P8_TA(2017)0286

Draft amending budget no 2 to the General budget 2017 entering the surplus of the financial year 2016

European Parliament resolution of 4 July 2017 on the Council position on Draft amending budget No 2/2017 of the European Union for the financial year 2017: Entering the surplus of the financial year 2016 (09437/2017 — C8-0190/2017 — 2017/2061(BUD))

(2018/C 334/29)

The European Parliament,

— having regard to Article 314 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

— having regard to Article 106a of the Treaty establishing the European Atomic Energy Community,

— having regard to 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 (1), and in particular Article 41 thereof,

— having regard to the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2017, as definitively adopted on 1 December 2016 (2),

— having regard to Council Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 1311/2013 of 2 December 2013 laying down the multiannual financial framework for the years 2014-2020 (3),

— 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 (4),

— having regard to Council Decision 2014/335/EU, Euratom of 26 May 2014 on the system of own resources of the European Union (5),

— having regard to Draft amending budget No 2/2017, which the Commission adopted on 12 April 2017 (COM(2017)0188),

— having regard to the position on Draft amending budget No 2/2017 which the Council adopted on 8 June 2017 and forwarded to Parliament on 9 June 2017 (09437/2017 — C8-0190/2017),

— having regard to Rules 88 and 91 of its Rules of Procedure,

— having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgets (A8-0229/2017),

A. whereas Draft amending budget No 2/2017 aims to enter in the 2017 budget the surplus from the 2016 financial year, amounting to EUR 6 405 million;

B. whereas the main components of that surplus are a positive outturn on income of EUR 1 688 million, an under-spending in expenditure of EUR 4 889 million, and exchange rate differences amounting to EUR — 173 million;

C. whereas on the income side, the two main components are interest on late payments and fines (EUR 3 052 million) and a negative outturn on own resources (EUR 1 511 million);

D. whereas on the expenditure side, under-implementation reaches EUR 4 825 million for 2016 and EUR 28 million for 2015 carryovers under Section III (Commission), and EUR 35 million for other institutions;

1. Takes note of Draft amending budget No 2/2017, as submitted by the Commission, which is devoted solely to the budgeting of the 2016 surplus of EUR 6 405 million, in accordance with Article 18 of the Financial Regulation, and of the Council’s position thereon;

2. Notes with considerable concern the significant under-implementation of EUR 4 889 million in 2016, despite the fact that Amending budget No 4/2016 had already reduced the level of payment appropriations by EUR 7 284,3 million; points out that the very low implementation of payment appropriations in the area of cohesion (Heading 1b) is partially due to inaccurate forecasts by Member States and to delays in the designation of managing and certifying authorities at national level;

3. Draws attention to the negative impact of the depreciation of the British Pound against the Euro, which is the main cause of the shortfall in revenues of EUR 1 511 million under own resources; notes that that shortfall could have created severe problems for the financing of the Union budget; remarks that that shortfall in revenues is due to the unilateral British decision to leave the Union, but that the correction has to be borne by the Union as a whole; insists that those costs should be considered when negotiating the settlement of financial obligations between the UK and the Union;

4. Notes in particular the relatively high level of fines in 2016, which totalled EUR 4 159 million, of which EUR 2 861 million are counted in the 2016 surplus;

5. Insists that, instead of adjusting the GNI contribution, the Union budget should be enabled to reuse any surplus resulting from under-implementation of appropriations or from fines imposed on companies for breaching Union competition law in order to deal with the financing needs of the Union;

6. Observes that the adoption of Draft amending budget No 2/2017 will reduce the share of GNI contributions from Member States to the Union budget in 2017 by EUR 6 405 million; once more, urges Member States to use the opportunity of such a reflow to honour their pledges in relation to the refugee crisis and to match the Union contribution to Union trust funds and to the new European Fund for Sustainable Development ( 6 )

7. Calls on Union institutions to swiftly process the pending and upcoming draft amending budgets for the Youth Employment Initiative and for the European Fund for Sustainable Development, in line with the commitments taken as part of the outcome of the conciliation on the 2017 budget;

8. Regrets in the context of this Draft amending budget that the adoption of the mid-term revision of the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) was blocked in the Council for several months; is relieved that the British government kept its word and lifted its blockade on the MFF revision swiftly after the General elections in the UK; hopes that the reflow of financial resources to Member States will ease the upcoming negotiations on the settlement of financial obligations between the UK and the Union;

9. Approves the Council position on Draft amending budget No 2/2017;

10. Instructs its President to declare that Amending budget No 2/2017 has been definitively adopted and arrange for its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union ;

11. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the other institutions and bodies concerned and the national parliaments.

(1) OJ L 298, 26.10.2012, p. 1.

(2) OJ L 51, 28.2.2017, p. 1.

(3) OJ L 347, 20.12.2013, p. 884.

(4) OJ C 373, 20.12.2013, p. 1.

(5) OJ L 168, 7.6.2014, p. 105.

(6) Proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the European Fund for Sustainable Development and establishing the EFSD Guarantee and the EFSD Guarantee Fund (COM(2016)0586 final).