PURPOSE: to present the final accounts of the
8th, 9th, 10th and 11th
European Development Funds (EDF) for the financial year
2015.
CONTENT: this communication presents the final
accounts of the 8th, 9th, and 10th
which have been prepared in accordance with Title IX of the
Financial Regulation of the 11th European Development
Fund and which must be presented to the European Parliament, the
Council and the Court of Auditors.
The document also includes a note accompanying the
accounts in which the accounting officer in charge of the EFD audit
certifies that the accounts present a true and fair view of the
financial position of the European Development Funds in all
material aspects (signed declaration of
assurance).
1. EDF objectives and implementation: the EDF is the main instrument for providing Union
aid for development cooperation to the African, Caribbean and
Pacific (ACP) States and Overseas Countries and Territories (OCTs).
The 1957 Treaty of Rome made provision for its creation with a view
to granting technical and financial assistance, initially limited
to African countries which at that time were still colonised and
with which some Member States had historical links.
The EDF is not funded by the European Union's
budget. It is established by an
internal agreement of the Representatives of the Member States,
sitting within the Council, and managed by a specific
committee. The European Commission is responsible for the
financial implementation of the operations carried out with EDF
resources and the European Investment Bank (EIB) manages the
Investment Facility.
How is the EDF funded:
unlike the EU, the EDF is a fund operating on the basis of
multiannuality. Each EDF establishes an overall fund to
implement development cooperation during a period of usually
five years. The EDF resources are ad hoc
contributions from the EU Member States. Approximately every five
years, Member State representatives meet at intergovernmental level
to decide on an overall amount that will be allocated to the fund
and to oversee its implementation. The Commission then manages the
fund in accordance with the Union policy on development
cooperation. Since Member States have their own development and aid
policies in parallel to the Union policy, the Member States must
coordinate their policies with the EU to ensure they are
complementary.
During the period 2014-2020, the geographic aid
granted to ACP States and OCTs will continue to be mainly funded by
the EDF. Each EDF is governed by its own Financial Regulation which
requires the preparation of financial statements for each
individual EDF. Accordingly, financial statements are prepared
separately for each EDF in respect of the part that is managed by
the Commission. These financial statements are also presented in an
aggregated way so as to provide a global view of the financial
situation of the resources for which the Commission is
responsible.
11th EDF: the Internal
Agreement establishing the 11th EDF was signed by the
participating Member States, meeting within the Council, in June
2013. It came into force on 1 March 2015. In order to assure
continuity between the end of the 10th EDF and the entry
into force of the 11th EDF, the Commission proposed
transitional measures.
At the same time the 10th EDF Financial
Regulation was amended and the new Financial Regulation applicable
to the transition period was adopted. They entered into force on 30
May 2014.
At the adoption of the Multi-annual Financial
Framework for 2014-2020, it was decided that geographical
cooperation with the ACP States would not be integrated into the EU
budget (budgetised), but would continue to be funded through the
existing intergovernmental EDF.
Discharge procedure: the
EDF annual accounts and resource management are overseen by its
external auditor, the ECA, which draws up an annual report for the
European Parliament and the Council. The final control is the
discharge of the financial implementation of the EDF resources for
a given financial year. The European Parliament is the discharge
authority of the EDF. This means that following the audit and
finalisation of the annual accounts it falls to the Council to
recommend and then to the Parliament to decide whether to grant
discharge to the Commission for the financial implementation of the
EDF resources for the preceding financial year. This decision is
based on a review of the accounts and the annual report of the ECA
(which includes an official statement of assurance) and replies of
the Commission, and also following questions and further
information requests to the Commission.
On 2 March 2015, the Council adopted the 11th EDF
Financial Regulation and the Implementation Rules. They entered
into force on 6 March 2015.
Investment facility:
within the framework of the ACP-EU Partnership Agreement, the
Investment Facility was established. This Facility is used to
support private sector development in the ACP States.
As the Investment Facility is not managed by
Commission, it is not consolidated in the first part of the annual
accounts the financial statements of the EDF and the related
report on financial implementation.
EDF not budgeted: when
the Multi-annual Financial Framework for 2014-2020 was adopted, it
was decided that geographical cooperation with the ACP States would
not be integrated into the EU budget (budgetised), but would
continue to be funded through the existing intergovernmental
EDF.
Discharge procedure: the
EDF annual accounts and resource management are overseen by its
external auditor, the European Court of Auditors (hereinafter
referred to as the ECA), which draws up an annual report for the
European Parliament and the Council.
The final control is the discharge of the financial
implementation of the EDF resources for a given financial year. The
European Parliament is the discharge authority of the EDF. This
means that following the audit and finalisation of the annual
accounts it falls to the Council to recommend and then to the
European Parliament to decide whether to grant discharge to the
Commission for the financial implementation of the EDF resources
for a given financial year.
2. Overall financial implementation of the EDFs in
2015: the report concentrates on the
implementation of the EDFs and presents:
- the financial statement funds managed by the
European Commission (financial statements and explanatory
notes);
- the financial statement of the European Investment
Bank (EIB) including the management of the Investment
Facility;
- the presentation of the consolidated accounts of the
Bêkou Trust Fund for external actions under an agreement
concluded with other donors. These trust funds may be created for
emergency, post-emergency and thematic actions.
The first multi-donor EU Trust Fund called Bêkou,
which means "hope" in Sango, was established on 15 July 2014, by
the European Union (represented by DGs DEVCO and ECHO, and the
EEAS) and three of its Member States (Germany, France and the
Netherlands), with the aim to promote the stabilisation and
reconstruction of the Central African Republic. It has been
established for a maximum duration of 60 months.
Financial statements of the EDF: the second part of the document presents statistical
tables and figures of EDF implementation, including risk
management.
The document presents in particular the main projects
funded by the former EDFs (they show the amounts decided,
contracted and paid as regards the 6th, 7th,
8th and 9th EDF).
The
first multi-donor EU Trust Fund called Bêkou, was established
on 15 July 2014, by the EU and Germany, France and the Netherlands,
with the aim to promote the stabilisation and reconstruction of the
Central African Republic. The maximum duration of the Bêkou
Trust fund is 60 months.
The EDF financial statements: the second part of the document presents statistical
tables and figures concerning EDF implementation, including risk
management.
The document presents in particular major projects
funded by the previous EDFs (whose amounts have all been committed
but are gradually paid as and when the implementation of projects
requires it).
Previous EDFs: as
the Sixth EDF was closed in 2006 and the Seventh EDF was closed in
2008, the annual accounts no longer contain implementation tables
for these EDFs. However, implementation of the transferred balances
can be found in the Ninth EDF.
10th EDF: the ACP-EC
Partnership Agreement signed on 23 June 2000 in Cotonou by the
Member States of the European Community and the States of Africa,
the Caribbean and the Pacific (ACP States) entered into force on 1
April 2003. The Cotonou Agreement was amended twice, firstly by the
agreement signed in Luxembourg on 25 June 2005, secondly by the
agreement signed in Ouagadougou on 22 June 2010. The Internal
Agreement on the financing of Community aid under the multiannual
financial framework for the period 2008-2013 in accordance with the
revised Cotonou Agreement, adopted by the Representatives of the
Governments of the Member States of the European Community on 17
July 2006, entered into force on 1 July 2008.
Under the Cotonou Agreement, the second period
(2008-2013) of Community aid to the ACP States and OCTs is funded
by the 10th EDF for an amount of EUR 22 682 million, of
which:
- EUR 21 966 million is allocated to the ACP countries
in accordance with the multiannual financial framework set out in
Annex Ib to the revised Cotonou Agreement, of which EUR 20 466
million is managed by the European Commission;
- EUR 286 million is allocated to the OCTs in accordance
with Annex IIAa of the revised Council Decision on the association
of the OCTs with the European Community, of which EUR 256 million
is managed by the European Commission;
- EUR 430 million is for the Commission to finance the
costs arising from the programming and implementation of 10th EDF
resources.
According to the "Sunset clause" of the 10th EDF,
(articles 1(4) and 1(5) of the 10th EDF Internal Agreement) no
funds could be committed after 31 December 2013. Uncommitted funds
were transferred to the 11th EDF performance reserve.
By the entry into force of the 11th EDF, a total of
EUR 1 630 million had been de-committed from former EDF's and were
therefore potentially available to the Bridging Facility, of
which EUR 1 595 million were allocated and are accounted for under
the 11th EDF, and EUR 4 million remained unallocated on the
Bridging Facility and returned to the original performance
reserve.
11th EDF: the
third period (2014-2020) of Community aid to the ACP States and
OCTs is funded by the 11th EDF for an amount of EUR 30 506 million,
of which:
- EUR 29 089 million is allocated to the ACP countries
of which EUR 27 955 million is managed by the European
Commission;
- EUR 364.5 million is allocated to the OCTs of which
359.5 million is managed by the European Commission;
- EUR 1 052.5 million is for the Commission to finance
the costs arising from the programming and implementation of 11th
EDF resources.
The report sets out a series of tables showing how
these resources were used during the financial year
2015.
At 31.31.2015, the net assets amount to EUR 980
million (against EUR 932 million at 31.12.2014).