FINANCIAL ACTIVITY REPORT 2021

Section II – European Council and Council

(2022/C 354/01)

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. INTRODUCTION 3

2. OBJECTIVES AND BUDGET FOR THE 2021 FINANCIAL YEAR 3

2.1. Main financial objectives 3

2.2. Establishment of the budget for the European Council and Council in 2021 3

2.2.1. General approach 3

2.2.2. 2021 Budget 3

2.2.3. 2021 Budget and Heading 7 of the Multiannual Financial Framework of the EU Budget 4

3. GLOBAL OVERVIEW OF BUDGET IMPLEMENTATION IN 2021 5

3.1. Activities and objectives of the European Council and Council in 2021 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 2021 6

3.2. Revenue 7

3.3. Expenditure in 2021 8

3.3.1. Modification of the budget in 2021 8

3.3.2. Overview of implementation of the budget 2017-2021 9

3.3.3. Implementation of appropriations by category in 2021 10

3.4. Appropriations carried over 20 12

3.4.1. Appropriations carried over automatically from 2020 to 2021 12

3.4.2. Appropriations carried over automatically from 2021 to 2022 13

3.5. Assigned revenue 14

3.5.1. Assigned revenue accrued before 2021 14

3.5.2. Assigned revenue carried over for payment from 2020 15

3.5.3. Assigned revenue accrued before 2021 carried over to 2022 for payment 16

3.5.4. Assigned revenue accrued in 2021 17

1. INTRODUCTION

In accordance with Article 249 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council (Financial Regulation — FR) (1), this document constitutes a report on the budgetary and financial management of Section II of the EU budget (European Council and Council) for the 2021 financial year.

The report is based on the provisional accounts for 2021, the findings of the annual activity reports of the Council’s authorising officers and information on budget implementation from the Council’s financial system.

Chapter II of this report presents a summary of the framework which was established for the 2021 financial year. An overview of the implementation of the budget appropriations available in 2021 is given in Chapter III.

The implementation of the 2021 budget by budget line is presented in the Annex.

2. OBJECTIVES AND BUDGET FOR THE 2021 FINANCIAL YEAR

2.1. Main financial objectives

The main financial objectives of the General Secretariat of the Council for 2021 were:

— to ensure decision-making could continue in the European Council and the Council in spite of the continuous exceptional situation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic;

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

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

2.2. Establishment of the budget for the European Council and Council in 2021

2.2.1. General approach

The establishment of the 2021 budget for the European Council and Council (hereinafter EC/C) was based on the general objective of not exceeding, in nominal terms, the overall level of the 2020 budget for non-salary related expenditure by over 2 %.

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

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

— transforming 25 AST posts into 25 AD posts as part of the continuation of the administrative modernisation, with a budget-neutral effect.

2.2.2. 2021 budget

The budget authority established the overall 2021 EC/C budget at EUR 594,4 million. This represents an increase of EUR 3,8 million (+0,6 %) compared with 2020.

The number of posts in the establishment plan for 2021 for the EC/C was fixed at 3 029.

Table 1 gives an overview of the 2021 budget by category.

Table 1

EC/C budget for 2021 compared with 2020 (by category)

(EUR) Category Budget 2020 Budget 2021 Change 2021/2020 1 2 3=2/1 Establishment plan 341 218 000 342 791 545 0,5 % Other staff expenditure 25 366 000 27 684 909 9,1 % Buildings (excluding acquisitions) 56 644 000 57 151 000 0,9 % Computer systems 44 509 000 47 116 000 5,9 % Furniture 1 171 000 951 000 -18,8 % Technical equipment 6 026 000 7 192 000 19,3 % Transport 2 284 000 1 368 000 -40,1 % Delegations’ travel expenses 17 228 000 15 505 000 -10,0 % Interpreting costs 81 450 000 80 000 000 -1,8 % Meetings and conferences 6 285 000 5 757 000 -8,4 % Information 7 235 000 7 510 500 3,8 % Miscellaneous 1 217 000 1 360 000 11,8 % Reserve Total (excl. acquisition) 590 633 000 594 386 954 0,6 % Acquisition of immovable property Grand total 590 633 000 594 386 954 0,6 %

2.2.3. 2021 budget and Heading 7 of the Multiannual Financial Framework of the EU budget

Table 2 gives an overview of the evolution of the EC/C budget in 2017–2021. The EC/C share under Heading 7 (previous Heading 5) of the multiannual financial framework decreased from 6,0 % in 2017 to 5,6 % in 2021.

Table 2

Evolution of Section II of the EU budget (European Council and Council) under Heading 7 (previous Heading 5) of the Multiannual Financial Framework in 2017–2021

2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 (Amounts at current prices) M€ change M€ change M€ change M€ change M€ change Heading 7 9 395 5,0 % 9 666 2,9 % 9 945 2,9 % 10 222 2,8 % 10 635 4,0 % EC/C 562 3,0 % 573 2,0 % 582 1,6 % 591 1,5 % 594 0,6 % EC/C share in Heading 7 6,0 % 5,9 % 5,9 % 5,8 % 5,6 %

3. GLOBAL OVERVIEW OF BUDGET IMPLEMENTATION IN 2021

3.1. Activities and objectives of the European Council and Council in 2021

Within the framework of the financial activity report, the GSC provides information on its core activities which are relevant from a financial point of view, and describes the functioning of the European Council and Council over the financial year. The report also highlights the principal achievements of the year.

3.1.1. Meetings

Table 3 gives an overview of the evolution of the number of meetings organised by the GSC for the European Council and Council between 2017 and 2021.

In 2021, in addition to the 4 382 institutional meetings and meetings with third countries, the GSC organised 199 other meetings (e.g. seminars, information sessions and briefings).

Table 3

Evolution of the number of meetings 2017-2021

2017 2018 2019 2020 2020 2021 2021 Physical VTC / Hybrid TOTAL Physical VTC / Hybrid TOTAL Summits 15 15 17 15 8 23 11 7 18 Councils 77 75 80 31 85 116 70 36 106 Coreper 105 117 124 152 2 154 123 123 Coreper Art. 50 22 29 28 3 3 Working groups 4 039 4 304 3 706 1 538 1 252 2 790 1 342 2 793 4 135 Ad hoc Working group Art. 50 32 61 28 Total 4 290 4 601 3 983 1 739 1 347 3 086 1 546 2 836 4 382 Other meetings 3 030 3 129 3 685 401 33 434 176 23 199 Grand total 7 320 7 730 7 668 2 140 1 380 3 520 1 722 2 859 4 581

Despite the continuous exceptional working conditions due to the pandemic situation as a result of COVID-19, the number of meetings organised by the GSC increased by 30 % compared to the previous year. The level of institutional meetings was quite similar to pre-pandemic levels, thanks in particular to the organisation of meetings via VTC (64,7 % out of the total institutional meetings). The effects of the restrictive situation was more noticeable in the number of conferences, press briefings and press conferences hold.

Moreover, on 14 and 15 June 2021 the GSC hosted bilateral summits — EU-Canada and EU-USA respectively.

In addition, the 6th Eastern Partnership (EaP) summit took place on 15 December 2021. It brought together EU countries and Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Republic of Moldova and Ukraine. The EaP seeks to foster stability, prosperity and mutual cooperation, advance the commitment to the necessary reforms and address the global and regional challenges.

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 2021, 1 340 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 in the legislative process.

Table 4

Evolution of the number of legal acts in 2016–2021

2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 Legal acts published in OJ 1 259 1 187 1 210 1 326 1 328 1 340

Despite the challenging working conditions in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Council increased its legislative activity compared to the pre-pandemic year (2019).

3.1.3. Administrative modernisation

In 2021, the GSC continued to improve the quality and efficiency of its internal organisation, focusing in particular on dealing with the working restrictions arising from the continuous COVID-19 pandemic situation:

— A new decision on recruitment policy and procedures within the GSC to increase efficiency in the selection process and also to include elements in line with the GSC Diversity and Inclusion Strategy;

— Several GSC-specific IT tools such as eConsilium have been redesigned to improve the way the Council operates in the digital world;

— An analysis of how the pandemic had affected the GSC was carried out, including an assessment of the GSC’s organisation response, to identify best practices and define clear and useful recommendations for improvements to how the GSC worked during and immediately after the pandemic.

3.1.4. Achievement of objectives in 2021

Achievement of the objectives established for the 2021 budget year may be summarised as follows:

— Establishment plan On 1 January 2021, in the GSC there were 2 885 occupied posts. Following turnover during the year, on 31 December 2021 there were 2 908 occupied posts, representing a difference of 23 additional occupied posts in the EC/C Establishment Plan. NB: Occupied posts also include posts occupied by non-remunerated staff who occupy a post, in line with the definition set by the Staff Regulation.

— Financial management In 2021, the GSC continued to further improve its financial management and performance. Several improvements in corporate financial governance were implemented, e.g. the: — launch of the integrated business planning initiative which aims to extend the governance framework with an improved process combining short-, medium- and long-term planning of financial and human resources in relation to activity-oriented and strategic planning; — development of a financial dashboard to improve awareness of financial performance across GSC services; — hybrid signature of contracts was allowed as a first step with a view to a future full electronic signature. In the context of improving the cash flow position of European businesses, the average payment time for invoices at the GSC was 19 days in 2021, the maximum time limit being 30 calendar days (Directive 2011/7/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council (2)).

— Buildings policy The Council’s buildings policy is stable. Since 2004, the Council’s aim has been to ultimately accommodate all its activities and those of the European Council in Brussels in buildings which it owns, which are adapted to its needs and which are located near one another. This reorganisation was completed with the delivery of the Europa Building on 30 June 2016.

3.2. Revenue

Table 5 gives an overview of the global outcome of revenue operations in 2021. The term ‘Established rights 2020’ refers to recovery orders which were made in 2020 but for which the recovery of the amounts took place only in 2021. The term ‘Established rights 2021’ refers to recoveries made in 2021.

Table 5

Overview of revenue operations in the 2021 budget

(EUR) Chapter Established rights 2020 Recovered revenues from 2020 Established rights 2021 Recovered revenues from 2021 Total established rights 2020+2021 Total recovered 2020+2021 To be recovered in 2022 1 2 3 4 5=1+3 6=2+4 7=5-6 3 0 Revenue from Staff 60 354 818 60 354 818 60 354 818 60 354 818 3 1 Revenue linked to property 384 267 384 267 91 400 88 136 475 667 472 403 3 264 3 2 Revenue from the supply of goods, services and work 35 879 35 545 932 375 906 302 968 254 941 847 26 407 3 2 Revenue from third parties in respect of goods, services and goods (EEAS) 426 782 426 782 426 782 426 782 3 3 Other administrative revenue 470 202 158 255 41 491 166 39 913 451 41 961 368 40 071 706 1 889 663 4 0 Revenue from investments and accounts 613 613 613 613 Total 890 348 578 067 103 297 154 101 690 102 104 187 502 102 268 169 1 919 333

The total volume of revenue operations in terms of established rights, i.e. issued recovery orders, was EUR 104,2 million in 2021. Of this amount, EUR 102,3 million was recovered during the financial year and EUR 1,9 million will be collected in 2022.

Most of the total recovered revenues (59 %, or EUR 60,4 million out of EUR 102,3 million) in 2021 relates to community taxes, levies and dues collected from GSC personnel. Of this amount, deductions from staff remuneration yield EUR 33,1 million, while EUR 27,3 million corresponds to contributions and transfers of pension rights to the pension scheme.

The remainder, or 41 % (EUR 41,9 million) is accrued from various administrative operations, 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 2020 and 2021 (EUR 37,9 million, Chapter 3 3);

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

— contributions by other institutions and payments by Council officials for the Council crèche (EUR 0,9 million, Chapter 3 3);

— 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 0,7 million, Chapter 3 2);

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

— transfers from the EEAS to the Council as advance payments for the services provided by the GSC to the EEAS (EUR 0,4 million, Chapter 3 2).

3.3. Expenditure in 2021

3.3.1. Modification of the budget in 2021

During the 2021 financial year, the appropriations were reallocated by various transfers. Table 6 shows the decisions which modified the budget appropriations in 2017–2021.

Table 6

Number of budget modifications by type in 2017-2021

Modification Year Type Legal basis 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 Amending budget FR Article 44 0 0 0 0 0 Transfer B FR Article 29 45 52 39 44 41 Transfer C FR Article 29 1 2 2 2 2 Transfer D FR Article 31 0 0 0 0 0 Total 46 54 41 46 43

Two C transfers, which involved informing the budget authority (in accordance with Article 29 of the Financial Regulation), were carried out in 2021:

— C1 transfer of EUR 6 612 000 on 22 July 2021 in order to: — cover projects initially budgeted for a later year but for which the low occupancy of office spaces in GSC buildings due to the COVID-19 pandemic allowed the project cycle to be speeded up (EUR 1 000 000); — finance technical assistance to extend IT actions as a result of the ongoing health situation (EUR 1 897 000); — cover the purchase of additional IT equipment and software, including maintenance and servicing (EUR 2 930 000); — finance higher annual telecommunications charges as a result of a new framework contract (EUR 140 000); — transfer of responsibilities related to the travel costs of events organised by rotating presidencies (EUR 20 000); — finance the additional travel expense needs of the President of the European Council and his close protection team (EUR 625 000);

— C2 transfer of EUR 5 360 000 on 18 November 2021 in order to: — cover the purchase of additional IT equipment and software, including maintenance and servicing (EUR 2 450 000); — transfer of project management responsibilities for the development of the maintenance management system for buildings on the basis of the existing IT tools within the GSC (EUR 655 000); — finance additional assistance in several Council IT activity areas such as the Delegates portal, Translation Management System (TMS) or the tool to manage legal advice requests (EUR 1 855 000); — finance the additional travel expense needs of the President of the European Council and his close protection team (EUR 400 000).

In addition, 41 B transfers based on Article 29(4) of the Financial Regulation internally modified the EC/C budget in 2021.

Table 7 gives an overview of the budget lines which were significantly (3) modified in 2021 by various transfers.

Table 7

Budget lines which were subject to significant transfers in 2021

(EUR) Item Heading Initial Budget 2020 Transfers Final appropriations Difference 1 0 0 4 Other management expenditure 1 075 000 1 025 000 2 100 000 95 % 1 1 0 0 Basic salaries 256 457 636 3 885 364 260 343 000 2 % 2 0 0 0 Rent 457 000 865 000 1 322 000 189 % 2 0 1 3 Insurance 285 000 330 500 615 500 116 % 2 1 0 0 Acquisition of equipment and software 13 850 500 3 483 454 17 333 954 25 % 2 1 0 1 Outside assistance for the operation and development of computer systems 24 019 500 7 205 878 31 225 378 30 % 2 1 0 3 Telecommunications 1 750 000 533 930 2 283 930 31 % 2 1 2 0 Purchase and replacement of technical equipment and installation 3 958 000 908 585 4 866 585 23 % 2 2 0 5 Organisation of conferences, congresses and meetings 315 000 360 000 675 000 114 %

3.3.2. Overview of implementation of the budget 2017–2021

Over the past five years (Graph 1), the overall implementation rate of the EC/C budget has been 91,5 % on average. The implementation rate refers to the commitments made during the budget year out of the available adopted budget.

The actual annual payments rate between 2017 and 2021 was on average 81,4 % of the budget. The difference between the overall implementation and payments in a given year (i.e. non-paid commitments) has been carried over, in accordance with Article 12(7) of the Financial Regulation, to the next budget year for payments. Expenditure for remunerations and allowances for members and staff of Union institutions cannot be carried over (Article 12(8) of the Financial Regulation).

Graph 1

Overall budget implementation for 2017–2021

For 2021, the appropriations carried over relate to obligations duly contracted before the end of the budget year but where the goods and services had not yet been delivered and/or no invoices had been received before the end of the year.

3.3.3. Implementation of appropriations by category in 2021

The analysis of expenditure in 2021 is presented in 14 expenditure categories.

Table 8 compares the final budget after transfers (column 2) with the budget outturn in terms of commitments (column 3). The difference between the final budget and the committed appropriations corresponds to the amounts not used in 2021 and therefore cancelled.

Table 8

Overview of the implementation of the 2021 budget (by category)

(EUR) Category Budget 2021 (initial) Budget 2021 (final (*1)) Commitments Outturn rate Cancelled appropriations 1 2 3 4=3/2 5=2-3 Establishment plan 342 791 545 342 791 545 337 934 778 98,6 % 4 856 767 Other staff expenditure 27 684 909 27 684 909 23 585 787 85,2 % 4 099 122 Buildings (excluding acquisitions) 57 151 000 56 221 000 54 238 245 96,5 % 1 982 755 Computer systems 47 116 000 57 043 000 57 030 431 100,0 % 12 569 Furniture 951 000 951 000 926 209 97,4 % 24 791 Technical equipment 7 192 000 6 986 000 6 159 402 88,2 % 826 598 Transport 1 368 000 1 368 000 1 367 115 99,9 % 885 Delegations’ travel expenses 15 505 000 10 150 204 10 150 204 100,0 % Interpreting costs 80 000 000 77 303 796 19 784 532 25,6 % 57 519 264 Meetings and conferences 5 757 000 4 997 000 3 477 460 69,6 % 1 519 540 Information 7 510 500 7 530 500 7 529 721 100,0 % 779 Miscellaneous 1 360 000 1 360 000 806 981 59,3 % 553 019 Reserve Total (excl. acquisition) 594 386 954 594 386 954 522 990 866 88,0 % 71 396 088 Acquisition of immovable property Grand total 594 386 954 594 386 954 522 990 866 88,0 % 71 396 088

The overall implementation rate of the 2021 budget is 88 %. The difference between the final budget and implementation can be explained as follows:

— Total underspending in the establishment plan category is EUR 4,9 million. This underspending relates mainly to lower needs for basic salaries (EUR 3,5 million). Other elements that explain the underspending are lower needs for various statutory entitlements (EUR 0,6 million) and for overtime (EUR 0,4 million) plus lower expenditure relating to social security (EUR 0,2 million).

— In the other staff expenditure category, 58,5 % of the underspending (EUR 2,4 million out of EUR 4,1 million) relates to staff travel expenses. Savings in other expenditure related to staff (training, medical expenses, social services, etc.) total EUR 0,4 million. Lower payments for contract staff, seconded national experts and other outside services account for another EUR 1,3 million.

— The overall implementation of building-related expenditure resulted in a saving of EUR 2,0 million. Of this amount, EUR 1,2 million is due to lower costs in maintenance and cleaning and EUR 0,4 million is from savings in certain fitting-out works. Another EUR 0,2 million comes from savings in building security and surveillance. The remaining EUR 0,2 million is from works to make premises secure and other building-related costs (i.e. waste removal, signage and surveys by specialised bodies).

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

— For furniture, underspending of EUR 0,02 million is mainly due to lower needs arising from the renting and maintenance of furniture, partly due to the postponement to early 2022 of the EU-African Union multilateral summit.

— The EUR 0,8 million saving in technical equipment is mainly due to a lower level of purchases and replacement of technical equipment, particularly in the security area.

— The implementation in transportation is close to 100 %.

— The implementation of delegations’ travel expenses was 100 %. The amount available for delegations’ travel expenses after transfers amounted to EUR 10,2 million. The initial budget was EUR 15,5 million, to which EUR 25 million was transferred from savings in some interpretation envelopes. On the other hand, EUR 30,4 million was transferred to interpretation for the technical envelope (4). The technical interpreting envelope partially funds the languages currently used as pivot languages, a technical tool used as a bridge between combinations, instrumental for ensuring multilingual communication.

— The underspending in appropriations for interpretation amounts to EUR 57,5 million. This under spending is the final result after the transfer of EUR 25 million from interpretation envelopes to delegations’ travel envelopes (5). The final result also includes the transfer of EUR 30,4 million from delegations’ travel expenses as part of the implementation of the technical envelope.

— EUR 0,9 million of the total underspending of EUR 1,5 million on organising meetings and conferences reflects lower catering needs than were budgeted for. Reduced needs for the renting of external conference rooms and accreditation allowed for an additional saving of EUR 0,2 million. This can be explained by the effect of the pandemic on regular meetings combined with the postponement of the EU-African Union Multilateral Summit.

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

— In the ‘Miscellaneous’ category, the underspending of EUR 0,5 million is explained mainly by lower needs in legal services (EUR 0,4 million) combined with reduced needs for office removals, studies, uniforms and other operating expenditure.

3.4. Appropriations carried over

3.4.1. Appropriations carried over automatically from 2020 to 2021

As presented in Table 9, an amount of EUR 69,6 million was carried over from 2020 to 2021.

Table 9

Implementation of appropriations carried over from 2020 to 2021 (by category)

(EUR) Category Appropriations carried over from 2020 Payments 2021 Outturn rate Cancelled appropriations 1 2 3=2/1 4=1-2 Establishment plan 326 349 302 459 92,7 % 23 890 Other staff expenditure 1 380 868 1 074 900 77,8 % 305 968 Buildings 21 973 039 16 351 777 74,4 % 5 621 262 Computer systems 24 016 219 23 682 349 98,6 % 333 869 Furniture 852 821 841 321 98,7 % 11 500 Technical equipment 2 997 152 2 737 242 91,3 % 259 910 Transport 518 695 229 981 44,3 % 288 714 Delegations’ travel expenses Interpreting costs 13 482 401 10 960 190 81,3 % 2 522 211 Meetings and conferences 567 139 301 760 53,2 % 265 379 Information 3 256 451 2 864 529 88,0 % 391 922 Miscellaneous 213 767 172 532 80,7 % 41 235 Reserve Total 69 584 901 59 519 041 85,5 % 10 065 860

The implementation rate for the appropriations carried over from 2020 was 85,5 %. The main reasons for this implementation rate are:

— partial or complete non-delivery of works/goods/services ordered by the GSC during the previous year;

— invoices not received for works/goods/services delivered. This inevitably constitutes a budgetary burden for the next budget year, as new commitments will have to be introduced in 2022 for those transactions.

3.4.2. Appropriations carried over automatically from 2021 to 2022

Appropriations carried over from 2021 to 2022 totalled EUR 62 million.

Table 10

Appropriations carried over from 2021 to 2022 (by category)

(EUR) Category Budget 2021 (initial) Budget 2021 (final (*2)) Commitments Payments 2021 Appropriations carried over to 2022 Carry over rate 1 2 3 4 5=3-4 6=5/3 Establishment plan 342 791 545 342 791 545 337 934 778 337 480 703 454 075 0,1 % Other staff expenditure 27 684 909 27 684 909 23 585 787 21 892 889 1 692 898 7,2 % Buildings 57 151 000 56 221 000 54 238 245 35 709 119 18 529 126 34,2 % Computer systems 47 116 000 57 043 000 57 030 431 33 327 229 23 703 202 41,6 % Furniture 951 000 951 000 926 209 198 986 727 224 78,5 % Technical equipment 7 192 000 6 986 000 6 159 402 2 620 136 3 539 267 57,5 % Transport 1 368 000 1 368 000 1 367 115 585 006 782 109 57,2 % Delegations’ travel expenses 15 505 000 10 150 204 10 150 204 10 150 204 0,0 % Interpreting costs 80 000 000 77 303 796 19 784 532 10 994 825 8 789 706 44,4 % Meetings and conferences 5 757 000 4 997 000 3 477 460 2 614 496 862 964 24,8 % Information 7 510 500 7 530 500 7 529 721 4 887 926 2 641 795 35,1 % Miscellaneous 1 360 000 1 360 000 806 981 518 269 288 712 35,8 % Reserve Total (excl. acquisition) 594 386 954 594 386 954 522 990 866 460 979 787 62 011 078 11,9 % Acquisition of immovable property Grand total 594 386 954 594 386 954 522 990 866 460 979 787 62 011 078 11,9 %

The amounts carried over from 2021 to 2022 come mainly from the following categories:

— computer systems: EUR 23,7 million, of which EUR 14 million relates to outside assistance, EUR 8,0 million to equipment and software, EUR 1,1 million to IT services and maintenance and EUR 0,6 million to telecommunications;

— buildings: EUR 18,5 million, where various fitting-out works account for EUR 7,0 million, cleaning and maintenance EUR 3,8 million, security and prevention EUR 3,8 million, electricity, water, gas and heating another EUR 1,7 million, works to make the premises secure EUR 1,3 million and EUR 0,9 million of other expenditure related to buildings, e.g. building studies;

— EUR 8,8 million to cover part of the cost of interpretation provided in 2021, but for which invoices have not been fully agreed with European Commission services (particularly regarding reprogramming costs);

— technical equipment: EUR 3,5 million which corresponds to the purchase and maintenance of conference equipment;

— EUR 2,6 million relates to information expenditure, of which EUR 1,9 million concerns information and public events, EUR 0,6 million documentation and library expenditure and EUR 0,1 million Council publications;

— other staff expenditure: EUR 1,7 million, mainly in relation to training and recruitment expenditure (EUR 0,7 million), the medical service and childcare facilities (EUR 0,4 million), missions expenses (including travelling) (EUR 0,3 million) and support measures to assist staff (EUR 0,2 million);

— meetings and conferences: EUR 0,9 million, mostly relating to invoices not yet received for organising European Council and Council meetings in 2021;

— transport: EUR 0,8 million, covering provision for rental and repair costs of the vehicle fleet (EUR 0,5 million) and for the Council staff mobility plan (EUR 0,3 million);

— furniture: EUR 0,7 million, corresponding to purchases of furniture for hybrid meeting rooms, the press room, the pilot project for New Ways of Working (NWOW) and the crèche building;

— miscellaneous expenses: EUR 0,3 million, corresponding mostly to legal expenses (EUR 0,1 million), office supplies (EUR 0,1 million) and postal charges (EUR 0,04 million).

3.5. Assigned revenue

3.5.1. Assigned revenue accrued before 2021

The total amount of assigned revenue accrued before 2021 was EUR 43,1 million.

Table 11

Implementation of assigned revenue accrued before 2021 (by category)

(EUR) Category Assigned revenues before 2021 (final (*3)) Commitments 2021 Payments 2021 Outturn rate Cancelled assigned revenues 1 2 3 4=2/1 4=1-2 Establishment plan 1 456 544 1 443 178 1 443 178 99,1 % 13 366 Other staff expenditure 1 662 956 1 633 352 1 615 668 98,2 % 29 604 Buildings 527 758 512 601 439 491 97,1 % 15 158 Computer systems 892 372 877 927 657 026 98,4 % 14 446 Furniture — — — — Technical equipment 16 619 15 011 12 098 90,3 % 1 607 Transport 6 113 6 113 1 332 100,0 % Delegations’ travel expenses 30 385 449 30 385 449 30 385 449 100,0 % Interpreting costs 7 909 056 7 909 056 7 909 056 100,0 % Meetings and conferences 84 097 84 097 64 285 100,0 % Information 12 544 10 013 10 013 2 530 Miscellaneous 82 540 80 541 80 531 97,6 % 1 999 Total EC/C 43 036 048 42 957 337 42 618 125 99,8 % 78 711 SLAs with EEAS 80 000 59 871 54 571 74,8 % 20 129 Grand total 43 116 048 43 017 207 42 672 696 99,8 % 98 840

Assigned revenue related to the GSC’s activities totalled EUR 43,1 million, of which EUR 43 million was duly committed in 2021. The remainder, EUR 0,1 million, was cancelled in accordance with Article 12(1) of the FR.

Another part of the assigned revenue accrued before 2021, EUR 0,08 million, relates to amounts transferred by the EEAS in 2020 to the Council to cover the expenses of services defined in various Service-Level Agreements (SLAs) between the two institutions and provided by the GSC. Of the committed amount of EUR 0,06 million, EUR 0,05 million was paid in 2020.

3.5.2. Assigned revenue carried over for payment from 2020

The total amount of assigned revenue carried over for payment from 2020 was EUR 0,5 million.

Table 12

Implementation of assigned revenue accrued before 2021 carried over to 2021 for payment (by category)

(EUR) Category Assigned revenues carried over for payment from 2020 Payments 2021 Outturn rate Cancelled assigned revenues 1 2 4=2/1 4=1-2 Establishment plan — Other staff expenditure 9 648 9 644 100,0 % 4 Buildings 412 792 259 685 62,9 % 153 107 Computer systems 10 890 10 890 100,0 % Furniture — Technical equipment — Transport 2 616 0,0 % 2 616 Delegations’ travel expenses — Interpreting costs — Meetings and conferences 81 — 81 Information — Miscellaneous — Total EC/C 436 026 280 219 64,3 % 155 807 SLAs with EEAS 97 196 97 196 — Grand total 533 222 377 415 70,8 % 155 807

3.5.3. Assigned revenue accrued before 2021 carried over to 2022 for payment

The assigned revenue accrued before 2021, duly committed but not paid in 2021, was carried over from 2021 to 2022 and totalled EUR 0,3 million.

Table 13

Assigned revenue accrued before 2021 carried over to 2022 (by category)

(EUR) Category Assigned revenues before 2021 (final (*4)) Commitments 2021 Payments 2021 Assigned revenuescarried over to 2021 Carry overrate 1 2 3 4=2-3 5=4/2 Establishment plan 1 456 544 1 443 178 1 443 178 — Other staff expenditure 1 662 956 1 633 352 1 615 668 17 684 1,1 % Buildings 527 758 512 601 439 491 73 110 14,3 % Computer systems 892 372 877 927 657 026 220 901 25,2 % Furniture Technical equipment 16 619 15 011 12 098 2 914 19,4 % Transport 6 113 6 113 1 332 4 781 78,2 % Delegations’ travel expenses 30 385 449 30 385 449 30 385 449 0,0 % Interpreting costs 7 909 056 7 909 056 7 909 056 0,0 % Meetings and conferences 84 097 84 097 64 285 19 812 23,6 % Information 12 544 10 013 10 013 — Miscellaneous 82 540 80 541 80 531 10 0,0 % Total EC/C 43 036 048 42 957 337 42 618 125 339 211 0,8 % SLAs with EEAS 80 000 59 871 54 571 5 300 8,9 % Grand total 43 116 048 43 017 207 42 672 696 344 511 0,8 %

The amounts carried over relate mainly to IT outside assistance (EUR 0,2 million).

3.5.4. Assigned revenue accrued in 2021

The total assigned revenue accrued in 2021 totalled EUR 41,8 million. Of this, EUR 0,4 million corresponds to amounts transferred by the EEAS to the Council.

Table 14

Implementation of assigned revenue accrued in 2021 (by category)

(EUR) Category Assigned revenues 2021 (final (*5)) Commitments 2021 Payments2021 Not committed Available for payment 1 2 3 4=1-2 5=2-3 Establishment plan 1 776 701 1 776 701 Other staff expenditure 1 302 739 162 368 136 843 1 140 371 25 524 Buildings 804 964 91 500 713 464 91 500 Computer systems 825 652 51 203 9 805 774 448 41 399 Furniture Technical equipment 2 750 2 750 Transport Delegations’ travel expenses 36 363 724 36 363 724 Interpreting costs Meetings and conferences 24 076 24 076 Information 161 270 14 877 146 393 14 877 Miscellaneous 126 974 126 974 Total EC/C 41 388 848 319 949 146 648 41 068 900 173 300 SLAs with EEAS 406 362 159 951 86 868 246 411 73 084 Grand total 41 795 211 479 900 233 516 41 315 311 246 384

The assigned revenue in 2021 relating to the activities of the GSC amounted to EUR 41,8 million. During the financial year, EUR 0,5 million was committed while EUR 41,3 million was carried over to 2022 in accordance with Article 12(4) of the FR.

Around 87 % of the assigned revenue (EUR 36,4 million) relates to the balance of delegations’ travel expenses after submission of their travel declarations and the anticipated reimbursement of the 2021 travel envelopes by several Member States.

The remainder relates mainly to the reimbursement of amounts connected with various administrative operations at the Council.

(1) Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, amending Regulations (EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014, and Decision No 541/2014/EU and repealing Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012 (OJ L 193, 30.7.2018, p. 1).

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

(3) Net amount > EUR 250 000.

(*1) Includes internal reallocation of appropriations.

(4) In conformity with Decision 54/18 of the Secretary-General of the Council (Art. 10.3), an amount equivalent to the underspent amount from the previous year under delegates' travel expenses is to be transferred annually to interpretation. In 2021, this amounted to EUR 30,4 million.

(5) In accordance with Decision 54/18 (Art. 10.1), the GSC transfers 66 % of the unused amounts of interpretation language envelopes to the delegates' travel envelopes to be used during the same budget year. In 2021, this amounted to EUR 25 million.

(*2) Includes internal reallocation of appropriations.

(*3) Includes internal reallocation of appropriations.

(*4) Includes internal reallocation of appropriations.

(*5) Includes internal reallocation of appropriations.