ANNEX

FINAL 12.11.2013

Budget 2014 — Joint conclusions

These joint conclusions cover the following sections:

1. Budget 2014 2. Budget 2013 — Amending Budgets No 8/2013 and No 9/2013 3. Statements

1.   Budget 2014

1.1.   ‘Closed’ lines

Unless stated otherwise below in these conclusions, all budget lines not amended by either Council or Parliament, and those for which Parliament accepted Council's amendments during their respective reading are confirmed.

For the other budget items, the Conciliation Committee has reached the following conclusions:

1.2.   Horizontal issues

Decentralised agencies

The number of posts for all decentralised agencies is set at the level proposed by the Commission in the Draft Budget, with the exception of:

—	European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), for which 7 additional posts are agreed;

—	European Banking Authority (EBA), for which 8 additional posts are agreed;

—	European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA), for which 3 additional posts are agreed;

—	European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), for which 5 additional posts are agreed;

—	European Asylum Support Office (EASO), for which 2 additional posts are agreed; and

—	EUROPOL, for which 2 additional posts are agreed.

The EU contribution (in commitment appropriations and in payment appropriations) for decentralised agencies is set at the level proposed by the Commission in the Draft Budget (DB), with the exception of:

—	European Banking Authority (EBA), for which an additional amount of EUR 2,1 million is agreed, on the basis of the EU funding key of 40 % (60 % to be co-financed by national supervisory authorities);

—	European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA), for which an additional amount of EUR 1,2 million is agreed, on the basis of the EU funding key of 40 % (60 % to be co-financed by national supervisory authorities);

—	European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), for which an additional amount of EUR 2,0 million is agreed, on the basis of the EU funding key of 40 % (60 % to be co-financed by national supervisory authorities);

—	European Asylum Support Office (EASO), for which an additional amount of EUR 0,130 million is agreed;

—	EUROPOL, for which an additional amount of EUR 1,7 million is agreed; and

—	FRONTEX, for which an additional amount of EUR 2,0 million is agreed.

The Conciliation Committee agrees on the joint statement on decentralised agencies as set out in Section 3.4.

Executive agencies

The EU contribution (in commitment appropriations and in payment appropriations) and the number of posts for executive agencies are set at the level proposed by the Commission in Amending Letter 2/2014.

Joint Technology Initiatives (JTIs)

The EU contribution (in commitment appropriations and in payment appropriations) and the number of posts for Joint Technology Initiatives are set at the level proposed at the level proposed by the Commission in the Draft Budget (DB), as amended by Amending Letter No 1/2014.

Pilot Projects/Preparatory Actions

A comprehensive package of 68 pilot projects/preparatory actions (PP/PA), for an amount of EUR 79,4 million in commitment appropriations is agreed, as proposed by the Parliament. When a pilot project or a preparatory action appears to be covered by an existing legal basis, the Commission may propose the transfer of appropriations to the corresponding legal basis in order to facilitate the implementation of the action.

This package fully respects the ceilings for pilot projects and preparatory actions provided in the Financial Regulation.

1.3.   Expenditure headings of the financial framework — commitment appropriations

After taking into account the above conclusions on ‘closed’ budget lines, agencies and pilot projects and preparatory actions, the Conciliation Committee has agreed on the following:

Heading 1a

Commitment appropriations are set at the level proposed by the Commission in the Draft Budget, as amended by Amending Letter No 1 and No 2/2014, with the following exceptions:

in EUR million
Budget line	Name	Reinforcements/reductions of commitment appropriations
		DB 2014	Budget 2014	Difference
01 02 01	Coordination, surveillance and communication on the economic and monetary union, including the euro	13,000	11,000	-2,000
04 03 01 02	Social dialogue	38,500	—	-38,500
04 03 01 05	Information and training sessions for workers’ organisations	—	18,600	18,600
04 03 01 06	Information, consultation and participation of representatives undertakings	—	7,250	7,250
04 03 01 08	Industrial relations and social dialogue	—	15,935	15,935
04 03 02 02	EURES — Promoting workers’ geographical mobility and boosting employment opportunities	19,310	21,300	1,990
04 03 02 03	Microfinance and Social Entrepreneurship — Facilitating access to finance for entrepreneurs, especially those furthest from the labour market, and social enterprises	25,074	26,500	1,426
06 02 05	Support activities to the European transport policy and passenger rights, including communication activities	16,019	20,019	4,000
09 03 01	Accelerating the deployment of broadband networks	—	10,000	10,000
09 04 01 01	Strengthening research in FET — Future and Emerging Technologies	241,003	246,003	5,000
15 02 10	Special Annual Events	—	3,000	3,000
Total				26,701

As a consequence, and after taking into account pilot projects and preparatory actions, as well as decentralised agencies, the margin under the expenditure ceiling of heading 1a amounts to EUR 76,0 million.

Heading 1b

Commitment appropriations are set at the level proposed in the Draft Budget, as amended by Amending Letter No 1/2014, with the exception of the following budget lines, for each of which an amount of EUR 2,5 million in commitments is agreed:

—	13 03 67 ‘Macro regional strategies 2014-2020: European strategy for the Baltic Sea region — Technical assistance’ and

—	13 03 68 ‘Macro regional strategies 2014-2020: European strategy for the Danube region — Technical assistance’.

Furthermore, for the Fund for European Aid to the Most Deprived (FEAD, chapter 04 06) an additional amount of EUR 134,9 million in commitments is agreed. A corresponding amount in commitments is transferred from the European Social Fund (ESF, chapter 04 02), broken down as follows:

—	- EUR 67,9 million for the ‘Less developed regions’ (budget line 04 02 60)

—	- EUR 22,2 million for the ‘Transition regions’ (budget line 04 02 61)

—	- EUR 44,8 million for the ‘More developed regions’ (budget line 04 02 62)

The Flexibility Instrument will be mobilised for an amount of EUR 89,3 million for additional assistance to Cyprus.

Heading 2

Commitment appropriations are set at the level proposed by the Commission in the Draft Budget, as amended by Amending Letter No 2/2014, with the exception of:

—	budget line 05 08 80 Union participation at the World Exposition 2015 ‘Feeding the Planet — Energy for Life’ in Milan, for which an additional amount of EUR 1 million in commitments is agreed.

As a consequence, and after taking into account pilot projects and preparatory actions, the margin under the expenditure ceiling of heading 2 amounts to EUR 35,8 million.

Heading 3

Commitment appropriations are set at the level proposed by the Commission in the Draft Budget, as amended by Amending Letter No 2/2014, with the following exceptions:

in EUR million
Budget line	Name	Reinforcements of commitment appropriations
		DB 2014	Budget 2014	Difference
15 04 02	Supporting the cultural and creative sectors to operate in Europe and beyond and to promote transnational circulation and mobility	52,922	53,922	1,000
15 04 03	MEDIA sub-programme — Supporting the MEDIA cultural and creative sectors to operate in Europe and beyond and to promote transnational circulation and mobility	102,321	103,321	1,000
16 02 01	Europe for Citizens — Strengthening remembrance and enhancing capacity for civic participation at the Union level	21,050	23,050	2,000
16 03 01 01	Multimedia actions	18,740	25,540	6,800
33 02 02	Promoting non-discrimination and equality	30,651	31,151	0,500
Total				11,300

As a consequence, and after taking into account pilot projects and preparatory actions, as well as decentralised agencies, the margin under the expenditure ceiling of heading 3 amounts to EUR 7,0 million.

Heading 4

Commitment appropriations are set at the level proposed by the Commission in the Draft Budget, as amended by Amending Letter No 2/2014, with the following exceptions:

in EUR million
Budget line	Name	Reinforcements/reductions of commitment appropriations
		DB 2014	Budget 2014	Difference
01 03 02	Macro-financial assistance	76,257	60,000	-16,257
19 02 01	Response to crisis and emerging crisis (Instrument for Stability)	201,867	204,337	2,470
19 02 02	Support conflict prevention, crisis preparedness and peace building (Instrument for Stability)	22,000	22,494	0,494
19 05 01	Cooperation with third countries to advance and promote European Union and mutual interests	100,511	106,109	5,598
21 02 01 01	Latin America — poverty reduction and sustainable development	205,735	0,000	- 205,735
21 02 01 02	Latin America — democracy, rule of law, good governance and respect for human rights	48,259	0,000	-48,259
21 02 02 01	Asia — poverty reduction and sustainable development	581,964	0,000	- 581,964
21 02 02 02	Asia — democracy, rule of law, good governance and respect for human rights	154,699	0,000	- 154,699
21 02 03 01	Central Asia — poverty reduction and sustainable development	65,240	0,000	-65,240
21 02 03 02	Central Asia– democracy, rule of law, good governance and respect for human rights	4,911	0,000	-4,911
21 02 04 01	Middle East — poverty reduction and sustainable development	37,305	0,000	-37,305
21 02 04 02	Middle East — democracy, rule of law, good governance and respect for human rights	13,107	0,000	-13,107
21 02 05 01	South Africa — poverty reduction and sustainable development	22,768	0,000	-22,768
21 02 05 02	South Africa — democracy, rule of law, good governance and respect for human rights	2,530	0,000	-2,530
21 02 06 01	Pan-Africa — poverty reduction and sustainable development	85,210	0,000	-85,210
21 02 06 02	Pan-Africa — democracy, rule of law, good governance and respect for human rights	9,468	0,000	-9,468
21 02 07 01	Global Public Goods — poverty reduction and sustainable development	620,988	0,000	- 620,988
21 02 07 02	Global Public Goods — democracy, rule of law, good governance and respect for human rights	19,036	0,000	-19,036
21 02 07 03	Environment and climate change	0,000	163,094	163,094
21 02 07 04	Sustainable energy	0,000	82,852	82,852
21 02 07 05	Human development	0,000	163,094	163,094
21 02 07 06	Food security and sustainable agriculture	0,000	197,018	197,018
21 02 07 07	Migration and asylum	0,000	46,319	46,319
21 02 08 01	Non-State actors and Local authorities — Poverty reduction and sustainable development	183,452	0,000	- 183,452
21 02 08 02	Non-State actors and Local authorities — Democracy, rule of law, good governance and respect for human rights	61,151	0,000	-61,151
21 02 08 03	Civil society in development	0,000	212,399	212,399
21 02 08 04	Local authorities in development	0,000	36,366	36,366
21 02 09	Middle East	0,000	51,182	51,182
21 02 10	Central Asia	0,000	71,571	71,571
21 02 11	Pan Africa	0,000	97,577	97,577
21 02 12	Latin America	0,000	259,304	259,304
21 02 13	South Africa	0,000	25,978	25,978
21 02 14	Asia	0,000	537,057	537,057
21 02 15	Afghanistan	0,000	203,497	203,497
21 03 01 01	Mediterranean countries — human rights and mobility	205,355	211,087	5,731
21 03 01 02	Mediterranean countries — poverty reduction and sustainable development	680,400	687,811	7,411
21 03 01 03	Mediterranean countries — confidence building, security and the prevention and settlement of conflicts	75,950	80,199	4,249
21 03 01 04	Support to peace process and financial assistance to Palestine and to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA)	250,000	300,000	50,000
21 03 02 01	Eastern Partnership — human rights and mobility	240,841	247,067	6,226
21 03 02 02	Eastern Partnership — poverty reduction and sustainable development	335,900	339,853	3,953
21 03 02 03	Eastern Partnership — confidence building, security and the prevention and settlement of conflicts	11,800	12,966	1,166
21 03 03 03	Support to other multi-country cooperation in the neighbourhood	163,277	163,771	0,494
21 04 01	Enhancing the respect for and observance of human rights and fundamental freedoms and supporting democratic reforms	127,841	132,782	4,941
21 05 01	Global and trans-regional security threats (Instrument for Stability)	81,514	82,255	0,741
21 08 02	Coordination and promotion of awareness on development issues	11,700	13,331	1,631
22 02 01	Support to Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, Serbia and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
22 02 01 01	Support for political reforms and progressive alignment with and adoption, implementation and enforcement of the ‘acquis communautaire’	248,565	249,800	1,235
22 02 01 02	Support for economic, social and territorial development	248,565	249,800	1,235
22 02 03	Support to Turkey
22 02 03 01	Support for political reforms and progressive alignment with and adoption, implementation and enforcement of the ‘acquis communautaire’	292,938	294,173	1,235
22 02 03 02	Support for economic, social and territorial development	292,938	294,173	1,235
22 03 01	Financial support for encouraging the economic development of the Turkish Cypriot community	30,000	31,482	1,482
23 02 01	Delivery of rapid, effective and needs-based humanitarian aid and food assistance	859,529	874,529	15,000
Total				131,755

As a consequence, and after taking into account pilot projects and preparatory actions, the margin under the expenditure ceiling of heading 4 amounts to EUR 10,0 million.

Heading 5

As far as establishment plan posts of the Sections are concerned, the level proposed by the Commission in the Draft Budget, as amended by Amending Letter No 2/2014, is agreed, with the exception of the European Parliament, for which its own reading is agreed.

Commitment appropriations are set at the level proposed by the Commission in the Draft Budget, as amended by Amending Letter No 2/2014, with the exception of:

—	The amounts corresponding to the possible impact of the 2011 and 2012 salary adjustments, which are not included in the budgets of each Section at this stage, pending the ruling of the Court of Justice. The Conciliation Committee agrees on the joint statement as set out in Section 3.5;

—

Furthermore, as far as the appropriations of the other Sections are concerned, the level proposed by the European Parliament is agreed, with the following exceptions: — For the Court of Auditors (Section V), the abatement rate proposed by the Council is agreed; — For the Court of Justice (Section IV), excluding the reduction of EUR 0,6 million proposed by the European Parliament; — For the European External Action Service (Section X), excluding the transfer of the EU Special Representatives proposed by the European Parliament. The Conciliation Committee agrees on the joint statement as set out in Section 3.6.

—	In addition, three new lines (30 01 16 01, 30 01 16 02, 30 01 16 03) are included in the budget of the Commission (Section III), with the corresponding level of appropriations proposed by the European Parliament in its reading.

As a consequence, and after taking into account pilot projects and preparatory actions, the margin under the expenditure ceiling of heading 5 amounts to EUR 316,8 million.

Creation of function group AST/SC

The establishment plans of all EU Institutions and bodies will be modified to take account of the creation in the Staff Regulations of the new AST/SC function group, as proposed in Amending Letter No 2/2014.

Heading 6

Commitment appropriations are set at the level proposed by the Commission in the Draft Budget.

1.4.   Special instruments

Commitment appropriations for the Emergency Aid Reserve (EAR) and the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF) are set at the level proposed by the Commission in the Draft Budget.

1.5.   Payment appropriations

The overall level of payment appropriations in the 2014 budget is set at EUR 135 504 613 000.

The Council position on the Draft Budget is used as a starting point to apply the following allocation of payment appropriations across budget lines in 2014:

1.	First, account is taken of the agreed level of commitment appropriations for non-differentiated expenditure, for which the level of payment appropriations by definition is equal to the level of commitments;

2.	By analogy, the same applies to decentralised agencies, for which the EU contribution in payment appropriations is set at the level proposed in section 1.2 above;

3.

The payment appropriations for all new pilot projects and preparatory actions are set at 50 % of the corresponding commitment appropriations, or to the level proposed by Parliament if lower; in the case of extension of existing pilot projects and preparatory actions the level of payments is the one defined in the Draft Budget plus 50 % of the corresponding new commitments, or to the level proposed by Parliament if lower;

4.

The following specific amounts in payment appropriations are agreed: a. The level of payment appropriations for the EU Solidarity Fund in 2014 is set at EUR 150 million; b. The level of payment appropriations for the Joint Technology Initiatives is set at the level proposed in Amending Letter No 1/2014, whereas the level of payment appropriations for the International Fisheries Agreements is set at the level proposed in Amending Letter No 2/2014; c. The level of payment appropriations for ‘Support to peace process and financial assistance to Palestine and to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA)’ is set at EUR 200 million; d. The level of payment appropriations for the Macro-regional strategies 2014-2020 is set at 50 % of the level of commitments defined under heading 1b in section 1.3 above; e. The level of payment appropriations for the Special Annual Events is set at the level of commitments defined under heading 1a in section 1.3 above.

5.

The level of payment appropriations set in paragraphs 2 to 4 has a net impact of EUR 285 million compared with the Council position on the Draft Budget for the expenditure items concerned. Taking into account the difference between the overall level of payment appropriations of EUR 135 504 613 000 and the Council position on the Draft Budget, the remaining amount of EUR 215 million allows for an increase of payment appropriations across all budget lines with differentiated appropriations for which no specific rules have been defined in the paragraphs 2 to 4 above, in proportion with the difference between the Draft Budget proposed by the Commission and the Council position.

As part of the overall compromise, the Conciliation Committee agrees on the joint statement on payment appropriations as set out in section 3.1 below.

The Council takes note of the joint statement of the European Parliament and the Commission on payment appropriations as set out in section 3.2 below.

1.6.   Budgetary remarks

All amendments introduced by the European Parliament or the Council to the text of budgetary remarks are agreed with changes as set out in Annex 1. This is with the understanding that they cannot modify or extend the scope of an existing legal base, or impinge on the administrative autonomy of institutions, and that the action can be covered by available resources.

1.7.   New budget lines

Unless mentioned otherwise in the joint conclusions agreed by the Conciliation Committee or agreed jointly by both arms of the budgetary authority in their respective reading, the budget nomenclature as proposed by the Commission in its Draft Budget and its Amending Letters No 1 and No 2/2014 will remain unchanged, with the exception of pilot projects and preparatory actions.

These commonly agreed nomenclature changes concern the following budget lines:

Budget line	Name
04 03 01 05	Information and training sessions for workers’ organisations
04 03 01 06	Information, consultation and participation of representatives undertakings
04 03 01 08	Industrial relations and social dialogue
15 02 01	Promoting excellence and cooperation in the European education, training and youth area, its relevance to the labour market and the participation of young people in European democratic life
15 02 01 01	Education and training
15 02 01 02	Youth
15 02 10	Special Annual Events
21 02 07 03	Environment and climate change
21 02 07 04	Sustainable energy
21 02 07 05	Human development
21 02 07 06	Food security and sustainable agriculture
21 02 07 07	Migration and asylum
21 02 08 03	Civil society in development
21 02 08 04	Local authorities in development
21 02 09	Middle East
21 02 10	Central Asia
21 02 11	Pan Africa
21 02 12	Latin America
21 02 13	South Africa
21 02 14	Asia
21 02 15	Afghanistan
30 01 16 01	Retirement Pensions of former Members of the European Parliament
30 01 16 02	Invalidity Pensions of former Members of the European Parliament
30 01 16 03	Survivor’s Pensions of former Members of the European Parliament

The budget remarks for the new budget lines on Social Dialogue, as proposed by the Commission, are set out in the Annex.

1.8.   Reserves

The reserve of EUR 2 million set by the European Parliament on budget line 01 02 01 ‘Coordination, surveillance and communication on the economic and monetary union, including the euro’ is agreed.

1.9.   Revenues

The revenue side of the budget is approved as proposed by the Commission in the Draft Budget, as amended by Amending Letter No 2/2014 adjusted to the level of payments agreed in the Conciliation Committee.

2.   Budget 2013

Draft Amending Budget (DAB) No 8/2013 is agreed with the amounts as proposed by the Council.

DAB No 9/2013 is agreed as proposed by the Council, with the following amendments:

1.

A reinforcement of EUR 200 million to meet outstanding needs for payment appropriations in 2013 in the field of research is agreed, on the following budget lines: in EUR million Budget line Name Reinforcement in payment appropriations in 2013 06 06 02 03 SESAR Joint Undertaking 12,458  million 08 02 02 Cooperation — Health — Innovative Medicines Initiative Joint Undertaking 17,981  million 08 04 01 Cooperation — Nanosciences, nanotechnologies, materials and new production technologies 19,936  million 08 06 01 Cooperation — Environment (including climate change) 2,804  million 08 10 01 Ideas 41,884  million 08 19 01 Capacities — Support for coherent development of research policies 0,406  million 09 04 01 01 Support for research cooperation in the area of information and communication technologies (ICTs — Cooperation) 40,813  million 10 03 01 Nuclear activities of the Joint Research Centre (JRC) 0,406  million 15 07 77 People 63,313  million Total 200 million

2.

A redeployment of payment appropriations for a total amount of EUR 50 million in 2013 is agreed from the following budget lines: in EUR million Budget line Name Redeployments of payment appropriations Budget 2013 DAB 9/2013 Difference 01 03 02 Macro-Financial Assistance     10,000 04 05 01 European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF)     13,116 08 01 04 31 Research Executive Agency (REA)     3,915 08 01 05 01 Expenditure related to research staff     7,230 08 01 05 03 Other management expenditure for research     15,739 Total     50,000

The redeployment of payment appropriations for administrative support expenditure for research (chapter 08 01) in 2013 concerns non-differentiated expenditure, which leads to a corresponding reduction in commitment appropriations (- EUR 26,9 million) on the last three lines in the table above.

An amount of EUR 250 million of payment appropriations for the EU Solidarity Fund in included in the 2013 budget, whereas an amount of EUR 150 million of payment appropriations for the EU Solidarity Fund is included in the 2014 budget.

3.   Statements

3.1.   Joint statement on payment appropriations

The European Parliament, the Council, and the Commission recall their shared responsibility, as laid down in Article 323 of the Treaty on the Functioning the European Union (TFEU), that ‘the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission shall ensure that the financial means are made available to allow the Union to fulfil its legal obligation in respect of third parties’.

The European Parliament and the Council recall the need to ensure, in the light of implementation, an orderly progression of payments so as to avoid any abnormal shift of outstanding commitments (‘RAL’) onto the 2015 budget. In this respect, they will have recourse, when appropriate, to the various flexibility mechanisms included in the MFF Regulation, among others in its Article 13.

The European Parliament and the Council agree to set the level of payment appropriations for 2014 at EUR 135 504 613 000. They ask the Commission to initiate any necessary action, on the basis of the provisions of the draft MFF Regulation and the Financial Regulation, to cover the responsibility assigned by the Treaty and, in particular, after having examined the scope for reallocation of the relevant appropriations, with particular reference to any expected under-implementation of appropriations (Financial Regulation Article 41§ 2) to request additional payment appropriations in an amending budget if the appropriations entered in the 2014 budget are insufficient to cover expenditure.

The European Parliament and the Council will take position on any draft amending budget as quickly as possible in order to avoid any shortfall in payment appropriations. In addition, the European Parliament and the Council undertake to process swiftly any possible transfer of payment appropriations, including across financial framework headings, in order to make the best possible use of payment appropriations entered in the budget and align them to actual execution and needs.

The European Parliament, the Council and the Commission will, throughout the year, actively monitor the state of implementation of the 2014 budget, in particular under sub-heading 1b (Economic, social and territorial cohesion) and rural development under heading 2 (Sustainable Growth: Natural Resources). This will take the form of dedicated inter-institutional meetings, in accordance with point 36 of the Annex of the Interinstitutional Agreement, to take stock of payment implementation and revised forecasts.

3.2.   European Parliament and Commission statement on payment appropriations

The European Parliament and the Commission recall the need for specific and maximum flexibility within the 2014-2020 MFF. Changes to the proposed legal bases agreed by the legislative authority will lead to further pressure on the payment ceilings under the 2014-2020 MFF. In the context of the finalisation of the legislative package for the Cohesion policy 2014-2020 and taking into account the possible impact of the SME initiative, the Commission issued a declaration on the impact of the agreement reached on the performance reserve and pre-financing levels, on payment needs. Whilst the overall impact of these changes on additional payment appropriations in the 2014-2020 MFF is considered to remain limited, the Commission stated that the annual fluctuations in the global level of payments would be managed through the use of the global margin for payments. If needed, the Commission may also have recourse to the Flexibility Instrument and the Contingency Margin agreed upon in the draft MFF Regulation.

Therefore, the Commission intends to propose correcting measures in light of implementation, using, to the extent necessary, all the tools offered by the new MFF. Specifically, in the course of 2014 the Commission may have to propose to have recourse to the Contingency Margin, in accordance with Article 13 of the draft MFF Regulation.

3.3.   Council statement on payment appropriations

The Council recalls that the special instruments can only be activated to cater for genuinely unforeseen circumstances.

It recalls that the Contingency Margin shall not result in exceeding the total ceilings of commitment and payment appropriations.

As regards other special instruments, the Council recalls that Article 3(2) of the draft MFF Regulation states that commitment appropriations may be entered in the budget over and above the ceilings of the relevant headings.

3.4.   Joint statement on decentralised agencies

The European Parliament, the Council and the Commission recall the importance to progressively reduce the staffing levels of all EU institutions, bodies and agencies by 5 % over five years, as agreed in point 23 of the draft Interinstitutional Agreement on budgetary discipline, cooperation in budgetary matters and on sound financial management.

The European Parliament and the Council commit to pursue progressively the above-mentioned 5 % staff reduction for the period 2013-2017 while insisting as well on the proper functioning of the agencies so that they can fulfil the tasks they have been assigned by the legislative authority. In this respect, they consider that further measures, including structural ones, may be required to achieve this reduction for decentralised agencies. In this context, the Commission will continue its assessment of the possibilities to merge and/or wind-up some of the existing agencies, and/or other ways to achieve synergies.

Further to the work carried out by the Inter-Institutional Working Group, which resulted in the Common Approach on decentralised agencies agreed in July 2012, the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission agree on the need for a closer and more permanent scrutiny on the development of decentralised agencies to ensure a coherent approach. Without prejudice to their respective prerogatives, they agree to establish a specific inter-institutional working group with the aim of defining a clear development path for agencies, based on objective criteria. The Group should in particular discuss:

—	Evaluation of establishment plans on a case-by-case basis;

—	Ways to provide adequate appropriations and staff for additional tasks, assigned to individual agencies by the legislative authority;

—	Treatment of agencies which are fully or partially fee-financed;

—	Administrative structure of agencies, financing models, treatment of assigned revenues;

—	Reassessment of needs; potential mergers/closures; transfer of tasks to the Commission.

The European Parliament and the Council will take into due account the results achieved by the Inter-Institutional Working Group in their deliberations as legislative and budgetary authority.

3.5.   Joint statement on heading 5 and salary adjustments

The European Parliament and the Council agree that pending the outcome of the cases before the European Court of Justice, the appropriations related to the proposed salary adjustments of 1,7 % for 2011 and 1,7 % for 2012 will not be included at this stage in the 2014 budget.

Should the Court of Justice rule in favour of the Commission, the Commission will present a Draft Amending Budget in 2014 in order to cover the proposed salary adjustments, for all the Sections. Under such a scenario, the European Parliament and the Council undertake to act swiftly on the relevant Draft Amending Budget.

3.6.   Joint statement on EU Special Representatives

The Parliament and the Council agree to examine the transfer of appropriations for the European Union Special Representatives from the Commission's budget (Section III) to the budget of the European External Action Service (Section X) in the context of the 2015 budgetary procedure.