The Committee
on Budgets adopted the report by Kyösti VIRRANKOSKI (ALDE, FI) on the draft
general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2008 and Letter
of amendment No 1/2008 to the draft general budget of the European Union for
the financial year 2008 Section III – Commission.
On overall
figures, the committee deplores the fact that the Council reduced commitment
appropriations in the Draft Budget (DB) 2008 by EUR 717 million relative to
the preliminary draft budget (PDB), such that commitment appropriations were
reduced to EUR 128 401 million. It takes a strong position against
Council's cuts to overall payments in the DB by EUR 2 123 million which left
total payments at EUR 119 410 million, equivalent to 0.95% of EU GNI, thus
leaving a margin of more than EUR 10 billion beneath the payments ceiling of
the multi-annual financial framework (MFF) for 2008.
As regards commitment
appropriations, the report is particularly critical of cuts made by the
Council to appropriations for programmes with multi-annual envelopes that
have only very recently been negotiated and agreed in co-decision with the
European Parliament. It proposes, in its first reading on the 2008 budget, to
restore these cuts and considers it necessary to make a number of increases
in commitment appropriations for certain political priorities.
As regards payment
appropriations, the report considers 0.95 % of EU GNI to be an
insufficient figure in the light of the policy challenges faced by the EU. It
expresses its astonishment that the Council should propose over EUR 1 billion
of cuts to payments in headings 1a and 1b for programmes identified as
priorities under the Lisbon Strategy for improving European competitiveness
and cohesion - a long-standing priority of the Council and Parliament. The
committee therefore proposes increases in the overall level of payments to
0.99 % of EU GNI. This is in line with the emphasis on accurate
implementation in the "budget for results" approach. It has focused
these increases on Lisbon priorities and on programmes where levels of unpaid
commitments ("reste à liquider" (RALs)) are persistently high.
It should be
noted that the committee supports the letter of amendment to the preliminary
draft budget 2008 and in particular the increases in commitment
appropriations proposed for Kosovo (EUR 120 million) and Palestine (EUR 142
million) totalling EUR 262 million over the PDB figures. It notes that the
Council also proposed increased commitment appropriations for Kosovo and
Palestine totalling EUR 260 million in the DB; considers that the Commission
and Council should provide a clear explanation of the strategy underlying the
proposed increases and the division of appropriations between EC and CFSP
categories for Kosovo in advance of Parliament's second reading on the 2008
budget.
To fund the
EIT and Galileo, MEPs in the committee are calling for a review of the
multiannual financial framework. However, in case no deal can be reached
with Council on this point, MEPs in the committee propose an amendment
transferring this amount to the 7th research framework programme, so that the
amount earmarked for funding Galileo does not disappear from the budget
- Galileo: the committee wants to increase the commitments proposed by
the Council for Galileo (the European satellite navigation system), by
EUR 739 million, to reach a total in 2008 of EUR 890 million (EUR 400
million in payments). MEPs in the committee believe this figure is
needed to complete the project on schedule. The committee wants Galileo
to be funded wholly by the Community. The project could fail for
good unless sufficient funding is provided. The funding level proposed
by the Council in its first reading (EUR 151 million in commitments), is
regarded as utterly inadequate by both MEPs and the Commission (which in
September put forward a new funding plan). However, since an agreement
is needed with the Council, a tough battle lies ahead: a consensus will
have to be reached between the institutions if the expenditure ceiling
laid down in the 2007-2013 financial perspective is to be exceeded.
- EIT: the Budgets Committee proposes a figure of EUR 2.9 million
(in commitments and payments), for the funding of the EIT board and the
creation of a new budget line for knowledge and Innovation Communities
(KICs). Like the EU agencies, the EIT's administrative budget would be
separate from its operational budget. The EIT's operational budget
would be transferred from the "education and culture" heading
to "research and innovation".
Recruitment
and redeployment: the committee has placed EUR 49
million in reserve pending the commitment of the Commission to carry out a
study on ABM implementation before 30 April 2008.
Assigned
revenues: the committee insists on improved
transparency in this area and proposes changes to the assigned revenues instrument
for decentralised agencies with a view to a closer matching of assigned
revenues to specific agencies; expresses its concern that the use of assigned
revenue within the sugar restructuring fund has created a de facto
"budget within a budget" that is difficult to reconcile with the
budgetary principle of universality enshrined in the Financial Regulation. It
expresses its openness to revise the Financial Regulation as regards assigned
revenue.
Decentralised
agencies: the committee restores PDB levels with
the exception of FRONTEX for which an increase of EUR 30 million is adopted
under Title 3 and with the exception of the European Environment Agency with
a slight increase under Title 3.
Executive
agencies: the committee recalls the obligations
of the Commission set by the "Code of Conduct on the setting up of an
Executive Agency". It considers that executive agencies must not, either
now or in the future, lead to an increase in the share of administrative
cost. It underlines that any proposal for the creation of a new executive
agency, and the expansion of existing executive agencies, must be based on a
comprehensive cost-benefit analysis and that lines of accountability and
responsibility should be clearly set out in the proposal.
The report
welcomes the fact that the activity statements provided with the PDB 2008
delivered an improved focus on objectives and indicators of results rather
than long descriptions of administrative process. It notes, however, that
there remains a significant gap between Commission Directorates-General as
regards the quality of Activity Statements. It expects further improvements
in future years.
Specific
issues - main elements by budget heading, pilot projects, preparatory actions
- Heading
1a, "Competitiveness for growth and employment": the committee rejects the cuts in commitment and payment
appropriations made by the Council in its first reading, especially
where these cover multi-annual programmes recently co-decided with
Parliament that aim to deliver on the Lisbon Strategy. It restores these
cuts and proposes increases on a number of lines that are political
priorities for Parliament. It also proposes a number of pilot projects
and preparatory actions in line with its budgetary prerogatives. It
underlines the importance of reducing the stigma of business failure in
the context of the Competitiveness and Innovation Programme (CIP).
- Heading
1b, "Cohesion for growth and employment": deplores the cuts in payment appropriations made in the
Council's first reading; restores these cuts and proposes to increase
payments on lines where RALs have been consistently high in recent
years. It demands more streamlined administrative procedures in order to
improve implementation of operational programmes for structural and
cohesion funds also in terms of qualitative aspects which have the
strongest impact of the Union on its citizens' lives.
- Heading
2, "Preservation of natural resources": the committee is strongly opposed to the indiscriminate
cuts proposed by Council to many lines under this heading of the budget.
It restores the PDB for many such lines but notes that the Council will
have the final say on those lines which concern compulsory expenditure;
demands clearer presentation of the figures for market measures and
direct aids in future budgetary procedures. It is concerned by the slow
rate of adoption of operational programmes as regards the rural
development pillar of the CAP, a long-standing priority of Parliament.
It expects to see rapid improvements in this regard. It emphasises the
need to speed up the procedure regarding the drawing-up of special
national programmes for the recovery of crops and animal production in
the areas affected by fires and other forms of natural disasters and
stresses that those programmes should be financed from the EAFRD
(European Agriculture Fund for Rural Development) by internal transfers
or subsidies within a Member State.
- Heading
3a, "Freedom, security and justice": the report places appropriations for the Return Fund in
reserve pending the adoption of the legal base and also places
appropriations in reserve pending the provision of improved information
to Parliament regarding the fight against crime. It considers that the
Frontex agency must play a more effective role in strengthening the EU's
external borders, notably in alleviating the burden currently faced by
Member States in connection with illegal immigration. The Agency is
asked to present regularly to its competent committee the state of play
and the scheduled forthcoming operations; urges the Member States to
deliver on their promises and support the Agency's missions so that the
Agency can perform its tasks more effectively.
- Heading
3b, "Citizenship": the committee
deplores the cuts made by the Council under this heading, which would
affect programmes such as Culture 2007, Media 2007 and Youth in action.
It restores the PDB and proposes appropriations for a number of new and
ongoing pilot projects and preparatory actions in this regard. Attention
is drawn to the fact that funding for the information and prevention
campaign HELP comes to an end in the budget for 2008 and expects the
Commission to submit a follow-up initiative. It also supports, within
the Civil Protection Financial Instrument, the provision of a complementary
capability in the form of a stand-by force for handling natural or
man-made disasters as well as in cases of acts of terrorism or
environmental accidents. The Commission is called on to give repeated
backing for investment in infrastructure to improve accommodation for
refugees. The report seeks to encourage a stronger voice for less well
represented groups in civil society, combating all forms of
discrimination and strengthening the rights of women, children, disabled
and older persons. The Commission is asked to use the appropriations
earmarked for information to provide diverse information, which, inter
alia, caters for the public information needs of parliamentary
minorities.
- Heading
4, "EU as a global partner": the
committee supports the increases, including for Kosovo and Palestine, in the Commission's letter of amendment to the PDB of 17 September 2007. It
proposes an additional EUR 10 million each for Kosovo (line 22 02 02)
and Palestine (line 19 08 01 02) and further increases for its priorities
up to the MFF ceiling, including the restoration of the PDB for the
Emergency Aid Reserve. It cuts CFSP spending by EUR 40 million to the
level of budget 2007 and requests the use of the flexibility instrument
to a total of EUR 87 million for CFSP spending and other priorities,
including Kosovo and Palestine. It considers that this reflects the
chronic under-funding of heading 4 in the 2007-2013 MFF.
- Heading
5, "Administration": the report
considers that clear lines of responsibility and accountability are an
essential component of continuing the process of modernising the EU's
administration. It recalls that clear political objectives and
individual responsibility for carrying them out against indicators to be
laid down when the data from the various studies requested by its
Committee on Budgets on the subject are submitted should be the
direction of future reforms of the system. In this context, deplores the
inefficiencies inherent in a competition system that can leave
"approved candidates" languishing on a reserve list for years
with no guarantee of being offered a position and considers that
maintaining this approach would contribute to lowering the average
standard of new EU officials as the best candidates will seek employment
in more dynamic sectors of the EU economy. The committee requests a
serious commitment from the Commission to look again at this issue in
the context of follow-up work to the screening exercise and provide
further information with a more detailed breakdown of staff per category
and by Directorate General and the evolution foreseen for the coming
years. The Commission is called upon to take the employment of trainees
into account as a criterion when awarding procurement or service
contracts to outside firms. It also restores the PDB for the cuts made
by Council to appropriations and establishment plans in heading 5 and
places EUR 49 million in reserve pending the provision of the
abovementioned data and studies.
Reports,
pilot projects and preparatory actions: the
Commission is called upon to present a report on benchmarks with staff in
other international organisations as a follow-up to its report on planning
and optimising human resources. It should present guidelines to facilitate
the financing of public infrastructure under public-private partnerships
(PPP). A range of innovative projects that respond to current policy
challenges in the EU should be established. Lastly, the committee adopts a
range of initiatives that should pave the way for future actions that enhance
the European Union's capacity to deal with the real needs of its citizens.