PURPOSE: to mobilise the Flexibility Instrument to provide the financing for the European Fund for Sustainable Development, in order to finance support for measures for managing the challenges of migration, refugee inflows and security threats.

NON-LEGISLATIVE ACT: Decision (EU) 2018/51 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the mobilisation of the Flexibility Instrument to provide the financing for the European Fund for Sustainable Development.

CONTENT: the European Parliament and the Council decided to mobilise the Flexibility Instrument to supplement the financing available in the general budget of the Union for the financial year 2017, beyond the ceiling of heading 4 ( Global Europe ) by an amount of EUR 275 000 000, to finance the European Fund for Sustainable Development.

This amount includes amounts which lapsed in the previous years of the European Union Solidarity Fund and of the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund and which are made available for the Flexibility Instrument in accordance with Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 1311/2013 laying down the multiannual financial framework for the years 2014-2020.

The payment appropriations corresponding to the mobilisation of the Flexibility Instrument should be for 2017 only .

As a reminder, the Flexibility Instrument is intended to allow the financing of clearly identified expenditure which could not be financed within the limits of the ceilings available for one or more other headings. The ceiling on the annual amount available for the Flexibility Instrument is EUR 600 000 000 (2011 prices).

ENTRY INTO FORCE: 25.10.2017.

The European Parliament adopted by 562 votes to 65, with 44 abstentions, the proposal for a decision of the European Parliament and of the Council on the mobilisation of the flexibility instrument to provide the financing for the European Fund for Sustainable Development.

Members approved the proposed decision to use the flexibility instrument to provide the amount of EUR 275 million under Heading 4 of the MFF (Global Europe) in order to finance the European Fund for Sustainable Development ( EFSD ). In doing so, they stressed the crucial need for the Union budget to be more flexible .

Parliament reiterated its position that:

the financial resources for external action of the Union are not sufficient to cover the needs of a proactive and sustainable external policy; the payments stemming from commitments previously mobilised through the Flexibility Instrument can only be counted over and above the MFF ceilings.

The Committee on Budgets adopted the report drafted by Jens GEIER (S&D, DE) on the proposal for a decision of the European Parliament and of the Council on the mobilisation of the flexibility instrument to provide the financing for the European Fund for Sustainable Development.

The Committee approved the proposed decision to use the flexibility instrument to provide the amount of EUR 275 million in commitment appropriations and payment appropriations under Heading 4 of the MFF (Global Europe). This amount would be used to provide the financing for the European Fund for Sustainable Development (EFSD).

Members noted that the ceiling for Heading 4 does not allow for an adequate financing of the EFSD and recalled the need for a more flexible budget for the Union.

Members reiterated Parliament’s position that:

the financial resources for external action of the Union are not sufficient to cover the needs of a proactive and sustainable external policy; the payments stemming from commitments previously mobilised through the Flexibility Instrument can only be counted over and above the MFF ceilings.

PURPOSE: to mobilise the flexibility instrument to provide the financing of the European fund for sustainable development Fund (EFSD).

BACKGROUND: the flexibility instrument allows the financing of clearly identified expenditure which could not be financed within the limits available for one or more headings of the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) for the period 2014- 2020.

The ceiling on the annual amount available for the flexibility instrument is EUR 600 million (2011 prices), as laid down in Council Regulation (EU, EURATOM) No 1311/2013 laying down the multiannual financial framework.

In order to address the ongoing challenges of migration, refugee inflows and security threats , it is necessary to mobilise significant additional amounts to finance appropriate measures as a matter of urgency.

Having examined all possibilities for re-allocating appropriations under the expenditure ceiling for heading 4 (Global Europe), the Commission considers that it is necessary to mobilise the flexibility instrument to supplement the financing available in the general budget of the Union for the financial year 2017, beyond the ceilings of heading 4 to provide the financing for the European Fund for Sustainable Development (EFSD).

CONTENT: within the framework of the Union’s 2017 general budget, the Commission proposes to mobilise the flexibility instrument to provide EUR 275 million in commitment and payment appropriations in heading 4 of the MFF (Global Europe). This amount shall be used to provide the provisioning of the European Fund for Sustainable Development Guarantee fund.