FINANCIAL ACTIVITY REPORT 2017

Section II — European Council and Council

(2018/C 304/01)

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. INTRODUCTION 2

2. OBJECTIVES AND BUDGET FOR THE FINANCIAL YEAR 2017 2

2.1. Main financial objectives 2

2.2. Establishment of the budget for the European Council and Council in 2017 2

2.2.1. General approach 2

2.2.2. Budget 2017 3

2.2.3. Budget 2017 and the Financial Perspectives of Heading 5 of the EU Budget 3

3. GLOBAL OVERVIEW OF BUDGET IMPLEMENTATION IN 2017 5

3.1. Activities and objectives of the European Council and Council in 2017 5

3.1.1. Meetings 5

3.1.2. Legislative activities 6

3.1.3. Administrative modernisation 6

3.1.4. Achievement of objectives in 2017 6

3.2. Revenue 7

3.3. Expenditure in 2017 9

3.3.1. Modification of the budget in 2017 9

3.3.2. Overview of implementation of the budget in 2010-2017 10

3.3.3. Implementation of the appropriations by category in 2017 11

3.4. Appropriations carried over 13

3.4.1. Appropriations carried over automatically from 2016 to 2017 13

3.4.2. Appropriations carried over from 2017 to 2018 14

3.4.3. Appropriations carried over by decision from 2016 to 2017 16

3.4.4. Appropriations carried over by decision from 2015 to 2016 carried over for payment to 2017 16

3.5. Assigned revenue 16

3.5.1. Assigned revenue accrued before 2017 16

3.5.2. Assigned revenue accrued before 2017 carried over to 2018 for payment 17

3.5.3. Assigned revenue accrued in 2017 18

1. INTRODUCTION

In conformity with Article 142 of the Financial Regulation (FR) (1) 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 2017.

The report is based on the provisional accounts for 2017, 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 2017. A global overview of the implementation of the budget appropriations available in 2017 is given in Chapter 3.

The implementation of the budget 2017 by budget line is presented in Annex.

2. OBJECTIVES AND BUDGET FOR THE FINANCIAL YEAR 2017

2.1. Main financial objectives

The main financial objectives of the General Secretariat of the Council for 2017 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 to reinforce the quality of its organisation and proper use of resources.

— To settle the final cost of the Europa Building with the Belgian government.

2.2. Establishment of the budget for the European Council and Council in 2017

2.2.1. General approach

The establishment of the budget 2017 for the European Council and Council (EC/C hereafter) was based on the general objective not to exceed, in nominal terms, the overall level of the 2016 budget for non-salary-related expenditure.

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

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

— reducing the number of posts in the establishment plan by 15 in line with the Commission’s proposal to reduce the staff level by 5 % over five years (fifth and final year),

— transforming 65 AST (10 AST 3, 40 AST 2, 15 AST 1) posts into 65 SC posts (15 SC 3, 15 SC 2 and 35 SC 1) as part of the continuation of the administrative modernisation,

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

2.2.2. Budget 2017

The budget authority established the overall EC/C budget 2017 at EUR 561,6 million. This corresponds to an increase of EUR 16,5 million (+3,0 %) compared to 2016.

The number of posts in the establishment plan for 2017 for the EC/C was 3 027.

Table 1 gives an overview on the budget 2017 by different categories.

Table 1

EC/C budget 2017 compared to 2016 (by category)

(EUR) Category Budget 2016 Budget 2017 Change 2017/2016 1 2 3=2/1 Establishment plan 299 452 000 315 446 000 5,3 % Other staff expenditure 23 850 000 24 878 000 4,3 % Buildings (excluding acquisitions) 54 768 000 57 789 000 5,5 % Computer systems 40 300 000 42 800 000 6,2 % Furniture 1 016 000 942 000 -7,3 % Technical equipment 4 034 000 3 659 000 -9,3 % Transport 854 000 1 048 000 22,7 % Delegations' travel expenses 17 802 000 17 802 000 0,0 % Interpreting costs 82 739 000 79 816 000 -3,5 % Meetings and conferences 6 483 000 4 984 000 -23,1 % Information 8 251 000 8 285 000 0,4 % Miscellaneous 2 505 000 2 127 000 -15,1 % Reserve 2 000 000 2 000 000 0,0 % Total (excl. acquisition) 544 054 000 561 576 000 3,2 % Acquisition of immovable property 1 000 000 — Grand total 545 054 000 561 576 000 3,0 %

2.2.3. Budget 2017 and the Financial Perspectives of Heading 5 of the EU Budget

Table 2 gives an overview on the evolution of the EC/C budget in 2010-2017. The EC/C share in the Heading 5 of the Multiannual Financial Perspectives has declined from 8,0 % in 2010 to 5,7 % in 2017.

Table 2

Evolution of the Section II of the EU budget (European Council and Council) under Heading 5 of the Financial Perspectives in 2010-2017

(Amounts at current prices) 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 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 % 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 % EC/C share in Heading 5 8,0 % 6,9 % 6,2 % 5,8 % 6,4 % 6,3 % 5,7 % 5,7 %

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 2017

3.1. Activities and objectives of the European Council and Council in 2017

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. It 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 2017.

In 2017, in addition to the 4 290‘institutional’ meetings, the GSC organised 3 030 other meetings (e.g. seminars, information sessions and briefings, and meetings with third countries).

Table 3

Development of the number of meetings in 2010-2017

2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 Summits 7 9 7 6 9 12 9 11 Summits art. 50 4 Councils 86 85 77 74 81 81 75 77 Coreper 122 135 140 140 135 138 109 105 Coreper art. 50 22 Working groups 4 127 4 373 4 480 4 164 4 016 3 471 3 569 4 039 Ad hoc Working group art. 50 32 Total 4 342 4 602 4 704 4 384 4 241 3 702 3 762 4 290 Other meetings 1 996 2 075 2 189 2 027 2 189 2 271 2 034 3 030 Grand total 6 338 6 677 6 893 6 411 6 430 5 973 5 796 7 320

The year 2017 has been marked by a continuous work to consolidate positive developments after previous years’ crises. One visible result of this has been the Leaders’ Agenda which was presented by President Tusk and endorsed in the October European Council.

The total number of meetings organised by the GSC went up by 26 % (1 524) compared to 2016. It is explained mainly by the increased activity of the presidency of the second semester and the creation of an ad hoc working group on Brexit.

Moreover, on 5 April 2017 the GSC hosted the conference on ‘Supporting the future of Syria and the Region’. It brought together 54 countries and 26 international organisations to discuss the situation in Syria and the impact of the crisis in the region. The organisation of the event, which required significant security and logistic resources as well as an important diplomatic effort, was done together with the European Commission Directorate-General Neighbourhood.

In addition, the 5th Eastern Partnership (EaP) summit took place on 24 November 2017. It brought together EU countries with those of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Republic of Moldova and Ukraine. The Heads of State and Government discussed how to further strengthen cooperation in the four priority areas agreed in the previous summit in Riga: stronger economy, governance, connectivity and society.

The GSC was able to meet the increased need for meetings by using the higher meeting room availability offered by the Europa Building, which since 2017 accommodates all types of meetings and not only high level meetings.

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 2017, 1 187 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 2010-2017

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

The simplification programme of the European Commission in the area of legislation is starting to be reflected by a slight decrease in the number of legal acts. Due to the length of the legislative procedures, this effect is expected to be more obvious in the coming years.

3.1.3. Administrative modernisation

In 2017, the GSC continued to improve the quality and efficiency of its internal organisation.

Progress on implementation Action Plan

In 2017, the GSC continued the implementation of the Secretary-General ‘Action Plan for a more dynamic, flexible and collaborative GSC’ (presented on 27 September 2016) which identifies 5 priorities for the GSC:

— An effective administration for the President of the European Council and the European Council;

— Better and more consistent support to the Council and its Presidencies;

— Improved internal and external communication and information;

— Investment in people and management, and

— Harnessing technology to improve the way the GSC works.

The main achievements of the ‘Action Plan’ in 2017 are:

— Full Wi-Fi coverage in the GSC’s buildings;

— Further digitalisation of services to different Council formations and Presidencies (among others, a new digital tool for managing Delegated Acts);

— GSC’s external communication strategy;

— Administrative modernisation (including Equal Opportunities Strategy 2017-2020 and ‘moving resources to tasks’ new approach).

3.1.4. Achievement of objectives in 2017

Achievement of the objectives established for the budget year 2017 may be summarised as follows:

— Establishment plan In 2017, the GSC recruited 111 officials (84 permanent officials and 27 temporary agents). During the year 151 officials (124 permanent officials and 27 temporary agents) left, resulting in a net decrease of 40 occupied posts in the EC/C Establishment Plan. The establishment plan was reduced by 15 as part of the reduction of the staffing level by 5 % over a period of five years. 2017 was the last year of the exercise.

— Financial management In 2017, the GSC continued to further improve its financial management and performance. Several improvements of the corporate financial governance were implemented, e.g.: — harmonisation during autumn 2017 of the GSC budget planning at a central level which integrates since then the Multiannual Activity and Budget Planning (MABP), Expenditure Plans and Draft Budget in the same framework based on activities (projects, programmes and recurring activities); — elaboration of a proposal to adopt a corporate framework for project management (CFPM) which aims at setting common principles in order to facilitate cross-departmental projects and task forces; — further improvements of the procurement process (implementation of a paperless workflow for the approval of award decisions directly in SAP); — review of the ‘Practical Guide and Internal Rules of the Project Evaluation Committee (CEP)’ and CEP templates following the adoption by the Secretary-General of the decision simplifying the CEP framework in January 2017; — reactivation of networks for financial agents and improvement of the training offer by development of specialised courses. In the context of improving the cash flow position of European businesses, the average payment delay of invoices in the GSC was 22 days in 2017, the maximum time limit being 30 calendar days (Directive 2011/7/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council (2)).

— Building Policy After the provisional reception of the Europa building on the 30 June 2016, the removal of delegations and of the part of the GSC services took place in January 2017. On 14 July 2017 the Belgian State and the General Secretariat of the Council came to an agreement on the final price for the project. The final agreement is expected to be signed in 2018.

3.2. Revenue

Table 5 gives an overview on the global outcome of revenue operations in 2017. The expression ‘Established rights 2016’ refers to the recovery orders which were made in 2016 but for which the recovery of the amounts took place only in 2017. The expression ‘Established rights 2017’ in turn corresponds to recoveries launched in 2017.

Table 5

Overview of revenue operations in 2017 budget

(EUR) Chapter Established rights 2016 Recovered revenues from 2016 Established rights 2017 Recovered revenues from 2017 Total established rights 2016+2017 Total recovered 2016+2017 To be recovered in 2018 1 2 3 4 5=1+3 6=2+4 7=5-6 4 0 Deductions from staff remuneration 0 0 29 422 088 29 422 088 29 422 088 29 422 088 0 4 1 Contributions to the pension scheme 328 171 106 285 25 227 881 25 226 332 25 556 053 25 332 617 223 436 5 0 Proceeds from the sale of movable and immovable property 27 301 1 560 9 031 7 860 36 332 9 420 26 913 5 1 Proceeds from letting and hiring 49 238 49 238 413 381 379 084 462 619 428 322 34 297 5 2 Revenue from investments or loans granted, bank and other interest 0 0 3 308 3 308 3 308 3 308 0 5 5 Revenue from the proceeds of services supplied and work carried out 37 329 37 329 903 420 798 966 940 750 836 295 104 455 5 5 Revenue from the proceeds of services supplied and work (EEAS) 100 000 100 000 130 908 30 908 230 908 130 908 100 000 5 7 Other contributions and refunds in connection with administ. operation 930 459 754 811 21 561 141 20 194 792 22 491 599 20 949 603 1 541 997 5 8 Miscellaneous compensation 10 604 10 604 13 590 13 590 24 194 24 194 0 5 8 Miscellaneous compensation (EEAS) 0 0 0 0 0 5 9 Other revenue arizing from administrative management 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 3 Contributions under specific agreements 0 0 1 193 818 1 183 883 1 193 818 1 183 883 9 935 7 0 Interest on late payments 0 0 73 73 73 73 0 9 0 Miscellaneous revenue 0 0 13 13 13 13 0 Total 1 483 103 1 059 827 78 878 653 77 260 897 80 361 756 78 320 724 2 041 033

The total volume of revenue operations in terms of established rights, i.e. issued recovery orders, was EUR 80,4 million in 2017. From this amount EUR 78,3 million was recovered during the financial year whereas EUR 2,0 million will be collected in 2018.

The majority of the total recovered revenues (70 % or EUR 54,8 million out of EUR 78,3 million) in 2017 relates to community taxes, levies and dues collected from the GSC’s personnel. From this amount EUR 29,4 million covers deductions from staff remuneration whereas EUR 25,3 million corresponds to contributions and transfers of pension rights to the pension scheme.

The remainder, or 30 % (EUR 23,6 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 2016 and 2017 (EUR 0,3 million and EUR 11,2 million respectively, Chapter 5 7).

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

— Contributions to the administrative costs arising within the framework of the ‘Schengen acquis’ with Iceland and Norway (EUR 1,2 million, Chapter 6 3).

— Contributions by other institutions and payments by Council officials for the Council crèche (EUR 0,9 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 0,5 million, Chapter 5 7).

— Transfers from the EEAS to the Council as advanced reimbursement of the costs related to the organisation of the Brussels Conference on Syria (EUR 0,4 million, Chapter 5 5).

— Proceeds from recovery of legal costs in cases won by the Council and damages paid to the Council (EUR 0,3 million, Chapter 5 7).

— Transfers from the EEAS to the Council as advance payments for the services rendered by the GSC to the EEAS (EUR 0,3 million, Chapter 5 5).

— Proceeds from renting out premises and reimbursements related to them, inter alia, the Commission’s part of rent of the EU Info Point in Brussels (EUR 0,3 million, Chapter 5 1).

3.3. Expenditure in 2017

3.3.1. Modification of the budget in 2017

During the financial year 2017, the appropriations were reallocated by different transfers. Table 6 shows the decisions which modified the budget appropriations in 2010-2017.

Table 6

Number of budget modifications by type in 2010-2017

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

One C-transfer, which involved informing the budget authority (in accordance with Article 25 of the Financial Regulation), was made in 2017:

— C1-transfer of EUR 5 400 000 on 21/11/2017 in order to: — Finance the outstanding amount of the purchase of the Europa Building and four adjacent plots of land (EUR 5 400 000)

45 B-transfers based on Article 25(4) of the FR modified internally the EC/C budget in 2017.

Table 7 gives an overview of the budget lines which were significantly (3) modified in 2017 by different transfers.

Table 7

Budget lines which were subject to significant transfers in 2017

(EUR) Item Heading Initial Budget 2017 Transfers Final appropriations Difference 1 1 0 0 Basic salaries 236 814 000 -1 330 000 235 484 000 -1 % 1 1 0 2 Entitlements under the Staff Regulations 59 571 000 930 000 60 501 000 2 % 1 1 0 3 Social security cover 9 452 000 400 000 9 852 000 4 % 1 2 0 3 Outside services 2 498 000 - 495 800 2 002 200 -20 % 1 2 0 4 Supplementary services for the translation service 200 000 492 800 692 800 246 % 2 0 0 2 Acquisition of immovable property 8 884 000 8 884 000 2 0 0 3 Fitting-out of premises 10 618 000 -1 836 000 8 782 000 -17 % 2 0 0 4 Work to make premises secure 2 830 000 -1 625 000 1 205 000 -57 % 2 0 1 0 Cleaning and maintenance 19 057 000 -1 129 000 17 928 000 -6 % 2 0 1 1 Water, gas, electricity and heating 4 974 000 -1 899 000 3 075 000 -38 % 2 0 1 2 Buildings security and surveillance 16 815 000 1 382 000 18 197 000 8 % 2 1 0 0 Acquisition of equipment and software 12 262 000 -1 231 244 11 030 756 -10 % 2 1 0 1 Outside assistance for computer systems 21 850 000 2 117 599 23 967 599 10 % 2 1 0 2 Servicing and maintenance of equipment and software 7 156 000 -1 494 803 5 661 197 -21 % 2 1 0 3 Telecommunications 1 532 000 - 291 552 1 240 448 -19 % 2 1 2 0 Purchase and replacement of technical equipment 2 635 000 - 263 415 2 371 585 -10 % 2 1 2 1 Outside assistance for technical equipment 78 000 341 989 419 989 438 % 2 2 0 0 Travel expenses of delegations 17 802 000 7 215 502 25 017 502 41 % 2 2 0 2 Interpreting costs 79 816 000 -10 115 502 69 700 498 -13 % 2 2 1 0 Documentation and library expenditure 2 000 000 296 000 2 296 000 15 % 2 2 1 1 Official Journal 3 500 000 -1 046 000 2 454 000 -30 % 2 2 1 3 Information and public events 2 535 000 850 000 3 385 000 34 %

3.3.2. Overview of implementation of the budget in 2010-2017

The overall implementation rate of the EC/C budget has been on average 91,9 % over the past eight 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 2017 have been on average 82,7 % of the budget. The difference between the overall implementation and payments of a given year (i.e. non-paid commitments) has been carried over, in conformity with Article 13(4) of the Financial Regulation, to the next budget year for payments.

Graph 1

Global budget implementation in 2010-2017

The carried over appropriations break down into two major categories: functioning of the GSC and buildings. The first is related 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 have been 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.

In 2017, EUR 8,8 million was reserved for the acquisition of the Europa building. The amount has been carried over to 2018 for the actual commitment.

3.3.3. Implementation of the appropriations by category in 2017

The analysis of expenditure in 2017 is presented at the level of 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 2017 and therefore cancelled.

Table 8

Overview of the implementation of the 2017 budget (by category)

(EUR) Category Budget 2017 (initial) Budget 2017 (final (4)) Commitments (5) Outturn rate Cancelled appropriations 1 2 3 4=3/2 5=2-3 Establishment plan 315 446 000 315 446 000 303 484 264 96,2 % 11 961 736 Other staff expenditure 24 878 000 24 878 000 22 529 419 90,6 % 2 348 581 Buildings (excluding acquisitions) 57 789 000 52 705 000 51 414 847 97,6 % 1 290 153 Computer systems 42 800 000 41 900 000 41 466 017 99,0 % 433 983 Furniture 942 000 942 000 741 630 78,7 % 200 370 Technical equipment (5) 3 659 000 3 659 000 3 532 203 96,5 % 126 797 Transport 1 048 000 1 048 000 1 021 465 97,5 % 26 535 Delegations' travel expenses 17 802 000 25 017 502 13 472 729 53,9 % 11 544 773 Interpreting costs 79 816 000 69 700 498 66 521 325 95,4 % 3 179 173 Meetings and conferences 4 984 000 4 984 000 4 523 108 90,8 % 460 892 Information 8 285 000 8 285 000 7 847 588 94,7 % 437 412 Miscellaneous 2 127 000 2 127 000 1 111 878 52,3 % 1 015 122 Reserve 2 000 000 2 000 000 0 0,0 % 2 000 000 Total (excl. acquisition) 561 576 000 552 692 000 517 666 473 93,7 % 35 025 527 Acquisition of immovable property — 8 884 000 8 883 738 100,0 % 262 Grand total 561 576 000 561 576 000 526 550 211 93,8 % 35 025 789

The global implementation rate of the 2017 budget is 93,8 % (+1,9 % on top of the average of the last eight years). The difference between the final budget and implementation can be explained as follows:

— The total under-spending in the category of the establishment plan amounts to EUR 11,9 million. This under-spending relates mainly to lower needs for basic salaries (EUR 5,9 million) and to the fact that it was not necessary to activate the provisional appropriations (EUR 2,8 million). Part of the salary underspending is related to the net decrease of 40 occupied posts in the EC/C Establishment Plan. Other elements explaining the underspending are lower need for different statutory entitlements (EUR 2,2 million) and for social security (EUR 0,5 million) plus a lower expenditure relating to overtime (EUR 0,5 million).

— In the category of other staff expenditure, 57 % of the under-spending (EUR 1,3 million out of EUR 2,3 million) relates to fewer payments for contractual agents, seconded national experts and other outside services. Less spending in mission related costs corresponds to a saving of EUR 0,4 million. In the area of the President of the European Council, a saving of EUR 0,4 million comes from under-spending of the travel budget and allowances. The remainder of EUR 0,2 million is mostly related to minor savings in the areas of medical and social services.

— The global implementation of the building-related expenditure resulted in a saving of EUR 1,3 million. From this amount EUR 0,9 million is due to lower costs in building security and surveillance, maintenance and cleaning, consumption of water, gas and electricity. The remaining EUR 0,4 million comes from savings in certain fitting-out, installation and security works.

— In the IT domain the budget implementation was almost 100 %. The under-spending of EUR 0,4 million is mainly due to lower implementation in the acquisition of equipment and software.

— The underspending of EUR 0,2 million in furniture relates mainly to the re-scheduling of the purchases of furniture for certain meeting rooms in the Justus Lipsius building for which renovation works had been planned for 2017, but finally postponed.

— EUR 0,1 million saving in technical equipment is mainly due to a lower need for security installations.

— As for the transportation, the budget implementation was almost 100 %.

— The implementation of the delegations’ travel expenses resulted in a saving of EUR 11,5 million. The amount available for delegations’ travel expenses after transfers amounted to EUR 25,0 million. The initial budget was EUR 17,8 million to which EUR 8,9 million was transferred from the savings in some interpretation envelopes. On the other hand, during the year EUR 1,7 million was transferred to finance supplementary interpretation in certain languages. Since the Member States had to reimburse unused amounts from previous years, only EUR 13,5 million was committed for subsequent payments in the 2017 budget.

— The underspending in appropriations for interpretation amounts to EUR 3,2 million. It should be noted that this underspending is the final result after the transfer of EUR 8,9 million from interpretation envelopes to delegations’ travel envelopes (6) and of EUR 2,9 million for the final payment for the Europa Building. The final result includes also a transfer back of EUR 1,7 million from some travel envelopes to cover the supplementary interpretation in certain languages.

— EUR 0,2 million out of the total underspending of EUR 0,5 million in organising meetings and conferences reflects a volume of catering services that was lower in 2017 than foreseen in the budget. Lower needs for specific travel expenses have allowed for an additional saving of EUR 0,2 million. Finally, smaller needs for renting of external conference and meeting rooms as well as smaller accreditations costs allowed savings of EUR 0,1 million.

— The implementation rate of the appropriations in the category ‘Information’ was 94,7 % which results in a saving of EUR 0,4 million. This amount corresponds mainly to the lower legislative and other legal acts published in the Official Journal in 2017.

— In the category miscellaneous, the underspending of EUR 1,0 million is explained mainly by lower expenditure in the area of legal expenses (EUR 0,9 million) due to the lower than anticipated number of antidumping cases notified to the Council; the remaining EUR 0,1 million is a combination of smaller needs for uniforms and for office supplies, paper, studies and postal charges.

3.4. Appropriations carried over

3.4.1. Appropriations carried over automatically from 2016 to 2017

As presented in Table 9, an amount of EUR 62,3 million was carried over from 2016 to 2017.

Table 9

Implementation of appropriations carried over from 2016 to 2017 (by category)

(EUR) Category Appropriations carried over from 2016 Payments 2017 Outturn rate Cancelled appropriations 1 2 3=2/1 4=1-2 Establishment plan 425 000 244 208 57,5 % 180 792 Other staff expenditure 1 769 152 1 539 049 87,0 % 230 102 Buildings 12 907 800 10 238 750 79,3 % 2 669 050 Computer systems 20 127 797 19 234 814 95,6 % 892 983 Furniture 577 836 561 243 97,1 % 16 593 Technical equipment 2 302 474 2 152 707 93,5 % 149 767 Transport 295 754 226 689 76,6 % 69 065 Delegations' travel expenses — — — Interpreting costs 10 024 525 9 160 725 91,4 % 863 800 Meetings and conferences 536 958 424 241 79,0 % 112 717 Information 1 995 546 1 870 237 93,7 % 125 309 Miscellaneous 11 362 114 11 304 705 99,5 % 57 409 Reserve — — — Total 62 324 956 56 957 368 91,4 % 5 367 588

The implementation rate of the appropriations carried over from 2016 was 91,4 %. 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. It should be noted that this inevitably constitutes a budgetary burden for the next budget year as for these transactions new commitments will have to be introduced in 2018.

3.4.2. Appropriations carried over from 2017 to 2018

The appropriations carried over from 2017 to 2018 totalled EUR 60,6 million.

Table 10

Appropriations carried over from 2017 to 2018 (by category)

(EUR) Category Budget 2017 (initial) Budget 2017 (final (7)) Commitments (8) Payments 2017 Appropriations carried over to 2018 (8) Carry over rate 1 2 3 4 4 5=4/3 Establishment plan 315 446 000 315 446 000 303 484 264 303 118 118 366 146 0,1 % Other staff expenditure 24 878 000 24 878 000 22 529 419 19 589 939 2 939 481 13,0 % Buildings 57 789 000 52 705 000 51 414 847 35 984 828 15 430 019 30,0 % Computer systems 42 800 000 41 900 000 41 466 017 21 463 684 20 002 333 48,2 % Furniture 942 000 942 000 741 630 418 041 323 588 43,6 % Technical equipment 3 659 000 3 659 000 3 532 203 2 042 449 1 489 754 42,2 % Transport 1 048 000 1 048 000 1 021 465 580 592 440 873 43,2 % Delegations' travel expenses 17 802 000 25 017 502 13 472 729 13 472 729 0 0,0 % Interpreting costs 79 816 000 69 700 498 66 521 325 59 610 462 6 910 863 10,4 % Meetings and conferences 4 984 000 4 984 000 4 523 108 3 645 570 877 538 19,4 % Information 8 285 000 8 285 000 7 847 588 5 466 992 2 380 596 30,3 % Miscellaneous 2 127 000 2 127 000 1 111 878 580 634 531 245 47,8 % Reserve 2 000 000 2 000 000 – – – – Total (excl. acquisition) 561 576 000 552 692 000 517 666 473 465 974 036 51 692 437 10,0 % Acquisition of immovable property – 8 884 000 8 883 738 8 883 738 100,0 % Grand total 561 576 000 561 576 000 526 550 211 465 974 036 60 576 175 11,5 %

The carried over amounts from 2017 to 2018 mainly come from the following categories:

— Computer systems by EUR 20,0 million, of which EUR 13,1 million relates to outside assistance, EUR 5,4 million to equipment and software, EUR 0,7 million to telecommunications and EUR 0,8 million to IT service and maintenance.

— Buildings by EUR 15,4 million where different fitting-out works cover EUR 6,1 million, cleaning and maintenance EUR 4,4 million, security and prevention EUR 2,5 million, electricity, water, gas and heating together another EUR 1,0 million, works to make the premises secure EUR 0,9 million and EUR 0,5 million of other expenditure related to buildings e.g. building studies and audits.

— Acquisition of immovable property by EUR 8,9 million to cover the final payment for the Europa Building (out of which EUR 8,8 million carried over by decision).

— EUR 6,9 million to cover the cost of interpretation provided in November-December 2017, but for which the final invoice arrives in 2018.

— Other staff expenditure by EUR 2,9 million especially in relation to outside assistance (EUR 1 million), training (EUR 1 million), medical service and crèches (EUR 0,5 million), missions (EUR 0,3 million) and support measures to assist staff (EUR 0,1 million).

— EUR 2,4 million related to information expenditure of which EUR 1,6 million concerns information and public events as well as Council publications and EUR 0,8 million documentation and library expenditure.

— Technical equipment by EUR 1,5 million out of which EUR 0,6 million concerns purchase and maintenance of conference equipment, EUR 0,6 million purchase and maintenance of audiovisual equipment for the Press Service, EUR 0,1 purchase and maintenance of equipment for restaurants and canteens, EUR 0,1 million to security equipment and EUR 0,1 million to other equipment.

— Meetings and conferences by EUR 0,8 million mostly relating to invoices not yet received for organising European Council and Council meetings in 2017.

— Furniture by EUR 0,3 million corresponding to certain offices and additional purchase orders of furniture issued in order to cover the Council’s needs before the signature of the new framework contract.

3.4.3. Appropriations carried over by decision from 2016 to 2017

As presented in Table 11, an amount of EUR 0,3 million was carried over by decision from 2016 to 2017, accordingly to the provisions of Article 13(2) of the Financial Regulations (FR) and Article 4 of the Rules of Application (RAP).

Table 11

Appropriations carried over by decision from 2016 to 2017 (by category)

(EUR) Category Appropriations carried over by decision from 2016 Commitments 2017 Outturn rate Cancelled appropriations Payments 2017 Carried over for payment to 2018 1 2 3=2/1 4=1-2 5 6=2-4 Technical equipment 350 000 330 991 94,6 % 19 009 0 330 991 Total EC/C 350 000 330 991 94,6 % 19 009 0 330 991

The amount is related to the replacement of equipment in the Europa Building (technical equipment) which was damaged by water in October 2016. Due to the uncertainty of the damage compensation and taking into account that the exact amount needed for the replacement of equipment was to be known only in February 2017, it was not possible to sign the purchase orders in 2016.

The implementation rate of the appropriations carried over by decision was 94,6 %. The amount committed was fully carried over to 2018 for payment.

3.4.4. Appropriations carried over by decision from 2015 to 2016 carried over for payment to 2017

Appropriations carried over by decision from 2015 to 2016 which were duly committed in 2016 but not paid had been carried over to 2017 for payment. As presented in Table 12, an amount of EUR 0,2 million was carried over for payment.

Table 12

Appropriations carried over by decision from 2015 to 2016 carried over for payment to 2017 (by category)

(EUR) Category Carried over for payment from 2016 Payments 2017 Outturn rate Cancelled appropriations 1 2 3=2/1 4=1-2 Furniture 155 490 142 835 91,9 % 12 655 Technical equipment 57 045 44 030 77,2 % 13 015 Total EC/C 212 535 186 865 87,9 % 25 670

The implementation rate of the appropriations carried over from 2016 was 87,9 %. The main reasons for the amount of cancelled appropriations is that certain goods ordered by the GSC during the previous year were not delivered and certain services were finally less expensive (delivery of furniture and technical equipment).

3.5. Assigned revenue

3.5.1. Assigned revenue accrued before 2017

The total amount of assigned revenue accrued before 2017 was EUR 23,3 million.

Table 13

Implementation of assigned revenue accrued before 2017 (by category)

(EUR) Category Assigned revenues before 2017 Commitments 2017 Payments 2017 Outturn rate Cancelled assigned revenues 1 2 3 4=2/1 4=1-2 Establishment plan 1 342 422 1 342 422 1 342 422 100,0 % — Other staff expenditure 1 261 407 1 229 382 1 219 019 97,5 % 32 025 Buildings 1 390 878 1 386 624 1 237 545 99,7 % 4 255 Computer systems 1 638 750 1 634 428 1 634 425 99,7 % 4 322 Furniture — — — — Technical equipment 303 193 289 261 259 705 95,4 % 13 932 Transport 17 754 17 685 15 906 99,6 % 68 Delegations' travel expenses 11 544 777 11 544 777 11 544 777 100,0 % — Interpreting costs 4 938 885 4 938 885 4 938 885 100,0 % — Meetings and conferences 324 833 324 644 319 114 99,9 % 189 Information 119 830 100 648 100 648 84,0 % 19 182 Miscellaneous 447 501 447 437 408 664 100,0 % 64 Total EC/C 23 330 231 23 256 193 23 021 111 99,7 % 74 038 SLAs with EEAS 117 804 106 465 88 939 90,4 % 11 339 Grand total 23 448 035 23 362 658 23 110 050 99,6 % 85 377

Assigned revenue related to the GSC’s activities totalled EUR 23,4 million, from which EUR 23,3 million was duly committed in 2017. The remainder EUR 0,1 million was cancelled in conformity with Article 14 of the FR.

Another part, EUR 0,1 million, of the assigned revenue accrued before 2017 relates to amounts transferred by the EEAS in 2016 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 0,1 million, EUR 0,09 million was paid in 2017.

3.5.2. Assigned revenue accrued before 2017 carried over to 2018 for payment

The assigned revenue accrued before 2017, duly committed but not paid in 2017 was carried over from 2017 to 2018 and totalled EUR 0,3 million.

Table 14

Assigned revenue accrued before 2017 carried over to 2018 (by category)

(EUR) Category Assigned revenues before 2017 Commitments 2017 Payments 2017 Assigned revenues carried over to 2018 Carry overrate 1 2 3 4=2-3 5=4/2 Establishment plan 1 342 422 1 342 422 1 342 422 — 0,0 % Other staff expenditure 1 261 407 1 229 382 1 219 019 10 362 0,8 % Buildings 1 390 878 1 386 624 1 237 545 149 078 10,8 % Computer systems 1 638 750 1 634 428 1 634 425 3 0,0 % Furniture — — — — Technical equipment 303 193 289 261 259 705 29 555 10,2 % Transport 17 754 17 685 15 906 1 779 10,1 % Delegations' travel expenses 11 544 777 11 544 777 11 544 777 — 0,0 % Interpreting costs 4 938 885 4 938 885 4 938 885 — 0,0 % Meetings and conferences 324 833 324 644 319 114 5 530 1,7 % Information 119 830 100 648 100 648 — 0,0 % Miscellaneous 447 501 447 437 408 664 38 773 8,7 % Total EC/C 23 330 231 23 256 193 23 021 111 235 082 1,0 % SLAs with EEAS 117 804 106 465 88 939 17 526 16,5 % Grand total 23 448 035 23 362 658 23 110 050 252 608 1,1 %

The amounts carried over mainly comes from the following categories:

— Buildings by EUR 0,2 million, of which EUR 0,1 million relates to fitting out works and security for summits in the 4th trimester of 2017 and EUR 0,1 million to provision of gas to the GSC buildings.

— Miscellaneous by EUR 0,04 million corresponding mainly to the legal expenses and costs.

3.5.3. Assigned revenue accrued in 2017

The total assigned revenue accrued in 2017 totalled to EUR 23,5 million. From this, EUR 290 508 corresponds to amounts transferred by the EEAS to the Council.

Table 15

Implementation of assigned revenue accrued in 2017 (by category)

(EUR) Category Assigned revenues 2017 Commitments 2017 Payments2017 Available assigned revenue 1 2 3 4=1-3 Establishment plan 1 424 860 76 021 — 1 424 860 Other staff expenditure 1 246 597 100 461 59 259 1 187 338 Buildings 793 382 4 602 — 793 382 Computer systems 516 815 58 488 43 483 473 332 Furniture — — — 0 Technical equipment 35 344 6 244 450 34 894 Transport 2 747 — — 2 747 Delegations' travel expenses 11 555 185 — — 11 555 185 Interpreting costs 7 042 505 — — 7 042 505 Meetings and conferences 195 819 134 578 90 658 105 161 Information 167 023 105 000 63 234 103 789 Miscellaneous 273 300 — — 273 300 Total EC/C 23 253 577 485 394 257 084 22 996 493 SLAs with EEAS 290 508 187 711 123 450 167 058 Grand total 23 544 085 673 106 380 534 23 163 551

The assigned revenue 2017 relating to the activities of the GSC amounted to EUR 23,3 million. During the financial year EUR 0,5 million was committed while EUR 23,0 million was carried over to 2018 in accordance with Article 14 of the FR.

Around 50 % of assigned revenue is related to the delegations’ travel expenses (EUR 11,6 million). The amount of EUR 7,0 million in interpretation comes from the top-up payments on certain languages to cover the supplementary interpretation in those languages. The remainder is mainly related to reimbursement of amounts connected with various administrative operations of the Council.

(1) Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2012 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union and repealing Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 (OJ L 298, 26.10.2012, 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.

(4) Includes internal reallocation of appropriations

(5) Includes carry over by decision of EUR 8 787 738

(6) In conformity with Decision 111/07/EC, 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 2017, this corresponded to an amount of EUR 8,9 million.

(7) Includes internal reallocation of appropriations

(8) Includes carry over by decision of EUR 8 787 738