Proposal for a COUNCIL REGULATION amending Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 609/2014 on the methods and procedure for making available the traditional, VAT and GNI-based own resources and on the measures to meet cash requirements
Date: 2015-09-14
Institutions: Directorate-General for Budget, European Commission
Subjects: GNP contribution, Member States' contribution, Treasury, VAT resource, central bank, financial control

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   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 14.9.2015  COM(2015) 447 final 2015/0204 (NLE)   Proposal for a COUNCIL REGULATION amending Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 609/2014 on the methods and procedure for making available the traditional, VAT and GNI-based own resources and on the measures to meet cash requirements  
 
1. 

CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL 

EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 

The  Council  and  the  Commission  agreed  on  a  joint  declaration  attached  to  the  Council 
minutes of 26 May 2014 when the own resources legislative package, consisting of Decision 
335/2014 on the system of Union’s own resources (the Own Resources Decision), Regulation 
No  608/2014  laying  down  implementing  measures  and  Regulation  No  609/2014  on  the 
methods  and  procedure  for  making  available  the  traditional,  VAT  and  GNI-based  own 
resources and on the measures to meet cash requirements, was adopted.  

The Own Resources Decision is the key legal instrument laying down the main elements of 
the system, such  as the list of own resources  and the ceilings for commitment and payment 
appropriations  (hence  the  size  of  the  Union’s  budget).  The  implementing  measures  for  the 
own  resources  system  stem  from  two  Articles  of  the  Treaty  on  the  Functioning  of  the 
European Union (TFEU): 

– 

– 

The newly introduced Regulation No 608/2014 laying down implementing measures 
is  based  on  Article  311(4)  TFEU  (introduced  by  the  Lisbon  Treaty)  and  currently 
contains rules on calculation and budgeting of the annual balance, and on control and 
supervision measures. 

Regulation  No  609/2014,  which  is  a  recast  of  Regulation  1150/2000,  is  based  on 
Article 322(2) TFEU and deals with the rules on making own resources available and 
the measures to meet cash requirements. It contains practical arrangements in respect 
of  the  establishment  of  traditional  own  resources,  conservation  of  supporting 
documents,  administrative  cooperation,  the  applicable  rate  for  the  GNI-based  own 
resource,  accounts  to  be  kept  for  own  resources,  the  timing  for  making  them 
available  and  for  making  adjustments  and  provisions  concerning  cash  management 
and irrecoverable amounts. 

Both  Regulations  will  enter  into  force  on  the  same  day  as  Decision  335/2014  after  this 
Decision  has  been  approved  by  all  Member  States  in  accordance  with  their  respective 
constitutional requirements. The package will apply retroactively from 1 January 2014.  

In  the  above-mentioned  joint  declaration  of  26  May  2014,  the  Commission  committed  to 
submit  a  proposal  for Article  12  of  Regulation  609/2014  in  order  to  allow  a  revision  of  the 
procedure  for  calculating  the  interest  on  amounts  made  available  belatedly.  The  declaration 
further indicates that the rate(s) of interest shall respect the principle of proportionality while 
ensuring a smooth functioning of the system to meet the cash requirements. 

Apart from the interest rules this proposal based on Article 322(2) TFEU is addressing also 
the  procedure  for  the  annual  adjustment  of  the  VAT  and  GNI-based  own  resources  as  the 
most recent amendment introduced in the context of the unprecedented size of the adjustments 
in 2014 will no longer apply after the entry into force of Regulation No 609/2014.  

In addition, some other clarifications and improvements to the current arrangements, mainly 
of technical nature, are proposed. They reflect the most recent experience and lessons learnt 
as  regards  the  accounts  for  own  resources,  the  management  of  Commission’s  treasury 
resources in the first semester, the assessment of GNI data by the Commission (Eurostat), the 
impact  of  criminal  investigations  on  the  establishment  and  making  available  of  traditional 
own resources and the reporting of irrecoverable amounts of traditional own resources. 

The motivation for the amendments proposed by the Commission is presented hereafter. 

2. 

CONTENT OF THE PROPOSAL 

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(1) Accounts of the Commission for own resources (Article 9 of Regulation No 609/2014) 

a) Specifying the entities responsible for opening and keeping the account: 

According to Article 9 of Regulation No 609/2014 Member States have to keep an account for 
own resources in the name of the Commission with their Treasuries or appoint a body for this 
purpose. In practice, all Member States which have not opted for the Treasury have appointed 
the national central bank. Article 9 should reflect this practice by specifying that only central 
banks may be appointed. In addition, this will prevent the EU budget from being exposed to 
any potential financial risks linked with the Commission keeping own resources in accounts 
opened with commercial banks; such situation is to be avoided given the limitations imposed 
by  this  Regulation  on  the  possibilities  for  the  Commission  to  draw  funds  from  the  own 
resources accounts. In order to ensure consistency this amendment is also inserted in Article 6 
of Regulation No 609/2014 dealing with the entry in the accounts and reporting and in Article 
15 dealing with the execution of payment orders. 

b)  Ensuring  that  own  resources  accounts  are  kept  free  of  any  charge  and  negative 
interest: 

These  accounts  opened  by  the  Member  States  in  the  name  of  the  Commission  pursuant  to 
Article 9 of Regulation 609/2014, for the purpose of depositing EU own resources, until they 
need to be used by the Commission for payment, should not only be kept free of charges, but 
also free of interest (positive or negative). The purpose of this provision is to prevent losses 
for the EU budget. 

Given the provisions of Article 14(1) of Regulation No 609/2014, which limit the possibility 
for the Commission to draw funds to the extent needed to implement the budget, any charge 
applied to those accounts would be equivalent to a reduction of the funds available to the EU 
budget. In this respect, negative interest should equally be avoided as it has the same negative 
effect  as  charges.  The  application  of  charges  or  negative  interest  to  some  of  these 
Commission's  accounts  would  also  lead  to  unequal  treatment  of  Member  States  as,  in  line 
with the principles of solidarity and joint financing of the EU budget, the other Member States 
have to compensate this loss through the GNI-based resource. Therefore, it is proposed that 
the  Member  State  concerned  should  compensate  the  EU  budget  for  any  charge  or  negative 
interest applied to the account for own resources it has opened in the name of the Commission 
pursuant to Article 9 of Regulation 609/2014.  

This  amendment  further  ensures  that  the  EU  budget  is  not  negatively  affected  by  Decision 
2014/337/EU (ECB/2014/23) of the European Central Bank of 5 June 20141, providing for a 
negative interest rate which entails a payment obligation of the deposit holder to the relevant 
national central bank (NCB) including the right of that NCB to debit the relevant government 
deposit account accordingly, or by similar decisions by other EU central banks where EU own 
resources  have  to  be  kept  in  accordance  with  Article  9  of  Regulation  No  609/2014.  The 
obligation  to  provide  compensation  should  ensure  that  the  cost  of  any  negative  interest 
already applied to  accounts  for own  resources  following this ECB Decision  is  not  borne by 
the EU budget, i.e. by all Member States. In this context, it should be recalled that, so far, the 
Commission  has  not  requested  Member  States  to  remunerate  accounts  for  own  resources  in 
case of positive ECB deposit rates. 

c) Additional clarification: 

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2014/337/EU: Decision of the European Central Bank of 5 June 2014 on the remuneration of deposits, 
balances and holdings of excess reserves (ECB/2014/23), OJ L 168, 7.6.2014, p. 115. 

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In  the  interest  of  legal  certainty  it  should  be  clarified  that  the  Commission’s  own  resources 
accounts referred to under Article 9 may only be debited on Commission’s instruction where 
the net amount of own resources due on a given date is negative (i.e. where a Member State is 
to  receive  funds).  Any  entries  in  this  account  shall  be  made  in  accordance  with  the  above 
principle. This is an explicit clarification of already existing requirements.  

(2) Bringing forward monthly twelfths of VAT and GNI-based own resources (Article 10(3) 
of Regulation No 609/2014)  

Pursuant to Article 10(3) of Regulation 609/2014, depending on the Union’s cash position, for 
the  specific  needs  of  European  Agricultural  Guarantee  Fund  (EAGF)  payments,  Member 
States may be invited to bring forward by one or two months in the first quarter of the year 
monthly twelfths of the VAT and GNI-based own resource. 

In  the  last  years,  due  to  high  monthly  payments  for  European  Agricultural  Guarantee  Fund 
(EAGF) and European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF) in the first months of the year, 
the  Commission  has  been  repeatedly  confronted  with  difficulties  in  implementing  all 
payments timely due to temporary shortages of treasury resources amounting to up to EUR 6 
billion  during  the  first  semester  of  the  year.  Therefore  it  should  be  possible  that  another 
twelfth can be brought forward in the first six months of the year if necessary, and this also 
for paying expenditure of the European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF).This limited 
additional flexibility would help the Commission to comply with the regulatory requirements 
for payments. 

(3)  Streamlining  the  annual  adjustments  to  the  VAT  and  GNI-based  own  resources  (Article 
10(4) to (7) of Regulation No 609/2014) 

Pursuant  to  Article  10  of  Regulation  No  1150/2000,  the  adjustment  to  the  own  resources 
based on VAT and GNI takes place every year on the first working day of December.  

These adjustments vary from year to year and may be positive (additional payments required 
by  Member  States)  or  negative  (amounts  to  be  refunded  to  Member  States).  Under 
exceptional  circumstances  these  adjustments  may  result  in  very  high  amounts.  For  Member 
States  the  obligation  to  make  available  such  high  amounts  may  represent  a  high  financial 
burden  which  may  cause  a  severe  fiscal  strain,  particularly  towards  the  end  of  the  year. 
Similarly, the obligation for the Commission to refund high amounts, if the total amount of 
adjustments is negative, may lead to a difficult treasury situation at this period of the year. 

As  the  data  received  in  September/October  2014  demonstrate,  adjustments  may  be 
exceptionally  high  for  the  GNI  own  resource  because  of  major  revisions  made  by  Member 
States to their GNI data for previous years. 

Therefore, upon a  proposal by the Commission,  on 18 December 2014 the Council adopted 
Regulation  1377/2014  amending  Regulation  1150/20002,  allowing  Member  States, 
retroactively  as  of  30  November  2014,  to  make  available  the  adjustments  until  the  first 
working day of September of the following year in exceptional circumstances. 

Regulation 1150/2000 as amended by Regulation 1377/2014 will be repealed once Regulation 
No 609/2014 enters into force, i.e. on the same day as Own Resources Decision No 335/2014 
after  this  Decision  has  been  approved  by  all  Member  States  in  accordance  with  their 
respective constitutional requirements. Therefore, the present amendment should also address 
the issue of VAT and GNI adjustments.  

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OJ L 367, 23.12.2014, p. 14. 

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While  the  proposed  amendment  maintains  the calculation  method  it  modifies  the timing  for 
the  communication  and  the  due  date  for  making  available  the  adjustments.  In  addition,  it 
addresses the issue of high negative adjustments. 

The Member States have to transmit to the Commission in year n the VAT and GNI data for 
year  n-1  and  previous  years  in  accordance  with  Article  7(1)  of  Regulation  No  1553/89  and 
Article  2(2)  of  Regulation  No  1287/2003.  On  this  basis,  the  Commission  will  calculate  the 
adjustments and the exact final amounts will be formally notified to Member States in January 
of year n+1.  

At the same time the Commission would provide a calculation redistributing the total amount 
of  adjustments  among  Member  States,  according  to  their  respective  share  in  the  GNI  of  all 
Member States (“the GNI key”) of the budget of year n+13. There will be no more amending 
budget to this effect as adjustments will be automatically and immediately redistributed. This 
is a major simplification of the current system. 

The difference between the individual amount of the VAT and GNI adjustments for a given 
Member State and the result of the redistribution for that Member State, shall be entered in the 
own  resources  accounts  under  Article  9  on  the  first  working  day  of  June  of  year  n+1.  As 
Member  States  would  be  informed  well  in  advance  under  the  proposed  procedure,  there 
should be no more need for special rules for amounts which are exceptionally high. The new 
timing of the VAT and GNI adjustments will no longer coincide with the opt-out adjustment 
under  Article  11  of  Regulation  No  609/2014  for  Member  States  not  taking  part  in  the 
financing  of  a  specific  Union  action  or  policy.  For  the  opt-out  adjustment,  whose  financial 
impact is limited4, the current due date is maintained, i.e. the first working day of December. 

The  EU  national  accounting  rules  are  set  out  in  the  European  System  of  Accounts  (ESA 
2010). These rules apply the accruals principle to the recording of economic flows  – “when 
economic  value  is  created,  transformed  or  extinguished,  or  when  claims  and  obligations 
arise, are transformed, or are cancelled”. Under ESA 2010, Member States’ VAT and GNI-
based  budgetary  contributions  are  recorded  as  general  government  expenditure,  as  another 
current transfer under the dedicated category D.76, and impacting on the government deficit. 
Contributions returned to EU Member States are netted off these current transfers. The point 
of recording of the government expenditure impact of the adjustments to VAT and GNI-based 
own resources should be made when those amounts are irrevocably fixed and therefore they 
are  due  to  be  paid.  Taking  into  account  that  it  is  proposed  that  the amounts  are  irrevocably 
fixed and due to be paid in year n+1, this is this year which should be relevant for statistical 
recording of the adjustments, as well as for the purposes of the Stability and Growth Pact. 

(4) Postpone time-barring of GNI data in the fourth year after a given financial year (Article 
10(7) of Regulation No 609/2014) 

Currently, Member States should provide the Commission with figures for aggregate GNI and 
its components by 22 September each year (Article 2(2) of Regulation No 1287/2003) while 
changes to GNI can only be taken into account until 30 September of the fourth year after a 
given  financial  year.  Consequently,  there  is  a  very  short  period  for  assessing  any  changes 
transmitted in year n+4 in relation to year n. In order to ensure that GNI data for year n can 
still be verified and validated by the GNI Committee the limitation period under Article 10(7) 
of Regulation No 609/2014 should be extended from 30 September to 30 November of year 
n+4. 

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The  current  system  also  uses  the  most  recent  GNI  key  available  for  the  purposes  of  the  amending 
budget  redistributing  the  adjustments  (if  the  Commission  proposes  one  and  if  it  is  adopted  by  the 
European Parliament and the Council).  
For the last five years the total average amount is EUR 49 million. 

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Accordingly,  the  minimum  period  under  Article  3  of  Regulation  No  609/2014  for  keeping 
supporting documents relating to the statistical procedures and bases referred to in Article 3 of 
Regulation  No  1287/2003  should  also  be  extended  from  30  September  to  30  November  of 
year n+4.  

(5) Streamlining the structure of Article 10 of Regulation No 609/2014  

Article  10  of  Regulation  No  609/2014  currently  contains  9  paragraphs  and  more  than  20 
subparagraphs. In order to improve readability it should be split into 3 separate Articles, titles 
should be added to each of them and paragraphs should be numbered whenever appropriate. 

(6) Interest rate (Article 12 of Regulation No 609/2014) 

The interest rate in Article 12 currently provides for a basic rate (ECB – or non-euro national 
central  bank  -  main  refinancing  rate),  a  fixed  annual  increase  by  2  percentage  points  and  a 
variable increase by 0,25 of a percentage point per month of delay. The rate is applicable to 
the whole period of delay.  

As  the  Commission,  in  the  normal  course  of  budget  execution,  cannot  overdraw  on  its 
accounts,  timely  payment  of  own  resources  is  essential.  The  current  system  has  been 
instrumental  in  ensuring  that  the  own  resources  needed  for  the  execution  of  the  budget  are 
made available timely and in full5. The revised rules on interest should preserve this incentive. 
In addition, the uniformity of the rules should also be maintained in the interest of clarity and 
legal certainty. 

In  order  to  reinforce  the  smooth  functioning  of  the  system,  namely  that  own  resources  are 
paid  timely  and  in  full,  the  fixed  increase  should  be  raised  to  3,5  percentage  points  (this  is 
inter  alia  the  rate  applicable  to  amounts  to  be  recovered  pursuant  to  Article  83(2)b  of  the 
Rules  of  Application  of  the  Financial  Regulation  where  the  obliging  event  is  not  a  public 
supply or service contract). This should ensure that payment of own resources is not withheld 
where the refinancing costs on money markets would be lower than the interest payable. The 
proposal should in particular prevent (short) delays in making available the monthly twelfths 
of the VAT and GNI-based own resources, which currently constitute more than 80 % of the 
EU budget revenue.  

On  the  other  hand,  as  the  current  rules  may  lead  to  very  high  interest  rates  for  long  time 
periods  of  delay,  the  maximum  annual  increase  to  the  basic  rate  should  be  capped  at  20 
percentage  points,  the  increased  rate  being  applicable  to  the  whole  period  of  delay.  This 
capping ensures proportionality as after 5,5 years of delay there will be no further increase in 
the interest rate. This amendment should address the main concern of some Member States as 
regards individual cases of very high interest rates due to long delays in the area traditional 
own resources. In fact, on the basis of the data on amounts of interest recovered in the last 5 
years the 20 percentage points cap would result in a decrease of the interest due by Member 
States by more than 30 %.  

The new rules shall be applicable to amounts of own resources which are due after the entry 
in  force  of  the  proposed  Regulation.  However,  in  order  to  ensure  a  smooth  transition,  the 
capping  of  the  interest  rate  shall  also  apply  where  the  amount  of  own  resources  became 
known to the Commission or to Member States only after the entry in force of the proposed 
Regulation.  For  example,  for  a  case  where  an  own  resource  which  should  have  been  made 
available  in  2010,  but  becomes  known  only  after  the  entering  into  force  of  the  proposed 

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This  was  most  recently  confirmed  by  the  First  Assessment  Report  of  the  High  Level  Group  on  Own 
Resources  dated  17  December  2014:  the  first  paragraph  on  page  13  reads  “The  high  late  payment 
interests foreseen in the EU budget rules have been an effective mechanism to ensure timely payment 
by Member States.” 

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Regulation  (e.g.  in  2018),  the  interest  rate  according  to  the  current  rules  would  apply, 
however  the  increase  to  the  annual  rate  of  interest  would  be  subject  to  the  capping  at  20 
percentage points.  

In order to avoid confusion the Commission will clearly specify the applicable interest rules 
when sending letters calling for interest after the entry into force of the proposed Regulation. 

(7)  Possibility  to  release  Member  States  from  financial  responsibility  in  cases  of  deferred 
entry  in  the  accounts  or  deferred  notification  of  the  customs  debt  in  order  not  to  prejudice 
criminal investigations (Article 13(2) of Regulation No 609/2014) 

Pursuant to Article 13(2)  of Regulation  No 609/2014 Member States shall  be released from 
the  obligation  to  place  at  the  disposal  of  the  Commission  the  amounts  corresponding  to 
established entitlements of traditional own resources which prove irrecoverable for (i) reasons 
of force majeure or (ii) for other reasons which cannot be attributed to them. 
The  new  Union  Customs  Code6  (UCC),  which  enters  into  force  on  1  May  2016,  allows 
Member States to defer the notification and the entry of the customs debt in the accounts until 
such  time  as  it  no  longer  prejudices  criminal  investigations7.  Indeed,  promptly  notifying 
debtors suspected of criminal activities may hinder the fight against fraud and the dismantling 
of criminal networks. Moreover, Article 325 TFEU requires Member States to take the same 
measures  to  counter  fraud  affecting  the  financial  interests  of  the  Union  as  for  their  own 
financial interests. Covert investigations are effective and necessary measures for protecting 
both the financial interests of the EU and of the Member States. 

However, there is no explicit rule in the own resources legislation on whether traditional own 
resources which cannot be recovered due to such late notifications can be waived. The UCC 
regulates the relationship between importers and national customs authorities, while the own 
resources legislation deals with the relationship between Member States and the Commission.  

In order to promote effective protection of the financial interests of the Union and to take into 
account  the  newly  introduced  provisions  of  the  UCC  it  is  proposed  to  introduce  an  explicit 
provision  allowing  to  release  -  under  certain  conditions  to  be  observed  strictly  -  Member 
States  from  their  financial  responsibility  for  amounts  of  traditional  own  resources  that  may 
prove  irrecoverable  due  to  deferred  notification  of  customs  debts  in  order  not  to  prejudice 
criminal investigations and fight against fraud. In order to accept that in such cases amounts 
are  irrecoverable  “for  other  reasons  which  cannot  be  attributed”  to  the  Member  State 
concerned  (the  point  below  deals  with  the  threshold  for  reporting)  the  Commission  would 
verify in particular whether: 

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– 

– 

the criminal investigations were justified to protect both the EU's and Member State's 
financials interest and were carried out diligently; 

the loss of own resources was strictly due to the delayed notification or entry in the 
accounts required by the criminal investigations, and 

national  duties  and  taxes  were  not  subject  to  a  more  favourable  treatment  than 
traditional own resources.  

(8) Raising the threshold for irrecoverable amounts to be reported (Article 13(3) of Regulation 
No 609/2014) 

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Regulation (EU) No 952/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 October 2013 laying 
down the Union Customs Code, OJ L 269, 10.10.2013, p. 1. 
Articles 102 (3) and 105(6) UCC. 

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The  threshold  for  Member  States  to  report  to  the  Commission  cases  of  traditional  own 
resources  declared  or  deemed  irrecoverable  under  Article  13(3)  of  Regulation  609/2014 
should  be  increased  from  EUR  50  000  to  EUR  100  000  in  order  to  reduce  administrative 
burden for the Member States and for the Commission. This amendment does not affect the 
definition  of  a  “case”  to  be  reported,  namely  that  the  report  shall  cover  all  entitlements 
established as a result of the findings of the same clearance or post clearance control to the 
same  operator  and  relating  to  the  same  irregularity  or  the  same  type  of  goods  where, 
regardless  of  their  individual  amount,  the  total  amount  of  these  entitlements  declared  or 
deemed irrecoverable exceeds EUR 100 000. 

As the obligation of Member States to report pursuant to Article 5 of Regulation No 608/2014 
fraud  and  irregularity  cases  of  over  EUR  10  000  to  the  OWNRES  database  remains,  such 
cases may still be inspected by the Commission and subsequently lead to payments to the EU 
budget. 

(9) Clarification on exceptional management of cash resources solely in the case of default on 
loans (Article 14(3) of Regulation No 609/2014) 

Pursuant  to  Article  14(3)  of  Regulation  609/2014,  in  the  sole  case  of  default  under  a  loan 
contracted or guaranteed pursuant to Council regulations and decisions, the Commission may, 
if no other measures provided for by the financial arrangements applying to these loans, draw 
in excess of its assets in order to service the Union’s debts, irrespective of the conditions of 
paragraph 2 of that Article.  

Following  the  entry  into  force  of  the  Lisbon  Treaty,  depending  on  the  competence  under 
which  guarantees  or  loans  have  been  granted,  some  of  the  regulations  and  decisions 
previously adopted by the Council are now adopted by both the European Parliament and the 
Council. This is the case for example for decisions of the European Investment Bank (EIB) on 
EIB  financing  operations  carried  out  under  the  external  mandate  with  EU  guarantee,  or  for 
Macro-Financial  Assistance  to  third  countries  (which  are  however  primarily  covered  by  the 
External Guarantee Fund). While the scope of this provision shall not be extended, it should 
just be clarified that it covers the same legal acts which were covered originally. 

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2015/0204 (NLE) 

Proposal for a 

COUNCIL REGULATION 

amending Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 609/2014 on the methods and procedure for 
making available the traditional, VAT and GNI-based own resources and on the 
measures to meet cash requirements 

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, 

Having  regard  to  the  Treaty  on  the  Functioning  of  the  European  Union,  and  in  particular 
Article 322(2) thereof, 

Having  regard  to  the  Treaty  establishing  the  European  Atomic  Energy  Community,  and  in 
particular Article 106a thereof, 

Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission, 
Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament8, 
Having regard to the opinion of the European Court of Auditors9, 

Whereas: 

(1) 

(2) 

Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1150/200010 was recast by Council Regulation 
(EU,  Euratom)  No  609/201411.  Regulation  (EU,  Euratom)  No  609/2014  enters  into 
force  on  the  day  of  entry  into  force  of  Council  Decision  2014/335/EU,  Euratom12. 
That Decision has not yet entered into force, as it needs to be approved by all Member 
States.  

In order to take into due consideration the timing of the opinion of the gross national 
income (GNI) Committee on GNI data and to allow sufficient time for assessment of 
relevant  data  by  the  Commission  (Eurostat)  any  changes  to  the  GNI  of  previous 
financial years should be possible until 30 November of the fourth year after a given 
financial  year.  Accordingly,  the  period  for  keeping  supporting  documents  related  to 
the value added tax (VAT) and GNI own resources should also be extended from 30 
September  to  30  November  of  the  fourth  year  following  the  financial  year  to  which 
they refer. 

(3) 

The Commission accounts for own resources purposes to be opened by Member States 
under  Article  9  of  Regulation  (EU,  Euratom)  No  609/2014  should  be  kept  by  the 
treasury of the Member State or by the central bank of the Member State and should 

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OJ C […], […], p. […]. 
Opinion No […] of […] (OJ C […], […], p. […]). 
Council  Regulation  (EC,  Euratom)  No  1150/2000  of  22  May  2000  implementing  Decision 
2007/436/EC,  Euratom  on  the  system  of  the  European  Communities  own  resources  (OJ  L 130, 
31.5.2000, p. 1). 
Council  Regulation  (EU,  Euratom)  No  609/2014  of  26  May  2014  on  the  methods  and  procedure  for 
making available the traditional, VAT and GNI-based own resources and on the measures to meet cash 
requirements (OJ L 168, 7.6.2014, p. 39). 
Council  Decision  2014/335/EU,  Euratom  of  26  May  2014  on  the  system  of  own  resources  of  the 
European Union (OJ L 168, 7.6.2014, p. 105). 

EN 

9 

   EN 

                                                 
be kept free of any charge and interest. Any such charges or negative interest would 
reduce the Union’s budget and lead to unequal treatment of Member States. Therefore, 
Member  States  which  apply  such  charges  or  negative  interest  to  the  Commission 
accounts for own resources should compensate the budget of the Union.  

It  should  be  clarified  that  the  Commission’s  own  resources  accounts  opened  by 
Member States under Article 9 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 609/2014 may only 
be debited upon Commission’s instruction. 

In  the  interest  of  clarity  and  readability  Article  10  of  Regulation  (EU,  Euratom)  No 
609/2014 should be split into several Articles. 

It  should  be  ensured  that  the  Commission  has  at  any  time  sufficient  cash  resources 
available  to  comply  with  the  regulatory  requirements  for  payments  arising  from  the 
implementation  of  the  budget,  which  are  particularly  concentrated  in  the  first  six 
months  of  the  year,  in  particular  for  the  specific  needs  of  paying  expenditure  of  the 
European  Agricultural  Guarantee  Fund  (EAGF)  pursuant  to  Regulation  (EU)  No 
1307/2013  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council13  and  of  the  European 
Structural  and  Investment  Funds  pursuant  to  Regulation  (EU)  No  1303/2013  of  the 
European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council14.  In  order  to  reduce  the  risk  of  payment 
delays experienced in the past years due to temporary shortages of treasury resources, 
the Commission should be allowed to bring forward up to one more twelfth, in so far 
as it is justified by cash requirements. 

Pursuant to Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 1150/2000, the Commission is to calculate 
and inform Member States of adjustments to the VAT and GNI-based own resources 
in time for them to enter these adjustments in the Commission’s account on the first 
working day of December. 

The  amounts  of  the  adjustments  to  be  made  available  on  the  first  working  day  of 
December 2014 have been of an unprecedented size. In order to prevent unreasonably 
heavy  budgetary  constraints  on  Member  States  just  before  the  year-end  Council 
Regulation  (EU,  Euratom)  No  1377/201415  amended  Regulation  (EC,  Euratom)  No 
1150/2000 by allowing to defer, under certain exceptional circumstances, the entry of 
these adjustments in the Commission’s account.  

Regulation  (EC,  Euratom)  No  1150/2000  as  amended  by  Regulation  (EU,  Euratom) 
No  1377/2014  will  no  longer  apply  once  Regulation  (EU,  Euratom)  No  609/2014 
enters into force.  

In the interest of simplification and in order to limit the fiscal strain on Member States 
and  the  Commission,  in  particular  towards  the  end  of  the  year,  the  procedure  for 
adjusting the VAT and GNI own resources should be streamlined. Accordingly, there 

Regulation (EU) No 1307/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 December 2013 
establishing  rules  for  direct  payments  to  farmers  under  support  schemes  within  the  framework  of  the 
common  agricultural  policy  and  repealing  Council  Regulation  (EC)  No  637/2008  and  Council 
Regulation (EC) No 73/2009 (OJ L 347, 20.12.2013, p. 608). 
Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 December 2013 
laying  down  common  provisions  on  the  European  Regional  Development  Fund,  the  European  Social 
Fund,  the  Cohesion  Fund,  the  European  Agricultural  Fund  for  Rural  Development  and  the  European 
Maritime  and  Fisheries  Fund  and  laying  down  general  provisions  on  the  European  Regional 
Development  Fund,  the  European  Social  Fund,  the  Cohesion  Fund  and  the  European  Maritime  and 
Fisheries Fund and repealing Council Regulation (EC) No 1083/2006 (OJ L 347, 20.12.2013, p. 320). 
Council  Regulation  (EU,  Euratom)  No  1377/2014  of  18  December  2014  amending  Regulation  (EC, 
Euratom) No 1150/2000 implementing Decision 2007/436/EC, Euratom on the system of the European 
Communities' own resources (OJ L 367, 23.12.2014, p. 14). 

(4) 

(5) 

(6) 

(7) 

(8) 

(9) 

(10) 

13 

14 

15 

EN 

10 

   EN 

                                                 
should be more time between the formal notification of the amounts to Member States 
and  the  date  to  enter  them  in  the  Commission’s  own  resources  account.  The 
notification  and  the  due  date  for  the  entry  in  the  accounts  should  occur  in  the  same 
year,  that  year  being  also  relevant  for  recording  the  impact  on  the  government 
accounts and for the purposes of the Stability and Growth Pact. Moreover there should 
be  an  immediate  redistribution  of  the  total  amount  of  adjustments  among  Member 
States according to their respective shares in the GNI-based own resource. Given that 
the impact of the adjustments will be known well in advance and will be automatically 
redistributed among Member States there should be no more need for derogations such 
as that introduced by Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 1377/2014.  

(11)  The  procedure  for  calculating  interest  should  ensure  in  particular  that own  resources 
are  made  available  timely  and  in  full,  which  is  essential  for  attaining  the  Union’s 
objectives and carry through its policies. 

(12)  The rate set in Article 12 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 609/2014 contains a fixed 
increase to the basic rate of 2 percentage points and a progressive increase of 0,25 of a 
percentage  point  for  each  month  of  delay,  the  increased  rate  being  applicable  to  the 
entire period of delay. This provision taken over from Article 11 of Regulation (EU, 
Euratom)  No  1150/2000  has  been  instrumental  in  ensuring  that  own  resources  are 
made  available  timely  and  in  full.  The  main  elements  of  the  current  system  should 
therefore be maintained and, where appropriate, adjusted. 

(13)  Nevertheless,  the  existing  rules  providing  for  an  ever  increasing  rate  have  led  to  the 
payment  of  very  high  interest  in  exceptional  cases  in  the  area  of  traditional  own 
resources  sometimes  involving  delays  of  many  years.  In  order  to  ensure  the 
proportionality  of  the  system  while  maintaining  the  deterrent  effect,  the  maximum 
annual increase to the basic rate should be limited to 20 percentage points. 

(14)  On the other hand, the fixed increase by two percentage points pursuant to Article 12 
of  Regulation  (EU,  Euratom)  No  609/2014,  for  short  periods  of  delay  in  particular, 
may lead to a disincentive to make own resources available timely if refinancing costs 
on the money market are lower than the interest payable. Therefore, in order to further 
reinforce  the  smooth  functioning  of  the  system  the  fixed  rate  of  increase  should  be 
raised  to  3,5  percentage  points.  This  should  in  particular  prevent  delays  in  making 
available the monthly twelfths of the own resources based on VAT and on GNI, which 
currently constitute more than 80% of the Union’s budget revenue. 

(15) 

In order to promote effective protection of the financial interests of the Union and to 
take into account the newly introduced provisions of Regulation (EU) No 952/2013 of 
the European Parliament and of the Council16 it should be explicitly provided for the 
possibility to release, under certain conditions to be observed strictly, Member States 
from  the  obligation  to  make  available  to  the  Union’s  budget  amounts  of  traditional 
own  resources  which  prove  irrecoverable  due  to  deferred  entry  in  the  accounts  or 
deferred notification of customs debts in order not to prejudice criminal investigations.  

(16)  The threshold for Member States to report to the Commission cases of traditional own 
resources  declared  or  deemed  irrecoverable  should  be  raised  in  order  to  reduce 
administrative burden for the Member States and for the Commission. 

(17) 

It should be clarified that the possibility for the Commission pursuant to Article 14(3) 
of  Regulation  (EU,  Euratom)  No  609/2014  to  draw  in  excess  of  its  assets  to  ensure 

16 

Regulation (EU) No 952/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 October 2013 laying 
down the Union Customs Code (OJ L 269, 10.10.2013, p. 1). 

EN 

11 

   EN 

                                                 
compliance  with  the  Union’s  obligations  in  the  sole  case  of  default  under  a  loan 
contracted  or  guaranteed  pursuant  to  Council  regulations  and  decisions  also  covers 
regulations and decisions which, following the Treaty of Lisbon, are to be adopted not 
just by the Council, but by the European Parliament and the Council pursuant to the 
Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. 

(18)  Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 609/2014 should therefore be amended accordingly. 

(19)  For reasons of consistency, this Regulation should enter into force on the same day as 
Regulation  (EU,  Euratom)  No  609/2014  and  should  also  apply  from  the  date  of 
application  of  that  Regulation.  While  Regulation  (EU,  Euratom)  No  609/2014  is  to 
apply from 1 January 2014, some provisions of this Regulation should apply only after 
the entry into force of this Regulation. Amendment to Article 12 of Regulation (EU, 
Euratom) No 609/2014 should apply where the due date of the own resource is after 
the entry into force  of this  Regulation. However  Member States should benefit from 
the  limitation  on  the  total  increase  of  the  interest  rate  also  where  the  own  resource 
became known after the entry into force of this Regulation. 

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: 

Article 1 

Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 609/2014 is amended as follows: 

(1) 

in Article 3, the second paragraph is replaced by the following: 

“The supporting documents relating to the statistical procedures and bases referred to 
in Article 3 of Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1287/2003 shall be kept by the Member 
States until 30 November of the fourth year following the financial year in question. 
The supporting documents relating to the VAT-based own resource base shall be kept 
for the same period.” 

(2) 

Article 6 is amended as follows:  

(a) 

paragraph 1 is replaced by the following: 

“1. Accounts for own resources shall  be  kept  by the Treasury or  the national 
central bank of each Member State and broken down by type of resources.” 

(b) 

in paragraph 3, the third subparagraph is amended as follows:  

(i) 

in  the  first  indent  the  reference  to  “Article  10(3)”  is  replaced  by  the 
reference to “Article 10a(1)”;  

(ii) 

the second indent is replaced by the following: 

“– the  result of the calculation referred to  in the first subparagraph of 
Article  10b(5)  shall  be  recorded  annually,  except  for  the  particular 
adjustments  referred  to  in  the  first  indent  of  Article  10b(2)(b)which 
shall be recorded in the accounts on the first working day of the month 
following  agreement  between  the  Member  State  concerned  and  the 
Commission.” 

(3) 

Article 9 is amended as follows: 

(a) 

paragraph 1 is amended as follows:  

EN 

12 

   EN 

(i) 

the first and the second subparagraphs are replaced by the following: 

"In  accordance  with  the  procedure  laid  down  in  Articles  10,  10a  and 
10b,  each  Member  State  shall  credit  own  resources  to  the  account 
opened  in  the  name  of  the  Commission  with  its  Treasury  or  national 
central bank. This account may only be debited upon instruction by the 
Commission. 

That account shall be kept in national currency and free of any charge 
and interest." 

(ii) 

the following third subparagraph is added: 

"Each Member State shall compensate the Commission for any charges 
or negative interest applied to this account on the first working day of 
the second month following the application of these charges or negative 
interest." 

(b) 

paragraph 2 is replaced by the following: 

"2. Member States or their national central banks shall transmit the following 
to the Commission, by electronic means: 

(a) 

(b) 

on  the  working  day  on  which  the  own  resources  are  credited  to  the 
account  of  the  Commission,  a  statement  of  account  or  a  credit  advice 
showing the entry of the own resources; 

without prejudice to point (a), at the latest on the second working day 
following the crediting of the account, a statement of account showing 
the entry of the own resources." 

(4) 

Article 10 is replaced by the following: 

“Article 10 

Making available the traditional own resources 

1. 

2. 

After deduction of collection costs in accordance with Article 2(3) and Article 
10(3)  of  Decision  2014/335/EU,  Euratom,  entry  of  the  traditional  own 
resources  referred  to  in  Article  2(1)(a)  of  that  Decision  shall  be  made  at  the 
latest  on  the  first  working  day  following  the  nineteenth  day  of  the  second 
month  following  the  month  during  which  the  entitlement  was  established  in 
accordance with Article 2 of this Regulation. 

However,  for  entitlements  shown  in  separate  accounts  under  the  second 
subparagraph of Article 6(3), the entry must be made at the latest on the first 
working day following the nineteenth day of the second month following the 
month in which the entitlements were recovered. 

If  necessary,  Member  States  may  be  invited  by  the  Commission  to  bring 
forward  by  one  month  the  entry  of  resources  other  than  the  VAT-based  own 
resource  and  the  GNI-based  own  resource  on  the  basis  of  the  information 
available to them on the fifteenth of the same month. 
Each  entry  brought  forward  shall  be  adjusted  the  following  month  when  the 
entry  mentioned  in  paragraph  1  is  made.  This  adjustment  shall  entail  the 
negative entry of an amount equal to that given in the entry brought forward. 

EN 

Article 10a 

13 

   EN 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

Making available the VAT and GNI-based own resources 

The  VAT-based  own  resource  and  the  GNI-based  own  resource,  taking  into 
account  the  effect  on  these  resources  of  the  correction  granted  to  the  United 
Kingdom  for  budgetary  imbalances  and  of  the  gross  reduction  granted  to 
Denmark,  the Netherlands,  Austria and Sweden, shall be  credited on the  first 
working  day  of  each  month,  the  amounts  being  one-twelfth  of  the  relevant 
totals in the budget, converted into national currencies at the rates of exchange 
of the last day of quotation of the calendar year preceding the budget year, as 
published in the Official Journal of the European Union, C Series. 

For  the  specific  needs  of  paying  expenditure  of  the  EAGF  pursuant  to 
Regulation  (EU)  No  1307/2013  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the 
Council*  and  of  the  European  Structural  and  Investment  Funds  pursuant  to 
Regulation  (EU)  No  1303/2013  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the 
Council**, and depending on the Union's cash position, Member States may be 
invited by the Commission to bring forward by up to three months in the first 
six months of the financial year the entry of one-twelfth or a fraction of one-
twelfth of the amounts in the budget for the VAT-based own resource and the 
GNI-based own resource, taking into account the effect on these resources of 
the correction granted to the United Kingdom for budgetary imbalances and of 
the gross reduction granted to Denmark, the Netherlands, Austria and Sweden. 

After  the  first  six  months,  the  monthly  entry  requested  may  not  exceed  one-
twelfth of the VAT and GNI-based own resources, while remaining within the 
limit of the amounts entered in the budget for that purpose. 

The  Commission  shall  notify  the  Member  States  thereof  in  advance,  no  later 
than two weeks before the entry requested. 

Paragraph  4  concerning  the  amount  to  be  entered  in  January  each  year  and 
paragraph  5  applicable  if  the  budget  has  not  been  finally  adopted  before  the 
beginning of the financial year shall apply to these advance entries. 

Any change in the uniform rate of the VAT-based own resource, in the rate of 
the GNI-based own resource, in the correction granted to the United Kingdom 
for budgetary imbalances and in its financing referred to in Articles 4 and 5 of 
Decision  2014/335/EU,  Euratom,  and  in  the  financing  of  the  gross  reduction 
granted  to  Denmark,  the  Netherlands,  Austria  and  Sweden  shall  require  the 
final  adoption  of  an  amending  budget  and  shall  give  rise  to  readjustments  of 
the twelfths which have been entered since the beginning of the financial year. 

These readjustments shall be carried out when the first entry is made following 
the final adoption of the amending budget if it is adopted before the sixteenth 
of  the  month.  Otherwise  they  shall  be  carried  out  when  the  second  entry 
following final adoption is made. By way of derogation from Article 11 of the 
Financial  Regulation,  these  readjustments  shall  be  entered  in  the  accounts  in 
respect of the financial year of the amending budget in question. 

Calculation of the twelfths for January of each financial year shall be based on 
the  amounts  provided  for  in  the  draft  budget,  referred to  in  Article  314(2)  of 
the Treaty on the Functioning of European Union (TFEU) and converted into 
national  currencies  at  the  rates  of  exchange  of  the  first  day  of  quotation 
following  15  December  of  the  calendar  year  preceding  the  budget  year;  the 
adjustment shall be made with the entry for the following month. 

EN 

14 

   EN 

5. 

6. 

1. 

2. 

If  the  budget  has  not  been  finally  adopted  at  the  latest  two  weeks  before  the 
entry for January of the following financial year, the Member States shall enter 
on the first working day of each month, including January, one-twelfth of the 
amount  of  the  VAT-based  own  resource,  and  the  GNI-based  own  resource, 
taking  into  account  the  effect  on  these  resources  of  the  correction  granted  to 
the  United  Kingdom  for  budgetary  imbalances  and  of  the  gross  reduction 
granted to Denmark, the Netherlands, Austria and Sweden, entered in the last 
budget  finally  adopted;  the  adjustment  shall  be  made  on  the  first  due  date 
following  final  adoption  of  the  budget  if  it  is  adopted  before  the  sixteenth  of 
the  month.  Otherwise,  the  adjustment  shall  be  made  on  the  second  due  date 
following final adoption of the budget. 

There shall be no subsequent revision of the financing of the gross reductions 
granted  to  Denmark,  the  Netherlands,  Austria  and  Sweden  in  the  event  of 
modifications  of  the  GNI  data  pursuant  to  Article  2(2)  of  Regulation  (EC, 
Euratom) No 1287/2003. 

Article 10b 

Adjustments to the VAT and GNI-based own resources of previous 

financial years 

Each  Member  State  shall,  on  the  basis  of  the  annual  statement  on  the  VAT-
based  own  resource  base  provided  for  in  Article  7(1)  of  Regulation  (EEC, 
Euratom) No 1553/89, be debited in the year following the transmission of that 
statement  with  an  amount  calculated  from  the  information  contained  in  that 
statement by applying the uniform rate adopted for the financial year to which 
the statement relates and credited with the 12 payments made for that financial 
year. However, each Member State's VAT-based own resource base to which 
that  rate  is  applied  may  not  exceed  the  percentage  determined  by  Article 
2(1)(b) of Decision 2014/335/EU, Euratom of its GNI, as referred to in the first 
subparagraph of Article 2(7) of that Decision. 

Any  corrections  to  the  VAT-based  own  resource  base  under  Article  9(1)  of 
Regulation (EEC, Euratom) No 1553/89 shall give rise for each Member State 
concerned  whose  base,  allowing  for  those  corrections,  does  not  exceed  the 
percentages  determined  by  Articles  2(1)(b)  and  10(2)  of  Decision 
2014/335/EU, Euratom to the following adjustments to the balance referred to 
in paragraph 1 of this Article: 

(a) 

(b) 

the  corrections  under  the  first  subparagraph  of  Article  9(1)  of 
Regulation (EEC, Euratom) No 1553/89 made by 31 July shall give rise 
to a general adjustment in the following year; 

where  the  measures  which  the  Commission  takes  under  the  second 
subparagraph  of  Article  9(1)  of  Regulation  (EEC,  Euratom)  No 
1553/89 to correct the base lead to a particular adjustment of the entries 
in  the  account  referred  to  in  Article  9(1)  of  this  Regulation,  that 
adjustment  shall  be  made  on  the  date  specified  by  the  Commission 
pursuant  to  those  measures.  However,  a  particular  adjustment  may  be 
entered at any time if the Member State concerned and the Commission 
are  in  agreement  in  accordance  with  the  first  subparagraph  of  Article 
9(1) of Regulation (EEC, Euratom) No 1553/89. 

EN 

15 

   EN 

The  changes  to  GNI  referred  to  in  paragraph  4  shall  also  give  rise  to  an 
adjustment  of  the  balance  of  any  Member  State  whose  VAT-based  own 
resource base, allowing for the corrections referred to in the first subparagraph 
of  this  paragraph,  is  capped  at  the  percentages  determined  by  Article  2(1)(b) 
and Article 10(2) of Decision 2014/335/EU, Euratom.  

On the basis of figures for aggregate GNI at market prices and its components 
from  the  preceding  year,  supplied  by  the  Member  States  in  accordance  with 
Article 2(2) of Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1287/2003, each Member State, 
in the year following the year of supply of the figures, shall be debited with an 
amount  calculated  by  applying  to  its  GNI  the  rate  adopted  for  the  year 
preceding  the  year  of  supply  of  the  figures  and  credited  with  the  payments 
made during that year. 

Any changes to the GNI of previous financial years pursuant to Article 2(2) of 
Regulation  (EC,  Euratom)  No  1287/2003,  subject  to  Article  5  thereof,  shall 
give  rise  for  each  Member  State  concerned  to  an  adjustment  to  the  balance 
established pursuant to paragraph 3 of this Article. After 30 November of the 
fourth  year  following  a  given  financial  year,  any  changes  to  GNI  shall  no 
longer  be  taken  into  account,  except  on  points  notified  within  this  time  limit 
either by the Commission or by the Member State. 

For each Member State, the Commission shall calculate the difference between 
the  amount  resulting  from  the  adjustments  referred  to  in  paragraphs  1  to  4, 
with the exception of particular adjustments pursuant to paragraph 2(b),and the 
product of multiplying the total amount of adjustments by the percentage that 
the GNI of that Member State represents of the GNI of all Member States, as 
applicable on 15 January to the budget in force for the year following the year 
of supply of the data for the adjustments.  

For  the  purposes  of  this  calculation,  amounts  shall  be  converted  between  the 
national  currency  and  the  euro  at  the  rates  of  exchange  of  the  last  day  of 
quotation of the calendar year preceding the year of entry in the accounts, as 
published in the Official Journal of the European Union, C Series. 

The  Commission  shall  inform  the  Member  States  of  the  amounts  resulting 
from this calculation before 1 February of the year following the year of supply 
of data for the adjustments. Each Member State shall enter the net amount in 
the  account  referred  to  in  Article  9  on  the  first  working  day  of  June  of  that 
same year.  

The  operations  referred  to  in  paragraphs  1  to  5  of  this  Article  constitute 
modifications to revenue in respect of the financial year in which they are to be 
entered in the account referred to in Article 9. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

6. 

______________________________________________ 
* 

** 

Regulation (EU) No 1307/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 December 2013 
establishing  rules  for  direct  payments  to  farmers  under  support  schemes  within  the  framework  of  the 
common  agricultural  policy  and  repealing  Council  Regulation  (EC)  No  637/2008  and  Council 
Regulation (EC) No 73/2009 (OJ L 347, 20.12.2013, p. 608). 
Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 December 2013 
laying  down  common  provisions  on  the  European  Regional  Development  Fund,  the  European  Social 
Fund,  the  Cohesion  Fund,  the  European  Agricultural  Fund  for  Rural  Development  and  the  European 
Maritime  and  Fisheries  Fund  and  laying  down  general  provisions  on  the  European  Regional 
Development  Fund,  the  European  Social  Fund,  the  Cohesion  Fund  and  the  European  Maritime  and 
Fisheries Fund and repealing Council Regulation (EC) No 1083/2006 (OJ L 347, 20.12.2013, p. 320)." 

EN 

16 

   EN 

(5) 

in Article 11, paragraph 2 is replaced by the following: 

“2.  The  Commission  shall  calculate  the  adjustment  during  the  year  following  the 
financial year concerned. 

The  calculation  shall  be  made  on  the  basis  of  the  following  figures  relating  to  the 
relevant financial year: 

(a) 

(b) 

aggregate GNI at market prices and its components,  supplied by the Member 
States  in  accordance  with  Article  2(2)  of  Regulation  (EC,  Euratom)  No 
1287/2003; 

the budgetary outturn of operational expenditure corresponding to the measure 
or policy in question. 

The  adjustment  shall  be  equal  to  the  product  of  multiplying  the  total  amount  of  the 
expenditure  in  question,  with  the  exception  of  that  financed  by  participating  third 
countries,  by  the  percentage  that  the  GNI  of  the  Member  State  entitled  to  the 
adjustment  represents  of  the  GNI  of  all  Member  States.  The  adjustment  shall  be 
financed  by  the  participating  Member  States  according  to  a  scale  determined  by 
dividing their respective GNI by the GNI of all the participating Member States. For 
the  purposes  of  calculating  the  adjustment,  amounts  shall  be  converted  between  the 
national currency and the euro at the exchange rate on the last day of quotation of the 
calendar year preceding the budget year concerned. 

The adjustment for each relevant year shall be made only once and it shall be final in 
the event of subsequent modification of the GNI figure.” 

(6) 

in Article 12, paragraphs 2 and 3 are replaced by the following:  

“2. In the case of Member States belonging to the Economic and Monetary Union, the 
interest  rate  shall  be  equal  to  the  rate  as  published  in  the  Official  Journal  of  the 
European  Union,  C  series  which  the  European  Central  Bank  applied  to  its  main 
refinancing  operations,  on  the  first  day  of  the  month  in  which  the  due  date  fell, 
increased by 3,5 percentage points. 

This rate shall be increased by 0,25 of a percentage point for each month of delay. 

The total increase pursuant to the first and the second subparagraphs shall not exceed 
20 percentage points. The increased rate shall be applied to the entire period of delay. 

3. In the case of Member States not belonging to the Economic and Monetary Union, 
the rate shall be equal to the rate applied on the first day of the month in question by 
the Central Banks for their main refinancing operations, increased by 3,5 percentage 
points, or, for the Member States for which the Central Bank rate is not available, the 
most equivalent rate applied on the first day of the month in question on the Member 
State's money market, increased by 3,5 percentage points. 

This rate shall be increased by 0,25 of a percentage point for each month of delay.  

The total increase pursuant to the first and the second subparagraphs shall not exceed 
20 percentage points. The increased rate shall be applied to the entire period of delay.” 

(7) 

Article 13 is amended as follows: 

(a) 

in paragraph 2, the following second subparagraph is inserted: 

“Member  States  shall  also  be  released  from  the  obligation  referred  to  in  the 
first  subparagraph  where  the  entry  in  the  accounts  or  the  notification  of  the 
customs debt in accordance with the customs regulations are deferred in order 

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not  to  prejudice  a  criminal  investigation  and  established  entitlements  prove 
irrecoverable strictly  due to  that  deferral, and  where  the following conditions 
are complied with: 

the  criminal  investigations  are  justified  to  protect  the  financial 

(a) 
interests of the Union; 

(b) 

(c) 

the criminal investigations are carried out diligently; 

national  duties  and  taxes  are  not  subject  to  a  more  favourable 
treatment than the irrecoverable entitlements." 

(b) 

in paragraph 3, the first subparagraph is replaced by the following:  

“Within three months of the administrative decision mentioned in paragraph 2 
or  in  accordance  with  the  time  limits  referred  to  in  that  paragraph,  Member 
States  shall  provide  a  report  to  the  Commission  with  information  on  those 
cases  where  paragraph  2  has  been  applied  provided 
the  established 
entitlements involved exceed EUR 100 000.” 

(8) 

in Article 14, paragraph 3 is replaced by the following: 

“3.  In  the  sole  case  of  default  under  a  loan  contracted  or  guaranteed  pursuant  to 
regulations and decisions adopted by the Council, or by the European Parliament and 
the  Council,  in  circumstances  in  which  the  Commission  cannot  activate  other 
measures provided for by the financial arrangements applying to these loans in time to 
ensure compliance with the Union's legal obligations to the lenders, paragraphs 2 and 
4 may provisionally be applied, irrespective of the conditions in paragraph 2, in order 
to service the Union's debts.” 

(9) 

Article 15 is replaced by the following: 

“Article 15 

Execution of payment orders 

1. 

2. 

The  Member  States,  or  the  national  central  bank,  shall  execute  the 
Commission's  payment  orders  following  the  Commission's  instructions  and 
within  not  more  than  three  working  days  of  receipt.  However,  in  the  case  of 
cash movement transaction, the Member States shall execute the orders within 
the period requested by the Commission. 

The Member States, or the national central bank, shall send to the Commission, 
by electronic means and on the second working day following the completion 
of  each  transaction  at  the  latest,  a  statement  of  account  showing  the  related 
movements.” 

Article 2 

1. 

2. 

This  Regulation  shall  enter  into  force  on  the  date  of  entry  into  force  of  Regulation 
(EU, Euratom) No 609/2014. 

Subject to paragraphs 2 and 3 it shall apply from 1 January 2014. 

Point 1, point 2(b), point 3(a)(ii), points 4 and 7 of Article 1 shall apply from the date 
of entry into force of this Regulation. 

The second paragraph of Article 3, the third subparagraph of Article 6(3), Article 10 
and paragraphs 2 and 3 of Article 13 of Regulation No 609/2014 in its version before 

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the  date  of  entry  into  force  of  this  Regulation  shall  apply  for  the  period  between  1 
January 2014 and the date of entry into force of this Regulation. 

3. 

Article  1(6)  of  this  Regulation  shall  apply  to  the  calculation  of  interest  for  late 
payment  of  own  resources  that  are  due  after  the  date  of  entry  into  force  of  this 
Regulation. However, the limitation on the total increase of the interest rate shall also 
apply  to  the  calculation  of  interest  for  late  payment  of  own  resources  that  were  due 
prior  to  the  date  of  entry  into  force  of  this  Regulation  and  became  known  to  the 
Commission or to the Member State concerned only after the date of entry into force 
of this Regulation. 

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States. 

Done at Brussels, 

For the Council 
The President 

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LEGISLATIVE FINANCIAL STATEMENT 

NAME OF THE PROPOSAL:  

Amendment of Regulation 609/2014  

1. 

BUDGET LINES: 

Chapter 31, 32 and Article 700 

2. 

FINANCIAL IMPACT 

 

Proposal has no financial implications 

Proposal has no financial impact on expenditure but has a financial impact on 

 
revenue – the effect is as follows: 

(EUR million to one decimal place) 

Budget line 

Revenue17 

Article  

Impact on own resources 

Article  

Impact on own resources 

12 month period, 
starting 
dd/mm/yyyy 

[Year n] 

[n+1] 

Situation following action 
[n+3] 
[n+2] 

[n+4] 

[n+5] 

Article  

Article  

3. 

ANTI-FRAUD MEASURES 

No measures to be taken. 

4. 

OTHER REMARKS 

The  clarification  that  Commission’s  accounts  pursuant  to  Article  9  of  Regulation 
609/2014  shall  be  kept  free  of  any  charges  or  interest  prevents  that  the  Union’s 
budget revenue is lowered due to such charges and/or interest. 

Adjustments to the VAT and GNI-based own resources: As amounts, which can be 
positive or negative, are unknown, there is only p.m. in title 3 (chapters 31 and 32) of 
the budget. In the year after the entering into force there will be no balances due to 
the  proposed  postponement.  The  budgetary  effect  of  the  proposed  ‘netting’  of  the 
total of MS balances is budgetary neutral for the Commission. 

17 

In the case of traditional own resources (agricultural duties, sugar levies, customs duties), the amounts 
indicated must be net amounts, i.e. gross amounts after deduction of 25%  for collection costs. 

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Interest  on  own  resources  made  available  belatedly:  Interest  is  in  the  nature  of 
transactions which the European Commission or the Budgetary Authority cannot be 
supposed  to  contemplate  with  any  degree  of  predictability  or  accuracy  when  the 
budget  is  prepared  and  adopted.  Nonetheless  a  token  amount  of  EUR  5  million  is 
entered  into  the  revenue  side  of  the  budget  every  year  under  line  7000  in  order  to 
facilitate  the  correct  budget  treatment  of  any  amounts  received  due  to  interest.  The 
annual accounts present the actual amounts received.  

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