EN Official Journal of the European Union C 272/1

FINANCIAL ACTIVITY REPORT 2011

Section II — European Council and Council

2012/C 272/01

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. SUMMARY

2. INTRODUCTION

3. OBJECTIVES AND BUDGET FOR THE FINANCIAL YEAR 2011

3.1. The main administrative objectives

3.2. Establishment of the budget for the European Council and Council in 2011

3.2.1. General approach

3.2.2. Budget 2011

3.2.3. Budget 2011 and the Financial Perspectives of Heading 5 of the EU Budget

4. GLOBAL OVERVIEW OF BUDGET IMPLEMENTATION IN 2011

4.1. Activities and objectives in 2011

4.1.1. European Council and Council activities in 2011

4.1.2. Achievements of administrative objectives in 2011

4.2. Revenue

4.2.1. Revenue accrued in 2011

4.2.2. Revenue accrued before 2011

4.3. Expenditure in 2011

4.3.1. Overview of implementation of the budget in 2004-11

4.3.2. Implementation of the appropriations by category 2011

4.3.3. Modification of the budget in 2011

4.4. Appropriations carried over

4.4.1. Implementation of the carryover appropriations from 2010

4.4.2. Appropriations carried over from 2011 to 2012

4.5. Assigned revenue

4.5.1. Assigned revenue accrued before 2011

4.5.2. Assigned revenue accrued in 2011

1. SUMMARY

As in the previous year, 2011 was a year of fundamental changes for Section II of the EU budget. The creation of the European External Action Service (EEAS), as foreseen in the Treaty of Lisbon, reduced the expenditure foreseen for the functioning of the European Council and the Council.

The letter of amendment (12749/1/10) to the draft budget for the financial year 2011 for the European Council and Council reduced the resources of Section II by 411 establishment plan posts and EUR 79,7 million in terms of appropriations. These resources and related activities were transferred as the Council’s contribution to the establishment of the EEAS.

In 2011, the General Secretariat (GSC) continued the process of its administrative modernisation. In this context, the GSC transferred its Sickness Insurance Antenna to the PMO of the Commission. The project for the Europa Building passed from the consolidation phase to the actual construction work.

The European Council and Council budget 2011 was established at EUR 563,3 million. At the end of the financial year 2011 an amount of EUR 506,8 million was committed (corresponding to an implementation rate of 90 %).

The main reasons for the under-spending of EUR 56,4 million are:

— under-spending of the delegations’ travel envelopes (EUR 20,9 million),

— under-occupation of the establishment plan and lower salary costs (EUR 9,1 million),

— the lower need for organising meetings, technical installations and office equipment (EUR 6,8 million),

— the lower need for interpretation (EUR 6 million),

— non-activation of the reserve (EUR 6 million),

— fewer needs for other staff expenditure (e.g. contractual agents, seconded national experts, other outside services) (EUR 4,7 million),

— fewer needs in fitting-out works in the Council buildings (EUR 2,2 million).

The implementation of amounts carried over from 2010 to 2011 totalled EUR 40,2 million out of EUR 49,8 million. The objective remains to further increase the implementation of the carried over amounts.

The GSC’s revenue operations in 2011 amounted to EUR 128,6 million. From this amount EUR 117,5 million was recovered during the financial year while the rest will be recovered in 2012.

More than half (EUR 62,4 million, or 53 %) of these recovered revenues are related to the Community taxes, levies and dues which were collected from the GSC’s staff in 2011. An amount of EUR 54 million is related to different administrative operations of the GSC. This amount includes a transfer of EUR 18,6 million from the EEAS to the GSC, which are advance payments for the services that the GSC provided in 2011 to the EEAS. The remaining EUR 1,1 million relates to various contributions and repayments under community agreements.

The biggest source (72 %) in the assigned revenue in 2011 was the delegation’s travel expenses. Based on their declarations an amount of EUR 26,2 million was recovered as a result of the delegations’ under-spending in 2010.

The assigned revenue accrued before 2011 amounted to EUR 30,7 million. By the end of the financial year 98 % (EUR 30,2 million) had been used.

2. INTRODUCTION

This report is based, in conformity with Article 128 of the Financial Regulation, on the accounts for 2011, the findings in the annual activity reports of the Council’s authorising officers and the budget implementation information from the Council’s financial system.

The report responds also to the obligations of Article 122 of the Financial Regulation and Article 185 of the Implementing Rules providing an overview of budgetary and financial management in the Council in 2011.

Chapter 3 of this report presents a summary of the framework which was established for the financial year 2011. A global overview of the implementation of the budget appropriations available in 2011 is given in Chapter 4.

The implementation of the budget 2011 by budget line is presented in a table in the Annex.

3. OBJECTIVES AND BUDGET FOR THE FINANCIAL YEAR 2011

3.1. The main administrative objectives

The main administrative objectives of the General Secretariat of the Council (GSC hereafter) for 2011 were:

— To ensure continuous support to the European Council and Council.

— To proceed further with the process of administrative modernisation. The GSC has established an ambitious programme to reinforce the quality of its organisation. Various initiatives have or will have a budgetary impact (in terms of both investment costs and economies resulting from increased efficiency).

— To adapt its organisation after the departure of 12 % of its staff to the European External Action Service (EEAS) and provide assistance to the new institution in various domains during the transitory period in 2011.

— Continuation of the construction of the Europa Building, which should be ready by 2014.

3.2. Establishment of the budget for the European Council and Council in 2011

3.2.1. General approach

The establishment of the budget 2011 for the European Council and Council (ECC hereafter) was based on two separate procedures in 2010:

(1) the draft budget 2011 in May; and

(2) an amending letter to the draft budget 2011 in September in view of the creation of the European External Action Service as a new EU institution on 1 January 2011.

Ad (1) The 2011 ECC budget was based on the objective of not increasing appropriations in real terms except for the preparation of the accession of Croatia. The GSC has not introduced requests for new staff, except for of the cabinet of the President of the European Council. This approach implied that new initiatives or need for additional resources would have to be covered by reductions in other areas.

Ad (2) Transfer of resources to the European External Action Service. The Treaty of the European Union provides the creation of the European External Action Service (EEAS hereafter). The establishment of the EEAS budget was set by the Amending Letter No 1 to the draft general budget 2011.

The amending letter transferred resources from the Commission and the Council to EEAS with additional new staff and financial resources. For the Council this implied a transfer of 411 establishment plan posts and EUR 79,7 million to the EEAS.

This amount was composed of the following elements:

— staff related expenditure: EUR 45,9 million,

— buildings, equipment and operating expenditure: EUR 6,0 million,

— CSDP/CFSP related expenditure: EUR 27,8 million.

3.2.2. Budget 2011

The budget authority established the overall ECC budget 2011 at EUR 563,3 million.

The difference of EUR 70,3 million (– 11 %) compared to the 2010 budget breaks down as follows:

— transfer of resources to the EEAS, EUR 79,7 million,

— a nominal increase of EUR 8,9 million (1),

— increase of EUR 2,1 million related to the preparation of the enlargement of Croatia,

— a reduction in the budget in real terms of EUR 1,6 million.

The establishment plan 2011 of the ECC was increased by 12 posts. The President’s Private Office was reinforced by 11 posts. In addition to this, the Commission transferred 1 post back to the ECC after the OIB decided that it would no longer be in charge of the management of the Council crèche.

Table 1 gives an overview of how the budget 2011 was established by category. Without the impact of the transfer of resources to the EEAS and the supplementary appropriation related to the preparation of the accession of Croatia the nominal increase for the ECC budget was 1,1 % from 2010 to 2011. Given the estimated inflation for 2011 the ECC budget was actually reduced in real terms by 0,6 %.

Table 1

ECC budget 2011 compared to 2010 (by category)

(EUR) Category Budget 2010 Budget 2011 before transfers to EEAS/preparation enlarg. (Cro) Transfers to EEAS Preparation of enlargement (Cro) Budget 2011 after transfers to EEAS/preparation enlarg. (Cro) Difference, % (without EEAS/enlarg. Cro) Difference, % (with EEAS/enlarg. Cro) 1 2 3 4 5 = 2 + 3 + 4 6 = 2/1 7 = 5/1 Establishment plan 323 970 000 331 107 326 –42 805 000 0 288 302 326 2,2 –11,0 Other staff expenditure 23 512 000 26 293 301 –3 107 000 1 400 000 24 586 301 11,8 4,6 Buildings 39 917 000 42 365 000 –4 110 000 0 38 255 000 6,1 –4,2 Computer systems 35 517 000 36 675 000 – 893 000 0 35 782 000 3,3 0,7 Interpreting costs 92 740 000 94 722 973 0 0 94 722 973 2,1 2,1 Delegations’ travel expenses 36 792 000 33 675 000 0 0 33 675 000 –8,5 –8,5 Official Journal 5 115 000 4 618 000 0 575 000 5 193 000 –9,7 1,5 Ttitle III 35 939 000 30 313 000 –27 777 000 0 2 536 000 –15,7 –92,9 Reflexion Group 533 000 — 0 0 — – 100,0 – 100,0 Miscellaneous 18 517 000 20 051 000 – 958 000 117 000 19 210 000 8,3 3,7 Reserve 6 000 000 6 000 000 0 0 6 000 000 0,0 0,0 Total (excl. acquisition) 618 552 000 625 820 600 –79 650 000 548 262 600 1,2 –11,4 Acquisition of immovable property 15 000 000 15 000 000 0 0 15 000 000 — 0,0 Grand total 633 552 000 640 820 600 –79 650 000 2 092 000 563 262 600 1,1 –11,1

3.2.3. Budget 2011 and the Financial Perspectives of Heading 5 of the EU Budget

Table 2 gives an overview of the evolution of the former Council and present ECC budget in 2006-11. In 2006 the development of the Council budget followed the development of Heading 5 of the financial perspectives.

Table 2

Evolution of Section II of the EU budget (European Council and Council) under Heading 5 of the Financial Perspectives in 2006-11

2006 2007 2008 2009 (2) 2010 2011 m EUR change m EUR change m EUR change m EUR change m EUR change m EUR change Heading 5 6 708 5,5 % 7 115 6,1 % 7 457 4,8 % 7 603 2,0 % 7 962 4,7 % 8 226 3,3 % ECC / Council budget 592 5,2 % 594 0,3 % 595 0,2 % 603 1,3 % 634 5,1 % 563 –11,2 % Share in Heading 5 8,8 % –1,1 % 8,3 % –5,7 % 8,0 % –3,6 % 7,9 % –1,3 % 8,0 % 1,3 % 6,8 % –15,0 %

As a result of prudent budget management, reductions in the Council’s share were gradually achieved in 2007, 2008, 2009 and also in 2010, when the additional amounts related to the entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon could be budgeted without increasing the share of Section II of the EU budget. In 2011, the reduction in the share is mainly due to the transfer of resources to the EEAS.

4. GLOBAL OVERVIEW OF BUDGET IMPLEMENTATION IN 2011

4.1. Activities and objectives in 2011

4.1.1. European Council and Council activities in 2011

In the framework of the financial activity report, the GSC provides information on its core activities, which describe the functioning of the Council and European Council during the financial year.

Table 3 gives an overview of the development of the number of meetings organised by the GSC for the European Council and Council in 2003-11. In addition to the 4 599‘institutional’ meetings, the GSC has organised a further 2 075 internal meetings, training sessions, seminars, information sessions and briefings and meetings with third countries.

Table 3

Development of the number of meetings in 2003-11

Institutional meetings 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 Summits (3) 6 5 3 3 3 5 7 7 9 Councils 77 76 80 76 68 81 74 78 82 Coreper 134 128 123 120 106 144 130 122 135 Working groups 4 333 3 971 3 918 4 037 4 183 4 480 4 272 4 127 4 373 Total 4 550 4 180 4 124 4 236 4 360 4 710 4 483 4 334 4 599 Other meetings 2 209 2 392 2 791 2 713 1 735 2 051 2 021 1 996 2 075 Grand total 6 759 6 572 6 915 6 949 6 095 6 761 6 504 6 330 6 674

Another quantitative indicator of activities is the legal acts published in the Official Journal (OJ) (Table 4). In 2011, 986 legal acts were published in the OJ. It should be noted that the volume of the legal acts depends on the finalisation of the legislative process before the acts can be elaborated into final texts for publishing in the OJ.

Table 4

Development of the number of legal acts in 2003-11

2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 Legal acts published in the OJ 1 045 1 118 1 056 1 317 1 000 1 274 829 825 986

4.1.2. Achievements of administrative objectives in 2011

Achievement of the objectives established for the budget year 2011 may be summarised as follows:

— support for the President of the European Council and Council In 2011, the President’s Private Office was reinforced by 11 officials with an objective to provide more support for the President of the European Council.

— Consolidation of the organisation The ECC establishment plan was reduced by 411 posts due to the transfer of resources to the EEAS. During the year, the GSC recruited 179 officials (150 permanent officials and 29 temporary agents) whereas 132 officials and 29 temporary agents left the Council. As a result the net occupancy in the ECC’s establishment plan increased by 18 posts.

— Administrative modernisation In order to fill short-term gaps in staffing (e.g. long-term illnesses, maternity leave, etc.) the GSC increased considerably the provision for compensatory recruitment. This provision provided the GSC the possibility to recruit a maximum of 55 contractual agents in 2011. As a response to the need to find synergies and efficiency gains between the institutions, the GSC and the PMO of the Commission agreed to transfer the activities of the GSC Sickness Insurance Antenna to the PMO from 1 August 2011. As a result, the ECC establishment plan can be reduced by 9 posts, and replaced by contractual agents in the PMO. The modification of resources has been included in the 2012 budget.

— Adaptation to the consequences of the creation of the European External Action Service (EEAS) The creation of the EEAS implied the transfer of 411 establishment plan posts and EUR 79,7 million from the ECC budget to the EEAS. In addition, the GSC was committed to a successful launch of the EEAS. The main means by which the GSC provided support to the EEAS was via Service Level Agreements (SLA). There were two types of SLAs. Temporary SLAs covered the services that the EEAS was not able to provide in 2011 (specific IT support, security, conference services/protocol activities, medical service, crèche and the management of certain contracts related to the buildings transferred to the EEAS). The EEAS has transferred the necessary resources to the GSC (totalling EUR 18,6 million) after which the GSC was in a position to continue with the envisaged activities. Structural SLAs covered services that the EEAS was not intending to develop itself, like the translation of documents. This service was rendered without a charge as long as it stayed below the agreed volume.

— Building Policy The project to renovate the Résidence Palace and convert it into the seat of the European Council and the Council of Ministers (Europa Building) is at the stage where the consolidation works have been completed. The actual construction work started in September 2011.

4.2. Revenue

Table 5 gives an overview of the global outcome of revenue operations in 2011. The total volume of revenue operations in terms of established rights, i.e. issued recovery orders, was EUR 28 million more than in 2010. From this amount EUR 26,3 million relates to the revenue accruing from the administrative operations of the institution including a transfer of EUR 18,6 million from the EEAS to the Council. This amount financed the services the GSC provided to the EEAS in 2011.

The rest of the increase, EUR 1,7 million, is explained by a higher amount collected as miscellaneous community taxes, levies and dues.

Table 5

Overview of revenue in 2011 (by title)

(EUR) Title Established rights Recovered revenues To be recovered 4 Miscellaneous Community taxes, levies and dues 64 420 112 62 442 076 1 978 036 5 Revenue accruing from the administrative operation etc. 63 046 909 54 213 552 8 833 357 6 Contributions and repayments under community agreements etc. 1 116 411 1 107 086 9 324 9 Miscellaneous revenue 2 767 800 1 966 Total 128 586 198 117 763 515 10 822 683

The established rights (either carried over from 2010 or created in 2011) amounted to EUR 128,6 million. Of this amount EUR 117,8 million (91 %) was recovered during the budget year whereas EUR 10,8 million (9 %) will be recovered in 2012.

4.2.1. Revenue accrued in 2011

The initial revenue estimate for 2011 was EUR 49 million (Table 6). During the budget year an amount of EUR 121 million was recorded as established rights, of which EUR 111,1 million was recovered. The amount of EUR 9,9 million will be collected in 2012.

Table 6

Revenue accrued during 2011 (by article)

(EUR) Article Initial revenue estimate Established rights Recovered revenues To be recovered 400 Proceeds from taxation on the salaries, etc. 22 212 000 20 760 594 20 760 594 404 Proceeds from the special levy on salaries 2 258 000 3 604 895 3 604 895 410 Staff contribution to the pension scheme 24 527 000 25 773 464 25 773 464 411 Transfer of purchase of pension rights by staff 12 217 591 10 488 652 1 728 939 500 Proceeds from the sale of movable property 55 494 55 494 511 Proceeds from letting and subletting immovable property 454 729 403 754 50 975 520 Revenue from investments, bank and other interests 207 716 207 716 550 Revenue from the supply of services and work etc. 308 744 179 229 129 515 550 EEAS Revenue from the supply of services and work etc. 18 620 445 18 617 656 2 789 551 Revenue from third parties in respect of services or work etc. 15 428 13 442 1 986 570 Revenue arising from the repayment of amounts etc. 34 830 616 27 253 577 7 577 039 571 Revenue earmarked for a specific purpose, etc. 541 541 573 Other contributions and refunds in connection with administrat. 2 720 887 2 649 691 71 196 580 Miscellaneous compensation 304 495 19 295 285 200 631 Contributions within the framework of the Schengen acquis 1 116 411 1 107 086 9 324 900 Miscellaneous revenue 1 334 800 534 Total 48 997 000 120 993 384 111 080 394 9 912 990

The positive difference between the initial estimate and the established rights (EUR 72 million) is mainly the result of:

— recovery of parts of the amounts paid to Member States in previous years for delegates’ travel expenses following their declarations for 2010 (EUR 29,3 million) (Article 570),

— the transfer from the EEAS to the Council as advance payments for the services rendered by the GSC to the EEAS (EUR 18,6 million) (Article 550),

— the transfer of pension rights (of 236 members of staff) (EUR 12,2 million) (Article 411),

— recovery of payments by Member States for supplementary on-request interpretation into certain languages (EUR 3,9 million) (Article 570),

— contributions by other institutions and payments by Council officials for the Council crèche (EUR 1,9 million) (Article 573),

— staff contribution to the pension scheme (EUR 1,5 million) (Article 411),

— payments by the Court of Justice and the Court of Auditors as contribution to finance the common financial system with the Council (EUR 1,1 million) (Article 570),

— contributions to the administrative costs arising within the framework of the Schengen acquis with Iceland and Norway (EUR 1,1 million) (Article 631).

4.2.2. Revenue accrued before 2011

In respect of outstanding recovery orders, an amount of EUR 7,6 million was carried over for recovery from 2010 to 2011. The amount carried over was 14 % higher than the year before. The increase is mainly related to the growing number of transfers of pension rights to the EU pension scheme.

As shown in Table 7, EUR 6,7 million (88 %) of the outstanding amount was recovered in 2011 while EUR 0,9 million was carried over to 2012.

Table 7

Revenue accrued before 2011 (by article)

(EUR) Article Established rights prior 2011 Recovered revenues To be recovered 410 Staff contribution to the pension scheme 2 291 2 291 411 Transfer of purchase of pension rights by staff 2 061 277 1 814 472 246 805 511 Proceeds from letting and subletting immovable property 248 646 248 646 520 Revenue from investments, bank and other interests 161 161 550 Revenue from the supply of services and work etc. 19 948 9 948 10 000 551 Revenue from third parties in respect of services or work etc. 7 304 4 243 3 061 570 Revenue arising from the repayment of amounts etc. 4 901 568 4 334 822 566 746 573 Other contributions and refunds in connection with administrat. 349 796 270 990 78 806 580 Miscellaneous compensation 390 390 900 Miscellaneous revenue 1 433 1 433 Total 7 592 814 6 683 121 909 693

The recovery of revenue accrued before 2011 comes mainly from the following sources:

— EUR 1,8 million related to the transfer of pension rights (Article 411),

— EUR 4,1 million from the underconsumption of travel envelopes of the Member States in 2009 (part of Article 570).

4.3. Expenditure in 2011

4.3.1. Overview of implementation of the budget in 2004-11

The global implementation rate of the Council/ECC budget has been on average 96 % over the past eight years (Graph 1). In 2009, the Council budget was reduced by amending budget No 10/2009 to the EU budget by EUR 40 million. The amount was transferred as the Council’s contribution to the European Economic Recovery Plan (EERP).

As can be seen in Graph 1, the payments during the financial year have increased in recent years whereas the overall amounts carried over to the following financial year have diminished. The reduction of the budget in 2011 is a result of transfer of resources from the Council to the EEAS.

Graph 1

Global budget implementation 2004-11

The appropriations carried over break down into two major categories: functioning and buildings. The first is related to obligations duly contracted before the end of the budget year but where the goods have not been delivered yet and/or for which no invoices were received before the end of the year.

The second category refers to the GSC’s acquisition of buildings such as LEX, the crèche and the Europa Building. In the last few years, the GSC has been able to use the savings made during the budget implementation to finance these acquisitions. This in turn has significantly reduced the overall cost of the building projects, especially in terms of interest payments.

In 2011, two payments were made for the acquisition of the Europa Building: the first in February of EUR 15 million and the second in December of EUR 10 million.

4.3.2. Implementation of the appropriations by category 2011

The analysis of expenditure in 2011 is presented at a level of the 11 most significant 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 during the budget year 2011.

Table 8

Overview of the implementation of the 2011 budget (by category)

(EUR) Category Budget 2011 (initial) Budget 2011 (4) (final) Commitments Outturn rate Cancelled appropriations 1 2 3 4 = 3/2 5 = 2-3 Establishment plan 288 302 326 288 302 326 279 213 034 96,8 % 9 089 292 Other staff expenditure 24 586 301 24 961 301 20 292 631 81,3 % 4 668 670 Buildings 38 255 000 35 755 000 33 538 759 93,8 % 2 216 241 Computer systems 35 782 000 35 782 000 35 716 743 99,8 % 65 257 Interpreting costs 94 722 973 77 838 967 71 789 816 92,2 % 6 049 151 Delegations’ travel expenses 33 675 000 42 352 006 21 482 591 50,7 % 20 869 415 Official Journal 5 193 000 5 193 000 4 618 000 88,9 % 575 000 Title III 2 536 000 2 536 000 2 481 969 97,9 % 54 031 Miscellaneous 19 210 000 19 542 000 12 708 459 65,0 % 6 833 541 Reserve 6 000 000 6 000 000 6 000 000 Total (excl. acquisition) 548 262 600 538 262 600 481 842 003 89,5 % 56 420 597 Acquisition of immovable property 15 000 000 25 000 000 25 000 000 100,0 % Grand total 563 262 600 563 262 600 506 842 003 90,0 % 56 420 597

The global implementation rate for 2011, including the advance payments for the Europa Building, is 90 %.

The difference between the initial budget estimates and implementation can be explained as follows:

— Due to the low occupation rate of posts in the establishment plan (on average 92 % (5) an amount of EUR 7,3 million was not spent.

— The amount budgeted for the adjustment of remuneration in 2011 was based on an estimate of 1,3 %, corresponding to EUR 1,8 million. This amount was not used since the Council decided on 19 December 2011 not to adopt the Commission’s proposal for a Council Regulation adjusting with effect from 1 July 2011 the remuneration and pension of the officials and other servants of the Union.

— In the category of other staff expenditure EUR 2,5 million of the global saving of EUR 4,7 million relates to fewer payments for contractual agents, seconded national experts and other outside services. From this amount EUR 1 million corresponds to the supplementary appropriation provided for the preparation of the accession of Croatia. Since the planned date for the accession was transferred to later in 2013, the GSC used only EUR 0,35 million from the original supplement of EUR 1,35 million foreseen for this purpose in 2011. As for other savings, EUR 1,9 million relates to mission costs, whereas reduced needs for social and medical services account for EUR 0,1 million.

— The global implementation of the building related expenditure (in Title II, without the Europa Building) resulted in a saving of EUR 2,2 million. From this amount EUR 1,2 million is related to the rescheduling of certain fitting-out and installation works to 2012. Smaller need for repairs accounts for EUR 0,4 million while lower payments on surveillance and prevention make up a saving of EUR 0,3 million.

— Under-spending of EUR 22,9 million in interpretation results from: — under-use of ‘on-request’ envelopes by language, totalling EUR 18,4 million, — a saving of EUR 4,5 million in general interpretation.

— The amount available for delegations’ travel expenses after transfers amounted to EUR 45,8 million. The initial budget was EUR 33,7 million to which EUR 12,1 million was transferred from the savings on the on-request interpreting envelopes (6). During the year EUR 3,4 million was transferred to finance supplementary interpretation in certain languages. Since the Member States had to reimburse unused amounts from previous years, only EUR 21,5 million out of the final budget of EUR 42,4 million was committed for subsequent payments in the 2011 budget.

— The implementation of the appropriations for the Official Journal was 100 %. The cancelled amount EUR 0,575 million shown in Table 8 corresponds to the supplementary appropriation for the translation of the acquis communautaire into the Croatian language. Due to the postponement of the planned accession date it was not necessary to begin with this work and therefore the supplementary amount was not used.

— In the category miscellaneous, the relatively low implementation rate is explained by the following factors: — reduced financial need in organising meetings including protocol, conference and catering costs (EUR 2,7 million), — postponement of certain technical installations such as multimedia equipment in the conference rooms (EUR 2,1 million), — lower need for furniture and office supplies (EUR 0,5 million and EUR 0,4 million respectively), — reduced need for communication and transport (both EUR 0,3 million).

— The overall under-spending of the budget made it possible to reallocate EUR 10 million in addition to the EUR 15 million earmarked in the budget for advance payments for the Europa Building.

4.3.3. Modification of the budget in 2011

During the financial year 2011, the appropriations were reallocated by different transfers. Table 9 shows the decisions which modified the budget appropriations in 2008-11.

Table 9

Budget modifications in 2008-11

Modification Number Type Legal basis 2008 2009 2010 2011 Amending budget FR Article 29 0 1 0 0 Transfer B FR Article 22 72 46 47 23 Transfer C FR Article 22 3 2 2 2 Transfer D FR Article 24 1 0 0 0 Total 76 49 49 25

The C-transfers, which involve informing the budget authority (in accordance with Article 22 of the Financial Regulation), were made to reinforce the following subjects:

— C1-transfer on 20 July 2011: — produce audiovisual material on the European Council and Council meetings (EUR 0,25 million), — expenditure to assist persons with disabilities (EUR 0,125 million).

— C2-transfer on 18 November 2011: — advance payments for the Europa Building (EUR 7,5 million).

In 2011, the ECC budget was internally modified by 23 B-transfers based on Article 22(4) of the FR. Even though these transfers do not require prior notification of the budget authority, they have to be duly justified, both for the lines to which the appropriations are to be transferred and for those from which they are to be taken.

Table 10 gives an overview of the budget lines which were significantly (7) modified in 2011 by different transfers.

Table 10

Budget lines which were subject to significant transfers in 2011

(EUR) Item/ Article Heading Transfer type Initial Budget 2011 Transfers Final appropriations Difference 2002 Acquisition of immovable property B,C 15 000 000 10 000 000 25 000 000 67 % 2003 Fitting-out of premises B 4 860 000 –2 160 000 2 700 000 –44 % 2004 Work to make premises secure B 1 260 000 – 375 000 885 000 –30 % 2100 Acquisition of equipment and software B 7 969 000 3 214 400 11 183 400 40 % 2101 Outside assistance for computer systems B 19 038 000 –1 740 200 17 297 800 –9 % 2102 Servicing, maintenance of equipment/SW B 4 551 000 – 938 200 3 612 800 –21 % 2103 Telecommunications B 4 224 000 – 536 000 3 688 000 –13 % 2200 Travel expenses of delegations B 33 675 000 8 677 006 42 352 006 26 % 2201 Miscellaneous travel expenses B 184 000 332 000 516 000 180 % 2202 Interpreting costs B,C 94 722 973 –16 884 006 77 838 967 –18 %

4.4. Appropriations carried over

4.4.1. Implementation of the carryover appropriations from 2010

As presented in Table 11, an amount of EUR 49,8 million was carried over from 2010 to 2011. Compared to 2010 the carried over amounts increased by EUR 8,7 million.

Table 11

Implementation of appropriations carried over from 2010 (by category)

(EUR) Category Appropriations carried over from 2010 Payments 2011 Outturn rate Cancelled appropriations 1 2 3 = 2/1 4 = 1-2 Establishment plan 458 005 385 018 84,1 % 72 987 Other staff expenditure 3 750 088 1 826 217 48,7 % 1 923 871 Buildings 10 083 292 7 854 565 77,9 % 2 228 728 Computer systems 13 650 299 12 335 572 90,4 % 1 314 727 Interpreting costs 6 082 706 5 365 682 88,2 % 717 024 Delegations’ travel expenses — — — Official Journal 2 411 962 929 792 38,5 % 1 482 170 Title III 8 449 665 7 471 502 88,4 % 978 163 Reflexion Group 68 310 — 0,0 % 68 310 Miscellaneous 4 807 312 4 000 012 83,2 % 807 300 Reserve — — — Total (excl. acquisition) 49 761 639 40 168 360 80,7 % 9 593 279 Acquisition of immovable property — — — Grand total 49 761 639 40 168 360 80,7 % 9 593 279

The implementation rate of the appropriations carried over from 2010 was 80,7 %.

The main reasons for the low implementation rate are:

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

— Invoices not received for works/goods/services delivered. It should be noted that this inevitably constitutes a budgetary burden for future years.

4.4.2. Appropriations carried over from 2011 to 2012

The appropriations carried over from 2011 to 2012 totalled EUR 41,5 million which is EUR 8,3 million less than the year before (Table 12).

Table 12

Implementation of appropriations carried over from 2011 to 2012 (by category)

(EUR) Category Budget 2011 (initial) Budget 2011 (8) (final) Commitments Appropriations carried over to 2012 Carry over rate 1 2 3 4 5 = 4/3 Establishment plan 288 302 326 288 302 326 279 213 034 318 160 0,1 % Other staff expenditure 24 586 301 24 961 301 20 292 631 3 233 722 15,9 % Buildings 38 255 000 35 755 000 33 538 759 8 092 005 24,1 % Computer systems 35 782 000 35 782 000 35 716 743 17 043 463 47,7 % Interpreting costs 94 722 973 77 838 967 71 789 816 5 599 875 7,8 % Delegations’ travel expenses 33 675 000 42 352 006 21 482 591 — 0,0 % Official Journal 5 193 000 5 193 000 4 618 000 2 348 791 50,9 % Title III 2 536 000 2 536 000 2 481 969 19 079 0,8 % Miscellaneous 19 210 000 19 542 000 12 708 459 4 839 960 38,1 % Reserve 6 000 000 6 000 000 — — Total (excl. acquisition) 548 262 600 538 262 600 481 842 003 41 495 055 8,6 % Acquisition of immovable property 15 000 000 25 000 000 25 000 000 — Grand total 563 262 600 563 262 600 506 842 003 41 495 055 8,2 %

The carried over amounts from 2011 to 2012 come mainly from following categories:

— computer systems by EUR 17 million, of which EUR 8 million related to outside assistance, EUR 6,8 million to equipment and software and EUR 1,4 million to telecommunications,

— buildings by EUR 8,1 million where cleaning and maintenance covers EUR 3,9 million, different fitting-out works EUR 1,6 million and security and surveillance EUR 1,3 million,

— interpreting costs by EUR 5,6 million,

— miscellaneous by EUR 4,8 million including EUR 1,7 million on technical equipment (e.g. refurbishment of conference rooms), information and publications EUR 1,0 million, meeting and conference costs EUR 0,9 million, and furniture EUR 0,4 million,

— other staff expenditure by EUR 3,2 million,

— Official Journal by EUR 2,3 million.

4.5. Assigned revenue

4.5.1. Assigned revenue accrued before 2011

The amount of assigned revenue accrued before 2011 totalled EUR 30,8 million. From this amount EUR 30,2 million was committed, while EUR 0,6 million is carried over to 2012 (Table 13). The available amount at the end of the financial year 2011 continued to decrease and was 66 % (EUR 1,2 million) lower than in 2010. Despite the positive development in the use of assigned revenue from before 2011 it should in principle be zero at the end of the budget year (FR Article 10).

Table 13

Implementation of assigned revenue accrued before 2011 (by category)

(EUR) Category Assigned revenues before 2011 Commitments Available assigned revenues 1 2 3 = 1-2 Establishment plan 1 230 778 1 207 489 23 289 Other staff expenditure 2 084 023 1 813 502 270 520 Buildings 882 557 830 603 51 953 Computer systems 1 476 245 1 425 515 50 730 Interpreting costs 2 227 077 2 064 013 163 064 Delegations’ travel expenses 21 201 708 21 201 708 — Official Journal 250 228 250 033 195 Title III 487 378 487 100 278 Miscellaneous 911 102 881 099 30 002 Reserve — — — Total 30 751 094 30 161 062 590 032

The amounts available at the end of 2011 concern mainly:

— other staff expenditure related to the supplementary services for the translation service (EUR 0,25 million),

— interpreting costs (EUR 0,163 million).

4.5.2. Assigned revenue accrued in 2011

Assigned revenue accrued in 2011 totalled EUR 55,1 million (Table 14). From this, EUR 18,6 million relates to amounts transferred by the EEAS to the Council to cover the expenses of the services defined in different SLAs between the two institutions and rendered by the GSC.

The assigned revenue 2011 related to the activities of the GSC amounted to EUR 36,5 million. During the financial year EUR 1 million was used while an amount of EUR 35,4 million was carried over to 2012 in accordance with Article 10 of the FR.

Table 14

Implementation of assigned revenue accrued in 2011 (by category)

(EUR) Category Assigned revenues 2011 Commitments Available assigned revenues 1 2 3 = 1-2 Establishment plan 1 332 031 709 1 331 322 Other staff expenditure 2 078 505 10 015 2 068 491 Buildings 877 577 303 067 574 510 Computer systems 1 327 928 151 087 1 176 841 Interpreting costs 3 685 253 — 3 685 253 Delegations’ travel expenses 26 215 122 — 26 215 122 Official Journal 194 701 193 788 913 Title III — — — Miscellaneous 753 946 390 023 363 923 Reserve — — — Total ECC 36 465 063 1 048 689 35 416 374 SLAs with EEAS 18 613 361 17 252 415 1 360 946 Grand total 55 078 424 18 301 104 36 777 320

The most significant part (72 %) of assigned revenue is related to the delegations’ travel expenses (EUR 26,6 million). The amount of EUR 3,7 million in interpretation comes from the top-up payments on certain languages.

The remainder is mainly related to reimbursement of amounts by other institutions on various activities and systems, such as participation to the common financial system with the Council, contribution to occupied places in the Council crèche and other contributions and refunds connected with the administrative operations of the Council.

(1) Inflation in 2010-11: 1,7 %, adjustment of remuneration and envelopes for interpretation 0,9 %.

(2) The final budget after the reduction of EUR 40 million for the European Economic Recovery Plan in December 2009 was EUR 563 million.

(3) Seven European Councils and two summits with the Heads of State and Governments of the euro area in 2011.

(4) Includes internal reallocations of appropriations.

(5) In 2010, the average occupation rate was also 92 %. A flat rate reduction of 7 % was applied to the relevant appropriations in both years.

(6) In conformity with Decision 111/07, the GSC transfers 66 % of the unused amounts to the delegates’ travel envelopes to be used during the same budget year. In 2011, this corresponded to an amount of EUR 12,1 million.

(7) Net amount > EUR 250 000.

(8) Includes internal reallocations of appropriations.