PURPOSE: adoption of amending budget No 3 for the year 2017 to increase the budgetary resources of the Youth Employment Initiative (YEI).

NON-LEGISLATIVE ACT: Definitive adoption (EU, Euratom) 2017/2120 of amending budget No 3 of the European Union for the financial year 2017.

CONTENT: the European Parliament definitively adopted amending budget No 3 of the European Union for the financial year 2017 in accordance with its resolution of 13 September 2017 (please see the summary of the resolution).

As a reminder, this amending budget shall increase the budgetary resources of the Youth Employment Initiative to pursue the reduction of youth unemployment across the European Union. In particular, it shall provide an additional EUR 500 million in commitment appropriations to the Youth Employment Initiative (EYI).

In addition, it shall update the staff establishment plans of the decentralised agency ACER and the joint undertaking SESAR2. These modifications to the establishment plans shall not affect the total number of posts and shall be financed within the bodies’ annual budget for this year.

The European Parliament adopted by 574 votes to 113, with 2 abstentions, a resolution on the Council position on Draft amending budget No 3/2017 of the European Union for the financial year 2017 increasing the budgetary resources of the Youth Employment Initiative to pursue the reduction of youth unemployment across the European Union and updating the staff establishment plans of the decentralised agency ACER and the joint undertaking SESAR2.

Parliament approved the Council’s position on draft amending budget No 3/2017 .

This draft aims to:

provide an additional EUR 500 million in commitment appropriations to the Youth Employment Initiative (EYI), as agreed by the European Parliament and the Council in their agreement on the 2017 budget; amend the establishment plans of the decentralised agency ACER and the joint undertaking SESAR2, without incurring any changes to the overall budget or the total number of posts.

Parliament stressed the urgent need to further increase Union’s financial commitment in the fight against the youth unemployment through additional funding for the YEI. It regretted the delay, due to the blockage and late approval by the Council of the mid-term MFF revision, in the modification of the Union budget for 2017.

Members called on the Commission and the Member States to ensure swift reprogramming of the relevant operational programmes in order to ensure that the whole additional YEI envelope of EUR 500 million is fully and efficiently committed by the end of 2017 .

Lastly, Parliament took note of the modifications of the establishment plans of the decentralised agency ACER and of the joint undertaking SESAR2, noting that those modifications do not affect the total number of posts and that they can be financed within the bodies’ annual budget for this year.

The Committee on Budgets adopted the report by Jens GEIER (S&D, DE) on the Council position on Draft amending budget No 3/2017 of the European Union for the financial year 2017 increasing the budgetary resources of the Youth Employment Initiative to pursue the reduction of youth unemployment across the European Union and updating the staff establishment plans of the decentralised agency ACER and the joint undertaking SESAR2.

The committee recommended the European Parliament to approve the Council’s position on draft amending budget No 3/2017 .

This draft aims to:

provide an additional EUR 500 million in commitment appropriations to the Youth Employment Initiative (EYI), as agreed by the European Parliament and the Council in their agreement on the 2017 budget; amend the establishment plans of the decentralised agency ACER and the joint undertaking SESAR2, without incurring any changes to the overall budget or the total number of posts.

Members called on the Commission and the Member States to ensure swift reprogramming of the relevant operational programmes in order to ensure that the whole additional YEI envelope of EUR 500 million is fully and efficiently committed by the end of 2017.

They also took note of the modifications of the establishment plans of the decentralised agency ACER and of the joint undertaking SESAR2, noting that those modifications do not affect the total number of posts and that they can be financed within the bodies’ annual budget for this year.

On 30 May 2017, the Commission submitted to the Council draft amending budget (DAB) No 3 to the general budget for 2017 increasing the budgetary resources of the Youth Employment Initiative (YEI) as agreed by the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission in the outcome of the Conciliation Committee on the 2017 budgetary procedure.

The amount requested is EUR 500 million in commitment appropriations.

This DAB also includes a modification to the establishment plans of the decentralised agency ACER and the joint undertaking SESAR2, while the total number of posts remains unchanged.

On 4 September 2017, the Council adopted its position on DAB No 3 to the general budget for 2017 as set out in the technical annex to the explanatory memorandum to the Council's position on the draft amending budget (see Council doc 11812/17 ).

On 30 May 2017, the Commission submitted to the Council draft amending budget (DAB) No 3 to the general budget for 2017 increasing the budgetary resources of the Youth Employment Initiative (YEI) as agreed by the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission in the outcome of the Conciliation Committee on the 2017 budgetary procedure.

The amount requested is EUR 500 million in commitment appropriations.

This DAB also includes a modification to the establishment plans of the decentralised agency ACER and the joint undertaking SESAR2, while the total number of posts remains unchanged.

On 4 September 2017, the Council adopted its position on DAB No 3 to the general budget for 2017 as set out in the technical annex to the explanatory memorandum to the Council's position on the draft amending budget (see Council doc 11812/17 ).

PURPOSE: presentation of draft amending budget No 3 to the general budget 2017 on increasing the budgetary resources of the Youth Employment Initiative (YEI).

CONTENT: the purpose of Draft Amending Budget (DAB) No 3 for the year 2017 is twofold:

the provision of EUR 500 million of additional commitment appropriations to the Youth Employment Initiative (YEI) as agreed by the European Parliament and the Council in their agreement on the budget 2017. No reinforcement in payment appropriations is proposed; an amendment of the establishment plans of the decentralised agency ACER and the joint undertaking SESAR2, without incurring any changes to the overall budget or the total number of posts.

YEI : the Youth Employment Initiative (YEI) was agreed in 2013 as a response to the exceptionally high youth unemployment levels across the EU. It has a dedicated allocation of EUR 3.2 billion in current prices to provide direct targeted support to young people not in employment, education, or training residing in regions with youth unemployment rates higher than 25% in 2012. In order to speed up implementation, the full allocation in terms of commitments under the 2014-20 period was frontloaded to 2014 and 2015.

Youth unemployment rates have decreased in most Member States in comparison to the reference year of 2012 but they are still above 2008 (pre financial crisis) levels. This situation calls for continued efforts and support at EU level which is why the European Parliament and the Council in their agreement on the budget 2017 invited "the Commission to propose an amending budget in 2017 in order to provide EUR 500 million for the YEI in 2017 financed by the Global Margin for Commitments, as soon as the technical adjustment foreseen in article 6 of the MFF Regulation is adopted."

This is the aim of this amending budget.

The reinforcement in commitment appropriations of the YEI will be financed from the Global Margin for Commitments (GMC). They will not translate into additional payment needs in 2017. Before any payments on the reinforcement can be made, all relevant operational programmes have to be amended. This process is expected to be completed in the second half of 2017, which is after the legal deadline for paying the 2017 annual pre-financing.

Staff establishment plans : lastly the amending budget concerns the amendment of the staff establishment plans of the Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators ( ACER ) and the SESAR2 Joint Undertaking.