PURPOSE: to
present the Commissions draft budget for the 2015 financial
year (all sections).
BACKGROUND:
the draft budget (DB) for 2015 is the first one to be prepared
with the full budgetary framework as foreseen by the Lisbon
Treaty. However, it is facing the reality of scarce
resources as reflected in low annual ceilings under the
multiannual financial framework (MFF).
The key
priority for 2015 will be to ensure that the EU budget is provided
with the required means so that it can fully deliver its
reinforced contribution to growth and jobs and to providing
solidarity between Member States and regions.
The draft
budget 2015 will focus on those measures that make a tangible
difference to European citizens lives by targeting
support to employment, businesses, education and research, while
proposing the ways to contain the increasing amounts of unpaid
payment claims due to insufficient financial resources in
recent years.
CONTENT:
the 2015 budget, although it has reduced resources, is mainly
designed to help Europe to recover from the crisis.
The budget
in a nutshell: the 2015
draft budget reflects the political priorities set in the new
programmes falling within the 2014-2020 MFF and includes all the
necessary means to initiate their implementation. At the same time,
the 2007-2013 programmes need to be brought progressively to a
successful closure, for which an adequate level of payment
appropriations is necessary, to meet obligations vis-à-vis the
beneficiaries of EU funding.
With regard
to the figures:
·
the overall
ceiling for commitment appropriations (CA) is set at EUR
146 483 million, which
represents 1.05 % of EU gross national income (GNI),
·
the ceiling
for payment appropriations (PA) is EUR 141 901
million, or 1.02 % of GNI.
The
years main budget priorities:
·
recovery,
growth and jobs: here, the
emphasis is on innovation and reform in order to create jobs and
strengthen growth potential. Initiatives such as the Youth
Employment Initiative (YEI) or the improvement of access to funding
for SMEs (COSME programme) should help develop skills, training and
employability and reinforce research and innovation with the aim of
creating leverage effects at EU level;
·
strengthening
the EUs responsiveness: In the
light of recent international developments and the ensuing
discussions in the EU, it is clear that strengthening the EUs
energy security also requires special attention. Relevant
means and actions to put in place projects of common interest and
measures to develop interconnections are included in this
budget proposal (CEF-Energy programme); measures are also foreseen
to assist Ukraine;
·
fulfilling
the EUs obligations: against the
backdrop of high, and steadily growing, implementation levels and
payment shortages in recent years, culminating in a EUR 11.2
billion reinforcement of payments in the course of 2013, the
Commission proposed to make use of the flexibility provided for in
the MFF Regulation, by requesting the full mobilisation of the
Contingency Margin for payments (EUR 4 billion) in 2014, on top of
the use of the unallocated margin still available under the payment
ceiling for the year (EUR 711 million). This sum of EUR 4.7
billion is essential to allow the Union to meet its legal
obligations. The additional needs in 2014 largely stem from the
high level of payment claims for Cohesion policy received from
Member States that remained outstanding (EUR 23.4 billion)
at the end of 2013. Payment needs in 2015 will remain at a
similarly high level. That is why the Commission in its 2015
draft budget requests the full use of the 2015 payment ceiling
(EUR 141.9 billion, + 1.4 % over the 2014 budget as modified by
draft amending budgets). This sum is EUR 2
billion below the level of the executed budget in 2013. At this
stage of the procedure, the Commission does not propose to mobilise
the Contingency Margin for payments in 2015, but further
action in this respect may be required in the course of
2015;
·
showing
administrative restraint: the
Commission proposes for the third consecutive year a 1% reduction
of its staff levels in the 2015 DB, in order to implement the 5%
staff reduction over five years which was agreed in the framework
of the Staff Regulations Reform. For all institutions,
administrative expenditure will on average be kept stable in real
terms.
MAIN
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE BUDGET BY HEADING: the
presentation that follows is structured by budget heading in the
2014-2020 multiannual financial framework:
Heading 1:
Smart and inclusive growth: this heading
is subdivided into two sub-headings:
·
1a
Competitiveness for growth and jobs: commitment
appropriations are set at EUR 17 447.4 million. This is an increase
of 5,8 % compared to the 2014 budget, which is mostly due to
Horizon 2020, the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) and the large
infrastructure projects ITER and Copernicus
under this heading. This leaves a margin of EUR 218.6 million.
Payment appropriations increase by 29.5% to EUR 15 582.6 million,
in order to address the growing level of outstanding commitments
and to allow the implementation of the new programmes;
·
1 b
Economic, social and territorial cohesion: commitment
appropriations increase by 3.6% to EUR 49 226.8 million, leaving
a margin of EUR 0.0 million. This is due to the additional
structural funds foreseen for Cyprus, for which the Commission
proposes the mobilisation of the Flexibility Instrument. Within
this heading, the frontloading of commitment and payment
appropriations are foreseen to be continued for the Youth
Employment Initiative (YEI, specific top-up allocation), amounting
to EUR 1 407.2 million and EUR 600 million, respectively. Payment
appropriations decrease by -5 % compared to the 2014 budget as
modified by draft amending budgets, to EUR 51 601.9 million. This
may stabilise the high level of outstanding commitments for
Cohesion Policy, with substantial parts of 2015 payment
appropriations to be used to satisfy claims accumulated at the end
of 2014, but will in all likelihood not be sufficient for a
notable reduction of this backlog of unpaid payment claims at
year-end.
Heading 2:
Sustainable growth: natural resources: commitment
appropriations of EUR 59.254 billion are proposed for heading 2.
This level of expenditure represents a stabilisation at the level
of the 2014 budget (0.0 %) and leaves a margin of EUR 345.3 million
under the ceiling. Payment appropriations amount to EUR 56 907.3
million, with an increase of 0.6 % compared to 2014. A margin under
the sub-ceiling for market measures and direct aids amounting to
EUR 286.0 million is left. For rural development, payment
appropriations decrease by -0.5 % compared to the 2014. For this
heading likewise, the level of payment appropriations is
unlikely to be sufficient to reduce the expected backlog of
unpaid payment claims at the end of 2014.
Heading 3:
Security and citizenship: this heading
sees a decrease in commitment appropriations of -1.9 % to EUR 2
130.7 million, leaving a margin of EUR 115.3 million. Payment
appropriations increase by 12.2 % to EUR 1 881.2 million, which is
due to the start-up of the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund
and the Internal Security Fund.
Heading 4:
Global Europe: this heading
sees a decrease in commitment appropriations of 1.1 % to EUR 8
413.1 million, leaving an unallocated margin of EUR 335,9 million
available under the ceiling. Payment appropriations increase by 7.1
% to EUR 7 327 million, mostly to take account of the rapidly
growing level of outstanding commitments under this
heading.
Heading 5:
Administration (expenditure of the European institutions and
staff): Commitment
and payment appropriations for all institutions combined including
pensions and European schools increase by 2.5 %, with commitments
set at EUR 8 612.2 million.
The
corresponding increase (+ 1.5 %) includes additional administrative
expenditure related to Croatias accession, amounting to EUR
13.2 million for the Commission. Taking into account the changes
made by the Commission to better align the draft estimates of
expenditure for the Council, the Court of Justice and the Committee
of the Regions to the expected level of inflation in 2015, the
requested expenditure for the institutions leaves a margin of EUR
457.9 million under the sub-ceiling for administrative expenditure
of the institutions (excluding pensions and European schools). This
reflects the continued efforts of the Commission and the other
institutions to limit their own administrative expenditure through
the reduction in staffing levels and other savings, in line with
the reduction of staff levels in all EU institutions and bodies by
5 % over five years.
Heading 6:
Compensations:
lastly, in
accordance with Croatias Accession Treaty, commitments and
payments for Compensations are no longer foreseen in
2015.