Amending budget 1/2016: emergency support within the Union; European Police Office (Europol)

On 10 March 2016, the Commission submitted to the Council draft amending budget (DAB) No 1 to the general budget for 2016 related to the new instrument to provide emergency support within the Union.

The purpose of this DAB is:

1. to create the budget structure for the proposed new instrument to provide emergency support within the Union, and to make through redeployments within MFF heading 3 an amount of EUR 100 million in commitment appropriations (c/a) and EUR 80.2 million in payment appropriations (p/a) available for immediate funding needs. At this early stage of the year no alternative source of redeployment of c/a can easily be identified within heading 3. Therefore, the Commission proposes to finance the appropriations for the new instrument requested in this DAB through an adjustment of the funding currently available for the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF). The amount proposed to be transferred from AMIF takes into account the immediate funding needs of the new instrument, as well as the current state of implementation and the foreseeable needs of AMIF in the coming months. The Commission will carefully monitor the implementation of the 2016 budget and may propose transfers and/or an amending budget to secure the necessary funding for both AMIF and the emergency support instrument at the appropriate time. This will take account of the evolving needs assessment for the year as a whole; and
2. to reinforce the staffing levels of the European Counter-Terrorism Centre in EUROPOL, to enable the agency to play a central role in the fight against terrorism in the EU, in particular in the light of the terrorist attacks in Paris of 13 November 2015. The related funding for the remuneration of new staff (25 additional establishment plan posts, 5 contract agents and 5 seconded national experts) amounts to EUR 2 million in c/a and p/a, and is proposed to be redeployed within heading 3 from the Police Union actions under the Internal Security Fund (ISF).

Overall, DAB No 1 to general budget for 2016 has no net impact on the level of appropriations in the 2016 budget. 

On 16 March 2016, the Council adopted its position on DAB No 1 to the general budget for 2016 as set out in the technical annex to the Council draft budget (see Council document 7068/16).