DRAFT AMENDING BUDGET N°8 TO THE GENERAL BUDGET 2020 Increase of payment appropriations for the Emergency Support Instrument to finance the COVID-19 vaccines strategy and for the impact of the Corona Response Investment Initiative Plus
Date: 2020-08-28
Institutions: Directorate-General for Budget, European Commission
Subjects: EU initiative, amending budget, draft budget (EU), emergency aid, epidemic, financial year, general budget (EU), infectious disease, vaccination, vaccine

EN 

  EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 28.8.2020  COM(2020) 900 final  DRAFT AMENDING BUDGET N°8 TO THE GENERAL BUDGET 2020 Increase of payment appropriations for the Emergency Support Instrument to finance the COVID-19 vaccines strategy and for the impact of the Corona Response Investment Initiative Plus   
 
 
Having regard to: 

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the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in  particular Article 314 
thereof,  in  conjunction  with  the  Treaty  establishing  the  European  Atomic  Energy 
Community, and in particular Article 106a thereof, 

Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council 
of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union 
(…)1, and in particular Article 44 thereof, 

the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2020, as adopted on 
27 November 20192, 
amending budget N°1/20203, adopted on 17 April 2020, 
amending budget N°2/20204, adopted on 17 April 2020, 
amending budget N°3/20205, adopted on 17 June 2020, 
amending budget N°4/20206, adopted on 17 June 2020, 
amending budget N°5/20207, adopted on 10 July 2020, 
draft amending budget No 7/20208, adopted on 3 July 2020, 

The  European  Commission  hereby  presents  to  the  European  Parliament  and  to  the  Council 
Draft Amending Budget N°8/2020 to the 2020 budget. 

CHANGES  TO  THE  STATEMENT  OF  REVENUE  AND  EXPENDITURE  BY 
SECTION 

The changes to the general statement of revenue and in section III are available on EUR-Lex 
(https://eur-lex.europa.eu/budget/www/index-en.htm). 

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8  

OJ L 193, 30.7.2018. 
OJ L 57, 27.2.2020. 
OJ L 126, 21.4.2020. 
OJ L 126, 21.4.2020. 
OJ L 254, 04.8.2020. 
OJ L 254, 04.8.2020. 
OJ L XXX, XX.X.2020. 
COM(2020) 424, 6.7.2020 

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TABLE OF CONTENTS 

1. 

INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................................................ 3 

2. 
INCREASE IN PAYMENT APPROPRIATIONS FOR THE EMERGENCY SUPPORT INSTRUMENT 
(ESI) ....................................................................................................................................................................................... 3 

3. 

INCREASE IN PAYMENT APPROPRIATIONS LINKED TO THE CRII+ ....................................................... 5 

4.  FINANCING ................................................................................................................................................................. 8 

5. 

SUMMARY TABLE BY MFF HEADING ................................................................................................................ 9 

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EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 

1. 

INTRODUCTION 

The  purpose  of  Draft  Amending  Budget  (DAB)  No 8  for  the  year  2020  is  to  provide 
EUR 6,2 billion  in  payment  appropriations  to  incorporate  (i)  additional  needs  for  payments 
appropriations  for  the  Emergency  Support  Instrument  (ESI)  to  finance  the  COVID-19 
vaccines strategy and (ii) the additional payment needs for cohesion following the  adoption 
of the Corona Response Investment Initiative Plus (CRII+)9. 

2. 

INCREASE  IN  PAYMENT  APPROPRIATIONS  FOR  THE  EMERGENCY  SUPPORT 
INSTRUMENT (ESI) 

When  the  Emergency  Support  Instrument  was  activated  in  April  2020  in  the  framework  of 
the COVID-19 crisis, a very broad series of potential support actions were envisaged based 
on  an  initial  needs  assessment  drawn  by  the  Commission  in  collaboration  with  Member 
States. Emergency support funding was aimed to be deployed were it would be most needed 
and where it would bring clear EU added value. Given the wide range of possible actions, it 
was originally foreseen that, of the EUR 2,7 billion in commitments authorised by the budget 
authority, only around half of the payments, EUR 1,38 billion, would be needed in 2020, with 
the rest arising in following years. 

As  the  crisis  evolved,  the  Commission  has  adopted  several  decisions10  to  use  Emergency 
Support funding to support a series of actions such as: assistance to transport essential goods, 
medical  teams  and  patients  affected  by  COVID-19  (mobility  package);  procurement  of 
essential health-related products; support for the increase in testing capacities; making more 
treatments available for COVID-19 patients; support for the interoperability of digital tracing 
apps and the distribution of disinfection robots for hospitals.  

In  the  course  of  the  evolution  of  the  pandemic  and  as  higlighted  in  the  Commission 
Communication on a vaccine strategy11, it has become clear that a permanent solution to the 
crisis will most likely be brought about by the development and deployment of an effective 
and  safe  vaccine  against  the  virus.  Consequently,  the  search  for  an  effective  vaccine  has 
become a priority and the Commission has concluded an agreement with all Member States 
to  negotiate  and  conclude  Advance  Purchase  Agreements  (APAs)  on  behalf  of  all  Member 
States  with  vaccine  manufacturers.  In  these  APAs,  ESI  provides  the  necessary  up-front 
financing  to  de-risk  essential  investments  in  order  to  increase  the  speed  and  scale  of 
manufacturing successful vaccines. In return, they provide the right to Member States to buy 
a  specific  number  of  vaccine  doses  within  a  given  timeframe  and  at  a  given  price.  The 
Commission  has  already  concluded  one  APA  with  a  vaccine  manufacturer  in  August  2020 
and is currently conducting advanced negotiations with a number of other manufacturers.  

9  

10 

11 

Regulation (EU) 2020/558 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 April 2020 amending 
Regulations  (EU)  No  1301/2013  and  (EU)  No  1303/2013  as  regards  specific  measures  to  provide 
exceptional flexibility for the use of the European Structural and Investments Funds in response to the 
COVID-19 outbreak, OJ L 130, 24.4.2020, p. 1. 
Commission Decision C(2020)2794 on the financing of Emergency Support under Council Regulation 
(EU)  2016/369;  Commission  Decision  C(2020)4193  amending  Decision  C(2020)2794  as  regards  the 
financing of the Vaccine Instrument; Commission Decision C(2020)5162 amending Decision C(2020) 
2794 as regards the financing of additional actions  under the Emergency  Support Instrument and the 
increase of the budget of the Vaccine Instrument. 
COM(2020)245 final of 17 June 2020. 

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The  APA  incentivises  vaccine  manufacturers  to  build  up  production  capacity  substantially 
faster than in the context of usual vaccine development, for which they require upfront cash 
to de-risk their investments implying early upfront payments from the Commission following 
very closely in time the commitments (often within days after the signature of the contract). 

As  a  result,  the  current  payment  appropriations  under  the  ESI  are  insufficient  to  cover  the 
contractual obligations that the Commission envisages to take in the short-term with vaccine 
manufacturers.  In  order  to  allow  the  European  Union  to  secure  access  to  a  portofolio  of 
vaccine candidates to maximise the chance of having an effective and safe vaccine available 
as  soon  as  possible, it  is  therefore  paramount  to  make  the  additional  payments  available  as 
soon as possible.  In view of the above, it is  proposed to  make available sufficient  payment 
appropriations  under  the  ESI  in  2020  to  cover  (a)  all  the  relevant  commitments  that  the 
Commission will undertake with vaccine manufacturers on behalf of Member States as well 
as (b) the other ongoing actions. Payment needs in future years will be reduced accordingly. 

Considering the reforcement of EUR 140 million already approved by the budget authority in 
the course of July 2020, the amount of additional payment appropriations needed in 2020 is 
EUR 1 090 million bringing the total payments for ESI to EUR 2 610 million. The remaining 
EUR 90 million will be paid in 2021 for commitments not related to the vaccine strategy. 

It  is  also  proposed  to  transfer  EUR 53,75 million  in  commitments  and  payments  from  the 
administrative  support  expenditure  line  to  the  operational  line  of  the  Instrument.  The  total 
amount of commitment and payment  appropriations on the support line of ESI will thus  be 
decreased to EUR 250 000. 

Budget 
line 

Name 

Section III – Commission 
18 01 04 05  Support expenditure for emergency support within the Union 
18 07 01 
Total 

Emergency support within the Union 

Commitment 
appropriations 

Payment 
appropriations 

EUR 

-53 750 000 
53 750 000 
0 

-53 750 000 
1 143 750 000 
1 090 000 000  

3. 

INCREASE IN PAYMENT APPROPRIATIONS LINKED TO THE CRII+ 

The  Commission  has  proposed  in  March  and  April  2020  two  packages  of  measures:  the 
Coronavirus  Response  Investment  Initiative  (CRII)12  and  the  Coronavirus  Response 
Investment Initiative Plus (CRII+)13, which were swiftly adopted by the European Parliament 
and the Council. 

Member  States  are  making  full  use  of  the  flexibilities  and  liquidities  offered  by  Cohesion 
funds  to  help  those  most  impacted:  healthcare  workers  and  hospitals,  SMEs,  and  workers. 
The  implementation  of  the  initiative  is  ongoing  and  Member  States  continue  to  adopt 

12  

13 

Regulation (EU) 2020/460 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 March 2020 amending 
Regulations  (EU)  No  1301/2013,  (EU)  No  1303/2013  and  (EU)  No  508/2014  as  regards  specific 
measures to mobilise investments in the healthcare systems of Member States and in other sectors of 
their economies in response to the COVID-19 outbreak (Coronavirus Response Investment Initiative), 
OJ L 99, 31.3.2020, p. 5–8  
Regulation (EU) 2020/558 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 April 2020 amending 
Regulations  (EU)  No  1301/2013  and  (EU)  No  1303/2013  as  regards  specific  measures  to  provide 
exceptional flexibility for the use of the European Structural and Investments Funds in response to the 
COVID-19 outbreak, OJ L 130, 24.4.2020, p. 1 

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measures in line with the evolving needs. While standard cohesion support focuses on long-
term  investments  for  regional  convergence,  the  CRII  and  CRII+  packages  provided 
emergency response where it was most needed. 

As a result of the Coronavirus Response  Investment  Initiative (CRII) adopted on 30 March 
2020, around EUR 8 billion of investment liquidity were released for programmes under the 
Cohesion policy. In order to ensure that all non-committed support from the cohesion policy 
funds can be mobilised in 2020 to address the effects of the COVID-19 outbreak on Member 
States’ economies and societies, the Commission has further proposed the CRII+, which was 
adopted  by  the  European  Parliament  and  Council.  It  provides  on  a  temporary  basis  the 
possibility  for  Member  States  to  request  100%  EU  co-financing  for  the  programmes 
supported by the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund and the 
Cohesion Fund for the accounting year starting on 1 July 2020 and ending on 30 June 2021, 
and increased transfer possibilities between funds as well as between categories of regions. 
As  of  24  August  2020,  107  programmes,  covering  almost  half  of  the  cohesion  policy 
envelope, have opted for the 100% EU-cofinancing rate.  

The Commission performed an in-depth analysis of the forecasts submitted by Member States 
by the end of July 2020 at the level of each programme and considers that a reinforcement of 
EUR 5,1 billion in  payment  appropriations is  needed in  order to  cover  all expected payable 
payment applications to be paid in 2020.  

The  request  for  reinforcement  of  payment  appropriations  in  heading  1b  amounts  to 
EUR 5,1 billion, broken down as follows: 

Budget line 

Name 

Section III – Commission 
04 02 60 

European  Social  Fund  —  Less  developed  regions  — 
Investment for growth and jobs goal 

04 02 61 

04 02 62 

European Social Fund — Transition regions — Investment for 
growth and jobs goal 

European  Social  Fund  —  More  developed  regions  — 
Investment for growth and jobs goal 

04 02 64 

Youth Employment Initiative 

Promoting  social  cohesion  and  alleviating  the  worst  forms  of 
poverty in the Union 

European  Regional  Development  Fund  (ERDF)  —  Less 
developed regions — Investment for growth and jobs goal 

European  Regional  Development  Fund  (ERDF)  —  Transition 
regions — Investment for growth and jobs goal 

European  Regional  Development  Fund  (ERDF)  —  More 
developed regions — Investment for growth and jobs goal 

European  Regional  Development  Fund  (ERDF)  —  Additional 
allocation  for  outermost  and  sparsely  populated  regions  — 
Investment for growth and jobs goal 
European  Regional  Development  Fund  (ERDF)  —  European 
territorial cooperation 

Cohesion Fund — Investment for growth and jobs goal 

04 06 01 

13 03 60 

13 03 61 

13 03 62 

13 03 63 

13 03 64 01 

13 04 60 

Total 

5 

Commitment 
appropriations 

Payment 
appropriations 

EUR 

- 

- 

- 

- 

- 

- 

- 

- 

- 

- 

- 

771 562 000 

192 891 000 

397 128 000 

68 419 000 

70 000 000 

1 882 287 000 

311 128 000 

424 520 000 

20 386 000 

122 353 000 

839 326 000 

0 

5 100 000 000 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
FINANCING 

4. 
The draft amending budget No 6/202014 was based on the assumption that the 2014-20 MFF 
would be increased. However, following the conclusion of the European Council of 21 July, 
it is clear that this avenue will not be pursued and the draft amending budget No 6/2020 has 
become  de  facto  obsolete.  For  this  reason,  this  DAB  N°  8  does  not  take  into  account  that 
proposal  and  the  expenditure  is  proposed  starting  from  the  level  of  the  last  adopted  budget 
(AB 5/2020) and the financing as proposed in DAB N° 7/2020.  

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COM(2020) 423, 3.6.2020 

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5. 

SUMMARY TABLE BY MFF HEADING 

Heading 

(incl. AB 1-5 & DAB 7/2020) 

Budget 2020 

Draft Amending Budget 8/2020 

In EUR 

Budget 2020 

(incl. AB 1-5 & DAB 7-8/2020) 

1. 

Smart and inclusive growth 

83 930 597 837 

72 353 828 442 

5 100 000 000 

83 930 597 837 

77 453 828 442 

CA 

PA 

CA 

PA 

CA 

PA 

1a 

Competitiveness for growth and jobs 

25 284 773 982 

22 308 071 592 

25 284 773 982 

22 308 071 592 

Ceiling  

83 661 000 000 

Margin 

83 661 000 000 

Of which under global margin for commitments 

 93 773 982 

Ceiling 

Margin 

25 191 000 000 

 93 773 982 

25 191 000 000 

1b   Economic  social and territorial cohesion 

58 645 823 855 

50 045 756 850 

5 100 000 000 

58 645 823 855 

55 145 756 850 

Of which under global margin for commitments 

 175 823 855 

Ceiling 

Margin 

58 470 000 000 

 175 823 855 

58 470 000 000 

2. 

Sustainable growth: natural resources 

59 907 021 051 

57 904 492 439 

59 907 021 051 

57 904 492 439 

Of which offset against Contingency margin 

- 465 323 871 

Ceiling 

60 421 000 000 

Margin 

 48 655 078 

60 421 000 000 

- 465 323 871 

 48 655 078 

Of which: European Agricultural Guarantee 
Fund (EAGF) — Market related expenditure 
and direct payments 

43 410 105 687 

43 380 031 798 

43 410 105 687 

43 380 031 798 

Sub-ceiling 
Rounding difference excluded from margin 
calculation 
Of which offset against Contingency margin 

43 888 000 000 

  888 000 

- 428 351 235 

EAGF Margin 

 48 655 078 

43 888 000 000 

  888 000 

- 428 351 235 

 48 655 078 

3. 

Security and citizenship 

7 152 374 489 

5 278 527 141 

1 090 000 000 

7 152 374 489 

6 368 527 141 

Of which under Flexibility Instrument 

1 094 414 188 

Of which under global margin for commitments 

2 392 402 163 

Of which under Contingency margin 

 714 558 138 

Ceiling 

Margin 

2 951 000 000 

1 094 414 188 

2 392 402 163 

 714 558 138 

2 951 000 000 

4. 

Global Europe 

10 991 572 239 

9 112 061 191 

10 991 572 239 

9 112 061 191 

Of which under Contingency margin 

 481 572 239 

Ceiling 

Margin 

10 510 000 000 

 481 572 239 

10 510 000 000 

5. 

Administration 

10 271 193 494 

10 274 196 704 

10 271 193 494 

10 274 196 704 

Of which offset against Contingency margin 

- 982 806 506 

Ceiling 

11 254 000 000 

11 254 000 000 

- 982 806 506 

Of which: Administrative expenditure of the 
institutions 

Margin 

7 955 303 132 

7 958 306 342 

7 955 303 132 

7 958 306 342 

Of which offset against Contingency margin 

- 982 806 506 

Sub-ceiling 

9 071 000 000 

Margin 

 132 890 362 

9 071 000 000 

- 982 806 506 

 132 890 362 

Total 

172 252 759 110 

154 923 105 917 

6 190 000 000 

172 252 759 110 

161 113 105 917 

Of which under Flexibility Instrument 
Of which under global margin for 
commitments 
Of which under Contingency margin 

1 094 414 188 

1 017 029 444 

1 094 414 188 

1 017 029 444 

2 662 000 000 

1 196 130 377 

2 662 000 000 

1 196 130 377 

Ceiling 

168 797 000 000 

172 420 000 000 

168 797 000 000 

172 420 000 000 

Of which offset against Contingency margin 

-1 448 130 377 

Other special Instruments 

 860 261 208 

 690 998 208 

Margin 

 48 655 078 

18 513 923 527 

-1 448 130 377 

 48 655 078 

12 323 923 527 

 860 261 208 

 690 998 208 

Grand Total 

173 113 020 318 

155 614 104 125 

6 190 000 000 

173 113 020 318 

161 804 104 125 

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