Commission Decision - Commitment appropriations to be made available again in 2008
Date: 2008-02-14
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: commitment of expenditure, financial management, financial regulation, general budget (EU), implementation of the budget

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 14.2.2008 
SEC(2008) 215 final 

COMMISSION DECISION 

NON-AUTOMATIC CARRYOVER OF 
NON-DIFFERENTIATED APPROPRIATIONS 
FROM 2007 TO 2008 

COMMISSION DECISION 

NON-AUTOMATIC CARRYOVER OF 
DIFFERENTIATED APPROPRIATIONS 
FROM 2007 TO 2008 

COMMISSION DECISION 

COMMITMENT APPROPRIATIONS TO BE MADE 
AVAILABLE AGAIN IN 2008 

EN 

   EN 

 
 
 
  
COMMISSION DECISION 

NON-AUTOMATIC CARRYOVER OF 
NON-DIFFERENTIATED APPROPRIATIONS 
FROM 2007 TO 2008 

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, 

Having  regard  to  Article  9,  points  1  to  4  of  the  Financial  Regulation  of  25 June 2002 
applicable  to  the  general  budget  of  the  European  Communities1,  Council  Regulation 
No 1605/2002,2 as last amended by Financial Regulation of 13 December 2006 applicable to 
the  general  budget  of  the  European  Communities3,  Council  Regulation  No 1995/2006  (JO 
L390 30.12.L2006) 

HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:  

1. 

The following appropriations from Section III (Commission) of the 2007 budget are 
hereby carried over to 2008 for the reasons set out in the annex.   

Sole Article  

€ 879,770 for non-differentiated appropriations. 

2. 

The Council and Parliament shall be informed of this decision. 

Done at Brussels, 14 February 2008 

For the Commission 
Dalia Grybauskaité 
Member of the Commission 

1 
2 
3 

OJ L 248, 16.09.2002, p.l 
Regulation of 25.06.2002; these provisions are set out on the following pages. 
OJ L 390, 30.12.2006, p.1 

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2 

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ANNEX  

Extract from the Financial Regulation 

Article 9 

(1) 

Appropriations  which  have  not  been  used  at  the  end  of  the  financial  year  for  which 
they  were  entered  shall  be  cancelled.  However,  they  may  be  carried  over  to  the 
following financial year only, by a decision taken by the institution concerned by 15 
February  at  the  latest,  in  accordance  with  paragraphs  2  and  3  or  be  carried  over 
automatically in accordance with paragraph 4. 

(2) 

Commitment  appropriations  and  non-differentiated  appropriations  not  yet  committed 
at the close of the financial year may be carried over in respect of: 

(a) 

(b) 

amounts  corresponding  to  commitment  appropriations  for  which  most  of  the 
preparatory  stages  of  the  commitment  procedure  have  been  completed  by  31 
December.  These  amounts  may  then  be  committed  up  to  31  March  of  the 
following year; 

amounts which are necessary when the legislative authority has adopted a basic 
act  in  the  final  quarter  of  the  financial  year  and  the  Commission  has  been 
unable  to  commit  the  appropriations  provided  for  this  purpose  by  31 
December. 

Payment  appropriations  may  be  carried  over  in  respect  of  amounts  needed  to  cover 
existing  commitments  or  commitments  linked  to  commitment  appropriations  carried 
over,  when  the  appropriations  provided  for  the  relevant  lines  in  the  budget  for  the 
following  financial  year  do  not  cover  requirements.  The  institution  concerned  shall 
first use the appropriations authorised for the current financial year and shall not use 
the appropriations carried over until the former are exhausted. 

Non-differentiated appropriations corresponding to obligations duly contracted at the 
close of the financial year shall be carried over automatically to the following financial 
year only. 

The  institution  concerned  shall  inform  the  European  Parliament  and  the  Council 
(hereinafter  ‘the  budgetary  authority’)  by  15  March  at  the  latest  of  the  carry-over 
decision  it  has  taken  and  shall  state,  for  each  budget  line,  how  the  criteria  in 
paragraphs 2 and 3 have been applied to each carry-over. 

(3) 

(4) 

(5) 

(6) 

Appropriations placed in reserve and appropriations for staff expenditure may not be 
carried over. 

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CARRYOVER OF NON-DIFFERENTIATED APPROPRIATIONS 

No. 

2007 
Budget 

Heading 

2008 
Budget 

Ref. Fin. Reg. 

Amount to be 
carried over 

1 

05 01 04 04 

European  Agricultural  Fund  for  Rural 
Development (EAFRD) – 

Non-operational technical assistance 

05 01 04 04 

article 9 § 2a 

470.370,00

HEADING 2 - TOTAL 

470.370,00

2 

3 

04 01 02 11  Other management expenditure 

04 01 02 11 

article 9 § 2a 

350.000,00

31 01 02 11  Other management expenditure 

31 01 02 11 

article 9 § 2a 

59.400,00

HEADING 5 - TOTAL 

GRAND TOTAL 

409.400,00

879.770,00

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CARRYOVER OF NON-DIFFERENTIATED APPROPRIATIONS 

Grounds 

1. 

05  01  04  04  European  Agricultural  Fund  for  Rural  Development  (EAFRD)  -  Non-
operational technical assistance 

Appropriation authorised 2007: 
Commitments at 31.12.2007: 
Amount not used at 31.12.2007: 
Carryover: 

5.280.000,00 € 
4.375.625,88 € 
904.374,12 € 
470.370,00 € 

The  request  for  the  carryover  of  commitment  appropriations  relates  to  the  contract  “European  Evaluation 
Network for Rural Development — AGRI-2007-G4-8”. The authorising officer by subdelegation submitted the 
award proposal to DG AGRI’s Procurement Committee and the preparatory working party initially accepted it 
on  26.11.2007.  The  Procurement  Committee’s  request  for  further  information  was  completed  and  sent  to  the 
Committee  chairman  on  10.12.2007.  The  contract  is  on  the  agenda  of  the  first  meeting  of  the  Procurement 
Committee in early January 2008. The contractor is European Economic Interest Grouping: EEOG EurEval. 

2. 

04 01 02 11 Other management expenditure 

Appropriation authorised 2007: 
Commitments at 31.12.2007: 
Amount not used at 31.12.2007: 
Carryover: 

8.632.954,00 € 
7.971.255,09 € 
661.698,91 € 
350.000,00 € 

This carryover is for two pilot studies requested by the European Parliament on the:  

(1) 

Relative  impact  of  mechanical  stresses,  work  organisation  factors  and  physiological  factors  in  the 
development of musculoskeletal disorders of the upper limbs and neck; 

(2) 

Impact on health and safety at work conditions of the technical innovation in IT equipment. 

The Commission’s desire to respond as effectively as possible to the European Parliament’s expectations led to 
exchanges until the end of June 2007. 

The  transfer  needed  to  provide  appropriations  for  DG  EMPL  was  presented  to  the  budgetary  authority  in  late 
June. The appropriations were actually made available to DG EMPL in late July 2007. 

The  Commission  immediately  launched  calls  for  tender  VT/2007/0116  and  VT/2007/0117,  which,  however, 
were not fully completed by 31/12/2007. 

However, after the various stages of the procedure and the translation of the specifications, the contract notices 
were  published  in  the  Official  Journal  on  17  and  21/11/2007  with  time  limits  of  28  and  31/12/2007  for  the 
submission of tenders. 

The  tenders  for  study  1  were  opened  on  14/01/2008  and  evaluated  on  15/01/2008  and  at  least  one  tender  is 
acceptable. 

The tenders for study 2 were opened on 10/01/2008 and evaluated on 15 and 16/01/2008 and at least one tender 
is acceptable. 

The commitments for these two studies can therefore be concluded by 31 March 2008. 

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3. 

31 01 02 11 Other management expenditure 

Appropriation authorised 2007: 
Commitments at 31.12.2007: 
Amount not used at 31.12.2007: 
Carryover: 

5.813.909,58 € 
5.645.909,00 € 
168.000,58 € 
59.400,00 € 

To  complete  the  technical  documentation  of  its  continually  evolving  applications,  DGT  wanted  to  draw  up  a 
specific  contract  based  on  a DIGIT framework  contract  for  the  recruitment  of  a  “writer”.  Since  July  2007  the 
DGT has taken the steps necessary to draw up this contract. Unfortunately, the cascade had to be applied twice 
and was unsuccessful  as  the  candidates  accepted by  DGT  were  finally  allocated  to  other  customers  at  the  last 
moment and without advance warning. The other candidates proposed by the contractors did not have the skills 
needed to carry out the tasks required.  

Finally, in agreement with DIGIT, DGT opted for the recruitment of a Senior Analyst Programmer with specific 
expertise in drafting technical operating documents and deploying information systems. The cascade had to be 
applied again, but it did lead to the selection of a service provider. Unfortunately, commitment could not take 
place before 31 December 2007 because of the delay incurred in the first stage of selection.  

However,  the  preparatory  stages  for  signing  the  contract  were  completed  by  31.12.2007  in  accordance  with 
Article 9(2)(a) of the Financial Regulation and Article 6 of the implementing rules.  

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COMMISSION DECISION 

NON-AUTOMATIC CARRYOVER OF 
DIFFERENTIATED APPROPRIATIONS 
FROM 2007 TO 2008 

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, 

Having  regard  to  Article  9,  points  1  to  4  of  the  Financial  Regulation  of  25 June 2002 
applicable  to  the  general  budget  of  the  European  Communities4,  Council  Regulation 
No 1605/2002,5 as last amended by Financial Regulation of 13 December 2006 applicable to 
the  general  budget  of  the  European  Communities6,  Council  Regulation  No 1995/2006  (JO 
L390 30.12.L2006). 

HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:  

1. 

The following appropriations from Section III (Commission) of the 2007 budget are 
hereby carried over to 2008 for the reasons set out in the annex.   

Sole Article  

€ 
€ 174,921,376.10 in payment appropriations 

1,597,427,702.16 

in 

commitment 

appropriations 

2. 

The Council and Parliament shall be informed of this decision. 

Done at Brussels, 14 February 2008 

For the Commission  
Dalia Grybauskaité 
Member of the Commission 

4 
5 
6 

OJ L 248, 16.09.2002, p.1 
Regulation of 25.06.2002; these provisions are set out on the following pages. 
OJ L 390, 30.12.2006, p.1 

EN 

7 

   EN 

 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
ANNEX  

Extract from the Financial Regulation 

Article 9 

(1) 

Appropriations  which  have  not  been  used  at  the  end  of  the  financial  year  for  which 
they  were  entered  shall  be  cancelled.  However,  they  may  be  carried  over  to  the 
following financial year only, by a decision taken by the institution concerned by 15 
February  at  the  latest,  in  accordance  with  paragraphs  2  and  3  or  be  carried  over 
automatically in accordance with paragraph 4. 

(2) 

Commitment  appropriations  and  non-differentiated  appropriations  not  yet  committed 
at the close of the financial year may be carried over in respect of: 

(a) 

(b) 

amounts  corresponding  to  commitment  appropriations  for  which  most  of  the 
preparatory  stages  of  the  commitment  procedure  have  been  completed  by  31 
December.  These  amounts  may  then  be  committed  up  to  31  March  of  the 
following year; 

amounts which are necessary when the legislative authority has adopted a basic 
act  in  the  final  quarter  of  the  financial  year  and  the  Commission  has  been 
unable  to  commit  the  appropriations  provided  for  this  purpose  by  31 
December. 

Payment  appropriations  may  be  carried  over  in  respect  of  amounts  needed  to  cover 
existing  commitments  or  commitments  linked  to  commitment  appropriations  carried 
over,  when  the  appropriations  provided  for  the  relevant  lines  in  the  budget  for  the 
following  financial  year  do  not  cover  requirements.  The  institution  concerned  shall 
first use the appropriations authorised for the current financial year and shall not use 
the appropriations carried over until the former are exhausted. 

Non-differentiated appropriations corresponding to obligations duly contracted at the 
close of the financial year shall be carried over automatically to the following financial 
year only. 

The  institution  concerned  shall  inform  the  European  Parliament  and  the  Council 
(hereinafter  ‘the  budgetary  authority’)  by  15  March  at  the  latest  of  the  carry-over 
decision  it  has  taken  and  shall  state,  for  each  budget  line,  how  the  criteria  in 
paragraphs 2 and 3 have been applied to each carry-over. 

(3) 

(4) 

(5) 

(6) 

Appropriations placed in reserve and appropriations for staff expenditure may not be 
carried over. 

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CARRYOVER OF COMMITMENT APPROPRIATIONS 

No. 

2007 
Budget 

1 

02 03 01 

Heading 

2008 
Budget 

Ref. Fin. Reg. 

Amount to be 
carried over 

Operation and development of the internal 
market,  particularly 
the  fields  of 
notification,  certification  and  sectoral 
approximation 

in 

02 03 01 

article 9 § 2a 

200.000,00

2 

3 

04 03 07 

Analysis  of  and  studies  on  the  social 
situation, demographics and the family 

04 03 07 

article 9 § 2a 

43.000,00

06 02 04 01 

Internal  market  and  optimisation  of 
transport systems 

06 02 04 01 

article 9 § 2a 

454.116,00

HEADING 1a - TOTAL 

697.116,00

4 

04 02 17 

European 
Convergence 

Social 

Fund 

(ESF) 

- 

04 02 17 

article 9 § 2a 

13.163.237,00

5 

13 03 19 

European  Regional  Development  Fund 
Territorial 
- 
(ERDF) 
Cooperation 

European 

13 03 19 

article 9 § 2a 

95.533.659,00

6 

13 05 03 01 

Cross-border 
Contribution from Heading 1-b 

cooperation 

(CBC) 

- 

13 05 03 01 

article 9 § 2a 

21.532.686,00

HEADING 1b - TOTAL 

130.229.582,00

7 

8 

9 

05 04 05 01  Rural development programmes 

05 04 05 01 

article 9 § 2a 

1.360.517.165,00

11 02 01 01 

Intervention  in  fishery  products  -  New 
measures 

11 02 01 01 

article 9 § 2a 

699.716,16

11 03 01 

International fisheries agreements 

11 03 01 

article 9 § 2a 

1.500.000,00

HEADING 2 - TOTAL 

1.362.716.881,16

10 

18 02 04 

Schengen information system (SIS II) 

18 02 04 01 

article 9 § 2a 

1.555.036,00

HEADING 3a - TOTAL 

1.555.036,00

11 

05 05 02 

Instrument  for  Pre-accession  Assistance 
for Rural Development (IPARD) 

05 05 02 

article 9 § 2a 

48.300.000,00

12 

13 05 03 02 

Cross-border 
cooperation 
Contribution from Heading 4 

(CBC) 

- 

13 05 03 02 

article 9 § 2a 

16.718.081,00

13 

19 03 02 

Non-proliferation and disarmament 

19 03 02 

article 9 § 2b 

1.745.893,00

14 

21 05 01 03 

Other  aspects  of  human  and  social 
development 

21 05 01 03 

article 9 § 2a 

15.000.000,00

15 

21 05 01 04  Gender equality 

21 05 01 04 

article 9 § 2a 

6.808.900,00

16 

22 02 04 02 

Cross-border  Cooperation  (CBC)  with 
Member States 

22 02 04 02 

article 9 § 2a 

1.656.213,00

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17 

22 02 07 01  Regional and horizontal programmes 

22 02 07 01 

article 9 § 2a 

10.500.000,00

18 

22 02 07 01  Regional and horizontal programmes 

22 02 07 01 

article 9 § 2a 

1.500.000,00

HEADING 4 - TOTAL 

GRAND TOTAL 

102.229.087,00

1.597.427.702,16

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CARRYOVER OF COMMITMENT APPROPRIATIONS 

Grounds 

1. 

02 03 01 Operation and development of the internal market, particularly in the fields 
of notification, certification and sectoral approximation 

Appropriation authorised 2007: 
Commitments at 31.12.2007: 
Amount not used at 31.12.2007: 
Carryover: 

16.085.000,00 € 
15.474.374,05 € 
610.625,95 € 
200.000,00 € 

The carryover of €200 000 is for the “Analysis of the policy for SMEs in the South-East European countries”. 
The  Organisation  for  Economic  Cooperation  and  Development  (OECD)  receives  an  ad  hoc  grant,  but  the 
commitments could not be signed by 31/12/2007 because of the time taken by procedures. 

2. 

04 03 07 Analysis of and studies on the social situation, demographics and the family 

Appropriation authorised 2007: 
Commitments at 31.12.2007: 
Amount not used at 31.12.2007: 
Carryover: 

3.600.000,00 € 
3.381.326,42 € 
218.673,58 € 
43.000,00 € 

The  launching  of  negotiated  call  for  tender  VT/2007/118  had  to  be  postponed  because  of  a  change  in  the 
timetable  for  the  Commission  to  adopt  the  documents  (a  memorandum  and  a  decision  setting  up  a  group  of 
international experts). 

The procedure for evaluation and for the selection of the contractor could not be completed until 20 December. 

There was therefore insufficient time to draw up the commitment and send the contract for signature before the 
end of the budgetary year.  

3. 

06 02 04 01 Internal market and optimisation of transport systems 

Appropriation authorised 2007: 
Commitments at 31.12.2007: 
Amount not used at 31.12.2007: 
Carryover: 

7.706.800,00 € 
7.252.683,76 € 
454.116,24 € 
454.116,00 € 

This carryover of commitment appropriations relates to a grant to be paid to DATEX (communication protocol 
between  road  traffic  management  centres).  This  is  a  monopoly  grant  that  required  long  discussions  with  the 
tenderers and the final version of the proposal was available in December. However, the phase of negotiations 
with  the  tenderers  was  not  completed  in  time  to  finalise  the  commitment  by  31/12/2007.  The  grant  to  be 
provided is €454 116. 

Virtually all the administrative steps have been finalised. This project is therefore ready for the launching of the 
budgetary commitment procedure and the signature of the contract. 

4. 

04 02 17 European Social Fund (ESF) - Convergence 

Appropriation authorised 2007: 
Commitments at 31.12.2007: 
Amount not used at 31.12.2007: 
Carryover: 

6.773.365.198,00 € 
6.759.975.961,00 € 
13.389.237,00 € 
13.163.237,00 € 

Of the 117 European Social Fund programmes for the period 2007-2013, only one could not be adopted in time 
for the commitment of the first tranche in 2007.  

This  is  the  Operational  Plan  for  Martinique  (2007FR051PO001)  for  which  the  interdepartmental  consultation 
closed in December 2007 and which is scheduled to be adopted in early 2008. 

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5. 

13  03  19  European  Regional  Development  Fund  (ERDF)  -  European  Territorial 
Cooperation 

Appropriation authorised 2007: 
Commitments at 31.12.2007: 
Amount not used at 31.12.2007: 
Carryover: 

1.028.694.305,00 € 
884.635.554,00 € 
144.058.751,00 € 
95.533.659,00 € 

12 Territorial Operational Programmes have not been fully prepared for their adoption in 2007. Given that for 9 
out of 12 programmes the inter-service consultations have been finalised before the end of year, the carryover of 
2007 commitment appropriations for these programmes is requested. 

6. 

13 05 03 01 Cross-border cooperation (CBC) - Contribution from Heading 1-b 

Appropriation authorised 2007: 
Commitments at 31.12.2007: 
Amount not used at 31.12.2007: 
Carryover: 

26.565.453,00 € 
1.817.626,00 € 
24.747.827,00 € 
21.532.686,00 € 

10 Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA) CBC Operational Programmes have not been fully prepared 
for  their  adoption  in  2007.  Given  that  for  6  out  of  10  programmes  the  inter-service  consultations  have  been 
finalised  before  the  end  of  year,  the  carryover  of  2007  commitment  appropriations  for  these  programmes  is 
requested. 

7. 

05 04 05 01 Rural development programmes 

Appropriation authorised 2007: 
Commitments at 31.12.2007: 
Amount not used at 31.12.2007: 
Carryover: 

12.343.028.111,00 € 
9.513.362.081,00 € 
2.829.666.030,00 € 
1.360.517.165,00 € 

In  2007  the  Commission  approved  54  of  the  94  rural  development  programmes  planned;  € 2 829 666 030  in 
commitment appropriations for the programmes which were not approved was not used. This was due either to 
late  presentation  of  the  programmes  or  to  difficulties  in  negotiations  between  the  authorities  in  the  Member 
States and the various Commission departments. Of the 40 programmes which were not approved, 25 meet the 
conditions  for  carrying  over  appropriations  and  15  will  have  to  be  re-programmed.  On  19-12-2007  the  Rural 
Development Committee gave a favourable opinion on 16 of the 25 programmes which had their appropriations 
carried  over  and  the  second  interservice  consultation  was  finalised  before  the  Committee  (Abruzzo,  Marche, 
Castilla y Leon, Cataluña, Galicia, Pais Vasco, National Network Deutschland, Madeira, Aland, Latvia National, 
Lazio, Trento, Malta National, Bulgaria National, Corse, Guyane). The second interservice consultation for the 
other 9 programmes was finalised by 31-12-2007 (Guadeloupe, Danmark National, Molise, Puglia, Sicilia, Valle 
d'Aosta, Basilicata, Scotland, Wales). 

8. 

11 02 01 01 Intervention in fishery products - New measures 

Appropriation authorised 2007: 
Commitments at 31.12.2007: 
Amount not used at 31.12.2007: 
Carryover: 

15.500.000,00 € 
10.625.640,93 € 
4.874.359,07 € 
699.716,16 € 

The financing decision related to the payment of the expenditure incurred by Member States under the Common 
Organisation  of  the  Markets  was  adopted  in  November  2007  (C(2007)5451).  The  requests  for  reimbursement 
from  Member  States  were  received  in  late  2007,  and  the  corresponding  amounts  were  committed,  except  for 
three Member States where information necessary to make the commitment was missing (proof of payment and 
the exact identity of the responsible national agency): 

–  Ireland:  its  declarations  of  expenditure  amounting  to  €  388.975,11  were  submitted,  only  missing  the 
notification  of  the  Competent  Authority  due  to  management  changes  in  Ministries.  After  the  change  in 
management,  the  new  Competent  Authority  has  declared  that  it  will  provide  the  missing  notification 
promptly.  

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–  Poland:  the  declaration  of  expenditure  amounts  to  €  91.200,00,  and  a  similar  situation  to  that  in  Ireland 

occurred with the notification of the Competent Authority, which is expected to be promptly resolved. 

–  UK: the declaration of expenditure totals € 2 19.541,05. The information on the Competent Authority and a 

few missing invoices are expected to be submitted to the Commission in a short period of time. 

The missing documents relate only to notification of the Competent Authorities, and in one case to a proof of 
payment. 

9. 

11 03 01 International fisheries agreements 

Appropriation authorised 2007: 
Commitments at 31.12.2007: 
Amount not used at 31.12.2007: 
Carryover: 

163.258.144,00 € 
120.184.065,25 € 
43.074.078,75 € 
1.500.000,00 € 

A  financing decision  amounting  to €1 500 000 (the  estimated  value  of  the  catches)  to cover  the  compensation 
due to the Seychelles authorities for additional catches was adopted in 2007. The Seychelles authorities and the 
Member  States  had  failed  to  agree  on  the  precise  quantities.  The  commitment  can  be  finalised  as  soon  as  the 
Seychelles authorities’ final response is received. A reply is imminent and DG FISH will be able to carry out the 
commitment by 31 March 2008. 

10. 

18 02 04 Schengen information system (SIS II) 

Appropriation authorised 2007: 
Commitments at 31.12.2007: 
Amount not used at 31.12.2007: 
Carryover: 

15.000.000,00 € 
10.513.781,94 € 
4.486.218,06 € 
1.555.036,00 € 

The carryover relates to an individual commitment of €1 555 036. It concerns a negotiated procedure with the 
French authorities for the second preparatory stage for the operational management of the Strasbourg site where 
the SIS II system is to be housed. 

All  the  preparatory  stages  for  this  commitment  were  completed  by  the  end  of  2007,  including  the  favourable 
opinion of the Advisory Committee on Procurement and Contracts within DG JLS. However, it was not possible 
for the commitment to be made and for the two parties to sign the contract before the end of December 2007. It 
is proposed that this commitment now be made on the basis of a carryover.  

11. 

05 05 02 Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance for Rural Development (IPARD) 

Appropriation authorised 2007: 
Commitments at 31.12.2007: 
Amount not used at 31.12.2007: 
Carryover: 

48.300.000,00 € 
0,00 € 
48.300.000,00 € 
48.300.000,00 € 

Line 05 05 02 of the 2007 budget contained the commitment appropriations needed to finance the first tranche of 
the  IPARD  programmes  in  the  three  candidate  countries:  Turkey  (€20 700 000),  FYROM  (€2 100 000)  and 
Croatia (€25 500 000). The interservice consultation on the three programmes was completed successfully and 
the Rural Development Committee delivered a favourable opinion on 19 December 2007. However, the fact that 
the Commission had to give its final approval by means of a written procedure meant that the programmes could 
not  be  adopted  and  the  appropriations  could  not  be  committed  by  the  end  of  2007.  The  failure  to  commit  the 
appropriations by the end of 2007 is due mainly to the fact that a new instrument (IPARD) was being established 
and to the difficulties inherent in the establishment of new programmes by the candidate countries which, with 
the exception of Croatia, lacked any experience in this field. 

DG AGRI is ready for the initiation of the written procedure immediately after the carry-over is decided. This 
gives the assurance that the commitments will be made by 31 March. 

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12. 

13 05 03 02 Cross-border cooperation (CBC) - Contribution from Heading 4 

Appropriation authorised 2007: 
Commitments at 31.12.2007: 
Amount not used at 31.12.2007: 
Carryover: 

18.535.707,00 € 
1.817.626,00 € 
16.718.081,00 € 
16.718.081,00 € 

10 Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA) CBC Operational Programmes have not been fully prepared 
for their adoption in 2007. For 6 out of 10 programmes the inter-service consultations were finalised before the 
end of the year.  

All 6 IPA-CBC programmes had to pass via the IPA Management Committee to obtain the positive opinion of 
the Member States, which, coupled with the late submission by the participating countries (no programmes were 
received by the deadline of 31 May 2007) meant that decisions could not be taken in 2007. 

For all 6 cases, the decision dossiers are ready, including the necessary translations, and therefore DG REGIO 
envisages no difficulties in having these programmes approved by end-March.  

13. 

19 03 02 Non-proliferation and disarmament 

Appropriation authorised 2007: 
Commitments at 31.12.2007: 
Amount not used at 31.12.2007: 
Carryover: 

9.088.893,34 € 
7.343.000,00 € 
1.745.893,34 € 
1.745.893,00 € 

Joint  Action  2007/753/CFSP  ‘on  support  for  International  Atomic  Energy  Agency  (IAEA)  monitoring  and 
verification activities in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea in the framework of the implementation of 
the  EU  Strategy  against  the  Proliferation  of  Weapons  of  Mass  Destruction’  was  adopted  by  Council  only  on 
19/11/2007,  during  the  final  quarter  of  the  financial  year.  The  financing  decision  was  then  adopted  by  the 
Commission  on  30/11/2007  (DL/2007/3558).  In  the  meantime,  DG  RELEX  prepared  the  draft  Contribution 
Agreement  CFSP/2007/026/IAEA  DPRK  with  the  firm  objective  of  committing  the  funds  and  signing  the 
Agreement by 31/12/2007. These funds amount to € 1,780,000. The purpose of this Agreement is a contribution 
for  the  implementation,  through  the  International  Atomic  Energy  Agency  (IAEA)  of  the  Joint  Action 
2007/753/CFSP.  During  a  final  negotiation  meeting  on  13/12/2007,  the  IAEA  unexpectedly  objected  to  the 
clause  specifying  the  'on  the  spot  checks  by  the  European  Communities'  in  the  General  Conditions  of  the 
Agreement.  For  the  Commission  services,  the  issue  raised  by  the  IAEA  is  horizontal  in  nature  and  requires 
additional  time  for  consultation  with  various  Commission  services,  notably  DG  BUDG,  DG  AIDCO  and  the 
Legal  Service.  However,  the  implementation  of  Joint  Action  2007/753/CFSP  was  already  announced  by  the 
Council and the IAEA confirmed that the contribution by the Community is urgently needed in order to carry out 
very sensitive activities in a difficult and changing political context. Under these circumstances and considering 
that  most  of  the  preparatory  stages of  the  commitment  procedure  have been  completed by  31 December  2007 
including the advanced stage of preparation of the contribution agreement, a carry over to 2008 of € 1,745,893 of 
commitment appropriations is requested on budget line 1903.02 in accordance with Article 9.2b of the Financial 
Regulations (FR) and Article 6.4 of the Implementation Rules. The remaining part amounting to € 34,104 will be 
committed from assigned revenue. 

14. 

21 05 01 03 Other aspects of human and social development 

Appropriation authorised 2007: 
Commitments at 31.12.2007: 
Amount not used at 31.12.2007: 
Carryover: 

19.845.000,00 € 
4.600.000,00 € 
15.245.000,00 € 
15.000.000,00 € 

The  amount  to  be  carried  over  concerns  3  global  commitments  regarding  some  actions  of  the  2007  Annual 
Action  Programme  adopted  by  the  Commission  on  4  December  2007  (E/2007/2686)  for  the  Thematic 
Programme  Investing  in  People:  call  for  proposals  for  the  promotion  of  rights  and  needs  of  children  –  €  3.4 
million; call for proposals for culture – € 4.3 million and action in favour of social cohesion, employment and 
decent work – € 7.3 million. 

These projects went to the Comitology procedure and the Commission financing decisions were adopted: 

– 

the  procedures  concerning  the  preparation  of  the  guidelines  for  the  2  calls  for  proposals  were  finalised  in 
December, following their adoption by the Quality Support Group on 25 October 2007 

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– 

the preparation of the specific actions with the International Labour Organisation (ILO) is almost finalised 
and individual contracts should be signed in the first semester of 2008.  

In  compliance  with  DG  AIDCO's  financial  circuits,  almost  all  stages  have  been  processed.  Unfortunately  the 
final validation could not be completed by year-end and hence a carry-over is necessary.  

Accordingly, the call for proposals for the promotion of rights and needs of children is ready to be launched (the 
call for proposals for culture has already been launched) and the specific actions are ready to be contracted in the 
first semester of 2008. 

15. 

21 05 01 04 Gender equality 

Appropriation authorised 2007: 
Commitments at 31.12.2007: 
Amount not used at 31.12.2007: 
Carryover: 

13.452.900,00 € 
6.591.100,00 € 
6.861.800,00 € 
6.808.900,00 € 

The amount to be carried over concerns 1 global commitment of the 2007 Annual Action Programme, adopted 
by the Commission on 4 December 2007 (E/2007/2686), for the Thematic Programme Investing in People: call 
for gender equality – € 6.8 million.  

The  procedures  concerning  the  preparation  of  the  guidelines  for  the  gender  call  were  finalised  in  December, 
following their adoption by the Quality Standard Group (QSG) of October 25 2007. 

In  compliance  with  DG  AIDCO's  financial  circuits,  almost  all  stages  have  been  processed.  Unfortunately  the 
final validation could not be completed by year-end and hence a carry-over is necessary.  

Accordingly, the call will be launched at the beginning of 2008. 

16. 

22 02 04 02 Cross-border Cooperation (CBC) with Member States 

Appropriation authorised 2007: 
Commitments at 31.12.2007: 
Amount not used at 31.12.2007: 
Carryover: 

1.656.213,00 € 
0,00 € 
1.656.213,00 € 
1.656.213,00 € 

The  funding  on  this  budget  line  relates  to  cross-border  cooperation  programmes  between  Instrument  for  Pre-
Accession Assistance (IPA) beneficiary countries and Member States. According to Article 98 of Commission 
Regulation  718/2007,  such  programmes  will  ultimately  be  implemented  through  shared  management  and 
DG REGIO becomes the DG with ultimate responsibility for both ERDF and IPA contributions. There were 8 
programmes  ready  for  shared  management  approach  in  2007,  the  funds  for  which  were  transferred  to  chapter 
13.05. The funding left on this budget line in 2007 relates to two programmes which were not ready for shared 
implementation but will be implemented under a transitional arrangement according to Article 99 of the same 
regulation.  The  funding  for  these  programmes  therefore remains  under  the  responsibility  of  DG  ELARG.  The 
programmes concerned are FYROM-Greece and Albania-Greece.  

The CIS was completed in 2007 but the proposal could not be presented to the IPA Committee before the end of 
the  year  because  of  the  delay  by  the  Greek  authorities  in  providing  the  Commission  with  the  Strategic 
Environmental  Assessment.  The  inter–service  consultations  concerning  these  programmes  (IPA  funds  only) 
were concluded on 21 December 2007. The programmes should be submitted for opinion to the IPA Committee 
on  8  February  2008  with  the  aim  of  adopting  the  financing  decisions  and  making  the  commitments  before 
31 March 2008.  

17. 

22 02 07 01 Regional and horizontal programmes 

Appropriation authorised 2007: 
Commitments at 31.12.2007: 
Amount not used at 31.12.2007: 
Carryover: 

120.040.000,00 € 
108.040.000,00 € 
12.000.000,00 € 
10.500.000,00 € 

Due to a significant under-utilisation of administrative credits in 22 01 04 01 (€ 10 million) and of operational 
credits for Interim Civilian Administrations (€ 6.91 million) in 2007 it was decided to use part of these credits (€ 
10.5  million)  for  the  Support  for  Improvement  of  Governance  and  Management  (SIGMA)  programme  under 
22 02 07 01. The availability of these credits only became apparent in the second half of the year at which time 
DG ELARG  submitted  transfer  requests  to  DG  BUDG.  DG  ELARG  also  prepared  a  financing  proposal  in 

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15 

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October 2007 for the amount envisaged and launched an inter-service consultation (ref. D4/202949) which was 
closed  on  29  October  2007.  However,  due  to  the  fact  that  administrative  credits  were  being  used  for  an 
operational programme, a budgetary authority transfer (DEC 53/07) was necessary which was approved end of 
December 2007. This means that the financing proposal went to the IPA Committee for information but could 
not  be  adopted  in  2007.  The  proposal  by  written  procedure  has  been  already  launched  on  14  December  and 
adopted  on  the  18/01/08.  Hence  the  Commission's  Decision  will  be  adopted  by  the  Commission  and  the 
commitments made before the 31st March 2008.  

The  funding  in  22  02  07  01  for  2008  has  already  been  provisionally  allocated  to  other  programmes  and  is 
therefore not available for this SIGMA programme. The 2007 funding decision is considered essential in order to 
increase and broaden SIGMA assistance on public governance for the enlargement countries in a timely manner 
in accordance with the Commission's enlargement strategy 2007-2008.  

18. 

22 02 07 01 Regional and horizontal programmes 

Appropriation authorised 2007: 
Commitments at 31.12.2007: 
Amount not used at 31.12.2007: 
Carryover: 

120.040.000,00 € 
108.040.000,00 € 
12.000.000,00 € 
1.500.000,00 € 

When originally launching the regional programme for Albania and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia 
on the participation in the European Fund for Southeast Europe (EPSE) in July 2007 (ref. D3/202170), it was 
indicated that more funds (up to an additional € 2 million) would be added to the programme if and when they 
came available during the course of the rest of the year. In fact, it became apparent to those concerned only at the 
end  of  November,  that  there  would  be  around  €  1.5  million  left  available  on  the  relevant  budget  line 
(22 02 07 01). It was therefore at this time decided to increase the EFSE programme as foreseen. A further inter-
service consultation (ref. D3/203836) was launched on 12 December and closed on 18 December with agreement 
by all DGs concerned.  

The  funding  in  22  02  07  01  for  2008  has  already  been  provisionally  allocated  to  other  programmes  and  is 
therefore not available for this additional funding of the participation in EFSE.  

EFSE has been set up as a public and private partnership aiming at attracting private investors to promote micro-
lending in the Western Balkans. Donors' contributions play the role of a risk cushion and help leverage private 
funding in the proportion of 1 to 7.  

That  means  that  any  additional  EU  contribution  has  a  significant  leverage  effect  and  this  €  1.5  million 
supplement will allow € 10.5 million of private funding towards Albania and the Former Yugoslav Republic of 
Macedonia, which are in lack of financing. For this reason, the additional funding is considered essential.  

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CARRYOVER OF PAYMENT APPROPRIATIONS 

No.  2007 Budget 

Heading 

2008 Budget 

Amount to be 
carried over 

1 

06 05 05 

Nuclear 
(decommissioning) 

safety - 

Transitory 

measures

06 05 05 

50.000.000,00

HEADING 1a – TOTAL 

50.000.000,00

05 08 02 

Surveys on the structure of agricultural holdings 

05 08 02 

1.650.000,00

11 02 01 01 

Intervention in fishery products - New measures 

11 02 01 01 

699.716,16

11 03 01 

International fisheries agreements 

11 03 01 

3.778.400,00

HEADING 2 – TOTAL 

6.128.116,16

18 02 06 

External Borders Fund 

18 02 06 

30.000.000,00

18 03 03 

European Refugee Fund 

18 03 03 

12.000.000,00

18 03 12 

18 05 08 

Preparatory 
Solidarity in action 

action:  Migration  management 

- 

18 03 12 

6.000.000,00

Prevention, 
management of Terrorism 

preparedness 

and 

consequence 

18 05 08 

3.400.000,00

18 05 09 

Prevention of and fight against Crime 

18 05 09 

20.390.000,00

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

10 

18 06 06 

Criminal justice 

18 06 06 

10.000.000,00

HEADING 3a – TOTAL 

81.790.000,00

11 

16 03 06 

Pilot project on pilot information networks (PINs) 

16 03 06 

1.850.000,00

12 

15 06 07 

Pilot project - European political foundations 

15 06 07 

400.000,00

HEADING 3b - TOTAL 

2.250.000,00

13 

05 05 01 02 

The SAPARD pre-accession instrument - Completion 
of  the  pre-accession  assistance  related  to  eight 
applicant countries 

05 05 01 02 

34.753.259,94

HEADING 4 – TOTAL 

GRAND TOTAL 

34.753.259,94

174.921.376,10

EN 

17 

   EN 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
CARRYOVER OF PAYMENT APPROPRIATIONS 

Grounds 

1. 

06 05 05 Nuclear safety - Transitory measures (decommissioning) 

Appropriation authorised 2007: 
Payments at 31.12.2007: 
Amount not used at 31.12.2007: 
Carryover: 

110.000.000,00 € 
37.854.902,55 € 
72.145.097,45 € 
50.000.000,00 € 

Following its examination of the commitments made with the beneficiaries (European Bank for Reconstruction 
and  Development,  Lithuanian  Ministry  of  the  Economy)  in  2007  and  the  commitments  outstanding  from 
previous years, DG TREN may need €200 000 000 in payment appropriations. The implementation of ongoing 
projects has progressed considerably in 2008. 

Moreover, commitments made and still to be paid under this budget line come to around €377 700 000; 

As  a  result  of  this  situation,  the  initial  allocation  of  €150 000 000  for  2008  should  be  increased  to  cover  the 
expenditure likely to be incurred for these projects.  

The carryover of €50 000 000 should help cover the payment appropriations required in 2008.  

2. 

05 08 02 Surveys on the structure of agricultural holdings 

Appropriation authorised 2007: 
Payments at 31.12.2007: 
Amount not used at 31.12.2007: 
Carryover: 

16.700.000,00 € 
 14.847.968,93 € 
1.852.031,07 € 
1.650.000,00 € 

The main reason why the 2007 payment appropriations have not been used in full is that each Member State is 
required to furnish, in addition to survey data, an audit report drawn up by an external audit department to check 
that the grant is no higher than the actual costs.  

Some Member States have encountered difficulties in having this report drawn up in the time limit allowed and, 
as a result, those payments which could not be made in 2007 will have to be met in 2008. Four cases are still 
open and the current situation is as follows: 

–  for Belgium, the financial statement on the costs of the 2005 survey was submitted in December 2007 and no 

payments could be made; 

–  for  Germany  and  Portugal,  Eurostat’s  financial  unit  is  now  carrying  out  the  ex-ante  verification  of  the 

supporting documents for the costs incurred; 

–  for the Netherlands, the financial report and the audit report have not yet been sent. 

The final amount to be paid to these four countries totals €1.65 million and will have to be carried over as the 
appropriations  entered  in  the  2008  budget  are  lower  than  in  previous  years  and  will  not  cover  this  additional 
requirement. 

3. 

11 02 01 01 Intervention in fishery products - New measures 

Appropriation authorised 2007: 
Payments at 31.12.2007: 
Amount not used at 31.12.2007: 
Carryover: 

 15.500.000,00 € 
 10.142.284,27 € 
5.357.715,73 € 
699.716,16 € 

The  amount  corresponds  to  the  amount  of  the  commitment  appropriations  for  which  a  carry  over  has  been 
requested:  the  financing  decision  related  to  the  payment  of  expenditure  incurred  by  Member  States  under  the 
Common Organisation of Markets was adopted in November 2007. Commitments and payments were made for 
all but three member states (Ireland, Poland and the UK). In these three cases the necessary information to make 
the  commitment,  and  hence  the  payment,  was  missing  (notification  of  the  competent  authorities  and  proof  of 
payment). 

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18 

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4. 

11 03 01 International fisheries agreements 

Appropriation authorised 2007: 
Payments at 31.12.2007: 
Amount not used at 31.12.2007: 
Carryover: 

163.258.144,00 € 
153.792.871,48 € 
9.465.272,52 € 
3.778.400,00 € 

Seychelles  (€1 500 000):  This  amount  corresponds  to  the  commitment  appropriations  for  which  a  carryover 
request has also been made. 

Kiribati:  €478 400  should  have  been  paid  in  2007.  The  fisheries  protocol  annexed  to  Regulation  (EC) 
No 893/2007 of 23 July 2007 covers the period from 16/09/2006 to 15/09/2012. The authorities of the Republic 
of  Kiribati  have  not  yet  notified  the  Council  of  the  completion  of  the  ratification  procedures  necessary  for  its 
entry into force under Article 13 of the protocol to the agreement; until they do, no payment can be made. 

Mozambique: €1 800 000 should have been paid in 2007. The fisheries protocol relating to Council Regulation 
(EC) No 1446/2007 of 22 November 2007 on the conclusion of the Fisheries Partnership Agreement between the 
European Community and the Republic of Mozambique covers the period from 01/01/2007 to 31/12/2011. The 
authorities of the Republic of Mozambique have not yet confirmed the number of the bank account on which the 
transactions are to be carried out. 

These carryovers are necessary as it is planned to use all the payment appropriations entered in the budget line 
in 2008. 

5. 

18 02 06 External Borders Fund 

Appropriation authorised 2007: 
Payments at 31.12.2007: 
Amount not used at 31.12.2007: 
Carryover: 

30.234.453,55 € 
0,00 € 
30.234.453,55 € 
30.000.000,00 € 

Because of the delay in adopting the new legal base for the External Borders Fund, no prefinancing was possible 
in 2007.  

As the payment appropriations allocated for 2008 will cover the prefinancing of the commitments for 2008 only, 
the 2007 payment appropriations of €30 million have to be carried over to allow departments to prefinance the 
2007 projects as well. 

6. 

18 03 03 European Refugee Fund 

Appropriation authorised 2007: 
Payments at 31.12.2007: 
Amount not used at 31.12.2007: 
Carryover: 

60.130.000,00 € 
 47.697.762,99 € 
 12.432.237,01 € 
12.000.000,00 € 

In 2008 the plan is to prefinance the Member States’ annual programmes for 2008 (€33.3 million), prefinance 
Community  actions  from  2007  (€1.9  million),  provide  the  second prefinancing  for  the Member  States’  annual 
programmes for 2007 (€20 million), provide the second prefinancing for the Member States’ annual programmes 
for 2006 (€7 million) and close projects for 2004 and 2005 (€10 million). 

The €60 million allocated for 2008 will not cover the €72 million in payment appropriations set out above. It is 
therefore  proposed  that  €12  million  of  the  2007  payment  appropriations  should  be  carried  over  so  that  all  the 
forecast payments may be made. 

7. 

18 03 12 Preparatory action: Migration management - Solidarity in action 

Appropriation authorised 2007: 
Payments at 31.12.2007: 
Amount not used at 31.12.2007: 
Carryover: 

6.275.000,00 € 
0,00 € 
6.275.000,00 € 
6.000.000,00 € 

Because the time required by the procedures to launch this new preparatory action in 2007, the signature of the 
grant agreements and the prefinancing which will automatically result will not take place until 2008.  

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19 

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The €1 million in payment appropriations allocated for 2008 will not cover these prefinancing operations. It is 
therefore  proposed  that  €6  million  of  the  2007  payment  appropriations  should  be  carried  over  to  allow 
departments to prefinance all the projects from 2007. 

8. 

18 05 08 Prevention, preparedness and consequence management of Terrorism 

Appropriation authorised 2007: 
Payments at 31.12.2007: 
Amount not used at 31.12.2007: 
Carryover: 

6.400.000,00 € 
0,00 € 
6.400.000,00 € 
3.400.000,00 € 

The calls for proposals for the specific programme Prevention, preparedness and consequence management of 
Terrorism  were  not  issued  until  after  the  new  legal  base  was  adopted  in  February  2007.  Because  of  the  time 
needed for the procedures, no prefinancing was possible in 2007.  

As the payment appropriations allocated for 2008 cannot cover any expenditure other than the prefinancing of 
the  commitments  for  2008,  some  of  the  2007  payment  appropriations  will  have  to  be  carried  over  to  allow 
departments to prefinance the 2007 projects as well. 

9. 

18 05 09 Prevention of and fight against Crime 

Appropriation authorised 2007: 
Payments at 31.12.2007: 
Amount not used at 31.12.2007: 
Carryover: 

22.156.000,00 € 
263.705,92 € 
21.892.294,08 € 
20.390.000,00 € 

The calls for proposals for the specific programme Prevention of and fight against Crime were not issued until 
after the new legal base was adopted in February 2007. Because of the time needed for the procedures, virtually 
no prefinancing was possible in 2007.  

As the payment appropriations allocated for 2008 cannot cover any expenditure other than the prefinancing of 
the commitments for 2008, the 2007 payment appropriations will have to be carried over to allow departments to 
prefinance the 2007 projects as well. 

10. 

18 06 06 Criminal justice 

Appropriation authorised 2007: 
Payments at 31.12.2007: 
Amount not used at 31.12.2007: 
Carryover: 

14.600.000,00 € 
329.640,00 € 
14.270.360,00 € 
10.000.000,00 € 

The calls for proposals for the specific programme Criminal justice were not issued until after the new legal base 
was  adopted  in  February  2007.  Because  of  the  time  needed  for  the  procedures,  virtually  no  prefinancing  was 
possible in 2007.  

As the payment appropriations allocated for 2008 cannot cover any expenditure other than the prefinancing of 
the  commitments  for  2008,  some  of  the  2007  payment  appropriations  will  have  to  be  carried  over  to  allow 
departments to prefinance the 2007 projects as well. 

11. 

16 03 06 Pilot project on pilot information networks (PINs) 

Appropriation authorised 2007: 
Payments at 31.12.2007: 
Amount not used at 31.12.2007: 
Carryover: 

2.250.000,00 € 
3.000,00 € 
2.247.000,00 € 
1.850.000,00 € 

During the 2007 budget procedure, budget line 16 03 06 was entered in Title 16 for this pilot project for one year 
at the initiative of the European Parliament.  

The budget remarks for this line read as follows: The objective of this pilot project is to create communities of 
European  parliamentarians  (including  at  national  and  regional  level),  journalists  and  other  opinion-formers  to 
share information and knowledge about the European Union. To the fullest extent possible the aim of the pilot 
project  is  to use  the  Internet  and  on-line  tools  to  allow ‘ideas networks'  to  form  and  to  grow organically.  The 
project  will  build  upon  ideas  set  out  in  the  Commission's  White  Paper  on  a  European  Communication  Policy 
(COM(2006)35 final), but its focus will be on assisting the formation of organic ideas / information networks, 

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20 

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rather than through more ‘traditional' structures such as information points in European Commission buildings in 
the Member States. 

In 2007 this line was allocated: 

–  €5 000 000  in  commitment  appropriations  which  were  not  fully  committed  until  the  end  of  2007  as 

implementation of this pilot project was complex; 

–  €3 000 000  in payment  appropriations  which  could  not  be  used  in view of  the  circumstances.  Payments  of 

€3 350 000 are planned for 2008 under the contracts concluded. 

During  the  2008  budget  procedure,  it  was  decided  to  continue  the  experiment  for  a  second  year.  In  2008  line 
16 03 06 was allocated: 

–  €1 500 000 in commitment appropriations and 

–  €1 500 000 in payment appropriations.  

The 2008 payment appropriations will not cover the contractual commitments made in 2007 (total requirements 
minus 2008 payment appropriations equals the carryover necessary:  

–  €3 350 000 — €1 500 000 = €1 850 000). 

DG COMM would therefore request the carryover of payment appropriations totalling €1 850 000 from 2007 to 
2008 to meet its contractual obligations on line 16 03 06. 

12. 

15 06 07 Pilot project - European political foundations 

Appropriation authorised 2007: 
Payments at 31.12.2007: 
Amount not used at 31.12.2007: 
Carryover: 

400.000,00 € 
0,00 € 
400.000,00 € 
400.000,00 € 

The budget line concerns pilot actions to support political foundations at European level. Most of such political 
foundations  were  under  construction  in  2007  and  were  formally  established  only  during  the  2nd  semester  of 
2007. Reflecting this situation the deadline for grant applications was set to the end of September 2007. This led 
to the selections of beneficiaries in November 2007 and the grant agreements were signed in December 2007. No 
pre-financing payment could be done in December 2007. 

The Call for proposals foresees a first pre-financing of 40% of the contract, a second pre-financing of 40% based 
on an interim report and a final payment after the final report. This request concerns the payment appropriations 
necessary for the second pre-financing payments, which will be done during the year 2008. 

13. 

05  05  01  02  The  SAPARD  pre-accession  instrument  -  Completion  of  the  pre-
accession assistance related to eight applicant countries 

Appropriation authorised 2007: 
Payments at 31.12.2007: 
Amount not used at 31.12.2007: 
Carryover: 

50.000.000,00 € 
15.246.740,06 € 
34.753.259,94 € 
34.753.259,94 € 

Line 05 05 01 02 of the 2007 budget contained the payment appropriations needed to pay the final balance of the 
Special  Pre-Accession  Programmes  for  Agriculture  and  Rural  Development  (SAPARD)  in  Lithuania,  Latvia, 
Estonia, Poland, Hungary, Slovakia and Slovenia. 

Payment  of  the  balance  is  conditional  on  approval  of  the  final  report.  For  Estonia,  Hungary,  Slovenia  and 
Slovakia, the reports have been approved and the final balance paid. The first version of the reports for Lithuania 
and Latvia did not meet the conditions for approval. The final versions were recently received and are now being 
evaluated  by  the  Commission.  In  these  two  cases,  the  payment  appropriations  concerned  were  transferred  to 
other lines before the end of the year as the time needed to receive the new report could be foreseen. However, as 
regards Poland’s report, the Polish authorities were unable to respond in time to the Commission’s comments. 
The final version is expected for January. 

No appropriation is available in line 05 05 01 02 for 2008 as the budget contains a token entry. The carryover of 
€34 753 259.94  in  payment  appropriations  is  therefore  requested  to  meet  the  payment  of  the  final  balance  for 
Poland’s programme. 

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21 

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COMMISSION DECISION 

COMMITMENT APPROPRIATIONS TO BE MADE 
AVAILABLE AGAIN IN 2008 

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, 

Having  regard  to  Article  157  of  the  Financial  Regulation  of  25  June  2002  applicable  to  the 
general  budget  of  the  European  Communities,7  Council  Regulation  No 1605/20028  as  last 
amended  by  Financial  Regulation  of  13  December 2006  applicable  to  the  general  budget  of 
the European Communities9, Council Regulation No 1995/2006 (JO L390 30.12.L2006). 

HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:  

Sole Article  

1. 

2. 

€  1,864,865.82  from  Section III  (Commission)  of  the  2007  budget  shall  be  made 
available again in 2008 for the reasons set out in the annex. 

The Council and Parliament shall be informed of this decision. 

Done at Brussels, 14 February 2008 

For the Commission 
Dalia Grybauskaité 
Member of the Commission 

7 
8 
9 

OJ L 248, 16.09.2002, p.1 
Regulation of 25.06.2002; these provisions are set out on the following pages. 
OJ L 390, 30.12.2006, p.1 

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ANNEX  

Extract from the Financial Regulation 

Article 157 

The  Commission  shall  automatically  decommit  appropriations  that  have  been  committed  as 
provided for in the regulations referred to in Article 155. 

The decommitted appropriations may be made available again in the event of a manifest error 
attributable solely to the Commission. 

To  this  end,  the  Commission  shall  examine  decommitments  made  during  the  previous 
financial  year  and  decide,  by  15  February  of  the current year, on the basis  of requirements, 
whether it is necessary to make the corresponding appropriations available again. 

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23 

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COMMITMENT APPROPRIATIONS TO BE MADE AVAILABLE AGAIN 

No.  2007 Budget 

Heading 

2008 Budget 

Amount made 
available again 

1 

2 

04 02 09 

Completion  of  previous  Community 
programmes (prior to 2000) 

initiative 

04 02 07 

1.836.665,00

13 03 06 

Completion of Urban (2000 to 2006) 

13 03 06 

28.190,82

HEADING 1b – TOTAL 

GRAND TOTAL 

1.864.865,82

1.864.865,82

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COMMITMENT APPROPRIATIONS TO BE MADE AVAILABLE AGAIN 

Grounds 

1. 

04 02 07 Completion of previous Community initiative programmes (prior to 2000) 

Decommitments in 2007: 
Amount made available again: 

7.179.060,78 € 
1.836.665,00 € 

As part of the closure of the 1994-99 programming period and following the Italian authorities’ request for the 
balance in March 2003 (file PO 940032I 4), the unit concerned made a number of decommitments. 

Because  of  an  error  in  the  calculation,  all  outstanding  commitments  were  decommitted,  without  leaving  a 
contingency reserve.  

A  check  of  suspended  payments  undergoing  administrative  and  legal  procedures  reveals  that  an  additional 
payment of €1 836 665 is required; that this must be made to the Italian authorities as soon as possible. 

2. 

13 03 06 Completion of Urban (2000 to 2006) 

Decommitments in 2007: 
Amount made available again: 

28.190,82 € 
28.190,82 € 

Due to a manifest error made by the Commission services, the amount of € 28,190.82 shall be made available 
again to the URBAN programme 2000DEI6OPC1O9 Mannheim/Ludwigshafen. The Commission has failed to 
inform in due time the Member State of N+2 risk as required by Art.3 1.2 of Reg. 1260/1999 and the referenced 
amount  had  to  be  decommitted  (June  2007,  FED208626).  The  opinion  of  the  Legal  Service  is  provided  in 
document ref. JUR(2006)1 5586 of 31 August 2006.  

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