European Parliament resolution of 7 July 2015 on the Council position on Draft amending budget No 4/2015 of the European Union for the financial year 2015, accompanying the proposal to mobilise the European Union Solidarity Fund for Romania, Bulgaria and Italy (09767/2015 — C8-0162/2015 — 2015/2078(BUD))
Date: 2015-07-07
Institutions: Committee on Budgets, European Parliament
Subjects: Bulgaria, EU aid, Italy, Romania, amending budget, budgetary resources, draft budget (EU), financial aid, financial year, general budget (EU)








C_2017265EN.01016401.xml










11.8.2017   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


C 265/164





P8_TA(2015)0244
Draft amending budget No 4/2015: mobilisation of the EU Solidarity Fund for Romania, Bulgaria and Italy
European Parliament resolution of 7 July 2015 on the Council position on Draft amending budget No 4/2015 of the European Union for the financial year 2015, accompanying the proposal to mobilise the European Union Solidarity Fund for Romania, Bulgaria and Italy (09767/2015 — C8-0162/2015 — 2015/2078(BUD))
(2017/C 265/27)

The European Parliament,






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










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










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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,










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having regard to the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2015, as definitively adopted on 17 December 2014 (2),










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having regard to Amending budget 1/2015, as definitively adopted on 28 April 2015 (3),










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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 (4) (MFF Regulation),










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having regard to Council Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2015/623 of 21 April 2015 amending Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 1311/2013 laying down the multiannual financial framework for the years 2014-2020 (5),










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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 (6),










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having regard to Council Decision 2007/436/EC, Euratom of 7 June 2007 on the system of the European Communities' own resources (7),










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having regard to Draft amending budget No 4/2015, which the Commission adopted on 15 April 2015 (COM(2015)0161),










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having regard to the proposal for a decision of the European Parliament and of the Council on the mobilisation of the EU Solidarity Fund (floods in Romania, Bulgaria and Italy), which the Commission adopted on 15 April 2015 (COM(2015)0162),










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having regard to the position on Draft amending budget No 4/2015 which the Council adopted on 19 June 2015 and forwarded to Parliament on the same day (09767/2015),










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










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having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgets (A8-0220/2015),










A.


whereas Draft amending budget No 4/2015 relates to the mobilisation of the European Union Solidarity Fund (EUSF) for an amount of EUR 66 505 850 in commitment and payment appropriations in relation to two floods in Romania in spring and summer 2014, in respect of which applications for aid total EUR 8 495 950, floods in Bulgaria in July/August 2014, in respect of which applications for aid total EUR 1 983 600 and floods in Italy in October/November 2014, in respect of which applications for aid total EUR 56 026 300;










B.


whereas the purpose of Draft amending budget No 4/2015 is to formally enter this budgetary adjustment into the 2015 budget;












1.


Takes note of Draft amending budget No 4/2015, as submitted by the Commission, and of the Council's position thereon;












2.


Stresses the urgent need to release financial assistance through the EUSF to the countries affected by these natural disasters, taking into consideration that the EUSF shows solidarity with the population in the region hit by disasters;












3.


Recalls that in the framework of the 2015 budgetary negotiations Council insisted on shifting the payments related to the mobilisation of the EUSF in Draft amending budgets No 5/2014 and No 7/2014 to the 2015 budget for a total amount of EUR 126,7 million;












4.


Considers that given the surplus as presented in Draft amending budget No 3/2015, those two 2014 Draft amending budgets, covering in total 7 EUSF cases, could have easily been paid for from the 2014 budget, taking into consideration that the EUSF aims to enable a rapid, efficient and flexible response to these emergency situations;












5.


Regrets in general a tendency in Council not to honour its commitments to countries which have gone through a major disaster, thereby fulfilling the conditions for the mobilisation of the EUSF, by not mobilising additional resources as provided for by the special instruments, but rather by taking money away from other programmes; welcomes however the fact that the Council did not follow this approach for Draft amending budget No 4/2015;












6.


Stresses in particular that the current critical situation on payments excludes the option of using any other source of financing than the one proposed by the Commission as outlined in the Draft amending budget no 4/2015; recalls that the EUSF is a special instrument for which corresponding appropriations are to be budgeted outside the corresponding Multiannual Financial Framework ceilings;












7.


Recalls that the adoption of Draft amending budget No 3/2015 will reduce the share of the GNI contributions from Member States to the Union budget by EUR 1 435 million and therefore more than compensate their contribution to the financing of Draft amending budget No 4/2015; highlights therefore that the two dossiers are subject to a common calendar for adoption since they are strictly linked from a political point of view;












8.


Underlines its willingness to adopt both Draft amending budgets as soon as possible as presented by the Commission;












9.


Approves the Council position on Draft amending budget No 4/2015;












10.


Instructs its President to declare that Amending budget No 4/2015 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 Court of Auditors and the national parliaments.






(1)  OJ L 298, 26.10.2012, p. 1.

(2)  OJ L 69, 13.3.2015.

(3)  OJ L 190, 17.7.2015.

(4)  OJ L 347, 20.12.2013, p. 884.

(5)  OJ L 103, 22.4.2015, p. 1.

(6)  OJ C 373, 20.12.2013, p. 1.

(7)  OJ L 163, 23.6.2007, p. 17.