Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 547/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 May 2014 amending Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union

29.5.2014 EN Official Journal of the European Union L 163/18
REGULATION (EU, Euratom) No 547/2014 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL
of 15 May 2014
amending Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union
THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION
,
Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular Article 322 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,
After transmission of the draft legislative act to the national parliaments,
Having regard to the opinion of the Court of Auditors (1),
Acting in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure (2),
Whereas:
(1) Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council (3) was adopted on 25 October 2012 and was accompanied by a joint statement of the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission agreeing to revise that Regulation in order to take into account the outcome of the negotiations on the multiannual financial framework for the years 2014-2020.
(2) Following the adoption of Council Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 1311/2013 (4) and Regulation (EU) No 1316/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council (5), and in line with the joint statement, it is necessary to amend Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012 to include the carry-over rules for the Emergency Aid Reserve and for projects financed under the Connecting Europe Facility.
(3) As regards the Emergency Aid Reserve, the corresponding appropriations are entered in Title ‘Reserves’ of the general budget of the Union. Therefore, it is necessary to amend Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012 in order to provide for the carry-over to year n+1 of the appropriations placed in reserve and not used in year n.
(4) Due to their nature, projects financed under the Connecting Europe Facility will in many cases require complex contracting procedures. Therefore, even limited delays in the completion of such projects may result in a loss of annual commitment appropriations and undermine the viability of those projects and thus of the Union’s political determination to modernise its transport, energy and telecommunications networks and infrastructure. To prevent this, Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012 should allow for the carry-over to the following financial year of commitment appropriations not used by the end of each of financial years 2014, 2015 and 2016 for projects financed under the Connecting Europe Facility. The carry-over should be submitted for approval to the European Parliament and the Council.
(5) Following the adoption of Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council (6), it is necessary to amend Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012 in order to make decommitted appropriations available again for the purposes of the implementation of the performance reserve and the uncapped guarantee and securitisation financial instruments in favour of small and medium-sized enterprises (‘SMEs’),