European Parliament resolution of 4 July 2018 on the Council position on Draft amending budget No 2/2018 of the European Union for the financial year 2018: Entering the surplus of the financial year 2017 (09325/2018 — C8-0277/2018 — 2018/2057(BUD))
Date: 2018-07-04
Institutions: Committee on Budgets, European Parliament
Subjects: EU expenditure, amending budget, budgetary resources, carry-over of appropriations, commitment of expenditure, draft budget (EU), financial year, general budget (EU)








C_2020118EN.01026201.xml










8.4.2020   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


C 118/262






P8_TA(2018)0290
Draft Amending Budget No 2/2018 entering the surplus of the financial year 2017
European Parliament resolution of 4 July 2018 on the Council position on Draft amending budget No 2/2018 of the European Union for the financial year 2018: Entering the surplus of the financial year 2017 (09325/2018 — C8-0277/2018 — 2018/2057(BUD))
(2020/C 118/42)

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 18(3) and Article 41 thereof,










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having regard to the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2018, as definitively adopted on 30 November 2017 (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 Council Decision 2014/335/EU, Euratom of 26 May 2014 on the system of own resources of the European Union (5),










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having regard to Draft amending budget No 2/2018, which the Commission adopted on 13 April 2018 (COM(2018)0227),










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having regard to the position on Draft amending budget No 2/2018 which the Council adopted on 18 June 2018 and forwarded to Parliament on 19 June 2018 (09325/2018 — C8-0277/2018),










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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 (A8-0209/2018),










A.


whereas Draft amending budget No 2/2018 aims to enter in the 2018 budget the surplus from the 2017 financial year, amounting to EUR 555,5 million;










B.


whereas the main components of that surplus are a positive outturn on income of EUR 338,6 million, an under-spending in expenditure of EUR 383,4 million, and a positive balance of exchange rate differences amounting to EUR 166,4 million;










C.


whereas on the income side, the largest difference stems from a larger than expected outturn on default interest and fines (EUR 342,6 million);










D.


whereas on the expenditure side, under-implementation in payments by the Commission reached EUR 201,5 million for 2017 (of which EUR 99,3 million is from the Emergency Aid Reserve) and EUR 53,5 million for 2016 carryovers, and under-implementation by other institutions reached EUR 82,6 million for 2017 and EUR 45,7 million for 2016 carryovers;












1.


Takes note of Draft amending budget No 2/2018 as submitted by the Commission, which is devoted solely to the budgeting of the 2017 surplus, for an amount of EUR 555,5 million, in accordance with Article 18 of the Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012, and of the Council’s position thereon;












2.


Recalls that the low under-implementation in payments at the end of 2017 was only made possible by the adoption of Amending budget 6/2017, which reduced payment appropriations by EUR 7 719,7 million due to heavy implementation delays, particularly in sub-heading 1b ‘Economic, social and territorial cohesion’; recalls furthermore that all amending budgets in 2017, even when they substantially increased commitment appropriations (e.g. EUR 1 166,8 million under the EU Solidarity Fund for Italy, EUR 500 million for the Youth Employment Initiative, EUR 275 million for the European Fund for Sustainable Development), were fully financed by redeployments from unused payment appropriations; regrets that implementation delays and inaccurate forecasts by the Member States seem to be continuing in 2018;












3.


Notes, once again, the relatively high level of competition fines in 2017, totalling EUR 3 273 million; considers that, in addition to any surplus resulting from under-implementation, it should be possible for any revenue resulting from fines or linked to late payments to be reused in the Union budget without a corresponding decrease in GNI contributions; recalls its proposal for a special reserve to be established in the Union budget, which will be progressively filled up by all types of unforeseen other revenue and duly carried over in order to provide additional spending possibilities when the need arises;












4.


Furthermore, believes that, given the urgent need to provide a quick response to the migration challenge and taking into account the delays in the extension of the Facility for Refugees in Turkey, the 2017 surplus, amounting to EUR 555,5 million, could provide an excellent solution to finance the Union contribution to this instrument for 2018 without pushing the Union general budget to its limits;












5.


Approves the Council position on Draft amending budget No 2/2018;












6.


Instructs its President to declare that Amending budget No 2/2018 has been definitively adopted and arrange for its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union;












7.


Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the other institutions and bodies concerned and the national parliaments.






(1)  OJ L 298, 26.10.2012, p. 1.

(2)  OJ L 57, 28.02.2018.

(3)  OJ L 347, 20.12.2013, p. 884.

(4)  OJ C 373, 20.12.2013, p. 1.

(5)  OJ L 168, 7.6.2014, p. 105.