PURPOSE: to revise the financial rules applicable to
the general budget of the Union to make them simpler and more
focused on results.
LEGISLATIVE ACT: Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of
the European Parliament and of the Council on the financial rules
applicable to the general budget of the Union, amending Regulations
(EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No
1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014,
(EU) No 283/2014, and Decision No 541/2014/EU and repealing
Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012.
CONTENT: the Regulation amends the existing
Financial Regulation, which establishes the general framework
for budgetary management, as well as a number of acts governing the
EU's multi-annual programmes in different areas, including cohesion
policy. The improvements introduced aim to reduce the
administrative burden faced by all actors involved in the
implementation of the EU budget.
The main changes include the following:
- broaden the possibility for recipients of EU funds to
use simplified cost options and focus on results rather than on
determining the costs actually incurred;
- strengthen performance measurement of EU-funded
projects. Performance will be linked to the direct application of
the principle of sound financial management defined as the
implementation of the budget in accordance with the principles of
economy, efficiency and effectiveness;
- avoid multiple controls by ensuring that any information already available
from the Union institutions, managing authorities or other bodies
and entities implementing Union funds is reused;
- ensure that the principle of a single audit
prevails for the ERDF, ESF, Cohesion Fund and EMFF and double the
thresholds below which an operation is not subject to more than one
audit;
- combine financing from EU structural funds with
financial instruments and the European Fund for Strategic
Investments through so-called 'blending'. It will also be possible
to blend grants and financial instruments under the Connecting
Europe Facility to finance projects in the fields of transport,
energy, and information and communication technology;
- establish a more comprehensive framework for the use
of financial instruments and budget guarantees to stimulate
investment;
- clarify the procedure for establishing EU trust
funds and specify the principles applicable to contributions to
trust funds;
- make it easier to use EU structural funds for the
integration of migrants and refugees and to combat tax
evasion and money laundering more effectively;
- provide for the provision to the bodies responsible
for management and control activities of a non-binding
methodological guide setting out the Commission's control
strategy and method;
- increase transparency by improving the
visibility of the Union's contribution to citizens.
Horizontal principles such as sustainable development and gender equality
and non-discrimination shall play a key role in the effective
implementation of the ESI Funds. In addition, in order to protect
one of the fundamental principles of public finances, the
no-profit principle is maintained in this
Regulation.
ENTRY INTO FORCE: 2.8.2018. The EU institutions are
given additional time to adapt to the new rules on their
administrative expenditure. They shall apply them from
1.1.2019.