Preliminary draft amending budget n° 2 to the general budget 2008 - Statement of expenditure by section - Section III - Commission
Date: 2008-03-14
Institutions: Directorate-General for Budget, European Commission
Subjects: European Maritime Safety Agency, European Medicines Agency, European Regional Development Fund, amending budget, commitment of expenditure, fund (EU)

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COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 14.3.2008 
COM(2008) 150 final 

PRELIMINARY DRAFT AMENDING BUDGET N° 2  
TO THE GENERAL BUDGET 2008 

STATEMENT OF EXPENDITURE BY SECTION 
Section III - Commission 

(presented by the Commission) 

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PRELIMINARY DRAFT AMENDING BUDGET N° 2  
TO THE GENERAL BUDGET 2008 

STATEMENT OF EXPENDITURE BY SECTION 
Section III - Commission 

Having regard to: 

– 

– 

– 

the  Treaty  establishing  the  European  Community,  and  in  particular  Article 272 
thereof, 

the  Treaty  establishing  the  European  Atomic  Energy  Community,  and  in  particular 
Article 177 thereof, 

the  Council  Regulation  (EC,  Euratom)  No  1605/2002  of  25  June  2002  on  the 
Financial Regulation applicable to the general budget of the European Communities1, 
as  last  amended  by  Council  Regulation  (EC,  Euratom)  No  1995/20062,  and  in 
particular Article 37 thereof, 

The European Commission hereby presents to the budgetary authority the Preliminary Draft 
Amending Budget No 2 to the 2008 budget. 

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2 

OJ L 248, 16.9.2002, p. 1. 
OJ L 390, 30.12.2006, p. 1. 

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TABLE OF CONTENTS 

1. 

2. 

2.1. 

2.2. 

3. 

4. 

Introduction .................................................................................................................. 4 

Adjustments to Commitment Appropriations .............................................................. 4 

Adjustments for Sub-Heading 1b: European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) .. 4 

Adjustments for Heading 2: Rural Development and the European Fisheries Fund ... 5 

Modification of the Establishment Plan of EMEA ...................................................... 6 

Modification of the Establishment Plan of EMSA ...................................................... 7 

SUMMARY TABLE BY HEADING OF THE FINANCIAL FRAMEWORK ....................... 9 

CHANGES TO THE GENERAL STATEMENT OF REVENUE 

CHANGES  TO  THE  STATEMENT  OF  REVENUE  AND  EXPENDITURE  BY 
SECTION 

The changes to the general statement of revenue and the statement of revenue and expenditure 
by  section  are  forwarded  separately  via  the  SEI-BUD  system.  An  English  version  of  the 
changes  to  the  general  statement  of  revenue  and  statement  of  revenue  and  expenditure  by 
section is attached for information as a budgetary annex. 

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1. 

INTRODUCTION 

Preliminary  Draft  Amending  Budget  (PDAB)  No 2  for  the  year  2008  covers  the  following 
elements: 

–  Inclusion into the 2008 budget of unused appropriations for commitments for the European 
Regional Development Fund (ERDF), European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development 
(EAFRD) and the European Fisheries Fund (EFF), arising from delays in implementation 
of  the  first  year  of  the  multi-annual  financial  framework  2007-2013.  This  entails  an 
increase  in  commitment  appropriations  of  EUR 378 million  for  sub-heading  1b  Cohesion 
for  Growth  and  Employment,  and  of  EUR 393,6 million  for  heading  2  Preservation  and 
Management of Natural Resources. 

–  Modifications  to  the  establishment  plan  of  the  European  Medicines  Agency  (EMEA), 

following the creation of the "Paediatric Committee". 

–  Modifications to the establishment plan of the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) 
to  take  account  of  the  creation  of  a  European  Data  Centre  for  the  Long  Range 
Identification and Tracking of Ships (LRIT).  

2. 

ADJUSTMENTS TO COMMITMENT APPROPRIATIONS FOR ERDF, EAFRD AND EFF 

PDAB  2/2008  incorporates  the  budgetary  consequences  for  2008  of  the  proposal  for  a 
decision  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  on  the  adjustment  of  the  financial 
framework to take account of implementation, presented in accordance with point 48 of the 
Interinstitutional  Agreement  (IIA)  on  budgetary  discipline  and  sound  financial  management 
of 17 May 20063.  

The adjustment concerns programmes funded by the European Regional Development Fund, 
the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development and the European Fisheries Fund. It 
also applies to the European Regional Development Fund's contribution to the Cross-Border 
Programmes of the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA). 

Appropriations  for  commitments  totalling  EUR 2 034 million  were  neither  implemented  in 
2007 nor carried forward to 2008. This corresponds to the 2007 allocation of 45 Operational 
Programmes that could not be adopted in 2007, mainly due to delays in their submission to 
the Commission. Of this amount, it is proposed to transfer EUR 772 million in commitment 
appropriations  to  2008  under  the  procedure  foreseen  in  point  48  of  the  IIA,  of  which 
EUR 378 million for sub-heading 1b and EUR 393,6 million for heading 2. 

2.1. 

Adjustments  for  Sub-Heading  1b:  European  Regional  Development  Fund 
(ERDF) 

The commitments for almost all Operational Programmes (OPs) funded from sub-heading 1b 
were made on time in 2007, otherwise the respective appropriations were carried forward to 
2008. However, the programming delays affecting 23 OPs require the reprogramming of the 
respective 2007 allocation to further years of the programming period. While 14 of these OPs 

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OJ C 139, 14.6.2006, p.1. 

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are ENPI programmes with an ERDF contribution which are to be reprogrammed to 2011 and 
2012, for the remaining nine OPs, it is proposed to transfer the 2007 allocation to 2008. Of 
these nine, five are ERDF programmes worth EUR 375 million, and four are IPA programmes 
with an ERDF contribution worth just over EUR 3 million (amounts given here correspond to 
the 2007 allocation).  

The delays in ERDF programming were mainly due to the late submission of the programmes 
involved.  In  some  cases,  their  content  required  further  negotiations  to  improve  consistency 
with the Community objectives. Negotiations on the four IPA programmes delayed have been 
progressing slowly, as negotiations involving several countries (some of them third countries) 
are inevitably more complex. 

The  proposed  increase  in  commitment  appropriations  in  2008  is  shown  below.  The 
reprogramming  under  sub-heading  1b  has  no  significant  impact  on  the  expected  profile  of 
payments throughout the year. 

Budget 2008 

PDAB 2/2008 

Difference 

CA 

CA 

CA 

ERDF - Convergence  

13 03 16 

21 267 270 155 

21 593 537 197 

326 267 042 

ERDF 
cooperation  

-  European 

territorial 

Instrument 
Cross-Border  Co-operation 
Contribution from heading 1b 

for  Pre-Accession: 
- 

SUB-HEADING 1b net change  

13 03 19 

1 004 703 240 

1 053 228 332 

48 525 092 

13 05 03 01 

45 387 077 

48 602 218 

3 215 141 

378 007 275 

2.2. 

Adjustments  for  Heading  2:  Rural  Development  and  the  European  Fisheries 
Fund 

There were also delays in the approval of European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development 
(EAFRD) and European Fisheries Fund (EFF) programmes in 2007. As a consequence, it is 
proposed to re-programme the 2007 allocation of 22 OPs to later years of the programming 
period.  Of  this,  some  EUR 393 million  is  being  proposed  for  re-allocation  in  2008,  the 
majority of which is accounted for by Rural Development. 

Several  aspects  of  rural  development  programming  burdened  their  approval  procedure 
compared  to  that  of  the  Cohesion  programmes.  First,  rural  development  programming  goes 
down to the level of rural development measures, with quite detailed information required, for 
example on environmental aspects. Second, each programme is submitted for approval to the 
Rural Development Committee prior to Commission approval. Third, a significant number of 
programmes  were  only  submitted  to  the  Commission  in  the  second  half  of  2007,  which  to 
some extent might have been influenced by the uncertainty of the outcome of the negotiations 
on voluntary modulation during the first part of 2007. Finally, other factors (such as national 
institutional  constraints  and  lack  of  previous  programming  experience)  may  also  have 
contributed  to  the  late  presentation  of  draft  programmes  and/or  delays  in  clarifications 
requested by the Commission. In all, 15 OPs are concerned by the reprogramming of the 2007 
allocation to subsequent years, of which EUR 370 million in 2008. 

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Many  EFF  programmes  were  also  submitted  quite  late  (e.g.  December  2007)  making  it 
impossible to adopt the programmes in 2007. For 7 programmes, it is proposed to reallocate 
the 2007 allocation to later years, of which EUR 23 million in 2008. 

The  increase  in  commitment  appropriations  is  shown  below.  While  there  may  also  be  an 
effect on payment appropriations in 2008, the Commission does not propose any adjustments 
at  this  stage,  but  will  rather  examine  alternative  ways  of  adjusting  the  budget  if  necessary 
before requesting an amending budget. 

Budget 2008 

PDAB 2/2008 

Difference 

CA 

CA 

CA 

EAFRD  -  Rural  Development 
programmes 

05 04 05 01 

12 904 462 561 

13 274 839 325 

370 376 764 

EFF - Convergence objective  

11 06 12 

440 135 879 

459 679 025 

19 543 146 

-  Outside  convergence 

EFF 
objective  

HEADING 2 net change  

11 06 13 

144 412 627 

148 084 759 

3 672 132 

393 592 042 

3. 

MODIFICATION OF THE ESTABLISHMENT PLAN OF EMEA 

Regulation (EC) No 1901/20064 of the European Parliament and of the Council on medicinal 
products  for  paediatric  use  has  recently  introduced  a  new  regulatory  environment  for 
paediatric  medicines  in  Europe  and  has  entitled  the  European  Medicines  Agency  (EMEA) 
with additional tasks in this field.  

A new committee, the "Paediatric Committee" is established within the European Medicines 
Agency.  Under  the  paediatric  regulation  the  EMEA  ensures,  inter  alia,  the  secretariat 
functions for the Paediatric Committee, and provides it with technical and scientific support. 
Moreover, paediatric investigation plans (PIPs) are submitted to the Agency with a request for 
agreement by the Paediatric Committee. Rewards for conducting the paediatric development 
in compliance with paediatric investigation plans are also introduced.  

In the 2007 establishment plan, 9 positions were granted for the running of the new Paediatric 
Committee, and the management of other tasks required by the paediatric regulation. It should 
be noted that 2007 was the very first year of implementation and applications only started to 
be  received  during  the  summer.  In  2008,  three  additional  positions  are  already  foreseen  for 
this task in EMEA Staff Policy Plan, for a total of 12 staff members, based on an estimated 
250 applications per year. This figure is consistent with the establishment plan included in the 
final budget of the European Communities for 2008, as adopted by the budget authority. 

However, since the entry into force of the regulation, the EMEA has received more accurate 
information from industry on its strategy and the increased estimates of applications for PIPs 
and waivers, as a result of a better understanding of its obligations. It is now foreseeable that 
EMEA  might  receive  about  400  applications  per year. This represents a significant increase 
over the first estimated figures.  

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OJ L 378, 27.12.2006, p.1. 

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In  order  for  the  EMEA  to  meet  its  responsibilities  concerning  the  implementation  of  the 
paediatric regulation, the Agency has requested an increase in the number of positions in the 
establishment  plan  by  6  positions  (4  "AD"  positions  and  2  "AST"  positions),  totalling  18 
positions.  

The financing of new positions will have no effect on the overall amount of EU contribution 
to the budget of the Agency for 2008 and following years, taking into account the increased 
estimated  level  of  overall  revenues  of  the  Agency.  The  Agency  will  make  every  effort  to 
finance these positions through savings and adjustments. 

4. 

MODIFICATION OF THE ESTABLISHMENT PLAN OF EMSA 

The International Maritime Organisation (IMO) has adopted specific mandatory amendments 
to  the  International  Convention  on  Safety  of  Life  at  Sea,  introducing  requirements  for  the 
Long Range Identification and Tracking (LRIT) of Ships, which should become operational 
worldwide by 31 December 2008.  

The objective of the LRIT system is to bring about a global system for the identification and 
tracking  of  ships  that  allows  monitoring  even  outside  areas  covered  by  the  existing  coastal 
networks.  In  accordance  with  these  amendments,  contracting  Governments  shall  be  able  to 
receive information about ships, serving the following purposes: maritime security, search and 
rescue (SAR), maritime safety and protection of the marine environment. Flag states should 
set up a Data Centre (at national, regional or international level), and ensure, as a minimum, 
that  four  position  messages  per  ship  per  day  are  stored  and  are  available  for  those  actors 
entitled to access LRIT information: 1) Flag states requesting information on the location of 
their vessels irrespective of their location, 2) Coastal states requesting information on ships up 
to  1 000  nautical  miles  from  their  coasts  irrespective  of  their  flag,  3)  Port  states  requesting 
information on ships that have declared to have one of their ports as destination, irrespective 
of their location or flag, and 4) Search and rescue authorities. 

In view of the international obligation, the Council of Ministers adopted a Council Resolution 
on  1-2  October  2007  and  agreed  to  the  setting-up  of  a  European  LRIT  Data  Centre,  to  be 
managed  by  the  Commission,  in  cooperation  with  Member  States,  through  the  European 
Maritime Safety Agency. The European LRIT Data Centre is also identified as a priority in 
the  Integrated  Maritime  Policy  adopted  by  the  Commission  in  October  2007  (the  "Blue 
Book").  It  has  also  received  strong  support  from  the  European  Parliament  (amendments  of 
April  2007  to  the  Commission  proposal  on  vessel  traffic  monitoring).  Furthermore,  in  its 
resolution  on  the  2008  budget,  the  EP  acknowledged  "the  necessary  additional  financing  in 
2008 for EMSA in order to cover this new function". 

This task will represent a major new effort for the Agency and additional human and financial 
resources  are  needed.  At  the  same  time,  it  should  be  stressed  that  organising  a  LRIT  Data 
Centre  at  EU  level  creates  economies  of  scale  and  improves  the  visibility  of  the  EU, 
compared to a solution whereby each Member State would set up such a system on its own.  

The Agency will have to develop the overall architecture of a  LRIT  European Data Centre. 
Different components will be outsourced, but their interconnection has to be ensured, and the 
Agency will be responsible for the overall performance of the system including the continuity 
and the quality of the output. 

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Contracts will have to be concluded with data service providers for the transmission of vessel 
positioning  reports  of  more  than  8 000  vessels  registered  under  EU  flags  and  engaged  in 
international  voyages.  The  necessary  technical  services  for  collecting,  storing  and  proving 
LRIT reports will have to be contracted. Appropriate staff will have to be recruited for tasks 
such  as  those  linked  to  the  maintenance  of  the ship register and operational monitoring and 
reporting on the system. Facilities and procedures will be put in place for the billing/invoicing 
for information, and for providing training to Member States.  

To develop and manage the LRIT European Data Centre at EMSA a dedicated entity needs to 
be  established,  including  the  following  sections:  a)  System  development  and  reference 
information, b) Contract management, c) Operational support and IT maritime applications, d) 
External relations, and e) Financial support. 

The current staff numbers are insufficient to handle the management of the LRIT Data Centre. 
It is therefore necessary to amend the 2008 establishment plan in order to allow EMSA to set 
up the Data Centre properly.  

For this reason, it is proposed to increase the 2008 establishment plan from 165 to 181 posts 
(+16  posts:  +13  AD,  +3  AST).  The  additional  staff  will  be  mainly  allocated  to  operational 
tasks.  The  proposed  modification  does  not  require  any  additional  budget  for  2008,  as  the 
overall additional expenses for this task amounting to EUR 5,8 million (EUR 1,2 million for 
titles 1 and 2 and EUR 4,6 million for the operational expenses under title 3) will be financed 
through the use of assigned revenues received back from the 2006 grant.  

The  Agency  has  already  specified  that  12  more  posts  are  needed  for  the  operational 
management  of  LRIT  in  2009,  to  reach  the  total  of  28  posts  required  for  this  task.  This 
addition will be part of the establishment plan request of EMSA for 2009. 

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SUMMARY TABLE BY HEADING OF THE FINANCIAL FRAMEWORK 

2008 Financial framework5 

Budget 2008 (incl. PDAB 1/2008) 

PDAB 2/2008 

Budget 2008 + PDAB 1 and 2/2008 

CA 

PA 

CA 

PA 

CA 

PA 

CA 

PA 

Financial framework 
Heading/subheading 

1. SUSTAINABLE GROWTH 
1a. Competitiveness for growth and 
employment 
1b. Cohesion for growth and employment 

Total 
Margin6 

2. PRESERVATION AND 
MANAGEMENT OF NATURAL 
RESOURCES 
Of which market related expenditure and 
direct payments 

3. CITIZENSHIP, FREEDOM, 
SECURITY AND JUSTICE 
3a. Freedom, Security and Justice 
3b. Citizenship 

Total 
Margin 

Total 
Margin7   

10 386 000 000

47 267 000 000
57 653 000 000

46 217 000 000

59 193 000 000

747 000 000
615 000 000
1 362 000 000

4. EU AS A GLOBAL PARTNER8 

7 002 000 000

5. ADMINISTRATION9 

6. COMPENSATION 

Margin 

Margin 

Margin 
TOTAL 
Margin   

7 380 000 000

207 000 000

132 797 000 000

129 681 000 000

11 086 000 000

9 772 639 600

46 877 941 445
57 963 941 445

189 058 555  

40 551 565 026
50 324 204 626

378 007 275
378 007 275

40 876 490 000

40 825 600 500

55 041 123 496
4 151 876 504  

728 034 000
777 230 985
1 505 264 985

19 123 000  

7 311 218 000
-70 000 000
7 283 860 235
173 139 765
206 636 292
363 708
129 312 044 453
4 463 561 532

53 177 320 053

393 592 042

533 196 000
870 640 991
1 403 836 991

8 112 728 400

7 284 420 235

206 636 292

120 509 146 597
9 650 459 388

771 599 317

11 086 000 000

9 772 639 600 

47 255 948 720
58 341 948 720

-188 948 720  

40 551 565 026 
50 324 204 626 

40 876 490 000

40 825 600 500 

55 434 715 538
3 758 284 462  

53 177 320 053 

728 034 000
777 230 985
1 505 264 985

19 123 000  

7 311 218 000
-70 000 000
7 283 860 235
173 139 765
206 636 292
363 708
130 083 643 770
3 691 962 215

533 196 000 
870 640 991 
1 403 836 991 

8 112 728 400 

7 284 420 235 

206 636 292 

120 509 146 597 
9 650 459 388 

0
0

0

0

5 

6 
7 
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The Commission is presenting a proposal for a decision of the European Parliament and of the Council on the adjustment of the financial framework to take account of implementation, in 
accordance with paragraph 48 of the Interinstitutional Agreement of 17 May 2006. 
The European Globalisation adjustment Fund (EGF) is not included in the calculation of the margin under Heading 1a. The Flexibility Instrument has been mobilised for an amount of EUR 200 million. 
The European Union Solidarity Fund (EUSF) amount is entered over and above the relevant headings as foreseen by the IIA of 17 May 2006 (OJ C 139 of 14.6.2006) 
The 2008 margin for heading 4 does not take into account the appropriations related to the Emergency Aid Reserve. The Flexibility Instrument has been mobilised for an amount of EUR 70 million. 
For calculating the margin under the ceiling for heading 5, account is taken of the footnote (1) of the financial framework 2007-2013 for an amount of EUR 77 million for the staff contributions to the 
pensions scheme. 

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