CELEX: 51979DC0711
Language: en
Date: 1979-11-28
Title: DRAFT ECSC OPERATIONAL BUDGET FOR 1980 (Communication from the Commission to the Council)

ARCHIVES HISTORIQUES
DE LA COMMISSION
COLLECTION RELIEE DES
DOCUMENTS "COM"
COM (79) 711
Vol. 1979/0241
 ---pagebreak--- Disclaimer
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In accordance with Council Regulation (EEC, Euratom) No 354/83 of 1 February 1983
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 ---pagebreak---   COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
                                                COM ( 79 ) 711 Final
                                                Brussels . 29 November 1979
               \
                    DRAFT ECSC OPERATIONAL BUDGET FOR
                                 1980
                  ( Communication from the Commission to the Council )
                                loi            V     f-A
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COM ( 79 ) 711 Final
 ---pagebreak--- In the documents which the Commission recently forwarded to the other
bodies concerned by the problem of financing the ECSC Operational Budget
for 1980 ( COM(79)565 of 30 October 1979 and COM(79)640 of
8 November 1979 ) » "t^ie Commission said that it intended to make specific
proposals for balancing the Budget .      The purpose of this Communication
is to explain the Commission 's proposals to Council and Parliament .
After contacting some of the parties concerned and in particular the
ECSC Consultative Committee , the Commission has thoroughly re–examined
its present approach to covering the various categories of commitments
under the ECSC Operational Budget .      As a result , the Commission proposes
that , in 19S0 , the requirements shown in the Budget should be financed as
indicated belows
( a ) Requirements which , under the Treaty of Paris ( or a Decision based on
       Article 95 of the Treaty), are to be financed from the levy resources ,
       i.e. requirements relating to administrative expenditure , research ,
       redeployment and coking coal will.be covered by the levy resources or
       the cancellation of provisions which were established previously from
       these resources and are now no longer required .
 (b ) Requirements concerning interest rebates on ECSC loans granted to coal
       and steel companies traditionally financed from income from interest
       on investments and loans granted out of non-borrowed . funds will be
       entirely covered by the interest proceeds ; these requirements will
       be limited to the amount entered in the Operational Budget for this
       purpose .
 ( c ) Requirements concerning interest rebates on non-ECSC loans granted
       for conversion investments intended to create jobs for ex-ECSC
       workers will be covered by extraordinary, receipts .
 (d ) Requirements concerning new temporary social aid ( the principle of
       which is the subject of documents COM(79)''99 of 4 May 1979 and
       COM(79)436 of 20 July 1979 » and the financing of which is the subject
       of document COM(79)345 of 20 June 1979 and Chapter 54 of the
       Preliminary Draft General Budget for 1980 ) will be met from the
       General Budget .            '                             '
 The basic guidelines set out above entail a number of amendments to the
 Draft Budget which are set out in the revised table attached , and , as
 a result of them , the Commission is forced to propose an increase in
 the rate of levy for the financial year 1980 .
 In view of the lower steel production estimates ( 134 million tonnes bf
 crude steel instead of 140 million tonnes ) adopted by the Commission on
 7 November 1979 » "the expected yield as regards the resources indicated
 in subparagraph (a) above , without altering the rate of levy, is
 114.3 m EUA ( 109.3 m EUA by way of levies and 5 m EUA by way of
 cancellations of provisions ) compared with 125 m EUA shown for the
 requirements in question (administrative expenditure 5 ® EUA, redeployment
 67 m EUA, research 47 m EUA, coking coal 6 m EUA) in the Draft Budget .
 The Commission therefore proposes to reduce the proposed allocation
 for research aid ( the only Chapter which does not have binding force )
 ---pagebreak--- to 44 m EUA , and to increase the rate of levy to 0.31$, thereby "balancing
the estimates of requirements and the resources in question at 122 m EUA .
It should he pointed out in this respect that the proposed increase
of 0.02% ( 7.5 m EUA ) is negligible compared with the sect0r*s total annual
turnover , which could be in the region of 40 000 million EUA , and that the
annual benefit to the steel industry resulting from the Community steel
policy measures is well in excess of 1 000 million EUA .
It should also be noted that the ECSG Consultative Committee did not raise
any objections on this matter when it was informed, on 16 November 1979 »
the Commission 's intention to increase the rate of levy .
As regards the origin of the extraordinary resources to cover the proposed
conversion aid ( 43 m EUA ), the Commission , having thoroughly re–examined
the legal aspects of the problem , proposes that these aids be financed by
means of a transfer from the General Budget to the ECSC Budget , a transfer
which is warranted by the importance of the aid in question from the point
of view o'f the general EEC economy .    The Commission hopes that the budgetary
authority will agree to the principle of such a transfer ( to be made by
means of a Supplementary Budget in 1980 ) before the end of 1979 * At the
appropriate time , the Commission will present a draft Decision (under
Article 235 of the EEC Treaty ) to establish the legal basis for this
transfer .
If agreement is not given , the Commission will be obliged to ask the
Member States once again for an ad hoc contribution totalling 43 m EUA .
Summary
The Commission proposes for the financial year 1980s
 (a) the revised Draft Operational Budget attached
 (b ) the fixing of the rate of levy at 0.31%
 ( c ) that Council and Parliament , as the two arm3 of the budgetary authority,
       agree before the end of 1979 "to the principle of a transfer of 43 m EUA
       from the General Budget to the ECSC Budget by means of a Supplementary
    • Budget in 1980 .
 ---pagebreak---                                                                                                                  ANNEX
                                           DRAFT ECSC OPERATIONAL BUDGET FOR 1980
                                                                                                                ( in m EUA )
          REQUIREMENTS                APPLICATIONS      PROPOSALS                  RESOURCES                 PROPOSALS
OPERATIONS TO BE FBIAW (JED Ij'ROM                                   RESOURCES FOR THE FINANCIAL YEAR
RESOURCES FOR THE FINANCIAL YEAR
(NON-REPAYABLE )                                                     1.  Current resources
                                                                         1.1 Proceeds of 0.31% levy           117
1c  Administrative expenditure           5                 5                  (0.01% = 3.77 m EUA )
                                                                         1«2 Interest on investments and       23
                                    ι
2 . Aid ta redeployment (Article 56 )   67 .             67                  on loans granted out of
                                                                             non-borrowed funds
3 » Aid to research (Article 55 )       83,5              44             1.3 Fines and late payment        token entry
    3»1 steel                                 ( 48.5 )        ( 1 ?)         surcharges
    3«2 coal                                                  ( 16 )     1„4 Miscellaneous                 token entry
                                              (25 )
    3»3 social                                ( 10 )          ( 9)
                                                                     2«  Cancellation of commitments which       5
4«  Interest rebates                   116               66
                                                                         will probably not be implemented
    4.1 Investment (Article 54 )             ( 64 )          ( 23 )  3.  Revaluation of assets and'        token entry
    4*2 Conversion (Article 56 )             ( 52 )          i 43)       liabilities
    Aid to coking coal and coke for                                      Extraordinary receipts                43
    the steel industry (Article 95 )
                                       277.5            188
                                                                                                              188
OPERATIONS FINANCED WITH LOANS                                       ORIGIN OF NON-BORROWED FUNDS
GRANTED OUT OF NON-BORROWED FUNDS
6»  Subsidized housing            '     10               10          5.  Repayments on loans for
                                                                         subsidized housing
                                                                     6.  Special reserve and former
                                                                         ECSC Pension Fund