DRAFT AMENDING BUDGET No 2 TO THE GENERAL BUDGET 2021 financing the COVID-19 response and including refinements and updates related to the final adoption of the Multiannual Financial Framework
Date: 2021-03-24
Institutions: Directorate-General for Budget, European Commission
Subjects: amending budget, coronavirus disease, disease prevention, draft budget (EU), epidemic, executive agency, financial year, general budget (EU), multiannual financial framework, payment appropriation

EN 

  EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 24.3.2021  COM(2021) 200 final 2021/0078 (BUD)  DRAFT AMENDING BUDGET No 2 TO THE GENERAL BUDGET 2021 financing the COVID-19 response and including refinements and updates related to the final adoption of the Multiannual Financial Framework                   
 
 
Having regard to: 

– 

– 

– 

– 

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 2021, as adopted on 
18 December 20202, 
draft amending budget No°1/20213, adopted on 22 January 2021, 

The  European  Commission  hereby  presents  to  the  European  Parliament  and  to  the  Council 
Draft Amending Budget No 2 to the 2021 budget. 

CHANGES  TO  THE  STATEMENT  OF  REVENUE  AND  EXPENDITURE  BY 
SECTION 

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

1  
2  
3  

OJ L 193, 30.7.2018. 
OJ L 93, 17.3.2021. 
COM(2021) 30 final. 

1 

 
 
 
 
 
                                                           
 
Table of Contents 

1. 

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

2.  FINANCING THE COVID-19 RESPONSE .............................................................................................................. 4 

3.  DECENTRALISED AGENCIES AND EPPO........................................................................................................... 7 

3.1. 

3.2. 

3.3. 

EUROPEAN UNION AGENCY FOR THE SPACE PROGRAMME ............................................................... 7 

EUROPEAN FISHERIES CONTROL AGENCY................................................................................................ 7 

EUROPEAN PUBLIC PROSECUTOR’S OFFICE ............................................................................................. 7 

4.  EXECUTIVE AGENCIES .......................................................................................................................................... 8 

4.1. 

4.2. 

4.3. 

ESTABLISHING THE 2021-2027 EXECUTIVE AGENCIES ........................................................................... 8 

IMPACT ON APPROPRIATIONS ....................................................................................................................... 8 

IMPACT ON HUMAN RESOURCES ................................................................................................................ 11 

5. 

JOINT UNDERTAKINGS ........................................................................................................................................ 13 

6.  REACT-EU ................................................................................................................................................................. 13 

7.  FRONTLOADING OF THE PROVISIONING OF THE EFSD+ ......................................................................... 13 

8.  OTHER ADJUSTMENTS AND TECHNICAL UPDATES ................................................................................... 14 

9.  EU SOLIDARITY FUND .......................................................................................................................................... 15 

10. 

11. 

FINANCING .......................................................................................................................................................... 16 

SUMMARY TABLE BY MFF HEADING.......................................................................................................... 17 

2 

 
 
 
 
EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 

1.  INTRODUCTION 

The  purpose  of  Draft  Amending  Budget  (DAB)  No 2  for  the  year  2021  is  to  provide  additional 
funding for the prevention, preparedness and response to the COVID-19 pandemic as proposed in the 
Commission  Communications  on  the  Health  Emergency  Preparedness  and  Response  Authority 
(HERA)  Incubator4,  COVID-19:  a  common  path  to  safe  and  sustained  re-opening5  and  the  Digital 
Green  Certificates6,  and  to  provide  room  under  the  Emergency  Support  Instrument  for  the  potential 
budgetary  impact  of  further  European  initiatives  related  to  the  COVID-19  response.  Moreover,  the 
DAB  introduces  the  necessary  technical  changes  to  the  2021  budget  stemming  from  the  political 
agreements  reached  on  sectoral  legal  bases  following  the  adoption  of  the  multiannual  financial 
framework (MFF) in December 20207, as well as some adjustments in relation to the provisioning for 
the External Action Guarantee. 

In particular, it covers the following elements: 

  Reinforcement  of  the  Emergency  Support  Instrument  and  of  the  European  Centre  for  Disease 
Prevention and Control (ECDC) in the context of the COVID-19 response, for a total amount of 
EUR 216,2 million in commitment and EUR 208,1 million in payment appropriations.  

  Budgetary neutral adjustments: 

 

 

 

 

resulting from the adoption of the Commission implementing decision of 12 February 2021 
establishing the new generation of executive agencies8, and the corresponding Commission 
delegating decisions setting out the major components of the mandate and tasks entrusted 
to them9; 

resulting  from  the  adoption  of  the  Commission  proposal  for  a  Council  Regulation 
establishing the Joint Undertakings under Horizon Europe of 23 February 202110, setting 
out  the  major  components  of  the  mandate  and  contribution  to  EU  priorities  of  the  new 
European partnerships as from 2021; 

to  the  planned  amounts  from  NextGenerationEU  (NGEU)  for  2021  by  programme  and 
budget line, to reflect the impact of the finalisation of the legal bases of the programmes 
that will benefit from NGEU top-ups including REACT-EU; 

to increase the provisioning of the European Fund for Sustainable Development (EFSD+) 
in  2021  by  EUR 700 million  in  commitment  appropriations,  to  be  compensated  by  a 
corresponding decrease in later years of the 2021-2027 period; 

  Other adjustments and technical updates: 

4  
5  
6  
7  
8  
9  
10  

COM(2021) 78 of 17.2.2021. 
COM(2021) 129 of 17.3.2021. 
COM(2021) 130 of 17.3.2021. 
OJ L 433, 22.12.2020 p. 11. 
OJ L 50, 15.2.2021, p. 9. 
C(2021) 947, C(2021) 948, C(2021) 949, C(2021) 950, C(2021) 951 and C(2021) 952. 
COM(2021) 87 final. 

3 

 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                           
 
  adjustment  of  the  establishment  plans  of  the  European  Union  Agency  for  the  Space 
Programme  (EUSPA)  and  the  European  Public  Prosecutor’s  Office  (EPPO),  as  well  as 
reinforcement  of  the  European  Fisheries  Control Agency  (EFCA)  by  EUR  2  million  and 
corresponding adjustment of its establishment plan, taking into account the impact of the 
latest legislative or political developments on their operations for 2021;  

  a  correction  to  the  2021  level  of  appropriations  of  the  European  Economic  and  Social 
Committee  (EESC),  following  the  adoption  of  EESC  budgetary  authority  transfer 
DEC1/2020 in 2020, which prefinanced building expenditure originally foreseen for 2021 
for an amount of EUR 5,5 million in commitment and payment appropriations. 

Additionally,  taking  into  account  the  provisions  under  Article  10  (1)  of  the  2014-2020  MFF 
Regulation11,  it  is  proposed  to  carry-over  to  the  EUSF  budget  line  in  2021  an  amount  of  EUR 
47 981 598 in both commitment and payment appropriations, corresponding to the unused portion of 
2020 appropriations. 

Overall,  the  net  impact  of  this  DAB  on  expenditure  in  the  2021  budget  is  an  amount  of 
EUR 260 681 598 in commitment and EUR 252 581 598 in payment appropriations. 

2.  FINANCING THE COVID-19 RESPONSE 

2.1. Overview of additional funding needs  

Faced  with  urgent  needs  related  to  the  COVID-19  response  in  2021,  in  particular  to  finance 
preparatory  work  for  digital  green  certificates,  reinforce  sequencing  through  the  HERA  Incubator, 
waste-water monitoring  and specialised RT-PCR assays, the Commission proposes to  use this DAB 
No 2 to reinforce the Emergency Support Instrument and the EU contribution to the European Centre 
for  Disease  Prevention  and  Control  (ECDC)  in  2021,  for  a  total  amount  of  EUR 216,2 million  in 
commitment  appropriations  and  EUR 208,1 million  in  payment  appropriations.  In  parallel,  the 
Commission  has  proposed  a  budgetary  authority  transfer  from  the  Solidarity  and  Emergency  Aid 
Reserve  (SEAR)  to  address  immediate  needs  for  the  ESI  and  ECDC,  for  an  amount  of  EUR  121,5 
million.  The  breakdown  of  the  amounts  between  the  two  budgetary  instruments  depends  on  the 
urgency  of  obtaining  additional  funding.  In  this  context,  the  Commission  has  also  identified  some 
sources of redeployment in the current budget, for an amount of around EUR 7,5 million. Overall, as 
shown in the table below, this leads to a total additional amount of COVID-related funding in 2021 of 
EUR 345,2  million.  

Action 

SEAR transfer 
DEC 5/2021 

DAB 2/2021  

Digital Green Certificates 

Specialised RT-CPR assays 

HERA Incubator sequencing 

31,0 

31,0 

46,0 

12,0 

34,0 

60,0 

Amounts in EUR million 

Financing from 
existing 
envelopes 2021 
3,0 

- 

4,0 

Total funding 
2021 

46,0 

65,0 

110,0 

11  

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.  

4 

 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                           
 
Passenger Locator Form exchange 
platform 
Wastewater monitoring 

Further emerging needs 

2,5 

11,0 

Total 

121,5 

- 

10,2 

100,0 

216,2 

0,5 

- 

7,5 

3,0 

21,2 

100,0 

345,2 

The table below shows the additional financing needs for the Emergency Support Instrument and the 
European  Centre  for  Disease  Prevention  and  Control  (ECDC)  in  2021,  for  the  part  to  be  financed 
through this draft amending budget.  

Budget 
line 
06 07 01 
06 10 01 

Total 

Name 

Emergency support within the Union 
European  Centre  for  Disease  Prevention  and  Control 
(ECDC) 

2.2. Emergency Support Instrument 

EUR 

Commitment 
appropriations 
156 200 000 
60 000 000 

Payment 
appropriations 
148 100 000 
60 000 000 

216 200 000 

208 100 000 

The Emergency Support Instrument (ESI) covers a broad scope of eligible actions. It was activated in 
202012 to provide an immediate response to the outbreak of COVID-19, mostly in order to support the 
health sectors in the Member States and to finance Advance Purchase Agreements (APAs) on behalf 
of all Member States with vaccine manufacturers. 

The Commission proposes to reinforce the Emergency Support Instrument in 2021 by a total amount 
of  EUR  231,7  million  in  commitment  appropriations,  of  which  EUR  156,2  million  in  this  draft 
amending budget. The measures to be channelled through the Emergency Support  Instrument would 
include in particular:  

  Preparatory  work  to  establish  a  common  framework  for  a  Digital  Green  Certificate13  of 
individuals’ vaccination, testing and recovery status, so as to put in place an EU level approach 
to issuing, verifying and accepting interoperable certificates to facilitate free movement during 
the COVID-19 pandemic; 

  Developing,  evaluating  and  adjusting  new  RT-PCR  assays  for  each  new  emerging  variant 
before  they  can  be  rolled  out,  while  ensuring  sufficient  sequencing  capacity  in  the  Member 
States, as set out in the Commission Communication on the HERA Incubator14; 

  Wastewater  monitoring,  which  has  proved  to  be  an  effective,  reliable  and  inexpensive 
instrument to identify the presence of a virus. As set out in the  Commission Communication 

12  

13  

14  

Council  Regulation  (EU)  2020/521  of  14  April  2020  activating  the  emergency  support  under  Regulation  (EU) 
2016/369, and amending its provisions taking into account the COVID‐ 19 outbreak, OJ L 117, 15.4.2020, p. 3.  
Proposal  for  a  Regulation  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  on  a  framework  for  the  issuance, 
verification  and  acceptance  of  interoperable  certificates  on  vaccination,  testing  and  recovery  to  facilitate  free 
movement during the COVID-19 pandemic (Digital Green Certificate), COM(2021) 130 of 17.3.2021. 
Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the European Council and the Council: HERA 
Incubator: Anticipating together the threat of COVID-19 variants, COM(2021) 78 of 17.2.2021. 

5 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                           
 
on  COVID-19:  A  common  path  to  safe  and  sustained  re-opening15,  a  common  approach  to 
establish a systematic surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 and its variants in wastewaters in the EU 
allows  for  very  early  detection,  which  enables  screening  among  large  population  groups  in 
order to identify where more detailed analysis is needed; 

  Further work in the development of the Passenger Locator Form exchange platform to increase 
the  number  of  Member  States  participating,  in  parallel  with  establishing  a  legal  basis  in  EU 
law  for  the  cross-border  exchange  of  personal  data  through  an  implementing  act.  In  the  
current pilot phase of the project, the exchange  platform is technically ready to connect with 
the digital repositories of three already participating Member States.  

 

In addition to the funding needs identified at this stage, it is proposed to create room under the 
Emergency  Support  Instrument  -  for  an  amount  of  EUR  100  million  -  for  the  potential 
budgetary impact of emerging needs as the pandemic evolves. In this respect, it is important to 
underline that the dynamically evolving nature of the pandemic requires rapid policy responses 
that cannot always be foreseen, which will also need to be financed at short notice. 

In  the  context  of  the  legislative  proposal  for  the  Digital  Green  Certificates,  the  Commission  has 
identified the possibility to finance an annual amount of EUR 3 million relating to the operation and 
maintenance of the system from the Digital Europe Programme, once its legal basis will have entered 
into  force.  A  further  amount  of  EUR  0,5  million  for  maintenance  of  the  Passenger  Locator  Form 
exchange  platform  has  been  made  available  under  the  Commission  prerogative  budget  line  in  the 
Transport area in 2021 (budget item 02 20 04 01).  

The  amount  of  payment  appropriations  requested  for  the  Emergency  Support  Instrument  in  2021 
(EUR  148,1  million)  takes  into  account  the  specific  payment  needs  identified  in  the  legislative 
financial statement for the Commission proposal concerning Digital Green Certificates, of which EUR 
8,1 million would occur in 2022.  

2.3. European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control 

The Commission proposes to give the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) a 
key role in strengthening the capacity of Member States to detect and monitor new variants of SARS-
CoV-2 viruses (‘sequencing’). Reaching the target of 5 % of genome sequencing of positive tests in 
the Member States will help to identify variants, monitor their spread in populations, and screen their 
impact  on  transmissibility.  Moreover,  it  is  important  to  step  up  research  and  data  exchange  on 
variants.  

ECDC has already set up an emergency framework contract enabling in particular the Member States 
with  limited  or  no  whole  genome  sequencing  capacity  to  send  samples  to  one  or  more  commercial 
laboratories  contracted  by  ECDC  to  do  sequencing,  for  which  ECDC  has  been  able  to  redeploy  an 
amount  of  EUR  4  million  within  its  current  budget.  In  order  to  make  this  capacity  more  widely 
available to all Member States, it is proposed to expand ECDC’s framework contract by reinforcing 
the  EU  contribution  to  ECDC  in  2021,  for  a  total  amount  of  EUR  106  million  in  commitment  and 
payment appropriations, of which EUR 60 million in this draft amending budget. The reinforced EU 
contribution  to  ECDC  will  also  be  used  to  cover  costs  related  to  the  transport  of  viral  samples  for 
sequencing, as well as to support capacity building in the Member States, ahead of the creation of the 
Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority (HERA). 

15  

Communication  from  the  Commission  to  the  European  Parliament,  the  European  Council  and  the  Council:  A 
common path to safe and sustained re-opening, COM(2021) 129 of 17.3.2021. 

6 

 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                           
 
In order to enable ECDC to allocate this substantial amount of funding to the Member States, in full 
respect of financial rules, it is proposed to reinforce ECDC’s staff by 10 establishment plan posts and 
five contract agents in 2021, as a frontloading of the 2022 staff increase foreseen for the ECDC in the 
Health  package  of  11  November  202016.  The  estimated  salary  costs  of  some  EUR  1  million  are 
included in the EUR 60 million requested for ECDC in the draft amending budget.  

The updated establishment plan of the ECDC is set out in the budgetary annex. 

3.  DECENTRALISED AGENCIES AND EPPO 

3.1. European Union Agency for the Space Programme 

Following the agreement reached by Parliament and Council on the Space programme Regulation in 
December  2020,  a  staff  increase  is  proposed  for  the  European  Union  Agency  for  the  Space 
Programme (EUSPA), consisting of 41 additional establishment plan posts and 11 Seconded National 
Experts in 2021, in order to facilitate the implementation of the EU Space programme. The Regulation 
as agreed by Parliament and Council gives substantial additional tasks to EUSPA, including as regards 
guaranteeing  continuity  of  service  and  ensuring  security  of  infrastructure  and  systems  such  as 
Copernicus, Galileo/EGNOS and satellite communications. The related additional budgetary resources 
will  be  transferred  to  EUSPA  from  the  Space  programme’s  budget  lines  through  a  Commission 
autonomous transfer upon adoption of the Space programme Regulation.  

The updated establishment plan of the EUSPA is set out in the budgetary annex. 

3.2. European Fisheries Control Agency 

In the aftermath of the UK withdrawal, the EFCA needs to carry out increased control activities, as set 
out in more detail in a revised legislative financial statement. This increased workload requires four 
additional  establishment  plan  posts  and  two  contract  agents,  as  well  as  an  increase  in  the  EU 
contribution  to  the  agency  of  EUR 2 million.  The  Commission  intends  to  redeploy  a  further 
EUR 2 million from the European Maritime Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund (EMFAF), by means of a 
Commission autonomous transfer. The additional staff and resources will allow EFCA to charter and 
deploy  up  to  two  additional  Offshore  Patrol  Vessels  and  aircraft  missions  in  waters  adjoining  the 
United Kingdom. The agency will also create a unified information system and a coordination cell to 
support the implementation of the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement. 

The updated establishment plan of the EFCA is set out in the budgetary annex. 

3.3. European Public Prosecutor’s Office 

The agreement reached on the voted budget 2021 included eight additional establishment plan posts 
for  the  European  Public  Prosecutor’s  Office  (EPPO).  Following  reconsideration  of  the  needs,  it  is 
proposed  to  update  the  breakdown  by  function  group  and  grades  of  these  eight  posts  in  the 
establishment plan. 

The updated establishment plan of the EPPO is set out in the budgetary annex. 

16  

COM(2020) 726.  

7 

 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                           
 
4.  EXECUTIVE AGENCIES  

4.1. Establishing the 2021-2027 executive agencies 

On  12  February  2021,  the  Commission  adopted  the  decision17  establishing  the  new  generation  of 
executive  agencies  and  the  corresponding  Commission  delegating  decisions  setting  out  the  major 
components of the mandate and tasks entrusted to them. The effective date of the delegation of tasks 
to the new generation of executive agencies will be 1 April 2021. 
In the Amending Letter No 1 to the Draft General Budget 202118, the Commission explained why, at 
that  point  in  time,  it  had  to  base  the  assumptions  relating  to  the  amounts  to  be  delegated  to  the 
executive  agencies  on  the  envelopes  of  the  spending  programmes  set  in  the  European  Council 
agreement  of  July  2020.  Given  the  uncertainty  surrounding  the  allocation  of  these  credits,  the 
budgetary remarks on the support lines of the executive agencies in the Amending Letter did not yet 
include any estimates of expenditure.  

The  voted  budget  2021  confirmed  the  assumptions  for  the  executive  agencies  as  set  out  in  the 
Amending  Letter.  However,  the  political  agreement  on  the  2021-2027  MFF  of  10  November  2020 
included  a  significant  increase  in  the  budget  of  a  series  of  programmes,  which  are  partly  or  fully 
delegated to executive agencies. This concerns in particular Erasmus+, Horizon Europe, EU4Health, 
Creative Europe, as well as the Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values programme. The corresponding 
impact of increased budgets to be delegated to the executive agencies was reflected in the documents 
which  the  Commission  submitted  to  the  Committee  on  Executive  Agencies  (“CEA  package”)  in 
December 2020. 

Since then, two further developments have had a relatively minor impact on the delegation of tasks to 
the  executive  agencies.  First,  the  political  agreement  reached  on  11  December  2020  on  the  internal 
budgetary allocation of  Horizon Europe has  modified the breakdown of  appropriations and staff  for 
the agencies implementing the programme, so as to reflect the related workload, without a net overall 
impact.  Second,  the  Commission  Decisions  of 12  February  2021  reflect  that  the  delegation  of  tasks 
will  now  effectively  take  place  on  1  April  2021,  as  opposed  to  the  previously  expected  date  of  1 
January 2021. The delayed recruitment of additional staff in 2021 creates a saving in relation to the 
executive agencies of some EUR 8,3 million, which reduces the need to reinforce the running costs of 
the executive agencies through this draft amending budget accordingly. 

4.2. Impact on appropriations 

As  set  out  above,  the  envelopes  of  appropriations  to  be  delegated  to  the  executive  agencies  in  the 
2021-2027  period  have  increased  overall  as  compared  to  the  assumptions  used  in  the  Amending 
Letter, also considering  the delay in the start of  the corresponding operations,  with  a corresponding 
impact on the workload and resources needs in the executive agencies in 2021. The table below shows 
the  necessary  increase  of  support  expenditure  for  the  2021-2027  programmes  by  executive  agency. 

17  

18  

Commission  Implementing  Decision  (EU)  2021/173  of  12  February  2021  establishing  the  European  Climate, 
Infrastructure  and  Environment  Executive  Agency,  the  European  Health  and  Digital  Executive  Agency,  the 
European  Research  Executive  Agency,  the  European  Innovation  Council  and  SMEs  Executive  Agency,  the 
European Research Council Executive Agency, and the European Education and Culture Executive Agency and 
repealing  Implementing  Decisions  2013/801/EU,  2013/771/EU,  2013/778/EU,  2013/779/EU,  2013/776/EU  and 
2013/770/EU (OJ L 50, 15.2.2021, p. 9). 
COM(2020) 748 final of 13.11.2020. 

8 

 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                           
 
The total amount of EUR 3 538 850 is broken down in more detail in the budgetary annex.  Together 
with the amounts on the administrative support lines relating to the ongoing implementation “legacy” 
of  the  2014-2020  programmes  delegated  to  the  executive  agencies,  this  represents  an  1  %  increase 
overall in the running costs of the executive agencies.  

The impact on commitment and payment appropriations is as follows: 

  European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency 

Budget 
line 

Name 

01 01 01 74  European  Climate,  Infrastructure  and  Environment 
Executive  Agency  —  Contribution  from  Horizon 
Europe 

02 01 40 74  European  Climate,  Infrastructure  and  Environment 
Executive  Agency  —  Contribution  from  the  renewable 
energy financing mechanism 

08 01 03 74  European  Climate,  Infrastructure  and  Environment 
Executive  Agency  —  Contribution  from  the  European 
Maritime and Fisheries Fund 

09 01 01 74  European  Climate,  Infrastructure  and  Environment 
Executive Agency — Contribution from the Programme 
for Environment and Climate Action (LIFE) 

Commitment 
appropriations 
9 967 

Amounts in EUR 
Payment 
appropriations 
9 967 

-91 425 

-91 425 

-7 038 

-7 038 

-183 656 

-183 656 

Total 

-272 152 

-272 152 

  European Education and Culture Executive Agency 

Budget 
line 

Name 

07 01 02 75  European  Education  and  Culture  Executive  Agency  — 

Contribution from Erasmus 

Commitment 
appropriations 
-889 025 

Amounts in EUR 
Payment 
appropriations 
-889 025 

07 01 04 75  European  Education  and  Culture  Executive  Agency  — 

881 865 

881 865 

Contribution from Creative Europe 

07 01 05 75  European  Education  and  Culture  Executive  Agency  — 

2 582 865 

2 582 865 

Contribution from Rights and Values 

Total 

2 575 705 

2 575 705 

  European Health and Digital Executive Agency 

Budget 
line 

Name 

01 01 01 73  European  Health  and  Digital  Executive  Agency  — 

Contribution from Horizon Europe 

02 01 23 73  European  Health  and  Digital  Executive  Agency  — 
Contribution  from  the  Connecting  Europe  Facility  — 
Digital 

Commitment 
appropriations 
-1 801 754 

Amounts in EUR 
Payment 
appropriations 
-1 801 754 

-318 317 

-318 317 

02 01 30 73  European  Health  and  Digital  Executive  Agency  — 

-63 623 

-63 623 

Contribution from the Digital Europe Programme 

9 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
03 01 01 73  European  Health  and  Digital  Executive  Agency  — 
Contribution  from  the  Single  Market  Programme  (incl. 
SMEs) 

-219 379 

-219 379 

06 01 05 73  European  Health  and  Digital  Executive  Agency  — 

4 508 102 

4 508 102 

Contribution from the EU4Health Programme 

Total 

2 105 209 

2 105 209 

  European Innovation and SMEs Executive Agency 

Budget 
line 

Name 

01 01 01 76  European  Innovation  Council  and  SMEs  Executive 

Agency — Contribution from Horizon Europe 

03 01 01 76  European  Innovation  Council  and  SMEs  Executive 
the  Single  Market 

Agency  —  Contribution  from 
Programme (incl. SMEs) 

05 01 01 76  European  Innovation  Council  and  SMEs  Executive 
the  programme 

Agency  —  Contribution 
from 
Interregional Innovation Investments 

Commitment 
appropriations 
-1 151 442 

Amounts in EUR 
Payment 
appropriations 
-1 151 442 

-107 515 

-107 515 

-138 303 

-138 303 

Total 

-1 397 260 

-1 397 260 

  European Research Council Executive Agency 

Budget 
line 

Name 

01 01 01 71  European  Research  Council  Executive  Agency  — 

Contribution from Horizon Europe 

Total 

Commitment 
appropriations 
302 000 

Amounts in EUR 
Payment 
appropriations 
302 000 

302 000 

302 000 

  European Research Executive Agency 

Budget 
line 

Name 

01 01 01 72  European  Research  Executive  Agency  —  Contribution 

from Horizon Europe 

20 03 14 72  European  Research  Executive  Agency  —  Contribution 
for  the  implementation  of  the  research  programme  for 
coal and steel and non-research programmes 

Commitment 
appropriations 
631 865 

Amounts in EUR 
Payment 
appropriations 
631 865 

-406 337 

-406 337 

Total 

225 528 

225 528 

The net increase in the running costs of the executive agencies of EUR 3 538 850 is fully offset by a 
corresponding  net  decrease  of  administrative  and/or  operational  appropriations  for  the  programmes 
which they will implement. The impact on commitment and payment appropriations is as follows: 

Budget 
line 

Name 

10 

Commitment 
appropriations 

Amounts in EUR 
Payment 
appropriations 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
01 01 01 03  Other  management  expenditure  for  "Horizon  Europe" 

2 009 364 

2 009 364 

— Indirect research 

02 01 30 01  Support 

expenditure 

for 

the 

"Digital  Europe 

63 623 

63 623 

Programme" 

02 03 03 01  Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) — Digital 

02 20 04 02  Support  activities  for  the  European  energy  policy  and 

internal energy market 

318 317 

91 425 

318 317 

91 425 

03 01 01 01  Support expenditure for the "Single Market Programme 

-102 485 

-102 485 

(incl. SMEs)" 

03 02 04 01  Ensuring high level of consumer protection and product 

210 000 

210 000 

03 02 06 

05 02 01 

safety 
Contributing  to  a  high  level  of  health  and  welfare  for 
humans, animals and plants 
ERDF — Operational expenditure 

06 06 01 

EU4Health Programme 

07 01 02 01  Support expenditure for "Erasmus+" 

07 05 01 

Culture 

07 05 02 

Media 

07 06 02 

Promote  citizens  engagement  and  participation  in  the 
democratic life of the Union 

219 379 

219 379 

138 303 

138 303 

-4 508 102 

-4 508 102 

889 025 

-308 653 

-573 212 

889 025 

-308 653 

-573 212 

-2 582 865 

-2 582 865 

08 01 03 01  Support  expenditure  for  the  "European  Maritime  and 

7 038 

7 038 

Fisheries Fund" 

09 01 01 01  Support 

expenditure 

for 

the 

"Programme 

for 

Environment and Climate Action (LIFE)" 
20 01 02 01  Remuneration  and  allowances  —  Headquarters  and 

183 656 

183 656 

406 337 

406 337 

representation offices 

Total 

-3 538 850 

-3 538 850 

Additionally, NGEU proceeds for an amount of EUR 6 901 457 are allocated to the support lines of 
three  executive  agencies  (the  European  Innovation  Council  and  SMEs  Executive  Agency,  the 
European  Climate,  Infrastructure  and  Environment  Executive  Agency  and  the  European  Health  and 
Digital  Executive  Agency)  to  cover  the  administrative  cost  for  the  implementation  of  the  NGEU 
contribution under Horizon Europe in 2021. 

The budgetary annex also shows the updated budgetary remarks of the administrative support lines of 
the  additional  “NextGenerationEU”  (“NGEU”) 
the  relevant  executive  agencies 
appropriations  for  Horizon  Europe,  as  set  out  in  the  documents  submitted  to  the  Committee  on 
Executive Agencies in December 2020. 

to  reflect 

4.3. Impact on human resources 

Regulation  No  58/2003  requires  that  any  delegation  of  tasks  to  an  executive  agency  should  be  cost 
efficient and consistent with the principle of sound financial management. As set out above, compared 
to the assumptions used in the voted budget 2021, the executive agencies will have to manage larger 
envelopes of operational appropriations effectively. Including staff for implementation tasks related to 

11 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
NGEU  appropriations,  this  implies  a  further  26  temporary  agents  posts  and  79  contract  agents 
positions, i.e. 105 Full-time equivalents (FTE) in the executive agencies in 2021. 

To ensure budget neutrality with regard to administrative expenditure over the 2021-2027 period as a 
whole, as a result of delegating additional tasks of programme management related to the 2021-2027 
MFF, the Commission will reduce its human resources to offset the additional staff in the executive 
agencies.  Similarly,  expenditure  related  to  posts  ‘frozen’  in  the  Commission  establishment  plans  to 
take account of secondments to the executive agencies will also be reduced accordingly. 

The  table  below  shows  the  way  in  which  the  Commission  proposes  to  offset  the  additional  human 
resources in the executive agencies, for the 2021-2027 period as a whole and specifically for 2021: 

Offsetting of the increased human resources in the executive agencies 

Increase in human resources of six executive agencies stemming from further 
delegation compared to the authorised level in 2020 

Reduction  of  human  resources  under  heading  7  resulting  from  delegating 
tasks currently managed by the Commission 

Reduction of human resources under other headings resulting from delegating 
tasks currently managed by the Commission 

Human 
resources 
(FTE)  
2021 

Human 
resources 
(FTE)  
2021-2027 

+445 

+679 

-31 

-58 

-139 

-368 

In  2021  the  Commission  will  take  account  of  the  impact  of  the  delegation  of  tasks  to  executive 
agencies as follows: 

  Heading 7 – European Public Administration: 

-  20 posts will be offset from the Commission’s establishment plan, by freezing 16 posts to 
cater  for  additional  secondments  from  the  Commission  to  executive  agencies  and  by 
reducing four posts. In addition, 11 contract agents will be reduced from the headcount of 
external staff paid under the Global Envelope. 

-  The 2021 budget for salaries of the operating establishment plan already reflects the impact 
of  the  delegation  package,  since  the  corresponding  reduction  was  already  included  in 
Amending  Letter  1/2021.  The  corresponding  administrative  appropriations  of  the  Global 
Envelope will now be reduced by EUR 0,45 million. 

 

Indirect Research:  

-  72  posts  will  be  offset  from  the  Commission’s  indirect  research  establishment  plan,  by 
freezing  48  posts  to  cater  for  additional  secondments  from  the  Commission  to  executive 
agencies and by reducing 24 posts. In addition, 57 contract agents will be reduced from the 
headcount of external staff paid under indirect research. Moreover, linked to the previous 
delegation package, 2 frozen posts on research will be freed, and hence reduced from the 
establishment plan. 

-  The corresponding  appropriations intended for the salaries of these officials and external 
staff on the relevant budget lines of indirect research will be reduced by EUR 6,9 million 
and EUR 2,4 million respectively, by means of Commission autonomous transfers. 

  Direct Research:  

-  10  posts  will  be  reduced  from  the  Commission’s  direct  research  establishment  plan,  for 

which the necessary offsetting for the delegation package will be completed in 2022. 

The modified establishment plans are set out in the budgetary annex. 

12 

 
 
 
 
 
 
5.   

JOINT UNDERTAKINGS 

Further  to  the  Commission  proposal  of  23  February  2021  to  create  the  new  generation  of  Joint 
Undertakings under Horizon Europe19, it is proposed to create the corresponding budget lines under 
the relevant clusters of Pillar II of Horizon Europe (i.e. budget item 01 02 02 XX), as follows:  

o  cluster 1 “Health” will finance the Innovative Health Initiative Joint Undertaking and 
the  Global  Health  European  and  Developing  Countries  Clinical  Trials  Partnership 
Programme 3 (EDCTP3) Joint Undertaking; 

o  cluster 4 “Digital, Industry and Space” will finance the Key Digital Technologies Joint 
Undertaking  and  the  Smart  Networks  and  Services  Joint  Undertaking.  This  is  in 
addition to the High-Performance Computing Joint Undertaking (EuroHPC), for which 
a budget line already exists; 

o  cluster 5 “Climate, Energy and Mobility” will finance the Single European Sky ATM 
Research 3 Joint Undertaking, the Clean Aviation Joint Undertaking, the Europe's Rail 
Joint Undertaking and the Clean Hydrogen Joint Undertaking; and 

o  cluster  6  “Food,  Bioeconomy,  Natural  Resources,  Agriculture  and  Environment”  will 

finance the Circular Bio-based Europe Joint Undertaking. 

The relevant budget lines are set out in the budgetary annex. The appropriations corresponding to the 
Union  contribution  to  these  new  bodies  for  2021  will  remain  on  the  budget  lines  of  the  relevant 
clusters and will be transferred autonomously as soon as the proposal for the establishment of the Joint 
Undertakings is adopted by the Council.  

6.  REACT-EU 
Further to the adoption of the REACT-EU Regulation on 23 December 202020, it is proposed to create 
two new budget items related to NextGenerationEU, as follows: 

  New budget item 07 02 07 01 - YEI — Operational expenditure — Financing under REACT-

EU 

  New budget item 05 02 05 03 – ETC —  Operational expenditure — Financing under REACT-

EU 

7.  FRONTLOADING OF THE PROVISIONING OF THE EFSD+  

Following  the  delays  in  the  adoption  of  the  legal  basis  of  the  Neighbourhood,  Development  and 
International Cooperation Instrument (NDICI) and the consequent need to complete the programming 
and project cycles, as compared to the voted budget 2021, the Commission proposes to increase the 
provisioning  of  the  EFSD+  on  budget  item  14  02  01  70  ‘NDICI  -  Provisioning  of  the  Common 
Provisioning Fund’ by EUR 700 million in commitment appropriations, and accordingly decrease the 

19  

20  

Proposal  for  a  Council  Regulation  establishing  the  Joint  Undertakings  under  Horizon  Europe,  COM(2021)  87 
final. 
REGULATION  (EU)  2020/2221  OF  THE  EUROPEAN  PARLIAMENT  AND  OF  THE  COUNCIL  of  23 
December  2020  amending  Regulation  (EU)  No  1303/2013  as  regards  additional  resources  and  implementing 
arrangements to provide assistance  for fostering crisis repair in the  context of  the  COVID-19 pandemic and its 
social consequences and for preparing a green, digital and resilient recovery of the economy (REACT-EU). 

13 

 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                           
 
geographic budget lines for Africa, Asia and The Americas, which contribute to the EFSD+. The level 
of  payment  appropriations  remains  unchanged.  This  adjustment  will  allow  the  Africa,  Asia  and  the 
Americas and the Caribbean geographic budget lines to: 

 

reduce the level of commitment appropriations in the first years of the MFF, and consequently 
increase  them  for  later  years,  thereby  sequencing  better  the  appropriations  with  the 
programming  and  project  cycle  to  be  performed  after  the  entering  into  force  of  the  NDICI 
legal base; 

  present  a  stable  level  of  commitment  appropriations  on  the  above  geographic  budget  lines 
from  one  year  to  another,  as  was  the  case  under  the  previous  MFF  and  for  the  European 
Development Fund (EDF). 

Compared to the voted budget 2021, the impact in commitment appriopriations is as follows: 

Budget 
line 

Name 

14 02 01 70  NDICI — Provisioning of the common provisioning fund 
14 02 01 20  West Africa 
14 02 01 21  East and Central Africa 
14 02 01 22  Southern Africa and Indian Ocean 
14 02 01 30  Middle East and Central Asia 
14 02 01 31  South and East Asia 
14 02 01 32  The Pacific 
14 02 01 40  The Americas 
14 02 01 41  The Carribean 
Total 

Amounts in EUR 

Commitment 
appropriations 
700 000 000 
-206 429 300 
-149 226 000 
-141 764 700 
-60 046 350 
-69 595 890 
-15 047 760 
-33 981 430 
-23 908 570 
0 

8.  OTHER ADJUSTMENTS AND TECHNICAL UPDATES  

  The budgetary remarks are proposed to be updated to reflect the political agreements reached 
on sectoral  legal  bases  following the adoption of the MFF. The corresponding modifications 
are provided in the budgetary annex. 

  Under heading 7 “European Public Administration”, following the adoption of the budgetary 
transfer of appropriations EESC DEC 1/2020 to prefinance costs relating to the refurbishment 
of the VMA building in 2020, it is proposed to reduce the level of appropriations for rent and 
lease  payments  of  the  European  Economic  and  Social  Committee  (EESC)  in  2021  by  an 
amount of EUR 5 500 000. 

Section VI - European Economic and Social Committee 

Budget 
line 
2 0 0 0 

Rent 

Name 

Commitment 
appropriations 
-1 375 000 

Amounts in EUR 
Payment 
appropriations 
-1 375 000 

2 0 0 1 

Annual lease payments and similar expenditure 

-4 125 000 

-4 125 000 

Total 

-5 500 000 

-5 500 000 

14 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  As  indicated  in  the  Annex  3  of  the  Commission’s  ‘executability  letter’  transmitted  in  the 
context of the Draft Budget 2021, the Pilot Projects PP 03 21 02 “Media Ownership Monitor” 
and PP 07 20 05 “Media ownership monitor” in 2021 refer in essence to the same project. In 
the  2021  budget,  it  now  appears  twice;  both  under  heading  1  and  under  heading  2b.  The 
Commission proposes to make a technical correction and transfer the 2021 appropriations of 
PP 07 20 05 (amounting to EUR 300 000 payment appropriations) from heading 2b to heading 
1, i.e. consolidating the available appropriations under Title 03 pilot project PP 03 21 02. 

Budget 
line 
03 20 01 
PP 03 21 02 
07 20 01 
PP 07 20 05 
Total 

Name 

Commitment 
appropriations 

Pilot project — Media Ownership Monitor 

Pilot project — Media ownership monitor 

Amounts in EUR 
Payment 
appropriations 
+300 000 

-300 000 

0 

0 

  As indicated in the Commission’s ‘executability letter’ transmitted in the context of the Draft 
Budget  2021,  the  “Internationalisation  of  the  European  Capital  of  Culture  experiences  and 
models” pilot project cannot be implemented, as the proposed activities are already covered by 
the  future  legal  base  of  the  Neighbourhood,  Development  and  International  Cooperation 
Instrument  (NDICI),  which  foresees  to  cover  cooperation  activities  in  the  cultural  field  and 
with  partners  from  developing  countries,  including  cities.  In  order  to  develop  activities 
promoting sustainable urban development through culture, this project or parts of it could be 
considered  in  the  framework  of  future  projects  under  the  NDICI.  Accordingly,  the 
Commission  proposes  to  transfer  the  appropriations  to  the  NDICI  budget  item  14  02  02  40 
People — Global challenges and to delete budget item 07 20 01 PP 07 21 11. 

Name 

Budget 
line 
07  20  01  PP 
07 21 11 

Internationalisation  of  the  European  Capital  of  Culture 
experiences  and  models.  Sharing  governance  models 
and  inter-cultural  exchanges  towards  more  co-creation 
and partnership 
14 02 02 40  People — Global challenges 

Total 

9.   EU SOLIDARITY FUND 

Commitment 
appropriations 
-160 000 

Amounts in EUR 
Payment 
appropriations 
-40 000 

+160 000 

+40 000 

0 

0 

An amount of EUR 47 981 598 of the 2020 EUSF allocation was not used by the end of that year. In 
line  with  Article  10  of  Regulation  (EU)  1311/2013,  the  Commission  proposes  to  carry  the  full 
remaining amount over directly on the EUSF operational budget item 16 02 01 01. It will be used for 
the  settlement  of  the  applications  presented  by  Austria,  Belgium,  Croatia,  Czechia,  Estonia,  France, 
Germany,  Greece,  Hungary,  Ireland,  Italy,  Latvia,  Lithuania,  Luxembourg,  Portugal,  Romania  and 
Spain in response to the major public health emergency caused by the COVID-19 pandemic in early 
2020.  The  remaining  amount  will  be  financed  by  means  of  a  budgetary  authority  transfer  (DEC 
3/2021) from the Solidarity and Emergencyreserve. 

15 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
The related appropriations are entered into the budget over and above the expenditure ceilings of the 
2021-2027 MFF. 

10. FINANCING 

For the reasons set out in section 2, it is proposed to provide a total amount of EUR 216,2 million for 
the prevention, preparedness and response to the COVID-19 pandemic through this DAB No 2. Given 
the  absence  of  margins  and  room  for  redeployment  under  heading  2b  of  the  MFF,  the  Commission 
proposes  to  mobilise  the  Flexibility  Instrument  in  line  with  Article  12  of  the  MFF  Regulation21. 
Taking into account the transfer of the two pilot projects from Heading 2b, as set out in section 8, the 
Flexibility  Instrument  for  2021  is  mobilised  in  commitment  appropriations  for  an  amount  of 
EUR 216 040 000 for heading 2b Resilience and Values.  

The  2021  payment  appropriations  related  to  the  mobilisation  of  the  Flexibility  Instrument  in  2018, 
2019, 2020 and 2021 are estimated by the Commission at EUR 836,6 million. The estimated payment 
schedule of the related outstanding amounts for these years is detailed in the following table: 

Mobilisation year 
2018 
2019 
2020 
2021 
Total 

Flexibility Instrument - payment profile 
2023 
0,0 
82,2 
39,9 
10,3 
132,5 

2022 
0,0 
140,9 
66,2 
20,9 
228,0 

2021 
34,2 
135,2 
413,7 
253,5 
836,6 

2024 
0,0 
0,0 
0,0 
7,6 
7,6 

Total 
34,2 
358,4 
519,8 
292,4 
1 204,7 

21  

Council  Regulation  (EU,  Euratom)  2020/2093  of  17  December  2020  laying  down  the  multiannual  financial 
framework for the years 2021 to 2027, OJ L 433 of 22.12.2020, p. 1.  

16 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                           
 
11. SUMMARY TABLE BY MFF HEADING 

Budget 2021 (incl. DAB 1/2021) 

Draft Amending Budget 2/2021 

Budget 2021 (incl. DAB 1-2/2021) 

1. 

Single  Market, 
Digital 

Innovation  and 

CA 

PA 

CA 

PA 

CA 

PA 

20 816 559 767 

17 191 587 232 

300 000 

20 816 559 767 

17 191 887 232 

Ceiling 

20 919 000 000 

Margin 

102 440 233 

20 919 000 000 

102 440 233 

2. 

Cohesion, Resilience and Values 

52 861 898 534 

66 153 765 904 

216 040 000 

207 760 000 

53 077 938 534 

66 361 525 904 

Of which under Flexibility Instrument 

76 382 534 

216 040 000 

208 100 000 

292 422 534 

Ceiling 

52 786 000 000 

Margin 

484 000 

52 786 000 000 

484 000 

2a. 

Economic, 
cohesion 

social 

and 

territorial 

48 190 516 000 

61 867 897 545 

48 190 516 000 

61 867 897 545 

Ceiling 

48 191 000 000 

Margin 

484 000 

48 191 000 000 

484 000 

2b.  Resilience and values 

4 671 382 534 

4 285 868 359 

216 040 000 

207 760 000 

4 887 422 534 

4 493 628 359 

Of which under Flexibility Instrument 

76 382 534 

216 040 000 

208 100 000 

292 422 534 

Ceiling 

4 595 000 000 

Margin 

4 595 000 000 

3. 

Natural 
Environment 

Resources 

and 

58 568 566 908 

56 804 203 452 

2 000 000  

2 000 000   

58 570 566 908 

56 806 203 452 

Ceiling 

58 624 000 000 

Margin 

55 433 092 

58 624 000 000 

53 433 092 

Of 
which:  Market 
expenditure and direct payments 

related 

40 367 954 000 

40 353 742 883 

40 367 954 000 

40 353 742 883 

EAGF sub-ceiling 

40 925 000 000 

 Rounding difference excluded for 
calculating the sub-margin 
 Net transfers between EAGF and 
EAFRD 
 Net balance available for EAGF 
expenditure (sub-ceiling corrected by 
transfers between EAGF and EAFRD) 

EAGF sub-margin 

557 046 000 

40 367 954 000 

40 925 000 000 

557 046 000 

40 367 954 000 

4.  Migration and Border Management 

2 278 829 759 

2 686 245 978 

2 278 829 759 

2 686 245 978 

Ceiling 

2 467 000 000 

Margin 

188 170 241 

2 467 000 000 

188 170 241 

5. 

Security and Defence 

1 709 261 441 

670 628 243 

1 709 261 441 

670 628 243 

Ceiling 

1 805 000 000 

Margin 

95 738 559 

1 805 000 000 

95 738 559 

6. 

Neighbourhood and the World 

16 097 196 204 

10 810 999 356 

160 000 

40 000 

16 097 356 204 

10 811 039 356 

Ceiling 

16 247 000 000 

Margin 

149 803 796 

16 247 000 000 

149 643 796 

7. 

European Public Administration 

10 448 313 002 

10 449 588 091 

-5 500 000 

-5 500 000 

10 442 813 002 

10 444 088 091 

Ceiling 

10 635 000 000 

Margin 

186 686 998 

10 635 000 000 

192 186 998 

of 
expenditure of the institutions 

which: 

Administrative 

8 035 824 720 

8 037 099 809 

-5 500 000 

-5 500 000 

8 030 324 720 

8 031 599 809 

Sub-ceiling 

8 216 000 000 

Sub-margin 

180 175 280 

Appropriations for headings 

Ceiling  

162 780 625 
615 
163 483 000 
000 

164 767 018 
256 
166 140 000 
000 

17 

212 700 000 

204 600 000 

8 216 000 000 

185 675 280 

162 993 325 
615 
163 483 000 
000 

164 971 618 
256 
166 140 000 
000 

 
 
 
 
 
 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Of which under Flexibility 
Instrument 

76 382 534 

628 462 086 

216 040 000 

208 100 000 

292 422 534 

836 562 086 

Margin 

778 756 919 

2 001 443 830 

782 096 919 

2 004 943 830 

Thematic special instruments 

5 715 667 000 

5 538 282 000 

47 981 598 

47 981 598 

5 763 648 598 

5 586 263 598 

Total appropriations  

168 496 292 
615 

170 305 300 
256 

260 681 598 

252 581 598 

168 756 974 
213 

170 557 881 
854 

18