EUROPEAN COMMISSION Brussels, 30.9.2016 COM(2016) 632 final REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL 9th FINANCIAL REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL

on the EUROPEAN AGRICULTURAL FUND FOR RURAL DEVELOPMENT (EAFRD)

2015 FINANCIAL YEAR



Table of contents 1.Budget procedure 1.1.Financial framework 1.2.Draft Budget (DB) 2015 1.3.The adoption of the 2015 Budget 1.4.The adoption of the Amending Budgets 2.Management of appropriations 2.1.Management of commitment appropriations 2.1.1.EAFRD rural development programmes 2.1.2.Technical assistance 2.2.Management of payment appropriations 2.2.1.EAFRD rural development programmes 2.2.2.Technical assistance 3.Implementation of the 2015 EAFRD budget 3.1.Implementation of commitment appropriations 3.1.1.EAFRD rural development programmes 3.1.2.Technical assistance 3.2.Implementation of payment appropriations

3.2.1.EAFRD rural development programmes 3.2.2.Technical assistance 3.3.Analysis of expenditure declared by axis and/or by measure 3.4.Implementation of EAFRD programmes - Programming period 2007-2013 1. Budget procedure 1.1. Financial framework Rural Development expenditure in 2015 is funded within two multiannual financial frameworks (MFFs): 2007-2013 and 2014-2020. The financial framework 2014-2020 is provided by Council Regulation (EU) No 1311/2013. The allocation for Rural Development and the allocation for market related expenditure and direct aids after the annual technical adjustment of the MFF are presented in table 1. Table 1 – Financial framework 2014-2020 HEADING 2. In million EUR; current prices Sustainable growth: natural resources 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 TOTAL 49 857 64 692 64 262 60 191 60 267 60 344 60 421 of which : - Rural Development a), b), c), d), e) 5 299 18 184 18 684 14 371 14 381 14 330 14 333 - Market related expenditure and direct aids, a), b), c), d) 43 778 44 190 43 950 44 146 44 162 44 241 44 263 a) After net transfer of EUR 351.9 million between EAGF and EAFRD for the financial year 2014 (see note f for details) b) After net transfer of EUR 51.6 million between EAGF and EAFRD for the financial year 2015 (see note f for details) c) After net transfer of EUR 28 million between EAGF and EAFRD for the financial years 2014-2020 (see note f for details) d) After net transfer of EUR 3 577.2 million between EAGF and EAFRD for financial years 2015-2020 (see note f for details) e) After the reprogramming of the EAFRD allocation of year 2014 following the application of Article 19 of MFF Regulation (EU) No 1311/2013 a total amount of EUR 8 705 million deducted from 2014 commitments was equally distributed to 2015 and 2016 commitments f) The transfers into Rural Development (EAFRD) mentioned in notes a) to d) above involve: EUR 4 million transferred annually for the whole period 2014-2020 from the cotton sector (EL) on the basis of Article 66(1) of Regulation (EU) No 1307/2013, EUR 296.3 million set for the voluntary adjustment transferred for the financial year 2014 (UK) on the basis of Article 10b and 10c(2) of Regulation (EC) No 73/2009, EUR 51.6 million for unspent amounts transferred each year for financial years 2014 and 2015 (SE and DE) on the basis of Articles 136 and 136b of Regulation (EC) No 73/2009 and EUR 3577.2 million for the reduction of payments and the flexibility between pillars on the basis of Articles 7(2) and 14(1) of Regulation (EU) No 1307/2013 1.2. Draft Budget (DB) 2015 The 2015 Draft Budget (DB) was adopted by the Commission and proposed to the Budgetary Authority on 24 June 2014. The Draft Budget for the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) under heading 2 of the Financial Framework 2007-2013 totalled EUR 6 144 million in payment appropriations. No commitment appropriations were requested for year 2015 as the old programming period ended in 2013. For the new programming period 2014-2020, the DB 2015 included EUR 13 819 million in commitment appropriations and EUR 5 499 million in payment appropriations. Table 2 Draft Budget 2015 Budget Item Commitment appropriations

(in EUR) Payment appropriations

(in EUR) 2007-2013 05.040501 (Rural dev. Programmes) - 6 143 583 000 05.040502 (Operational technical assistance) - - 2014-2020 05.046001 (Rural dev. Programmes) 13 796 873 677 5 478 000 000 05.046002 (Operational technical assistance) 22 292 400 20 621 000 The Council adopted its position on the 2015 Draft Budget on 2 September 2014 and the European Parliament adopted its position on 22 October 2014. The Conciliation Committee had to be convened, however it was not possible to reconcile the position of the European Parliament and Council within the time period allowed. In the absence of the agreement in the Conciliation Committee, the Commission submitted a new Draft Budget 2015 on 27 November 2014. The new Draft Budget included a decrease of EUR 262 million of the payment appropriations for the EAFRD, compared to the initial Draft Budget. This decrease concerned both programming periods (EUR 138 million for the old period and EUR 124 million for the new one). The 2015 budget was finally adopted on 17 December 2014 further decreasing EAFRD payment appropriations by EUR 218 million, of which EUR 115 million for the old programming period and EUR 103 million for the new period.

1.3. The adoption of the 2015 Budget The 2015 Budget adopted on 17 December 2014 for the EAFRD in chapter 05 04 amounted to EUR 5 890 million in payment appropriations for the programming period 2007-2013 and EUR 13 819 million in commitment appropriations and EUR 5 272 million in payment appropriations for the period 2014-2020.



Table 3 Adopted Budget 2015 Budget Item Commitment appropriations

(in EUR) Payment appropriations

(in EUR) 2007-2013 05.040501 (Rural dev. Programmes) - 5 890 339 551 05.040502 (Operational technical assistance) - - 2014-2020 05.046001 (Rural dev. Programmes) 13 796 873 677 5 252 192 422 05.046002 (Operational technical assistance) 22 292 400 19 770 986 1.4. The adoption of the Amending Budgets Amending Budget No 1 was adopted on 28 April 2015. It increased the commitment appropriations for the rural development programmes 2014-2020 by EUR 4.4 billion reflecting the reprogramming of the EAFRD allocation of year 2014 following the application of Article 19 of Regulation (EU) No 1311/2013. The Amending Budget No 7, adopted on 14 October 2015, reduced the commitment appropriations for the technical assistance line for EAFRD 2014-2020 by EUR 6.5 million. Table 4 Budget 2015 after the Amendments No1 and No7 Budget Item Commitment appropriations

(in EUR) Payment appropriations

(in EUR) 2007-2013 05.040501 (Rural dev. Programmes) - 5 890 339 551 05.040502 (Operational technical assistance) - - 2014-2020 05.046001 (Rural dev. Programmes) 18 149 536 729 5 252 192 422 05.046002 (Operational technical assistance) 15 792 400 19 770 986 2. Management of appropriations 2.1. Management of commitment appropriations 2.1.1. EAFRD rural development programmes Budget 2015 did not include any commitment appropriations for EAFRD 2007-2013 programmes. As regards EAFRD 2014-2020, the 2015 voted budget amounted to EUR 13 797 million. The Amending Budget No 1 added 4 353 million. Moreover, due to the late adoption of the programmes, the amount of EUR 1 970 million had to be carried over from 2014 to 2015. In total, the available commitment appropriations in 2015 amounted to EUR 20 120 million. Table 5 Management of commitment appropriations in 2015 – EAFRD Budget Item 05.040501 (amounts in euro) Budget Item 05.046001 (amounts in euro) Appropriations at the beginning of 2015 - 13 796 873 677 Carryover from 2014 - 1 970 095 304 Amending budget No 1 - 4 352 663 052 Appropriations available in 2015 - 20 119 632 033 Appropriations used in 2015 - 20 119 632 033

2.1.2. Technical assistance Article 51(1) of Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013 provides that the EAFRD may use up to 0.25% of its annual allocation to finance technical assistance actions at the initiative of the Commission. In the 2015 budget, the initial amount available for this purpose was EUR 22.3 million. Amending Budget No 7 reduced this amount by EUR 6.5 million, leaving EUR 15.8 million in the budget. 2.2. Management of payment appropriations 2.2.1. EAFRD rural development programmes For programmes 2007-2013, payment appropriations of the voted budget 2015 amounted to EUR 5 890 million. In addition, the available assigned revenue, either carried over from 2014 or collected during the year, amounted to EUR 310.0 million. At the beginning of the year payment appropriations were reduced by EUR 4 million to cover urgent needs linked to coordination and strategy of Agriculture and Rural Development. During the year, the monitoring of the implementation of the budget and the analysis of the forecasts submitted by Member States revealed an additional need. This additional need was partially covered with a transfer from the 2014-2020 technical assistance line (EUR 2.1 million), the use of assigned revenue (EUR 287.3 million) and the End-of-Year transfer (EUR 288.5 million). The total amount of payment appropriations available in 2015 was EUR 6 487 million. Of this amount, EUR 22.7 million of assigned revenue were automatically carried over to 2016. For programmes 2014-2020, the payment appropriations of the voted budget amounted to EUR 5 252 million. Table 6 Management of payment appropriations in 2015 (in euro) EAFRD (2007-2013) Budget Item - 05.040501 Appropriations at the beginning of 2015 5 890 339 551 Transfer for urgent needs -4 000 000 Assigned revenue carried over from 2014 68 843 782 Assigned revenue collected in 2015 241 194 023 Transfers from TA line of EAFRD 2014-2020 2 134 784 End-of-the year transfer 288 483 924 Appropriations available in 2015 6 486 996 064 Appropriations used in 2015 6 464 298 560 EAFRD (2014-2020) Budget Item - 05.046001 Appropriations available in 2015 5 252 192 422 Appropriations used in 2015 5 252 192 422 2.2.2. Technical assistance Total payment appropriations in 2015 budget amounted to EUR 19.8 million. In addition, EUR 0.2 million were carried over from year 2014 to cover 2007-2013 outstanding needs under item 05.040502. The total payments reached EUR 8.9 million while EUR 8.8 million were redeployed via internal transfers to reinforce 2000-2006 and 2007-2013 programmes. 3. Implementation of the 2015 EAFRD budget 3.1. Implementation of commitment appropriations 3.1.1. EAFRD rural development programmes In 2015, commitment appropriations were available only for EAFRD programmes 2014-2020 and in total amounted to EUR 20 120 million. The whole amount was committed. Table 7 shows, per Member State, the allocation established by Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013 of 17/12/2013 as amended by Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2015/791 of 27/04/2015 (i.e. including the reprogramming), the amounts carried over from 2014 to 2015 and the amounts committed in 2015. Table 7 Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013 (as amended) vs. amounts committed end of 2015 Budget item: 05.046001 (in euro) MS Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013

2015 Allocation

Amounts carried over for commitment in 2015 Amounts committed in 2015 (a) (b) (c=a+b) AT 559 329 914 559 329 914 BE 97 243 257 40 855 562 138 098 819 BG 502 807 341 502 807 341 CY 28 341 472 28 341 472 CZ 470 143 771 470 143 771 DE 1 498 240 410 429 631 210 1 927 871 620 DK 90 168 920 90 168 920 EE 103 651 030 103 626 144 207 277 174 ES 1 780 169 908 1 780 169 908 FI 336 933 734 2 918 336 339 852 070 FR 2 336 138 618 4 353 019 2 340 491 637 GR 907 059 608 907 059 608 HR 448 426 250 448 426 250 HU 742 851 235 742 851 235 IE 469 633 941 469 633 941 IT 2 223 480 180 2 223 480 180 LT 230 412 316 230 392 975 460 805 291 LU 21 385 468 21 385 468 LV 150 968 424 138 327 376 289 295 800 MT 20 905 107 20 905 107 NL 87 003 509 87 118 078 174 121 587 PL 1 175 590 560 1 175 590 560 PT 577 895 019 67 508 413 645 403 432 RO 1 723 260 662 1 723 260 662 SE 386 944 025 386 944 025 SI 119 006 876 118 678 072 237 684 948 SK 213 101 979 271 154 575 484 256 554 UK 848 443 195 475 531 544 1 323 974 739 Total 18 149 536 729 1 970 095 304 20 119 632 033

3.1.2. Technical assistance Table 8 shows the consumption of the commitment appropriations available for technical assistance in 2015. The most important part relates to European Network for Rural Development.

Table 8 Technical assistance – Implementation of commitment appropriations Budget Item: 05.046002 (in euro) Description Amount committed European Network for Rural Development 5 199 163 European Innovation Partnership 2 567 966 Information technology 2 381 032 European Evaluation Network 1 845 650 Events 366 780 Audit and Controls 159 900 Total 12 520 491 3.2. Implementation of payment appropriations 3.2.1. EAFRD rural development programmes For the programming period 2007-2013 all payment appropriations available in the budget (EUR 5 890 million) were implemented with the exception of EUR 4 million transferred early in the year. Additional payments of EUR 577.9 million were made with appropriations from technical assistance, assigned revenue and the End-of-Year transfer. At the end of 2015, the total amount paid for EAFRD programmes 2007-2013 was EUR 6 464 million. Nevertheless, at the end of 2015, there was a payments' backlog of EUR 223 million that had to be paid early in 2016 with 2016 payment appropriations. A significant part of this backlog was foreseen in the 2016 budget. For the programming period 2014-2020 all payment appropriations (EUR 5 252 million) were used, of which EUR 1 945 million for the pre-financing. At the end of 2015 there was a payments' backlog of EUR 462 million. This backlog was paid in in early 2016 from the 2016 payment appropriations. The 2016 budget anticipated a significant part of the backlog.

Table 9 below shows the breakdown of payments made in 2015 by declaration period: Table 9 Payments 2015 for EAFRD rural development programmes (in million euro) 2007-2013 2014-2020 Item 05.040501 Item 05.046001 Reimbursement of payment claims prior to Q4 2014 2.08 - Reimbursement of payment claims Q4 2014 3 985.15 818.18 Reimbursement of payment claims Q1 2015 1 045.92 810.43 Reimbursement of payment claims Q2 2015 809.27 1 280.04 Reimbursement of payment claims Q3 2015 621.87 398.30 Pre-financing 2014-2020 0.00 1 945.25 Total 2015 6 464.30 5 252.19 The monthly consumption of payment appropriations during the year (January to December 2015) is shown in the graph below. Graph 1 The breakdown per Member State and per declaration period of the amounts paid by the Commission in budget year 2015 is shown in tables 10a and 10b.

Table 10a Payments effectively made between 01/01/2015 and 31/12/2015 EAFRD 2007-2013 - Budget item 05.040501 (in euro) MS Prior to Q4 2014 Q4 2014 Q1 2015 Q2 2015 Q3 2015 Total BE 1 694 050 1 056 900 2 609 070 5 360 020 BG 294 046 236 318 435 25 736 473 42 602 808 99 558 664 404 510 426 CY 9 530 654 5 208 307 2 067 221 1 474 246 18 280 429 DE 235 588 057 25 872 235 20 096 549 6 330 891 287 887 731 DK 26 046 915 18 590 881 11 905 900 4 183 878 60 727 573 ES 18 561 582 164 052 94 073 366 139 691 713 137 387 200 953 334 892 FR 136 557 869 59 554 263 29 641 236 14 112 065 239 865 433 GR 405 763 269 682 804 48 819 773 27 215 212 32 985 751 379 109 303 HU 234 090 677 148 002 282 382 092 959 IT 1 364 264 765 795 904 104 439 114 200 203 209 71 544 857 1 143 347 348 LT 18 276 608 17 935 424 1 903 952 38 115 984 MT 4 505 949 786 777 2 541 006 756 998 8 590 730 NL 10 583 063 10 583 063 PL 597 590 917 385 580 897 187 427 206 1 170 599 020 PT 18 342 924 5 553 460 4 365 266 2 777 867 31 039 518 RO 798 629 707 79 633 176 132 032 601 247 328 834 1 257 624 319 SK 21 761 919 8 198 579 29 960 498 UK 17 991 974 16 881 228 6 872 407 1 523 703 43 269 312 Total 2 082 633 3 985 152 478 1 045 923 138 809 271 405 621 868 906 6 464 298 560

Table 10b Payments effectively made between 01/01/2015 and 31/12/2015 EAFRD 2014-2020 - Budget item 05.046001 (in euro) MS Q4 2014 Q1 2015 Q2 2015 Q3 2015 Pre-financing Total AT 284 992 317 96 213 465 156 122 39 375 520 420 737 424 BE 12 409 662 45 217 237 3 328 948 12 955 955 73 911 803 BG 47 334 339 47 334 339 CY 3 967 331 3 967 331 CZ 184 302 819 3 319 045 46 113 480 233 735 344 DE 13 236 207 144 343 005 100 854 171 12 087 339 171 219 696 441 740 417 DK 1 025 347 678 813 6 294 007 7 998 168 EE 27 613 880 596 956 2 832 080 16 466 831 47 509 747 ES 3 134 546 9 616 116 207 434 721 220 185 382 FI 310 320 627 2 514 375 36 814 213 32 869 513 24 011 173 406 529 902 FR 129 178 250 216 183 789 227 696 885 573 058 924 GR 141 548 754 141 548 754 HR 54 069 633 265 601 40 524 450 94 859 683 HU 68 613 290 68 613 290 IE 292 954 816 34 180 723 54 764 804 381 900 343 IT 7 578 868 208 887 615 216 466 483 LT 28 493 708 9 135 426 785 089 32 261 765 70 675 988 LU 12 200 302 9 338 2 011 492 14 221 132 LV 49 756 283 1 853 434 1 729 447 21 512 076 74 851 240 MT 1 946 538 1 946 538 NL 25 547 376 1 428 281 645 996 12 146 107 39 767 761 PL 100 405 931 73 954 934 85 982 808 260 343 673 PT 109 223 113 13 813 538 60 197 270 43 362 393 47 698 857 274 295 171 RO 243 839 892 243 839 892 SE 140 428 835 294 808 34 911 305 175 634 948 SI 29 137 393 796 103 16 756 996 46 690 492 SK 56 705 005 4 501 672 460 674 30 905 457 92 572 808 UK 279 060 319 172 856 524 27 271 274 98 067 330 577 255 447 Total 818 178 194 810 425 550 1 280 043 247 398 295 956 1 945 249 474 5 252 192 422 Tables 11a and 11b compare, for each Member State, the EAFRD payments made in 2015 with the payments in 2014. The total payments for EAFRD 2007-2013 decreased by 41% (EUR 6.5 billion vs. 10.9 billion). At the same time the payments for EAFRD 2014-2020 increased significantly compared to year 2014 (EUR 5.3 billion vs. EUR 0.2 billion), which reflects the fact that in 2014 only 9 rural development programmes had been adopted. Table 11a Payments made to Member States - Comparison 2015 vs 2014 - EAFRD 2007-2013 (in €) MS 2014 2015 Difference 2015 vs. 2014 Interim payments Pre-financing Total Interim payments Pre-financing Total (in €) (in %) AT 244 873 999 0 244 873 999 0 0 0 -244 873 999 -100.00% BE 16 628 109 0 16 628 109 5 360 020 0 5 360 020 -11 268 088 -67.77% BG 393 750 627 0 393 750 627 404 510 426 0 404 510 426 10 759 799 2.73% CY 22 898 351 0 22 898 351 18 280 429 0 18 280 429 -4 617 922 -20.17% CZ 283 248 060 0 283 248 060 0 0 0 -283 248 060 -100.00% DE 917 307 316 0 917 307 316 287 887 731 0 287 887 731 -629 419 585 -68.62% DK 83 307 265 0 83 307 265 60 727 573 0 60 727 573 -22 579 691 -27.10% EE 62 135 652 0 62 135 652 0 0 0 -62 135 652 -100.00% ES 964 188 641 0 964 188 641 953 334 892 0 953 334 892 -10 853 749 -1.13% FI 56 934 909 0 56 934 909 0 0 0 -56 934 909 -100.00% FR 798 152 731 0 798 152 731 239 865 433 0 239 865 433 -558 287 298 -69.95% GR 549 164 613 0 549 164 613 379 109 303 0 379 109 303 -170 055 310 -30.97% HR 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 N/A HU 550 351 068 0 550 351 068 382 092 959 0 382 092 959 -168 258 109 -30.57% IE 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 N/A IT 1 204 033 199 0 1 204 033 199 1 143 347 348 0 1 143 347 348 -60 685 850 -5.04% LT 232 381 211 0 232 381 211 38 115 984 0 38 115 984 -194 265 227 -83.60% LU 1 287 916 0 1 287 916 0 0 0 -1 287 916 -100.00% LV 58 786 443 0 58 786 443 0 0 0 -58 786 443 -100.00% MT 11 410 988 0 11 410 988 8 590 730 0 8 590 730 -2 820 258 -24.72% NL 111 016 078 0 111 016 078 10 583 063 0 10 583 063 -100 433 015 -90.47% PL 1 700 773 103 0 1 700 773 103 1 170 599 020 0 1 170 599 020 -530 174 083 -31.17% PT 683 122 011 0 683 122 011 31 039 518 0 31 039 518 -652 082 493 -95.46% RO 822 842 472 0 822 842 472 1 257 624 319 0 1 257 624 319 434 781 847 52.84% SE 221 274 236 0 221 274 236 0 0 0 -221 274 236 -100.00% SI 118 091 451 0 118 091 451 0 0 0 -118 091 451 -100.00% SK 148 345 380 0 148 345 380 29 960 498 0 29 960 498 -118 384 881 -79.80% UK 691 044 486 0 691 044 486 43 269 312 0 43 269 312 -647 775 173 -93.74% Total 10 947 350 314 0 10 947 350 314 6 464 298 560 0 6 464 298 560 -4 483 051 754 -40.95% Table 11b Payments made to Member States - Comparison 2015 vs 2014 - EAFRD 2014-2020 (in €) MS 2014 2015 Difference 2015 vs. 2014 Interim payments Pre-financing Total Interim payments Pre-financing Total (in €) (in %) AT 0 39 375 520 39 375 520 381 361 904 39 375 520 420 737 424 381 361 904 968.53% BE 0 0 0 60 955 847 12 955 955 73 911 803 73 911 803 N/A BG 0 0 0 0 47 334 339 47 334 339 47 334 339 N/A CY 0 0 0 0 3 967 331 3 967 331 3 967 331 N/A CZ 0 0 0 187 621 864 46 113 480 233 735 344 233 735 344 N/A DE 0 15 994 705 15 994 705 270 520 722 171 219 696 441 740 417 425 745 712 2661.79% DK 0 6 294 007 6 294 007 1 704 161 6 294 007 7 998 168 1 704 161 27.08% EE 0 0 0 31 042 916 16 466 831 47 509 747 47 509 747 N/A ES 0 0 0 12 750 662 207 434 721 220 185 382 220 185 382 N/A FI 0 23 596 993 23 596 993 382 518 728 24 011 173 406 529 902 382 932 908 1622.80% FR 0 0 0 345 362 039 227 696 885 573 058 924 573 058 924 N/A GR 0 0 0 0 141 548 754 141 548 754 141 548 754 N/A HR 0 0 0 54 335 233 40 524 450 94 859 683 94 859 683 N/A HU 0 0 0 0 68 613 290 68 613 290 68 613 290 N/A IE 0 0 0 327 135 539 54 764 804 381 900 343 381 900 343 N/A IT 0 0 0 7 578 868 208 887 615 216 466 483 216 466 483 N/A LT 0 0 0 38 414 223 32 261 765 70 675 988 70 675 988 N/A LU 0 0 0 12 209 640 2 011 492 14 221 132 14 221 132 N/A LV 0 0 0 53 339 164 21 512 076 74 851 240 74 851 240 N/A MT 0 0 0 0 1 946 538 1 946 538 1 946 538 N/A NL 0 0 0 27 621 653 12 146 107 39 767 761 39 767 761 N/A PL 0 85 982 808 85 982 808 174 360 865 85 982 808 260 343 673 174 360 865 202.79% PT 0 53 745 852 53 745 852 226 596 314 47 698 857 274 295 171 220 549 318 410.36% RO 0 0 0 0 243 839 892 243 839 892 243 839 892 N/A SE 0 0 0 140 723 643 34 911 305 175 634 948 175 634 948 N/A SI 0 0 0 29 933 496 16 756 996 46 690 492 46 690 492 N/A SK 0 0 0 61 667 351 30 905 457 92 572 808 92 572 808 N/A UK 0 0 0 479 188 117 98 067 330 577 255 447 577 255 447 N/A Total 0 224 989 886 224 989 886 3 306 942 948 1 945 249 474 5 252 192 422 5 027 202 536 2234.41% 3.2.2. Technical assistance In the 2015 budget there were no longer payment appropriations for the technical assistance related to the programing period 2007-2013. However, the amount of EUR 0.2 million was carried over from 2014. For the programming period 2014-2020, the amount for payment appropriations for technical assistance was EUR 19.8 million. A part of these appropriations (EUR 8.8 million) was transferred to cover payment needs in relation to rural development programmes under Objective 1 and EAFRD 2007-2013. Table 12 hereafter presents the payments grouped by main activities. The most important part relates to the European Network for Rural Development. Table 12 Technical assistance – Implementation of payment appropriations Description Amount paid Budget Item: 05.040502 (in euro) Information technology 154 655 Total: 05.040502 154 655 Budget Item: 05.046002 (in euro) European Network for Rural Development 3 379 803 European Innovation Partnership 2 102 856 Information technology 1 701 673 European Evaluation Network 1 156 864 Events 295 482 Protection of EU symbols 150 000 Total: 05.0406002 8 786 679 Total technical assistance 8 941 334