,7 % 8 173 2,7 % 8 607 5,3 % 9 181 6,7 % 8 405 -8,5 % 8 661 3,0 % 9 483 9,5 % 9 921 4,6 % 10 346 4,3 % 10 786 4,3 % EC/C 634 5,1 % 563 -11,2 % 534 -5,2 % 536 0,3 % 534 -0,2 % 542 1,4 % 545 0,6 % 562 3,0 % 573 2,0 % 587 2,4 % EC/C share in Heading 5 8,0 % 6,9 % 6,2 % 5,8 % 6,4 % 6,3 % 5,7 % 5,7 % 5,5 % 5,4 %

The reduction in 2011 is mainly due to the transfer of resources to the EEAS, whereas the decreases in 2012 and 2014 relate to reductions of appropriations of certain activities in view of the previous years’ implementation and actual needs.

3. GLOBAL OVERVIEW OF BUDGET IMPLEMENTATION IN 2019

3.1. Activities and objectives of the European Council and Council in 2019

In the framework of the financial activity report, the GSC provides information on its core activities which are relevant from the financial point of view, and which describe the functioning of the European Council and Council during the financial year. The report also highlights the principal accomplishments of the year.

3.1.1. Meetings

Table 3 gives an overview of the development of the number of meetings organised by the GSC for the European Council and Council between 2010 and 2019.

In 2019, in addition to the 3 983‘institutional’ meetings, the GSC organised 3 685 other meetings (e.g. seminars, information sessions and briefings, and meetings with third countries).

Table 3

Development of the number of meetings in 2010–2019

2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 Summits 7 9 7 6 9 12 9 15 15 17 Councils 86 85 77 74 81 81 75 77 75 80 Coreper 122 135 140 140 135 138 109 105 117 124 Coreper Art. 50 22 29 28 Working groups 4 127 4 373 4 480 4 164 4 016 3 471 3 569 4 039 4 304 3 706 Ad hoc Working group Art. 50 32 61 28 Total 4 342 4 602 4 704 4 384 4 241 3 702 3 762 4 290 4 601 3 983 Other meetings 1 996 2 075 2 189 2 027 2 189 2 271 2 034 3 030 3 129 3 685 Grand total 6 338 6 677 6 893 6 411 6 430 5 973 5 796 7 320 7 730 7 668

The year 2019 has been marked by continuous work aiming to finalise the procedure for the conclusion and signature of the agreement on the UK’s delayed withdrawal from the EU.

The total number of meetings organised by the GSC went down by 0,8 % (65) compared to 2018. This is explained mainly by reduced legislative activity in the second semester due to European elections and the appointment of the new EU leadership in all the institutions.

Moreover, between 12 and 14 March 2019 the GSC hosted the third Brussels conference on ‘Supporting the future of Syria and the Region’. It brought together 78 delegations including 56 States, 11 regional organisations and International Financial Institutions (IFIs) as well as 11 UN agencies. The participants discussed the most critical humanitarian and resilience issues affecting Syrians and communities hosting Syrian refugees, both inside the country and in the region. Specific attention was placed on hearing the perspectives of Syrian women. The event was organised together with the European Commission Directorate-General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations.

3.1.2. Legislative activities

Another quantitative indicator of activities is the number of legal acts published in the Official Journal (OJ) (Table 4). In 2019, 1 326 legal acts were published in the OJ. It should be noted that the publication of the legal acts in the OJ is the last step of the legislative process.

Table 4

Development of the number of legal acts in 2010–2019

2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 Legal acts published in OJ 825 986 958 1 132 1 437 1 412 1 259 1 187 1 210 1 326

The increase in the number of legal acts, 9,6 % compared to previous year, can mainly be explained by the need to adopt as many as possible before the European elections held in 2019.

3.1.3. Administrative modernisation

In 2019, the GSC continued to improve the quality and efficiency of its internal organisation:

— A new HR IT tool (SYSPER) already used by the Commission and most other EU institutions replaced the existing one for the majority of GSC HR processes. A similar changeover occurred with the IT tool used for managing the mission/authorised travel lifecycle.

— A 360o feedback exercise was conducted. It was designed to provide managers with the insights they need for their continuous development, from a multi-sided perspective. In a 360o feedback exercise, views from the people managers work with (their team, key colleagues and hierarchy) are gathered. Each manager uses the report to work on their professional development.

— The process of creating a flatter management structure, which began in 2017, continued. By removing layers of hierarchy, the aim is to improve communication, to make decision-making easier and to empower staff by allowing greater ownership of files. Greater autonomy also allows staff to be even more client-oriented.

3.1.4. Achievement of objectives in 2019

Achievement of the objectives established for the budget year 2019 may be summarised as follows:

— Establishment plan In 2019, the GSC recruited 233 officials (146 permanent officials and 87 temporary agents). During the year, 212 officials (167 permanent officials and 45 temporary agents) left, resulting in a net increase of 21 occupied posts in the EC/C Establishment Plan.

— Financial management In 2019, the GSC continued to further improve its financial management and performance. Several improvements in corporate financial governance were implemented, e.g.: — launch of the Integrated Financial and Activity Planning (IFAP) project in October 2019. It has resulted in the integration of annual and multiannual budget planning in the GSC’s financial management system (SAP) and the establishment of a link between financial planning and budget implementation at activities level. In the context of improving the cash flow position of European businesses, the average payment delay of invoices in the GSC was 19 days in 2019, the maximum time limit being 30 calendar days (Directive 2011/7/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council (2)).

— Building Policy The signature of the notarial act and, consequently, the final payment of the amount due to the Belgian authorities for the Europa building project took place in 2019.

3.2. Revenue

Table 5 gives an overview of the global outcome of revenue operations in 2019. The expression ‘Established rights 2018’ refers to the recovery orders which were made in 2018 but for which the recovery of the amounts took place only in 2019. The expression ‘Established rights 2019’ in turn corresponds to recoveries launched in 2019.

Table 5

Overview of revenue operations in the 2019 budget

(EUR) Chapter Established rights 2018 Recovered revenues from 2018 Established rights 2019 Recovered revenues from 2019 Total established rights 2018+2019 Total recovered 2018+2019 To be recovered in 2020 1 2 3 4 5=1+3 6=2+4 7=5-6 4 0 Deductions from staff remuneration 0 0 31 538 631 31 538 631 31 538 631 31 538 631 0 4 1 Contributions to the pension scheme 97 705 97 705 25 614 133 25 612 552 25 711 838 25 710 257 1 581 5 0 Proceeds from the sale of movable and immovable property 2 500 2 500 2 722 2 100 5 222 4 600 622 5 1 Proceeds from letting and hiring 246 410 246 410 91 324 81 502 337 733 327 912 9 821 5 2 Revenue from investments or loans granted, bank and other interest 0 0 3 578 3 578 3 578 3 578 0 5 5 Revenue from the proceeds of services supplied and work carried out 268 732 117 887 1 622 505 1 603 355 1 891 237 1 721 242 169 995 5 5 Revenue from the proceeds of services supplied and work (EEAS) 100 000 100 000 279 889 279 889 379 889 379 889 0 5 7 Other contributions and refunds in connection with administ. operation 588 013 125 176 13 040 227 12 653 390 13 628 240 12 778 565 849 675 5 8 Miscellaneous compensation 30 30 26 061 26 061 26 091 26 091 0 5 8 Miscellaneous compensation (EEAS) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 9 Other revenue arising from administrative management 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 3 Contributions under specific agreements 0 0 1 228 478 540 012 1 228 478 540 012 688 466 7 0 Interest on late payments 0 0 2 2 2 2 0 9 0 Miscellaneous revenue 0 0 1 038 1 038 1 038 1 038 0 Total 1 303 390 689 707 73 448 586 72 342 109 74 751 976 73 031 816 1 720 159

The total volume of revenue operations in terms of established rights, i.e. issued recovery orders, was EUR 74,7 million in 2019. Of this amount, EUR 73,0 million was recovered during the financial year whereas EUR 1,7 million will be collected in 2020.

The majority of the total recovered revenues (78 % or EUR 57,2 million out of EUR 73,0 million) in 2019 relates to community taxes, levies and dues collected from the GSC’s personnel. Of this amount EUR 31,5 million covers deductions from staff remuneration whereas EUR 25,7 million corresponds to contributions and transfers of pension rights to the pension scheme.

The remainder, or 22 % (EUR 15,8 million), is accrued from various administrative operations. This amount comes mainly from the following sources:

— Recovery of parts of the amounts paid to Member States in previous years for delegates’ travel expenses following their declarations for 2018 and 2019 (EUR 0,02 million and EUR 4,8 million respectively, Chapter 5 7).

— Recovery of payments by Member States for supplementary on-request interpretation into certain languages (EUR 5,5 million, Chapter 5 7).

— Contributions to the administrative costs arising within the framework of the ‘Schengen acquis’ with Iceland and Norway (EUR 0,5 million, Chapter 6 3).

— Contributions by other institutions and payments by Council officials for the Council crèche (EUR 1 million, Chapter 5 7).

— Payments by the Court of Justice, the Court of Auditors and the European University Institute in Florence as their contributions to the common financial system with the Council (EUR 0,8 million, Chapter 5 5).

— Transfers from the EEAS to the Council as advanced reimbursement of the costs related to the organisation of the 3rd Brussels Conference on Syria (EUR 0,3 million, Chapter 5 5).

— Transfers from the EEAS to the Council as advance payments for the services rendered by the GSC to the EEAS (EUR 0,4 million, Chapter 5 5).

— Proceeds from renting out premises and reimbursements related to them (EUR 0,3 million, Chapter 5 1).

3.3. Expenditure in 2019

3.3.1. Modification of the budget in 2019

During the financial year 2019, the appropriations were reallocated by various transfers. Table 6 shows the decisions which modified the budget appropriations in 2010–2019.

Table 6

Number of budget modifications by type in 2010–2019

Modification Year Type Legal basis 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 Amending budget FR Article 41 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Transfer B FR Article 25 47 23 23 22 32 27 31 45 52 39 Transfer C FR Article 25 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 1 2 2 Transfer D FR Article 27 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 49 25 25 24 34 29 33 46 54 41

Two C-transfers, which involved informing the budget authority (in accordance with Article 29 of the Financial Regulation), were carried out in 2019:

— C1-transfer of EUR 3 800 000 on 18 September 2019 in order to: — Finance the planned renovation of the free-flow and sitting area of the restaurant simultaneously with the renovation of the kitchen, to take advantage of one single closure period (EUR 3 800 000),

— C2-transfer of EUR 5 147 000 on 18 November 2019 in order to: — Transfer financial responsibilities regarding the management of memberships to professional associations (EUR 10 000), — Finance the increased number of requests for aid for disabled persons (EUR 30 000), — Cover projects initially budgeted for a later year but for which the 2019 budget implementation allowed to the project cycle to be speeded up (EUR 560 000), — Cover the preparatory studies on several projects in order to speed up the implementation of projects planned only for 2020 or later given the restrictions of the current budgetary framework (EUR 90 000), — Finance the acquisition of IT equipment required for the migration of the technical platform of the financial management system (HANA), other IT needs following the implementation of the audit recommendations on the Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) and specialised equipment for broadcast, cabling and related services for the Matrix room (EUR 624 000), — Cover the IT cost of the HR IT tool SYSPER, further needs due to a number of internally developed tools and the development in-house of the platform for publishing and distributing audiovisual content to press, media and stakeholders (EUR 2 068 000), — Transfer responsibility regarding display screens in the Council buildings (EUR 32 000), — Finance the improvement of the equipment (including furniture) in trilogue rooms (EUR 250 000), — Cover the study of the Europa Building audiovisual equipment performance (EUR 38 000), — Finance the further development of the Information Management Framework (including elements of the information management framework policy and rules) and additional activities related to records management (EUR 160 000), — Finance new projects and initiatives launched in the Communication service not budgeted for in 2019 and major works on the technical infrastructure together with additional needs for hosting broadcasting and video-streaming services to cover the remaining summits until end 2019 (EUR 1 035 000), — Cover unforeseen additional needs in legal expenses and costs corresponding primarily to potential payments of damages and compensation (EUR 250 000).

39 B-transfers based on Article 29(4) of the Financial Regulation internally modified the EC/C budget in 2019.

Table 7 gives an overview of the budget lines which were significantly (3) modified in 2019 by different transfers.

Table 7

Budget lines which were subject to significant transfers in 2019

(EUR) Item Heading Initial Budget 2019 Transfers Final appropriations Difference 1 1 0 0 Basic salaries 250 943 511 - 315 000 250 628 511 0 % 2 0 0 0 Rent 799 000 - 462 000 337 000 - 58 % 2 0 0 3 Fitting-out and installation work 9 124 948 5 924 999 15 049 947 65 % 2 0 0 4 Work to make premises secure 2 447 000 -1 193 000 1 254 000 - 49 % 2 0 1 0 Cleaning and maintenance 18 973 000 - 350 000 18 623 000 - 2 % 2 1 0 0 Acquisition of equipment and software 9 702 008 621 564 10 323 572 6 % 2 1 0 1 Outside assistance for computer systems 22 225 280 3 026 545 25 251 825 14 % 2 1 0 2 Servicing and maintenance of equipment and software 7 494 578 - 940 144 6 554 434 - 13 % 2 1 1 1 Purchase and replacement of furniture 915 000 250 000 1 165 000 27 % 2 1 2 2 Rental, servicing, maintenance and repair of techn. equip. 2 429 000 -1 201 759 1 227 241 - 49 % 2 2 0 0 Travel expenses of delegations 17 372 000 1 322 243 18 694 243 8 % 2 2 0 2 Interpreting costs 81 694 000 -8 764 243 72 929 757 - 11 % 2 2 1 3 Information and public events 4 360 000 922 132 5 282 132 21 % 2 2 3 6 Legal expenses and costs, damages and compensation 500 000 250 000 750 000 50 %

3.3.2. Overview of implementation of the budget in 2010–2019

The overall implementation rate of the EC/C budget has been on average 91,9 % over the past 10 years (Graph 1). The implementation rate refers to the commitments made during the budget year out of the available voted budget.

The actual annual payments rate between 2010 and 2019 have been on average 82,6 % of the budget. The difference between the overall implementation and payments in a given year (i.e. non-paid commitments) has been carried over, in conformity with Article 12(7) of the Financial Regulation, to the next budget year for payments.

Graph 1

Overall budget implementation in 2010–2019

For 2019, the appropriations carried over relate to obligations duly contracted before the end of the budget year but where the goods have not yet been delivered and/or for which no invoices were received before the end of the year.

3.3.3. Implementation of the appropriations by category in 2019

The analysis of expenditure in 2019 is presented in 14 expenditure categories.

Table 8 compares the final budget after transfers (column 2) with the outturn of the budget in terms of commitments (column 3). The difference between the final budget and the committed appropriations corresponds to the amounts not used in 2019 and therefore cancelled.

Table 8

Overview of the implementation of the 2019 budget (by category)

(EUR) Category Budget 2019 (initial) Budget 2019 (final (*1)) Commitments Outturn rate Cancelled appropriations 1 2 3 4=3/2 5=2-3 Establishment plan 336 749 511 336 434 511 318 417 518 94,6 % 18 016 993 Other staff expenditure 25 077 000 25 087 000 22 637 812 90,2 % 2 449 188 Buildings (excluding acquisitions) 55 888 948 60 338 948 58 794 678 97,4 % 1 544 270 Computer systems 41 355 000 44 079 000 44 078 934 100,0 % 66 Furniture 951 000 1 201 000 1 174 396 97,8 % 26 604 Technical equipment 5 745 000 4 612 000 4 392 054 95,2 % 219 946 Transport 1 134 000 1 134 000 1 030 414 90,9 % 103 586 Delegations’ travel expenses 17 372 000 18 694 243 18 694 243 100,0 % 0 Interpreting costs 81 694 000 72 929 757 51 331 235 70,4 % 21 598 522 Meetings and conferences 5 237 000 5 473 000 5 086 244 92,9 % 386 756 Information 9 125 000 10 095 000 10 092 180 100,0 % 2 820 Miscellaneous 1 267 000 1 517 000 1 269 889 83,7 % 247 111 Reserve 300 000 300 000 0 0,0 % 300 000 Total (excl. acquisition) 581 895 459 581 895 459 536 999 597 92,3 % 44 895 862 Acquisition of immovable property — — — — — Grand total 581 895 459 581 895 459 536 999 597 92,3 % 44 895 862

The global implementation rate of the 2019 budget is 92,3 %. The difference between the final budget and implementation can be explained as follows:

— The total underspending in the category of the establishment plan amounts to EUR 18,0 million. This underspending relates mainly to lower needs for basic salaries (EUR 8,7 million) and to the fact that it was not necessary to use the provision for annual adjustment of the remuneration (EUR 3,6 million). Other elements explaining the underspending are lower need for various statutory entitlements (EUR 4,3 million) and for social security (EUR 0,5 million) plus lower expenditure relating to overtime (EUR 0,4 million).

— In the category of other staff expenditure, 58 % of the underspending (EUR 1,5 million out of EUR 2,4 million) relates to fewer payments for contractual agents, seconded national experts and other outside services. In the area of the President of the European Council, a saving of EUR 0,4 million comes from underspending of the travel budget and allowances. The remainder of EUR 0,5 million is mostly related to savings in the areas of the GSC crèche, medical and social services.

— The global implementation of the building-related expenditure resulted in a saving of EUR 1,5 million. Of this amount, EUR 1,1 million is due to lower costs in building security and surveillance, maintenance and cleaning, and consumption of water, gas and electricity. The remaining EUR 0,4 million comes from savings in certain fitting-out works, preliminary studies, installation, security works and other expenditure relating to buildings.

— In the IT domain, the budget implementation was 100 %.

— For furniture, implementation was close to 98 %, savings are due mainly to lower needs in rental and maintenance of furniture.

— The EUR 0,2 million saving in technical equipment is mainly due to a lower need for purchase and replacement of technical equipment and installations.

— The EUR 0,1 million saving in transportation is mainly due to lower final needs for car leasing.

— The implementation of the delegations’ travel expenses was 100 %. The amount available for delegations’ travel expenses after transfers amounted to EUR 18,7 million. The initial budget was EUR 17,8 million to which EUR 10 million was transferred from the savings in some interpretation envelopes. On the other hand, EUR 6,9 million was transferred to interpretation for the technical envelope (4) and, during the year, EUR 2,2 million was transferred to finance supplementary interpretation in certain languages.

— The underspending in appropriations for interpretation amounts to EUR 21,6 million. This underspending is the final result after the transfer of EUR 10 million from interpretation envelopes to delegations’ travel envelopes (5). The final result also includes the transfer from the delegations’ travel expenses of EUR 6,9 million as implementation of the new mechanism and a transfer back of EUR 2,2 million from some travel envelopes to cover supplementary interpretation in certain languages.

— EUR 0,3 million out of the total underspending of EUR 0,4 million in organising meetings and conferences reflects lower needs in catering than were budgeted for. Lower needs for rental of external conference rooms and accreditation allowed for an additional saving of EUR 0,1 million.

— The implementation rate of the appropriations in the category ‘Information’ was 100 %.

— In the category ‘Miscellaneous’, the underspending of EUR 0,2 million is explained mainly by a combination of smaller needs for office supplies, paper, studies, uniforms and postal charges (EUR 0,1 million).

3.4. Appropriations carried over

3.4.1. Appropriations carried over automatically from 2018 to 2019

As presented in Table 9, an amount of EUR 56,6 million was carried over from 2018 to 2019.

Table 9

Implementation of appropriations carried over from 2018 to 2019 (by category)

(EUR) Category Appropriations carried over from 2018 Payments 2019 Outturn rate Cancelled appropriations 1 2 3=2/1 4=1-2 Establishment plan 432 237 314 104 72,7 % 118 133 Other staff expenditure 1 846 586 1 548 542 83,9 % 298 044 Buildings 16 043 141 12 554 860 78,3 % 3 488 280 Computer systems 19 548 442 18 723 485 95,8 % 824 957 Furniture 290 141 276 732 95,4 % 13 409 Technical equipment 1 568 707 1 420 073 90,5 % 148 634 Transport 832 176 367 623 44,2 % 464 553 Delegations’ travel expenses — — — Interpreting costs 11 908 872 10 425 144 87,5 % 1 483 728 Meetings and conferences 655 097 481 523 73,5 % 173 573 Information 2 995 870 2 782 327 92,9 % 213 544 Miscellaneous 478 315 346 241 72,4 % 132 075 Reserve — — — Total 56 599 584 49 240 654 87,0 % 7 358 930

The implementation rate of the appropriations carried over from 2018 was 87,0 %. The main reasons for this implementation rate are:

— Partial or complete lack of delivery of works/goods/services ordered by the GSC during the previous year.

— Invoices not received for works/goods/services delivered. This inevitably constitutes a budgetary burden for the next budget year as for these transactions new commitments will have to be introduced in 2020.

3.4.2. Appropriations carried over automatically from 2019 to 2020

The appropriations carried over from 2019 to 2020 totalled EUR 52,5 million.

Table 10

Appropriations carried over from 2019 to 2020 (by category)

(EUR) Category Budget 2019 (initial) Budget 2019 (final (*2)) Commitments Payments 2019 Appropriations carried over to 2020 Carry over rate 1 2 3 4 5=3-4 6=5/3 Establishment plan 336 749 511 336 434 511 318 417 518 318 042 607 374 910 0,1 % Other staff expenditure 25 077 000 25 087 000 22 637 812 20 768 356 1 869 455 8,3 % Buildings 55 888 948 60 338 948 58 794 678 36 529 460 22 265 219 37,9 % Computer systems 41 355 000 44 079 000 44 078 934 28 473 397 15 605 537 35,4 % Furniture 951 000 1 201 000 1 174 396 552 211 622 184 53,0 % Technical equipment 5 745 000 4 612 000 4 392 054 1 928 085 2 463 968 56,1 % Transport 1 134 000 1 134 000 1 030 414 504 275 526 139 51,1 % Delegations’ travel expenses 17 372 000 18 694 243 18 694 243 18 694 243 0 0,0 % Interpreting costs 81 694 000 72 929 757 51 331 235 47 220 672 4 110 564 8,0 % Meetings and conferences 5 237 000 5 473 000 5 086 244 4 196 701 889 543 17,5 % Information 9 125 000 10 095 000 10 092 180 6 768 283 3 323 897 32,9 % Miscellaneous 1 267 000 1 517 000 1 269 889 777 815 492 075 38,7 % Reserve 300 000 300 000 — — — — Total (excl. acquisition) 581 895 459 581 895 459 536 999 597 484 456 106 52 543 491 9,8 % Acquisition of immovable property — — — — — — Grand total 581 895 459 581 895 459 536 999 597 484 456 106 52 543 491 9,8 %

The amounts carried over from 2019 to 2020 mainly come from the following categories:

— Buildings: EUR 22,0 million, where various fitting-out works account for EUR 11,7 million, cleaning and maintenance EUR 4,5 million, security and prevention EUR 2,7 million, electricity, water, gas and heating together another EUR 1,4 million, works to make the premises secure EUR 0,9 million and EUR 0,8 million of other expenditure related to buildings, e.g. building studies.

— Computer systems: EUR 15,6 million, of which EUR 10,8 million relates to outside assistance, EUR 2,8 million to equipment and software, EUR 1,1 million to IT services and maintenance and EUR 0,8 million to telecommunications.

— EUR 4,1 million to cover the cost of interpretation provided in November-December 2019, but for which the final invoice arrives in 2020.

— EUR 3,3 million related to information expenditure, of which EUR 1,8 million concerns information and public events as well as Council publications and EUR 1,3 million for documentation and library expenditure.

— Technical equipment: EUR 2,5 million, of which EUR 1,3 million concerns purchase and maintenance of conference equipment, EUR 0,6 million outside assistance and maintenance of equipment, EUR 0,3 million purchase and replacement of audiovisual equipment for the Press Service and EUR 0,2 million the purchase of other types of equipment (e.g. security, restaurant).

— Other staff expenditure: EUR 1,9 million, especially in relation to missions (EUR 0,7 million), training (EUR 0,6 million), the medical service and crèches (EUR 0,3 million), support measures to assist staff (EUR 0,2 million) and outside assistance (EUR 0,1 million).

— Meetings and conferences: EUR 0,9 million mostly relating to invoices not yet received for organising European Council and Council meetings in 2019.

— Furniture: EUR 0,6 million corresponding to purchase of furniture for certain hospitality areas, the renovation of the free-flow restaurant and the trilogue meeting rooms within the Meeting 2022 project.

— Transport: EUR 0,5 million covering provision for the Council staff mobility plan (EUR 0,3 million) and for rental and repair of the vehicle fleet (EUR 0,2 million).

— Miscellaneous expenses: EUR 0,5 million corresponding mostly to legal expenses (EUR 0,2 million), office supplies (EUR 0,1 million) and other operating expenditure (i.e. insurance and working clothes) (EUR 0,1 million).

3.4.3. Appropriations carried over by decision from 2017 to 2018 carried over for payment to 2019

Appropriations carried over by decision from 2017 to 2018 which were duly committed in 2018 but not paid had been carried over to 2019 for payment. As presented in Table 11, an amount of EUR 4,1 million was carried over for payment.

Table 11

Appropriations carried over by decision from 2017 to 2018 carried over for payment to 2019 (by category)

(EUR) Category Carried over for payment from 2018 Payments 2019 Outturn rate Cancelled appropriations 1 2 3=2/1 4=1-2 Acquisition of immovable property 4 114 794 4 114 794 100,0 % 0 Total EC/C 4 114 794 4 114 794 100,0 % 0

The amount is related to the final payment for the Europa building as it was not possible to sign the related final act of sale in 2017.

The implementation rate of the appropriations carried over from 2018 was 100 %.

3.5. Assigned revenue

3.5.1. Assigned revenue accrued before 2019

The total amount of assigned revenue accrued before 2019 was EUR 23,2 million.

Table 12

Implementation of assigned revenue accrued before 2019 (by category)

(EUR) Category Assigned revenues before 2019 (final (*3)) Commitments 2019 Payments 2019 Outturn rate Cancelled assigned revenues 1 2 3 4=2/1 4=1-2 Establishment plan 1 424 158 1 424 158 1 424 158 100,0 % — Other staff expenditure 1 531 362 1 500 623 1 450 730 98,0 % 30 738 Buildings 902 614 886 210 763 559 98,2 % 16 404 Computer systems 906 758 906 758 721 612 100,0 % — Furniture — — — — Technical equipment 71 286 66 868 66 778 93,8 % 4 419 Transport 5 454 5 454 2 206 100,0 % — Delegations’ travel expenses 6 911 068 6 911 068 6 911 068 100,0 % — Interpreting costs 11 066 291 11 066 291 11 066 291 100,0 % — Meetings and conferences 80 470 56 246 55 331 69,9 % 24 224 Information 68 116 67 897 62 869 99,7 % 219 Miscellaneous 33 737 33 737 28 407 100,0 % 0 Total EC/C 23 001 314 22 925 310 22 553 008 99,7 % 76 004 SLAs with EEAS 174 761 174 761 142 624 100,0 % — Grand total 23 176 075 23 100 071 22 695 632 99,7 % 76 004

Assigned revenue related to the GSC’s activities totalled EUR 23,0 million, of which EUR 22,9 million was duly committed in 2019. The remainder, EUR 0,1 million, was cancelled in conformity with Article 12(1) of the FR.

Another part of the assigned revenue accrued before 2019, EUR 0,2 million, relates to amounts transferred by the EEAS in 2018 to the Council to cover the expenses of the services defined in different Service Level Agreements (SLAs) between the two institutions and rendered by the GSC. Out of the committed amount of EUR 0,2 million, EUR 0,1 million was paid in 2019.

3.5.2. Assigned revenue carried over for payment from 2018

The total amount of assigned revenue carried over for payment from 2018 was EUR 0,3 million.

Table 13

Implementation of assigned revenue accrued before 2019 carried over to 2019 for payment (by category)

(EUR) Category Assigned revenues carried over for payment from 2018 Payments 2019 Outturn rate Cancelled assigned revenues 1 2 4=2/1 4=1-2 Establishment plan — — — — Other staff expenditure 10 412 9 825 94,4 % 587 Buildings 132 103 105 559 79,9 % 26 544 Computer systems 111 881 106 225 94,9 % 5 656 Furniture — — — — Technical equipment 1 922 782 40,7 % 1 140 Transport — — — — Delegations’ travel expenses — — — — Interpreting costs — — — — Meetings and conferences — — — — Information — — — — Miscellaneous 23 380 2 396 10,2 % 20 984 Total EC/C 279 699 224 787 80,4 % 54 911 SLAs with EEAS — — — — Grand total 279 699 224 787 80,4 % 54 911

3.5.3. Assigned revenue accrued before 2019 carried over to 2020 for payment

The assigned revenue accrued before 2019, duly committed but not paid in 2019, was carried over from 2019 to 2020 and totalled EUR 0,4 million.

Table 14

Assigned revenue accrued before 2019 carried over to 2020 (by category)

(EUR) Category Assigned revenues before 2019 (final (*4)) Commitments 2019 Payments 2019 Assigned revenues carried over to 2020 Carry over rate 1 2 3 4=2-3 5=4/2 Establishment plan 1 424 158 1 424 158 1 424 158 — 0,0 % Other staff expenditure 1 531 362 1 500 623 1 450 730 49 893 3,3 % Buildings 902 614 886 210 763 559 122 651 13,8 % Computer systems 906 758 906 758 721 612 185 146 20,4 % Furniture — — — — Technical equipment 71 286 66 868 66 778 90 0,1 % Transport 5 454 5 454 2 206 3 248 59,6 % Delegations’ travel expenses 6 911 068 6 911 068 6 911 068 — 0,0 % Interpreting costs 11 066 291 11 066 291 11 066 291 — 0,0 % Meetings and conferences 80 470 56 246 55 331 915 1,6 % Information 68 116 67 897 62 869 5 028 7,4 % Miscellaneous 33 737 33 737 28 407 5 330 15,8 % Total EC/C 23 001 314 22 925 310 22 553 008 372 301 1,6 % SLAs with EEAS 174 761 174 761 142 624 32 137 18,4 % Grand total 23 176 075 23 100 071 22 695 632 404 438 1,8 %

The amounts carried over mainly come from the following categories:

— Computer systems: EUR 0,2 million corresponding to outside assistance.

— Buildings: EUR 0,1 million relating to fitting-out works.

— Other staff expenditure: EUR 0,05 million corresponding mainly to mission expenses of the elected PEC (EUR 0,04 million).

3.5.4. Assigned revenue accrued in 2019

The total assigned revenue accrued in 2019 totalled to EUR 15,7 million. Of this, EUR 374 598 corresponds to amounts transferred by the EEAS to the Council.

Table 15

Implementation of assigned revenue accrued in 2019 (by category)

(EUR) Category Assigned revenues 2019 (final (*5)) Commitments 2019 Payments 2019 Available assigned revenue 1 2 3 4=1-3 Establishment plan 678 235 — — 678 235 Other staff expenditure 1 583 301 259 064,91 219 576 1 363 725 Buildings 1 415 998 293 957,99 293 958 1 122 040 Computer systems 890 940 806 581,31 68 104 822 837 Furniture — — — 0 Technical equipment 39 590 34 051,02 33 890 5 700 Transport 2 616 — — 2 616 Delegations’ travel expenses 4 831 525 — — 4 831 525 Interpreting costs 5 478 770 — — 5 478 770 Meetings and conferences 351 844 264 120,02 264 120 87 724 Information 67 643 67 642,63 67 643 0 Miscellaneous 7 073 — — 7 073 Total EC/C 15 347 535 1 725 418 947 291 14 400 245 SLAs with EEAS 374 598 146 000 78 444 296 154 Grand total 15 722 134 1 871 418 1 025 735 14 696 399

The assigned revenue in 2019 relating to the activities of the GSC amounted to EUR 15,3 million. During the financial year EUR 1,7 million was committed while EUR 14,4 million was carried over to 2020 in accordance with Article 12(4) of the FR.

Around 36 % of the assigned revenue (EUR 5,5 million) is related to interpretation, from the top-up payments on certain languages to cover the supplementary interpretation in those languages. An amount of EUR 4,8 million is related to the delegations’ travel expenses, following the balance after presenting their travel declarations. The remainder is mainly related to the reimbursement of amounts connected with various administrative operations of the Council.

(1) 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).

(2) Directive 2011/7/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 February 2011 on combating late payment in commercial transactions (OJ L 48, 23.2.2011, p. 1).

(3) Net amount > EUR 250 000.

(*1) Includes internal reallocation of appropriations.

(4) In conformity with Decision 54/18 of the Secretary-General of the Council (Article 10.3), the amount equivalent to the underspent amount of previous year in delegates’ travel expenses is to be transferred annually to interpretation. In 2019, this corresponded to an amount of EUR 6,9 million.

(5) In conformity with Decision 54/18 (Article 10.1), the GSC transfers 66 % of the unused amounts of interpretation language envelopes to the delegates’ travel envelopes to be used during the same budget year. In 2019, this corresponded to an amount of EUR 10 million.

(*2) Includes internal reallocation of appropriations.

(*3) Includes internal reallocation of appropriations.

(*4) Includes internal reallocation of appropriations.

(*5) Includes internal reallocation of appropriations.