The European Parliament adopted by 580 votes to 28, with 17 abstentions a resolution amending the Council’s position on Draft amending budget No 3/2010 of the European Union for the financial year 2010, Section III – Commission, on funding accompanying measures in the banana sector.
The resolution pointed out that the Commission was proposing to amend Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1905/2006 (see COD/2010/0059) to allow the financing of Bananas Accompanying Measures (BAM) over the years 2010 to 2013, with an overall budget of EUR 190 million, and a potential supplementary EUR 10 million if margins allowed. It added that the proposed annual breakdown of the financial assistance for BAM provided for an amount of EUR 75 million in 2010. Parliament noted that the major part of this financial assistance in 2010 stemmed from redeployment within heading 4 of the budget (EUR 55.8 million out of the total EUR 75 million). This proposed redeployment affected instruments and actions that the EU and particularly the European Parliament had defined as being of great interest. The resolution pointed out that the margin available under heading 4 was only EUR 875 530, due to the need to finance to the greatest extent, in 2010, the EU's priorities in its role as a global player. It also stressed that past budgetary procedures had illustrated the extreme pressure this heading had been under.
The resolution reiterated Parliament's position that new priorities should be financed by new funds. It said that the remaining margin of EUR 875 530 under Heading 4 could be used for the financing of BAM and that the Commission should present a new proposal for the mobilisation of the Flexibility Instrument for the remaining part of EUR 74.12 million (rather than the EUR 18.3 million initially proposed), given that the financing of BAM fulfilled the conditions for the use of the Flexibility Instrument.
In its amendments, Parliament therefore reinstated all the amounts provided for under Heading 4 of the financial perspective for 2010.