Proposal for a DECISION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL amending Decision (EU) 2015/435 on the mobilisation of the Contingency Margin
Date: 2016-09-14
Institutions: European Commission, Secretariat-General
Subjects: budgetary reserve (EU), commitment of expenditure, general budget (EU), payment appropriation

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   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 14.9.2016  COM(2016) 607 final   Proposal for a DECISION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL amending Decision (EU) 2015/435 on the mobilisation of the Contingency Margin  
 
 
EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 

1. 

CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL 

The  European  Parliament  and  the  Council  decided  on  17  December  2014  to  mobilise  the 
Contingency  margin  in  2014  in  order  to  react  to  unforeseen  circumstances  that  had  arisen 
after  the  multiannual  financial  framework  (MFF)  payment  ceiling  for  2014  was  first 
established  in  February  2013  and  to  complement  the  payment  appropriations  in  the  general 
budget of the European Union for the financial year 2014 above the payment ceiling. 

The  Decision  offsets  the  amount  mobilised  in  2014  against  the  margins  under  the  payment 
ceilings for the years 2018 to 2020. The Draft Budget for 2017 shows a large margin available 
under the 2017 payment ceiling, whilst the mid-term payments forecast until 2020, presented 
by the Commission in the context of the MFF mid-term review1, foresees a mounting pressure 
on payment ceilings for the years 2018-2020. The Commission, therefore, proposes to amend 
the above mentioned Decision by offsetting the amount mobilised in 2014 against the margins 
available under the payment ceiling in 2017. 

When  mobilising  the  Contingency  margin  in  2014,  the  institutions  included  an  amount  of 
EUR 350 million in the mobilisation decision but without this amount being offset, pending 
an  agreement  on  the  treatment  of  payments  of  special  instruments,  and  invited  the 
Commission to present a proposal in a timely manner. The mid-term payments forecast shows 
that  the  sufficiency  of  payment  ceilings  depends  on  an  agreement  confirming  that  payment 
appropriations  related  to  special instruments  are  entered into  the  budget  over  and above  the 
ceilings the same  way  as  the commitments  from  which  they  stem.  It  is, therefore,  proposed 
not to offset this amount.  

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COM(2016)603 of 14.09.2016.  

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Proposal for a 

DECISION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL 

amending Decision (EU) 2015/435 on the mobilisation of the Contingency Margin 

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, 

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, 

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  management2,  and  in  particular  the  second 
subparagraph of point 14 thereof, 

Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission, 

Whereas: 

(1) 

(2) 

(3) 

(4) 

(5) 

(6) 

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Article  13  of  Council  Regulation  (EU,  Euratom)  No  1311/20133  has  established  a 
Contingency Margin of up to 0,03 % of the Gross National Income of the Union. 

In  accordance  with  Article  6  of  Regulation  (EU,  Euratom)  No  1311/2013,  the 
Commission had calculated the absolute amount of the Contingency Margin for 20144. 
By Decision (EU) 2015/4355, the European Parliament and the Council mobilised the 
Contingency  Margin  in  2014  to  allow  the  financing  over  and  above  the  payment 
ceiling  of  EUR  3  168  233  715.  An  amount  of  EUR  350  million  in  payment 
appropriations was included in the mobilisation of the Contingency Margin pending an 
agreement  on  the  treatment  of  payments  for  special  instruments.  It  was  decided  to 
offset an amount of EUR 2 818 233 715 over the period 2018-2020 and to invite the 
Commission  to  present  in  a  timely  manner  a  proposal  concerning  the  remaining 
amount of EUR 350 million. 

Payment appropriations related to the use of the special instruments are entered in the 
budget  over  and  above  the  relevant  payment  ceilings  of  the  multiannual  financial 
framework. As a consequence the mobilisation of the Contingency Margin in 2014 is 
only necessary for a total amount of EUR 2 818 233 715 in payment appropriations, 
with no need to include and offsett the additional amount of EUR 350 million. 

According to the medium-term payment forecast presented in the context of the Mid-
Term Review, pressure on the annual payment ceilings in the years 2018-2020 is to be 
expected. 

The draft budget for the year 2017 shows a margin below the payment ceiling of EUR 
9,6 billion, allowing for the offsetting of the full amount mobilised in 2014. 

OJ C 373, 20.12.2013, p. 1. 
Council  Regulation  (EU,  Euratom)  No  1311/2013  of  2  December  2013  laying  down  the  multiannual 
financial framework for the years 2014-2020 (OJ L 347, 20.12.2013, p. 884). 
Communication  from  the  Commission  to  the  Council  and  the  European  Parliament  of  20  December 
2013 on the technical adjustment of the financial framework for 2014 in line with movements in GNI 
(COM(2013) 928). 
Decision (EU) 2015/435 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 December 2014 on the 
mobilisation of the Contingency Margin (OJ L 72, 17.3.2015, p. 4). 

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(7) 

Decision (EU) 2015/435 should therefore be amended accordingly, 

HAVE ADOPTED THIS DECISION:  

Decision (EU) 2015/435 is amended as follows: 

(1) 

Article 1 is replaced by the following: 

Article 1 

"Article 1  

For  the  general  budget  of  the  European  Union for  the  financial  year  2014,  the  Contingency 
Margin shall be mobilised in the sum of EUR 2 818 233 715 in payment appropriations over 
and above the payment ceiling of the multiannual financial framework."; 

(2) 

Article 2 is replaced by the following: 

"Article 2 

The sum of EUR 2 818 233 715 shall be offset against the margin under the payment ceiling 
for the year 2017.". 

Article 2 

This  Decision  shall  enter  into  force  on  the  twentieth  day  of  its  publication  in  the  Official 
Journal of the European Union. 

Done at Brussels, 

For the European Parliament 
The President 

For the Council 
The President 

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