European Parliament resolution of 30 November 2017 on the Council position on Draft amending budget No 6/2017 of the European Union for the financial year 2017: Reduction of payment and commitment appropriations in line with updated forecasts of expenditure and update of revenue (own resources and fines) (14275/2017 — C8-0417/2017 — 2017/2217(BUD))
Date: 2017-11-30
Institutions: Committee on Budgets, European Parliament
Subjects: EU expenditure, European Commission, amending budget, budgetary resources, draft budget (EU), financial year, general budget (EU), own resources








C_2018356EN.01016001.xml










4.10.2018   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


C 356/160






P8_TA(2017)0453
Draft amending Budget No 6/2017: Reduction of payment and commitment appropriations in line with updated forecasts of expenditure and update of revenue (own resources and fines)
European Parliament resolution of 30 November 2017 on the Council position on Draft amending budget No 6/2017 of the European Union for the financial year 2017: Reduction of payment and commitment appropriations in line with updated forecasts of expenditure and update of revenue (own resources and fines) (14275/2017 — C8-0417/2017 — 2017/2217(BUD))
(2018/C 356/35)

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 2017, as definitively adopted on 1 December 2016 (2),










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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 (3),










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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 (4),










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having regard to Draft amending budget No 6/2017, which the Commission adopted on 9 October 2017 (COM(2017)0597),










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having regard to the position on Draft amending budget No 6/2017 which the Council adopted on 27 November 2017 and forwarded to Parliament on the same day (14275/2017 — C8-0417/2017),










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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 (A8-0379/2017),










A.


whereas Draft amending budget No 6/2017 aims to update both the expenditure and the revenue sides of the budget to take account of the latest developments;










B.


whereas, on the expenditure side, Draft amending budget No 6/2017 decreases the level of payment appropriations by EUR 7 719,7 million, mostly in budget lines under heading 1b (Economic, social and territorial cohesion) and, to a lesser extent, under headings 2 (Sustainable growth — natural resources), 3 (Security and Citizenship) and 4 (Global Europe) and in the European Union Solidarity Fund (EUSF), and therefore reduces national contributions accordingly;










C.


whereas Draft amending budget No 6/2017 decreases the level of commitment appropriations by EUR 15,33 million under heading 2 and releases EUR 46 million of commitment appropriations in the EUSF;










D.


whereas, on the revenue side, Draft amending budget No 6/2017 also includes adjustments linked to the revision of the forecasts of Traditional Own Resources (i.e. customs duties and sugar sector levies), value-added tax (VAT) and gross national income (GNI) bases, and the budgeting of the 2013 and 2016 UK corrections and their financing;










E.


whereas Draft amending budget No 6/2017 takes account of a total amount of EUR 3 209,7 million in fines which has become definitive and exceeds the level initially planned for the 2017 budget, and assigns the difference between the latter and the former (amounting up to EUR 2 209,7 million) to the reduction of own resources contributions from Member States to the Union budget;










F.


whereas Draft amending budget No 6/2017 results in a reflow to national budgets of EUR 9 829,6 million additional to the reflow of EUR 6 405 million already confirmed in light of Amending budget 2/2017;












1.


Expresses serious concerns over the payment surplus of EUR 7 719,7 million; is particularly astonished by the situation of European Structural and Investment (ESI) Funds in sub-heading 1b, where Member States, in their July submission, revised downwards their forecasts for payment claims by EUR 5,9 billion due to continued delays in the implementation of the programmes, thereby preventing many potential projects and beneficiaries from Union support; also deplores that the Member States failed to launch their national programmes for the Asylum and Integration Fund (AMIF) and the Internal Security Fund (ISF) at the expected pace and to properly implement the schemes for the relocation of refugees, resulting in a EUR 287,6 million cut in heading 3;












2.


Takes note of the Commission’s analysis of the causes of under-implementation in sub-heading 1b, such as the focus on absorbing the 2007-2013 envelopes, the late adoption of the legal bases, the lengthy designation of national authorities, the changes brought in by the new legal framework, and the reduced incentives due to the N+3 de-commitment rule; is worried by the fact that, according to the Commission’s latest payments forecasts, under-implementation is to continue in the years to come and will result in an additional EUR 31 billion in payments spilling over into the next multiannual financial framework (MFF); takes note of the fact that not all Member States have the same difficulties in implementation; urges in particular those Member States with a very high level of under-implementation to take the necessary measures to properly implement the jointly agreed Union programmes, with the assistance of the Commission;












3.


Regrets the delays in the disbursement of Union funds in pre-accession and neighbouring countries, which result in a significant reduction in payments (EUR - 702,2 million) at a time when they would be most needed; acknowledges the unpredictable environment in which the Union is sometimes called upon to operate; invites the Commission to take the necessary measures, including via increased policy dialogue and technical assistance, in order to prevent such delays;












4.


By contrast, notes with satisfaction that Union programmes under sub-heading 1a (Competitiveness for growth and jobs) are generally well implemented, as witnessed by this Draft amending budget and the recent adoption of the Global Transfer where sub-heading 1a absorbs a significant part of the under-execution in payments in other headings; stresses that this proves the Council wrong in its constant approach to reduce this sub-heading’s appropriations on the grounds of an alleged lack of absorption capacity;












5.


Deplores again that amounts recovered from the under-implementation of Union programmes and from fines under the Union’s competition policy are destined to reduce Member States’ GNI contributions instead of being used for the funding of Union priorities; highlights that Draft amending budget No 6/2017 generates a reflow of GNI contributions of EUR 9 829,6 million to Member States on top of the reflow of EUR 6 405 million already approved in Amending budget 2/2017; draws attention to the fact that the disagreement between the two arms of the budgetary authority as regards spending of the 2018 Union budget, after Parliament’s reading and at the beginning of the conciliation period, amounted to merely EUR 3 619,8 million in commitment appropriations and EUR 2 182,4 million in payment appropriations;












6.


Approves the Council position on Draft amending budget No 6/2017;












7.


Instructs its President to declare that Amending budget No 6/2017 has been definitively adopted and arrange for its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union;












8.


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 51, 28.2.2017.

(3)  OJ L 347, 20.12.2013, p. 884.

(4)  OJ C 373, 20.12.2013, p. 1.