11.8.2017   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 265/167

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having regard to Article 314 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

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having regard to Article 106a of the Treaty establishing the European Atomic Energy Community,

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having regard to Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2012 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union and repealing Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 (1), and in particular Article 41 thereof,

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having regard to the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2015, as definitively adopted on 17 December 2014 (2),

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having regard to Amending budget No 1/2015 , as definitively adopted on 28 April 2015 (3),

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having regard to Council Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 1311/2013 of 2 December 2013 laying down the multiannual financial framework for the years 2014-2020 (4) (MFF Regulation),

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having regard to Council Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2015/623 of 21 April 2015 amending Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 1311/2013 laying down the multiannual financial framework for the years 2014-2020 (5),

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having regard to the Interinstitutional Agreement of 2 December 2013 between the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission on budgetary discipline, on cooperation in budgetary matters and on sound financial management (6),

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having regard to Draft amending budget No 1/2015, which the Commission adopted on 13 January 2015 (COM(2015)0011),

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having regard to the position on Draft amending budget No 1/2015 which the Council adopted on 26 June 2015 and forwarded to Parliament on the same day (09876/2015 — C8-0172/2015),

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having regard to Regulation (EU) 2015/1017 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 June 2015 on the European Fund for Strategic Investments, the European Investment Advisory Hub and the European Investment Project Portal and amending Regulations (EU) No 1291/2013 and (EU) No 1316/2013 — the European Fund for Strategic Investments (7),

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having regard to Rules 88 and 91 of its Rules of Procedure,

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having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgets and the opinions of the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy, the Committee on Transport and Tourism and the Committee on Regional Development (A8-0221/2015),

A.

whereas Draft amending budget No 1/2015 aims to transpose the necessary changes to the budget nomenclature in line with the legislative agreement on the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI) and to provide for the necessary reallocation of EUR 1 360 million in commitment appropriations and EUR 10 million in payment appropriations;

B.

whereas for the provisioning of the EU guarantee fund in 2015, a total amount of EUR 1 350 million is being redeployed from the Connecting Europe Facility (EUR 790 million), Horizon 2020 (EUR 70 million) and ITER (EUR 490 million) in commitment appropriations;

C.

whereas the Commission intends to offset the reduction for ITER by an equivalent increase over the period 2018-2020;

D.

whereas the provisioning in commitment and payment appropriations of the European Investment Advisory Hub, amounting to EUR 10 million each, is fully redeployed from ITER (budget article 08 04 01 02);

E.

whereas all additional appropriations to implement the EFSI in commitments and payments are fully redeployed, thus leaving the overall commitment and payment appropriations in the 2015 budget unchanged;

1.

Takes note of Draft amending budget No 1/2015, as submitted by the Commission, and of the Council's position thereon;

2.

Welcomes that a speedy agreement on the EFSI was made possible due to the determination of all institutions to ensure its launch as quickly as possible; while the outcome of the negotiations is better than the original Commission proposal, regrets the negative impact on Horizon 2020 and CEF;

3.

Reiterates the role of the Union budget in creating added value by pooling resources and ensuring a high degree of synergies between the European Structural and Investment Funds and EFSI while enhancing the multiplying effect of Union contributions; supports the mobilisation of additional sources of private and public finance to fund investment on goals of a European dimension, in particular by addressing cross-border challenges in areas such as energy, environment and transport infrastructure;

4.

Welcomes the fact that an additional EUR 1 000 million compared to the initial Commission proposal will be financed through the Global MFF margin for commitments, stemming from margins left available in the 2014 and 2015 budgets, thus reducing the redeployment from CEF and Horizon 2020; recalls that, according to Article 14 of the MFF Regulation, resources under the Global MFF Margin for commitments will only be made available as of 2016;

5.

Regrets, however, in general the redeployment from CEF and Horizon 2020 as they are essential programmes for jobs and growths in Europe; intends therefore to remedy these redeployments in the upcoming annual budgetary procedures;

6.

Points out that investment in research and transport is vital in order to strengthen the role and aim of the Union budget to stimulate growth, competitiveness and employment and to move towards the goals of the Europe 2020 strategy; recalls in this regard that the Horizon 2020 and the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) programmes are key programmes under Heading 1a ‘Competitiveness for growth and jobs’;

7.

Affirms its willingness to adopt Draft amending budget No 1/2015 as modified by the Council in line with the legislative agreement on the EFSI, given its interest in launching the EFSI as quickly as possible;

8.

Approves therefore the Council position on Draft amending budget No 1/2015;

9.

Instructs its President to declare that Amending budget No 2/2015 has been definitively adopted and arrange for its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union;

10.

Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Court of Auditors and the national parliaments.