on the mobilisation of the Flexibility Instrument to provide the financing for the European Fund for Sustainable Development

DECISION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL

EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM

Council Regulation (EU, EURATOM) No 1311/2013 of 2 December 2013 laying down the multiannual financial framework for the years 2014-2020 (hereafter "the MFF regulation"), allows for the mobilisation of the Flexibility Instrument to allow the financing of clearly identified expenditure which could not be financed within the limits of the ceilings available for one or more headings of the multiannual financial framework.

In accordance with Article 11 of the MFF regulation and point 12 of the Interinstitutional Agreement of 2 December 2013 between the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission on budgetary discipline, on cooperation in budgetary matters and on sound financial management, after having examined all possibilities for re-allocating appropriations and exhausted any unallocated margin under the expenditure heading Global Europe (heading 4), the Commission proposes to mobilise the Flexibility Instrument in 2017 for an amount of EUR 275 million.

The availability of the Flexibility Instrument is as follows: an annual amount available of EUR 600 million (2011 prices) corresponding to EUR 676 million in current prices increased by lapsed amounts from the European Union Solidarity Fund and the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (the amount lapsing at the end of 2016 was EUR 646 million). Taking into account the mobilisation of EUR 530 million in the context of the budget 2017 to finance immediate budgetary measures to address the on-going migration, refugee and security crisis, the overall availability of the Flexibility Instrument in 2017 is EUR 792 million.

This mobilisation concerns an amount of EUR 275 million over and above the ceiling of heading 4 of the multiannual financial framework, and is intended to finance the provisionning 2017 of the European Fund for Sustainable Development (EFSD).

The indicative payment appropriations corresponding to the proposed mobilisation of the Flexibility Instrument are presented in the table below:

(in million EUR, at current prices)

Year Payment appropriations related to the mobilisation of the flexibility instrument for measures for provisioning the EFSD in 2017 2017 275,0 Total 275,0

Proposal for a

DECISION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL

on the mobilisation of the Flexibility Instrument to provide the financing for the European Fund for Sustainable Development

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

Having regard to the Interinstitutional Agreement of 2 December 2013 between the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission on budgetary discipline, on cooperation in budgetary matters and on sound financial management, and in particular the third subparagraph of point 12 thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission,

Whereas:

(1)The Flexibility Instrument is intended to allow the financing of clearly identified expenditure which could not be financed within the limits of the ceilings available for one or more other headings.

(2)The ceiling on the annual amount available for the Flexibility Instrument is EUR 600 000 000 (2011 prices), as laid down in Article 11 of Council Regulation (EU, EURATOM) No 1311/2013.

(3)In order to address the ongoing challenges of migration, refugee inflows and security threats, it is necessary to mobilise significant additional amounts to finance appropriate measures as a matter of urgency.