Proposal for a COUNCIL REGULATION amending Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 609/2014 in order to enhance predictability for Member States and to clarify procedures for dispute resolution when making available the traditional, VAT and GNI based own resources
Date: 2021-06-25
Institutions: Directorate-General for Budget, European Commission
Subjects: EU Member State, EU budget, GNP contribution, Member States' contribution, VAT resource, budget policy, financial control

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   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 25.6.2021  COM(2021) 327 final 2021/0161 (NLE)  Proposal for a COUNCIL REGULATION amending Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 609/2014 in order to enhance predictability for Member States and to clarify procedures for dispute resolution when making available the traditional, VAT and GNI based own resources  
 
EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 

1. 

• 

CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL 

Reasons for and objectives of the proposal 

The purpose of this proposal is to lay down, in accordance with Article 322(2) of the Treaty 
on  the  Functioning  of  the  European  Union,  provisions  necessary  to  determine  the  methods 
and procedures for the making available of own resources.  

This proposal responds to the European Council conclusions of July 20201, which invited the 
Commission  “to  assess  presenting  a  proposal  for  the  revision  of  the  Making  Available 
Regulation  in  order  to  tackle  some  of  the  challenges  with  respect  to  making  available  own 
resources”. 

This  proposal  aims  to  amend  Council  Regulation  (EU,  Euratom)  No  609/20142,  which 
together with the Own Resources Decision3, establishes the procedures and deadlines for the 
making available to the EU budget of traditional own resources, Value-Added Tax-based own 
resources and Gross National Income-based own resources. 

While Council Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 609/2014 has provided a solid and stable anchor 
for the financing mechanics of the EU, improvements to the existing provisions on the making 
available  of  own  resources  seem  desirable  namely  in  order  to  enhance  predictability  for 
Member States and to enact procedures for dispute resolution.  

This proposal sets forth a carefully calibrated system to ensure regular and timely payments to 
the  EU  budget,  which  is  essential  for  the  smooth  functioning  of  the  EU  system  of  own 
resources, the daily management of the Union budget and, in turn, the functioning of the EU 
as a whole. 

One of the novelties is a review procedure for dispute resolution, which many Member States 
have asked for. The procedure codifies and strengthens the procedural rules applicable to the 
exchanges between the Commission and the Member States on the making available of own 
resources.  The  proposal  also  reflects  the  current  practice  of  the  payment  under  reservation, 
which opens the possibility to initiate an action for unjust enrichment against the Commission 
in accordance with Article 268 TFEU and Article 340(2) TFEU.  

The  proposal  amends  the  rules  for  interest  on  late  payments  at  different  levels.  Council 
Regulation  (EU,  Euratom)  2016/804  had  already  capped  the  increase  in  interest  above  the 
base rate to 16 percentage points. The present proposal extends the capping on the increase of 
interests to  all cases.  This  addresses directly  comments  received from  Member States  about 
the very high interest rates provided for by Council Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 609/2014 
for  cases  already  known  before  1  October  2016.  The  proposal  also  raises  the  threshold  to 

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Point 142: ‘Regarding the Council Regulation on the methods and procedure for making available own 
resources  and  on  the  measures  to  meet  cash  requirements,  the  Commission  is  invited  to  assess 
presenting a proposal for its revision in order to tackle challenges with respect to making available own 
resources.’ 
Council  Regulation  (EU,  Euratom)  No  609/2014  of  26  May  2014  on  the  methods  and  procedure  for 
making available the traditional, VAT and GNI-based own resources and on the measures to meet cash 
requirements, OJ L 168, 7.6.2014, p. 39. 
Council  Decision  of  26  May  2014  on  the  system  of  own  resources  of  the  European  Union 
(2014/335/EU, Euratom), OJ L 168, 7.6.2014, p. 105. 

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waive interest from EUR 500 to EUR 1,000. In addition, a time limit of 10 years is introduced 
for keeping traditional own resources amounts in the B accounts.  

In order to increase the predictability of national contributions to the EU budget, the proposal 
amends  the  annual  balances  adjustment  and  postpones  the  making  available  by  Member 
States of the adjustments to year N+2. This was a request by many Member States to facilitate 
the national budgetary procedures. 

In  addition,  the  proposal  includes  a  new  Article  that  codifies  the  procedure  of  advance 
payments, again a request from Member States. The proposal also inserted the possibility for 
the Commission to establish a centralised own resources account.  

The  proposal  is  part  of  a  broader  package  that  includes  Council  Regulation  (EU,  Euratom) 
2021/770 on the calculation of the own resource based on plastic packaging waste that is not 
recycled,  on  the  methods  and  procedure  for  making  available  that  own  resource,  on  the 
measures  to  meet  cash  requirements,  and  on  certain  aspects  of  the  own  resource  based  on 
gross national income4 and proposals for new own resources expected to be soon adopted, in 
line with the Interinstitutional agreement of 16 December 20205.  

Finally, Germany is proposed to be included as beneficiary of lump-sum corrections and the 
reference to the United Kingdom correction is deleted.  

The  Commission’s  proposal  is  explained  in  more  detail  in  section  five  below.  This 
explanatory  memorandum  also  includes  in  section  six  the  Commission’s  assessment  of 
Council  Regulation  (EU,  Euratom)  No  609/2014  requested  in  the  European  Council 
conclusions of July 2020.  

The making available provisions for all own resources should be merged  at  the occasion  of 
their  future  revision  including  new  proposed  Regulations  related  to  the  making  available  of 
new own resources. 

• 

Consistency with existing policy provisions in the policy area 

The legal basis for this Regulation is Article 322(2) TFEU. The proposal complements other 
own  resources  legislation  such  as  Council  Decision  (EU,  Euratom)  2020/20536,  Council 
Regulation  (EU,  Euratom)  2021/7687,  Council  Regulation  (EU,  Euratom)  2021/7698  and 
Council Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2021/770.  

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Council Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2021/770 of 30 April 2021 on the calculation of the own resource 
based  on  plastic  packaging  waste  that  is  not  recycled,  on  the  methods  and  procedure  for  making 
available that own resource, on the measures to meet cash requirements, and on certain aspects of the 
own resource based on gross national income, OJ L 165, 11.5.2021, p. 15. 
Interinstitutional Agreement of 16 December 2020 between the European Parliament, the Council of the 
European Union and  the European Commission on budgetary discipline, on cooperation in budgetary 
matters  and  on  sound  financial  management,  as  well  as  on  new  own  resources,  including  a  roadmap 
towards the introduction of new own resources, OJ L 433I, 22.12.2020, p. 28.  
Council Decision (EU, Euratom) 2020/2053 of 14 December 2020 on the system of own resources of 
the European Union, OJ L 424, 15.12.2020, p. 1.  
Council Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2021/768 of 30 April 2021 laying down implementing measures for 
the system of own resources of the European Union, OJ L 165, 11.5.2021, p. 1. 
Council regulation (EU, Euratom) 2021/769 of 30 April 2021 amending Regulation (EEC, Euratom) No 
1553/89 on the definitive arrangements for the collection of own resources accruing from value added 
tax, OJ L 165, 11.5.2021, p. 9. 

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• 

Consistency with other Union policies 

The  management  of  the  own  resources  relies  on  the  correct  application  of  other  Union 
policies: 

– 

– 

2. 

• 

Traditional  own  resources  (mainly  customs  duties,  trade  defence  duties  and  sugar 
levies)  are  linked  to  the  customs  union,  the  common  commercial  policy,  and  the 
common agricultural policy; 

Own  resources  based  on  Value  Added  Tax  are  linked  to  the  Single  Market  and 
taxation policy. 

LEGAL BASIS, SUBSIDIARITY AND PROPORTIONALITY 

Legal basis 

The legal basis for this proposal is Article 322(2) TFEU.  

• 

Subsidiarity (for non-exclusive competence)  

Not applicable.  

• 

Proportionality 

The  scope  of  the  proposal  is  to  enhance  predictability  for  Member  States  in  the  making 
available of own resources to the EU budget and to enact procedures for dispute resolution. 
The proposal is consistent with the principle of proportionality because it does not go beyond 
what is necessary and is proportionate to achieve this objective satisfactorily.  

Choice of the instrument 

• 
Article  322(2)  TFEU  does  not  specify  the  instrument  to  be  used9.  However,  Article  8(2)  of 
Council Decision 2014/335/EU, Euratom and Article 9(3) of Council Decision (EU, Euratom) 
2020/2053  require  Member  States  to  make  the  resources  available  to  the  Commission  ‘in 
accordance with regulations’ adopted under Article 322(2) TFEU.  

Furthermore,  the  proposal  amends  Council  Regulation  (EU,  Euratom)  No  609/2014  on  the 
making  available  of  own  resources.  In  this  context,  the  use  of  a  Regulation  as  a  choice  of 
instrument is appropriate.  

3. 

• 

RESULTS 
CONSULTATIONS AND IMPACT ASSESSMENTS 

EX-POST 

EVALUATIONS, 

OF 

STAKEHOLDER 

Ex-post evaluations/fitness checks of existing legislation 

In  preparation  for  this  proposal,  the  Commission  submitted  a  detailed  questionnaire  to  the 
Member  States,  the  European  Parliament  and  the  European  Court  of  Auditors  to  assess  the 
substance and practical functioning of Council Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 609/2014. The 
replies  to  the  questionnaire  confirmed  that  said  Regulation  functioned  generally  well. 
However, Member States also put forward several requests for improvement.  

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‘The Council, acting on a proposal from the Commission and after consulting the European Parliament 
and  the  Court  of  Auditors,  shall  determine  the  methods  and  procedure  whereby  the  budget  revenue 
provided under the arrangements relating to the Union's own resources shall be made available to the 
Commission, and determine the measures to be applied, if need be, to meet cash requirements.’  

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The proposal was also informed by a comprehensive discussion of the system under Council 
Regulation  (EU,  Euratom)  No  609/2014  held  in  the  Council  Working  Party  on  Own 
Resources and by a series of bilateral meetings between the Commission and Member States, 
the European Parliament and the European Court of Auditors. 

4. 

BUDGETARY IMPLICATIONS 

The  proposal  aims  to  strengthen  the  functioning  of  Council  Regulation  (EU,  Euratom)  No 
609/2014  and,  in  particular,  improves  the  procedures  for  the  making  available  of  own 
resources  by  Member  States.  Therefore,  the  proposal  contributes  to  improving  the  current 
own resources system.  

When compared to Council Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 609/2014, the proposal would not 
change  the  human  and  administrative  resources  required.  However,  the  extension  of  the 
capping  on  the  increase  of  interest  to  all  cases  will  lead  to  a  decrease  of  interest  revenue 
collected for the EU budget. Its financial impact, based on reference amounts of the past years 
(as from the entry into force of Council Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2016/804) is estimated at 
EUR 27.5 million/year.  

5. 

• 

OTHER ELEMENTS 

Detailed explanation of the specific provisions of the proposal 

The  application  of  the  own  resources  legislation,  including  the  methods  and  procedures  for 
making available own resources, is discussed on a regular basis in the Advisory Committee on 
Own Resources. 

The Commission proposal can be summarised as follows: 

Chapter I and II on ‘General provision’ and ‘Accounts for own resources’ 

No amendments are made in these chapters.  

Chapter III on ‘Making available of own resources’  

Under  Article  9(1)  the  possibility  is  inserted  for  the  Commission  to  establish  a  centralised 
own  resources  account.  Currently,  only  Member  States  keep  these  own  resources  accounts. 
The  Commission  should  in  the  future  be  able  to  modernise  the  management  of  accounts 
opened in its name. The reduction in the number of bank accounts used for collection of own 
resources will bring efficiency and allow pooled approach to cash management. 

Under  10a(2)  on  making  available  the  VAT  and  GNI-based  own  resources,  a  specific 
paragraph is added to allow advance payments on a case-by-case basis. The provision ensures 
that any cost associated with the advance payment will be borne by the Member State making 
it.  

Article 10b(5) postpones the date of making available the adjustments to the VAT and GNI-
based own resources of previous financial years to the first working day of March of the year 
following that in which the Commission informed Member States of these amounts. 

Article 10b(7) defines the period when Member States may request the Commission to review 
the making available of the VAT-based own resource, while Article 13(5) defines this period 
for traditional own resources.  

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In  order  to  prevent  the  accumulation  of  very  high  amounts  of  interest,  Council  Regulation 
(EU,  Euratom)  2016/804  introduced  a  capping  on  the  increase  of  the  interest  rate  to  16 
percentage  points  for  late  payment  of  own  resources.  That  capping  applied  to  late  payment 
interests of own resources that were due after the date of entry into force of that Regulation – 
1  October  2016,  or  were  due  prior  to  that  date,  where  those  own  resources  only  became 
known  to  the  Commission  or  to  the  Member  State  concerned  after  that  date.  That  rule  is 
contained  in  Article  12(5),  third  subparagraph  of  Council  Regulation  (EU,  Euratom)  No 
609/2014. The proposal extends the capping on the increase of interest to cases to which the 
current capping does not apply. However, the capping will not apply to any amount of interest 
that has already been notified to a Member State before the entry into force of this proposal. 

Under  Article  12(3),  it  is  also  proposed  to  increase  the  threshold  for  waiving  interest  from 
EUR 500 to EUR 1,000.  

Under  Article  13(2)  fifth  subparagraph,  for  irrecoverable  amounts,  a  general  time  limit  for 
amounts to be taken out of the separate account is introduced to ensure that the cases in the 
separate accounts are regularly reviewed.  

Finally,  Articles  6  and  10a  are  aligned  with  the  new  Own  Resources  Decision  to  include 
Germany  as  beneficiary  of  lump-sum  corrections  and  the  reference  to  the  United  Kingdom 
correction has been deleted from both articles.  

Chapter III bis on ‘Payment under reservation and review procedure’ 

A new Chapter III bis is added. It provides under a new article 13a the possibility for Member 
States to make available amounts under reservation. This option is codifying current practice. 

A new Article 13b introduces a review procedure in case of manifest disagreement between a 
Member  State  and  the  Commission.  This  new  procedure  provides  for  clear  deadlines  and 
obligations  for  both  the  Member  States  and  the  Commission.  It  ensures  a  constructive 
dialogue  on  the  disputed  amounts  in  question  and  aims  to  facilitate  reaching  an  agreement 
between both sides.  

6. 

• 

ANNEX 

Commission assessment of Council Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 609/2014 

In  line  with  the  European  Council’s  mandate,  the  Commission  has  assessed  Council 
Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 609/2014 on substance, bearing in mind the need to guarantee 
the legality and regularity of the own resources payments. This is particularly important also 
in view of the upcoming new own resources.  

Notwithstanding  the  overall  largely  positive  track-record  of  the  functioning  of  that 
Regulation,  Member  States  have  asked  for  changes  in  several  areas.  In  the  course  of  the 
discussions  in  the  Council  Working  Party  on  Own  Resources  during  the  last  two  years, 
particular attention has been drawn to: 

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 

Applicable interest rules for belated payments 

Conditional payments and Member States’ rights of defence  

Advance payments of own resources 

Derogations on making available under Article 13(2), second subparagraph 

Assessment of write-off cases 

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 

 

Adjustments of the GNI-based and VAT-based own resources 

Merging provisions on making available own resources  

In  its  review,  the  Commission  assessed  in  detail  all  the  issues  that  Member  States  raised 
regarding  the  functioning  of  the  making  available  of  own  resources  and  reached  the 
conclusions  explained  below.  These  conclusions  formed  the  amendment  proposal  that  the 
Commission has adopted. 

Applicable interest rules for belated payments 

The budget of the EU depends on payments made on time. Interests for belated payment are a 
powerful  incentive  for  that  purpose.  The  Court  of  Justice  of  the  European  Union  has  many 
times,  most  recently  in  its  ruling  C-575/18  P,  confirmed  that  the  obligation  to  pay  default 
interest  is  inseparable  from  the  obligation  to  make  the  own  resources  available  to  the 
Commission. 

A significant decrease of the amounts of interest due is noticeable since the entry into force of 
the capping on the increase of interest rate on 1 October 2016. Before that date, the interest 
rate accrued without any ceiling as long as the principal was not paid. With the introduction of 
the  capping,  the  increase  in  interest  became  limited  to  16  percentage  points  for  the  entire 
period of delay. A sample of 22 cases involving capping shows a total decrease of MEUR 9 in 
interest due as compared to the method applicable before the capping. In these cases, Member 
States  have  been  released  from  paying  an  amount  of  late  interest  equivalent  to  83%  of  the 
amount of interest that has been actually requested.  

However, the capping on the increase of interest is applicable for cases after 1 October 2016 
only.  For  cases  already  known  before  1  October  2016,  the  capping  does  not  apply.  This 
resulted in several cases where the amount of interest due was quite high. An extension of the 
capping to all cases is associated with a moral hazard risk but it seems nonetheless useful to 
simplify the currently rather complex system.  

Conditional payments and Member States’ rights of defence 

For  what  concerns  the  Member  States’  rights  of  defence  and  judicial  protection,  the  recent 
Court  judgment  in  case  C-575/18  P  confirms  that  the  existing  own  resources  legislation 
already affords Member States effective rights of defence. However, in the interest of clarity 
and transparency, it is useful to set clearer time-limits for the dialogue and exchanges between 
the Commission and the Member States in case of disagreement.  

Advance payments of own resources 

Council Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 609/2014 does not contain a provision allowing for the 
advance  payment  of  own  resources.  However,  there  have  been  cases,  namely  involving  the 
late adoption of amending budgets (e.g. AB8/2013, AB6/2016 and AB6/2018) where Member 
States paid, after having requested and received the Commission’s agreement, their national 
contributions in advance of the due date. In those cases, the Commission has not objected to 
the  payments  if  specific  conditions  were  respected.  In  the  interest  of  legal  certainty,  the 
Commission proposes expressly providing for this possibility. 

Derogations on making available under Article 13(2), second subparagraph 

Article  13  of  Regulation  No  609/2014  provides  for  a  procedure,  known  as  “write-off 
procedure,  to  monitor  Member  States'  potential  financial  responsibility  for  irrecoverable 
amounts  of  traditional  own  resources  over  EUR  100,000.  The  last  amending  Council 
Regulation  (EU,  Euratom)  2016/804  introduced  in  Article  13(2),  second  subparagraph  the 
possibility  for  Member  States  to  be  released  from  the  obligation  to  make  available  to  the 

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Union's  budget  amounts  that  prove  irrecoverable  due  to  deferred  entry  in  the  accounts  or 
notification  of  customs  debts,  in  order  not  to  prejudice  criminal  investigations  affecting  the 
financial interests of the Union. Since the changes introduced in 2016, no Member State has 
presented  a  write-off  case  to  the  Commission  based  on  Article  13(2),  second  subparagraph. 
The  Commission  continues  to  monitor  carefully  the  developments  in  this  regard,  but  no 
changes seem necessary or warranted for now. 

Assessment of write-off cases 

The  ”write-off”  procedure  under  Article  13  of  Council  Regulation  (EU,  Euratom)  No 
609/2014  monitors  Member  States'  potential  financial  responsibility  for  irrecoverable 
amounts  of  traditional  own  resources  over  EUR  100,000.  Under  this  procedure,  the 
Commission issues its opinion on whether the traditional own resources became irrecoverable 
for  reasons  not  attributable  to  the  Member  States.  The  purpose  of  the  Commission's 
examination of the write-off reports is to assess the degree of diligence shown by the Member 
States  in  carrying out  their efforts to  establish and recover from  the economic operators the 
traditional  own  resources  (customs  duties).  The  Commission  has  always  strived  to  give  its 
comments  on  the  so-called  write-off  reports  in  a  timely  manner.  Article  13(4)  of  Council 
Regulation  (EU,  Euratom)  No  609/2014  requires  the  Commission  to  issue  its  comments 
within six months as soon as the necessary information is available. Currently, this is the only 
legal deadline for the Commission, which has always respected it.  

However,  the  Commission  acknowledges  that  the  assessment  of  individual  write-off  cases 
frequently requires repeated exchanges with Member States that could be accelerated by joint 
efforts  of  Member  States  and  the  Commission.  More  importantly,  Member  States’  requests 
for review of disputed cases following the first Commission assessment have so far not been 
subject to legal deadlines, and accumulated sometimes considerable delays. In this light, the 
Commission  proposes  additional  binding  deadlines  for  communication  with  the  Member 
States. 

Adjustments of the GNI-based and VAT-based own resources 

Currently,  Member  States  are  required  to  make  available  the  adjustments  to  the  VAT  and 
GNI-based own resources of previous financial years (“balances”) on the first working day of 
June  of  the  year  n+1.  There  is  an  immediate  redistribution  of  the  overall  amount  of 
adjustments among Member States according to their respective shares in the GNI-based own 
resource to avoid that Member States pay larger amounts upfront and only get their share of 
the  redistribution  of  the  total  amount  of  the  adjustment  months  later.  These  annual 
adjustments  are  entirely  neutral  to  the  EU  budget  but  may  have  significant  financial 
implications  for  Member  States.  Several  Member  States  have  requested  changes  to  the 
procedure  to  improve  predictability  and  facilitate  their  national  budget  procedures.  It  is 
appropriate to propose a corresponding amendment proposal, shifting the making available of 
the adjustments by Member States to the following year, even though it is recognised that this 
will  also  correspondingly  delay  the  cashing  of  negative  adjustments  by  Member  States. 
Member States have not raised any objections to this delay. 

Merging provisions on making available own resources 

The new Own Resources Decision under approval in Member States already includes a new 
own  resource,  the  plastics-based  one,  and  the  corresponding  making  available  Council 
Regulation  [MAR2,  no  2018/0131]  has  been  proposed  and  is  under  consideration  by  the 
Council and the European Parliament.  

In  line  with  the  inter  institutional  agreement  from  16  December  2020,  the  Commission 
intends  to  make  proposals  on  a  digital  levy,  a  carbon  border  adjustment  mechanism  and  a 

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revised EU Emissions Trading System as well as an accompanying proposal to introduce new 
own resources on that basis by June 2021 with a view to their introduction by 1 January 2023.  

The making available provisions for all own resources should be merged  at  the occasion  of 
their  future  revision  including  new  proposed  Regulations  related  to  the  making  available  of 
new own resources. 

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2021/0161 (NLE) 

Proposal for a 

COUNCIL REGULATION 

amending Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 609/2014 in order to enhance predictability for 
Member States and to clarify procedures for dispute resolution when making available 
the traditional, VAT and GNI based own resources 

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, 

Having  regard  to  the  Treaty  on  the  Functioning  of  the  European  Union,  and  in  particular 
Article 322(2) thereof, 

Having  regard  to  the  Treaty  establishing  the  European  Atomic  Energy  Community,  and  in 
particular Article 106a thereof, 

Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission, 
Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament10,  

Having regard to the opinion of the European Court of Auditors,  

Whereas: 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

10 
11 

While  Council  Regulation  (EU,  Euratom)  No  609/201411  has  provided  a  solid  and 
stable anchor for the financing mechanics of the Union, the provisions on the making 
available  of  own  resources  need  to  be  improved  to  enhance  predictability  for 
Member States and to clarify procedures for dispute resolution.  

Currently, only Member States manage own resources accounts opened in the name 
of the Commission. A reduction in the number of bank accounts used for collection 
of own resources would be more efficient and allow for a common approach to cash 
management. In order to modernise the management of own resources accounts, the 
Commission should be able to establish a centralised own resources account.  

Regulation (EU, Euratom) 609/2014 does not allow Member States to make advance 
payments.  However,  in  the  past  some  Member  States  paid  their  national 
contributions in advance following agreement by the Commission. In the interest of 
legal certainty, Member States should have the possibility to make advance payments 
on  a  case-by-case  basis,  after  informing  the  Commission  in  advance.  Where  a 
Member  State  uses  this  possibility,  the  other  Member  States  should  for  reasons  of 
fairness  not  bear  any  costs  related  to  this  advanced  payment,  such  as  negative 
interest.  

The date of payment by the Member States of the adjustments to the VAT and GNI-
based  own  resources  of  previous  financial  years  should  be  moved  to  March  of  the 
following year to enhance predictability for the national budgetary procedures.  

OJ C , , p. . 
Council  Regulation  (EU,  Euratom)  No  609/2014  of  26  May  2014  on  the  methods  and  procedure  for 
making available the traditional, VAT and GNI-based own resources and on the measures to meet cash 
requirements (OJ L 168, 7.6.2014, p. 39). 

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5. 

6. 

7. 

8. 

9. 

10. 

To  provide  a  stable  budget  that  is  necessary  to  finance  the  policy  objectives  of  the 
Union,  the  procedure  for  calculating  interest  should  ensure  in  particular  that  own 
resources are made available in a timely manner and in full. 

The current threshold below which interest amounts are waived needs to be adapted. 
It is therefore necessary to increase the amount for which the recovery of interests is 
waived to improve the cost-effectiveness of the recovery procedures.  

In order to ensure the proportionality of the system while maintaining the deterrent 
effect, Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 609/2014  limits the increase in interest above 
the base rate to 16 percentage points. This ‘capping’ of 16 percentage points is only 
applicable  to  all  cases  that  became  known  after  the  entry  into  force  of  Council 
Regulation  (EU,  Euratom)  2016/80412.  Consequently,  cases  already  known  before 
the  entry  into  force  of  Regulation  2016/804,  where  particularly  high  amount  of 
interest are at stake, cannot benefit from that limit regardless of whether the amount 
of interest  has  already been notified to  the Member States.  In those cases, Member 
States are still required to pay amounts of interest that are not proportional compared 
to  the  amount  of  the  principal  due.  In  order  to  clarify  and  simplify  the  relevant 
provisions of Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 609/2014, the limitation of the increase 
to 16 percentage points should be applied to any amount of interest not notified to the 
Member State before the entry into force of this Regulation.  

In the interest of sound management of the separate account, as referred to in Article 
6(3),  the  second  subparagraph,  of  Regulation  (EU,  Euratom)  No  609/2014, 
unsecured amounts need to be assessed and regularised within a reasonable period of 
time. Therefore, the provisions of Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 609/2014 regarding 
irrecoverable  amounts  should  be  amended  to  introduce  a  general  time  limit  for 
amounts  to  be  taken  out  of  that  separate  account  to  ensure  that  the  cases  in  this 
separate account are regularly reviewed.  

Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 609/2014 only contains one deadline in Article 13(4), 
requiring  the  Commission  to  communicate  its  comments  to  the  Member  State 
concerned within six months from the receipt of the report by that Member State. In 
order to conduct the follow-up of write-off reports in a timely manner and to support 
a swift and fully transparent assessment of the Member State’s decision not to make 
the  irrecoverable  amount  of  traditional  own  resources  available,  further  procedural 
deadlines for the Commission and Member States should be introduced.  

In case of disagreement between Member States and the Commission regarding the 
making  available  of  traditional  own  resources,  a  review  procedure  should  be 
formalised  and  introduced  in  Regulation  (EU,  Euratom)  No  609/2014  to  improve 
transparency and to clarify Member States’ rights of defense. Provisions should also 
be introduced to reflect the current practice of the payment under reservation, which 
opens  the  possibility  to  initiate  an  action  for  unjust  enrichment  against  the 
Commission in accordance with Article 268 TFEU and Article 340(2) TFEU.  

11. 

Articles 6 and 10a of Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 609/2014 should be adapted to 
delete the reference to the correction granted to the United Kingdom and to  include 

12 

Council Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2016/804 of 17 May 2016 amending Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 
609/2014 on the methods and procedure for making available the traditional, VAT and GNI-based own 
resources and on the measures to meet cash requirements (OJ L 132, 21.5.2016, p. 85). 

EN 

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Germany as beneficiary of lump-sum corrections in line with Council Decision (EU, 
Euratom) 2020/205313. 

12. 

Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 609/2014 should therefore be amended accordingly, 

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: 

Article 1 

Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 609/2014 is amended as follows: 

(1) 

in  Article  6(3),  third  subparagraph,  the  introductory  sentence  is  replaced  by  the 
following: 

‘The  VAT-based  own  resource  and  the  GNI-based  own  resource,  taking  into  account  the 
effect  on  these  resources  of  the  gross  reduction  granted  to  Denmark,  Germany,  the 
Netherlands, Austria and Sweden, shall, however, be recorded in the accounts as specified in 
the first subparagraph as follows:’; 

(2) 

in Article 9(1) the first subparagraph is replaced by the following: 

‘In accordance with the procedure laid down in Articles 10, 10a and 10b, each Member State 
shall  credit  own  resources  to  the  account  opened  in  the  name  of  the  Commission  with  its 
treasury  or  national  central  bank  or  to  a  central  account  opened  for  this  purpose  by  the 
Commission  in  the  financial  institution  of  its  choice.  Subject  to  the  application  of  negative 
interest  as  referred  to  in  the  third  subparagraph,  that  account  may  only  be  debited  upon 
instruction by the Commission’; 

(3) 

Article 10a is replaced by the following: 

‘Article 10a 

Making available the VAT and GNI-based own resources 

The VAT-based own resource and the GNI-based own resource, taking into account 
the  effect  on  these  resources  of  the  gross  reduction  granted  to  Denmark,  Germany, 
the  Netherlands,  Austria  and  Sweden,  shall  be  credited  on  the  first  working  day  of 
each  month,  the  amounts  being  one-twelfth  of  the  relevant  totals  in  the  budget, 
converted  into  national  currencies  at  the  rates  of  exchange  of  the  last  day  of 
quotation of the calendar year preceding the budget year, as published in the Official 
Journal of the European Union, C series. 

For the specific needs of paying expenditure of the European Agricultural Guarantee 
Fund pursuant to Regulation (EU) No 1307/2013 of the European Parliament and of 
the  Council14,  and  depending  on  the  Union's  cash  position,  Member  States  may  be 
invited by the Commission to bring forward, by up to two months in the first quarter 
of the financial year, the entry of one-twelfth, or a fraction thereof, of the amounts in 
the budget for the VAT-based own resource and the GNI-based own resource, taking 

Council Decision (EU, Euratom) 2020/2053 of 14 December 2020 on the system of own resources of 
the European Union and repealing Decision 2014/335/EU, Euratom (OJ L 424, 15.12.2020, p. 1).  
Regulation (EU) No 1307/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 December 2013 
establishing  rules  for  direct  payments  to  farmers  under  support  schemes  within  the  framework  of  the 
common  agricultural  policy  and  repealing  Council  Regulation  (EC)  No  637/2008  and  Council 
Regulation (EC) No 73/2009 (OJ L 347, 20.12.2013, p. 608). 

1. 

2. 

13 

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into account the effect on these resources of the gross reduction granted to Denmark, 
Germany, the Netherlands, Austria and Sweden. 

Subject to the third subparagraph, for the specific needs of paying expenditure of the 
European  Structural  and  Investment  Funds  pursuant  to  Regulation  (EU)  No 
1303/2013  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council15,  and  depending  on  the 
Union's  cash  position,  Member  States  may  be  invited  by  the  Commission  to  bring 
forward, in the first six months of the financial year, the entry of up to an additional 
half  of  one-twelfth  of  the  amounts  in  the  budget  for  the  VAT-based  own  resource 
and the GNI-based own resource, taking into account the effect on these resources of 
the  gross  reduction  granted  to  Denmark,  Germany,  the  Netherlands,  Austria  and 
Sweden. 

The  total  amount  that  Member  States  may  be  invited  by  the  Commission  to  bring 
forward  in  the  same  month  under  the  first  and  second  subparagraphs  shall,  in  any 
event, not exceed an amount corresponding to two additional twelfths. 

After the first six months, the monthly entry requested may not exceed one-twelfth of 
the  VAT  and  GNI-based  own  resources,  while  remaining  within  the  limit  of  the 
amounts entered in the budget for that purpose. 

The  Commission  shall  notify  the  Member  States  thereof  in  advance,  no  later  than 
two weeks before an entry requested pursuant to the first and second subparagraphs. 

The Commission shall inform the Member States well in advance, and no later than 
six  weeks  before  an  entry  requested  pursuant  to  the  second  subparagraph,  of  its 
intention to request such an entry. 

Paragraph  4,  concerning  the  amount  to  be  entered  in  January  each  year,  and 
paragraph  5,  applicable  if  the  budget  has  not  been  finally  adopted  before  the 
beginning of the financial year, shall apply to these advance entries. 

A  Member  State  may  exceptionally  and  in  duly  justified  cases  request  an 
authorisation  from  the  Commission  to  advance  the  making  available  of  own 
resources,  in  particular  in  the  context  of  amending  budgets  at  year’s  end.  The 
Member  State  shall  submit  a  duly  justified  request  with  at  least  three  weeks  prior 
notice.  The  Commission  shall  assess  the  request  taking  into  account  the  cash 
situation  and  liquidity  needs  of  the  Commission.  The  Member  State  may  only 
execute  the  advanced  payment  following  authorisation  by  the  Commission.  Any 
additional  cost  linked  to  this  making  available  in  advance  must  be  borne  by  the 
Member State requesting it. 

Any  change  in  the  uniform  rate  of  the  VAT-based  own  resource,  in  the  rate  of  the 
GNI-based own resource, in the financing of the gross reduction granted to Denmark, 
Germany, the Netherlands, Austria and Sweden shall require the final adoption of an 
amending budget and shall give rise to readjustments of the twelfths that have been 
entered since the beginning of the financial year. 

Those readjustments shall be carried out when the first entry is made following the 
final adoption of the amending budget if it is adopted before the 16th of the month. 

Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 December 2013 
laying  down  common  provisions  on  the  European  Regional  Development  Fund,  the  European  Social 
Fund,  the  Cohesion  Fund,  the  European  Agricultural  Fund  for  Rural  Development  and  the  European 
Maritime  and  Fisheries  Fund  and  laying  down  general  provisions  on  the  European  Regional 
Development  Fund,  the  European  Social  Fund,  the  Cohesion  Fund  and  the  European  Maritime  and 
Fisheries Fund and repealing Council Regulation (EC) No 1083/2006 (OJ L 347, 20.12.2013, p. 320). 

3. 

15 

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12 

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Otherwise, they shall be carried out when the second entry following final adoption 
is  made.  By  way  of  derogation  from  Article  10  of  the  Financial  Regulation,  those 
readjustments shall be entered in the accounts in respect of the financial year of the 
amending budget in question. 

Calculation of the twelfths  for January of each financial  year shall be based on the 
amounts provided for in the draft budget, referred to in Article 314(2) of the Treaty 
on  the  Functioning  of  European  Union  (TFEU)  and  converted  into  national 
currencies  at  the  rates  of  exchange  of  the  first  day  of  quotation  following  15 
December  of  the  calendar  year  preceding  the  budget  year.  The  adjustment  shall  be 
made with the entry for the following month. 

If the budget has not been finally adopted at the latest two weeks before the entry for 
January  of  the  following  financial  year,  the  Member  States  shall  enter  on  the  first 
working  day  of  each  month,  including  January,  one-twelfth  of  the  amount  of  the 
VAT-based own resource, and the GNI-based own resource, taking into account the 
effect  on  these  resources  of  the  gross  reduction  granted  to  Denmark,  Germany,  the 
Netherlands,  Austria  and  Sweden,  entered  in  the  last  budget  finally  adopted.  The 
adjustment shall be made on the first due date following final adoption of the budget 
if it is adopted before the 16th of the month. Otherwise, the adjustment shall be made 
on the second due date following final adoption of the budget. 

There shall be no subsequent revision of the financing of the gross reduction granted 
to  Denmark,  Germany,  the  Netherlands,  Austria  and  Sweden  in  the  event  of 
modifications  of  the  GNI  data  pursuant  to  Article  2(2)  of  Regulation  (EU)  No 
2019/516 of the European Parliament and of the Council16.’ 

4. 

5. 

6. 

(4) 

Article 10b is amended as follows: 

(a) 

in paragraph 5, the third subparagraph is replaced by the following: 

‘The  Commission  shall  inform  the  Member  States  of  the  amounts  resulting 
from this calculation before 1 February of the year following that in which the 
data for the adjustments  was supplied. Each Member State shall  enter the net 
amount  in  the  account  referred  to  in  Article  9(1)  on  the  first  working  day  of 
March  of  the  year  following  that  in  which  the  Commission  informed  the 
Member States of the amounts resulting from the calculation.’; 

(b) 

the following paragraph 7 is added: 

‘7.  If  the  Member  State  and  the  Commission  cannot  agree  on  particular 
adjustments  to  the  VAT  based  own  resources,  as  referred  to  in  paragraph  2, 
first subparagraph, point (c), of this Article, the Member State may request the 
Commission to review its assessment in accordance with Article 13b.’; 

(5) 

Article 12 is amended as follows: 

(a) 

paragraph 3 is replaced by the following: 

‘3. The recovery of amounts of interest below EUR 1 000 shall be waived.’; 

(b) 

in paragraph 5, the third subparagraph is replaced by the following: 

16 

Regulation  (EU)  2019/516  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  19  March  2019  on  the 
harmonisation of gross national income at market prices and repealing Council Directive 89/130/EEC, 
Euratom and Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1287/2003 (OJ L 91, 29.3.2019, p. 19). 

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13 

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‘The total increase pursuant to the first and the second subparagraphs shall not 
exceed  16  percentage  points.  The  limitation  of  the  increase  to  16  percentage 
points  shall  apply  to  any  case  for  which  the  amount  of  interest  has  not  been 
communicated to a Member State before … [insert date - the entry into force 
of this (amending) Regulation]. The increased rate shall be applied to the entire 
period of delay.’; 

(6) 

Article 13 is amended as follows: 

(a) 

in paragraph 2, the fifth subparagraph is replaced by the following: 

‘If  part  payments  have  been  received,  the  period  of  five  years  at  maximum 
shall start from the date of the last payment made, where this does not clear the 
debt.  A  period  of  ten  years  from  the  date  on  which  the  amount  has  been 
established  in  accordance  with  Article  2  at  maximum  shall  not  be  exceeded, 
irrespective of administrative or judicial appeals or part payments.’; 

(b) 

in paragraph 4, the second subparagraph is replaced by the following: 

‘Where  the  Commission  finds  it  necessary  to  request  additional  information, 
the  six-month  time-limit  shall  run  from  the  date  of  receipt  of  the  requested 
additional  information.  The  Member  State  concerned  shall  provide  the 
additional information within three months.’; 

(c) 

the following paragraph 5 is added: 

‘5.  If  the  Member  State  and  the  Commission  cannot  agree  on  the  reasons 
referred to in paragraph 2, first subparagraph, of this Article, the Member State 
may  request  the  Commission  to  review  its  assessment  in  accordance  with 
Article 13b.’; 

(7) 

the following Chapter IIIa is inserted: 

PAYMENT UNDER RESERVATION AND REVIEW PROCEDURE 

‘CHAPTER IIIa 

1. 

2. 

1. 

Article 13a 

Payment under reservation 

In case of a disagreement between a Member State and the Commission referred to 
in  Article  10b(7)  or  Article  13(5)  or  concerning  other  amounts  of  traditional  own 
resources  due  to  the  budget  of  the  Union,  the  Member  State  may,  when  making  a 
payment  of  the  contested  amount,  express  reservations  as  to  the  position  of  the 
Commission. 

Entry in the account under Article 9 of the payment under reservation shall interrupt 
the period for which interest accrues, as referred to in Article 12. 

Article 13b 

Review procedure 

In case of a disagreement between a Member State and the Commission referred to 
in  Article  13(5),  or  concerning  other  traditional  own  resources  amounts  due  to  the 
budget  of  the  Union,  the  Member  State  may  request  the  Commission  to  review  its 
assessment within three months from its receipt. In case of a disagreement between a 

EN 

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Member State and the Commission referred to in Article 10b(7), the Member State 
may  request  the  Commission  to  review  its  assessment  within  two  months  from  its 
receipt.  Except  for  cases  referred  to  in  Article  10b(7)  such  request  shall  provide 
reasons for the review requested, and include supporting documents. The request and 
the ensuing procedure shall not change the obligation of the Member States to make 
available own resources when they are due to the budget of the Union. 

Within  six  months  from  the  receipt  of  the  request  provided  for  in  paragraph  1,  the 
Commission  shall  communicate  to  the  Member  State  its  comments  on  the  reasons 
provided  in  the  request.  Where  the  Commission  finds  it  necessary  to  request 
additional information, the six-month time-limit shall run from the date of receipt of 
the requested additional information. The Member State concerned shall provide the 
additional  information  within  three  months.  In  case  of  a  disagreement  between  a 
Member  State  and  the  Commission  referred  to  in  Article  10b(7),  the  Commission 
shall communicate to the Member State its comments on the reasons provided in the 
request within three months from the receipt of the request. 

Where  the  Member  State  cannot  provide  any  further  relevant  information  for  the 
review  procedure,  it  may  request  the  Commission  to  reply  on  the  basis  of  the 
information available. The six-month time-limit shall in that case run from the date 
of receipt of that request. 

In case a Member State files an action for annulment against a decision adopted by 
the  Commission  pursuant  to  Article  9(1a)  of  Regulation  1553/89,  and  if  the 
Commission  has  not  replied  yet  under  the  review  procedure  concerning  the  same 
VAT  correction,  the  Commission  shall  suspend  the  review  procedure  pending  the 
final judgement of the Court of Justice of the European Union.’  

2. 

3. 

4. 

Article 2 

Entry into force 

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

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States. 

Done at Brussels, 

For the Council 
The President 

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LEGISLATIVE FINANCIAL STATEMENT ‘REVENUE’- FOR PROPOSALS 
HAVING BUDGETARY IMPACT ON THE REVENUE SIDE OF THE BUDGET 

1. 

NAME OF THE PROPOSAL: 

Amendment of Regulation 609/2014 

2. 

BUDGET LINES: 

Revenue line (Chapter/Article/Item):  

Titles 1 and 2 (Chapter 21) and Article 410 

3. 

FINANCIAL IMPACT 

 

Proposal has no financial implications 

Proposal has no financial impact on expenditure but has a financial impact on 

 
revenue 

 

Proposal has a financial impact on assigned revenue 

The effect is as follows:  

Revenue line 

Impact on revenue17  XX months period starting 
dd/mm/yyyy (if applicable) 

Year N 

(EUR million to one decimal place) 

Title 1 

Title 2/ Chapter 21 

Article 410 

- 

- 

TBD 

2021 

2021 

2021 

Situation following action 

Revenue line 

2022 

2023 

2024 

2025 

2026 

Title 1 

Title 2/ Chapter 21 

Article 410 

- 

- 

- 

- 

- 

- 

- 

- 

- 

- 

4. 

ANTI-FRAUD MEASURES 

No measures to be taken. 

17 

In the case of traditional own resources (agricultural duties, sugar levies, customs duties), the amounts 
indicated must be net amounts, i.e. gross amounts after deduction of 20 % for collection costs. 

EN 

16 

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5. 

OTHER REMARKS 

The  proposal  aims  to  strengthen  and  improve  the  functioning  of  Council  Regulation  (EU, 
Euratom)  No  609/2014.  It  provides  in  particular  for  administrative  measures  in  order  to 
facilitate the making available for own resources for Member States. These include measures 
to enhance the predictability on the making available of own resources, such as the possibility 
to make payments in advance or the modifications proposed for the balances exercise. 

Both proposals have no budgetary impact. The provision, providing that the making available 
of the adjustments by Member States to the following year (N+ 2), is budgetary neutral since 
Member  States’  obligation  to  pay  is  simply  shifted  to  the  next  budget  year.  The  global 
‘balances exercise’ remains thus neutral for the EU budget. 

The proposal also provides for certain procedural changes, i.e. it codifies the procedure for the 
constructive dialogue as well as exchanges between the Commission and the Member States 
in  case  of  disputes.  This  review  procedure  aims  to  improve  the  making  available  own 
resources  by  providing  clarity  and  transparency  in  the  cooperation  and  communication 
between the Commission and Member States. The proposed review procedure does not have a 
financial impact for the Union.  

The  proposal  finally  extends  the  capping  on  the  increase  of  interests  to  all  cases.  Council 
Regulation  (EU,  Euratom)  2016/804  had  already  limited  the  increase  in  interest  above  the 
base rate to 16 percentage points (capping of 16 %). This limitation does however not apply to 
cases  already  known  before  1  October  2016.  The  extension  of  the  capping  to  all  cases  will 
lead to a decrease of interest revenue collected for the EU budget. Its financial impact, based 
on  reference  amounts  of  the  past  years  (as  from  the  entry  into  force  of  Council  Regulation 
2016/804) is estimated at EUR 27.5 million/year. 

EN 

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