What changed

MOTION FOR A EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT RESOLUTION

on the Council position on Draft amending budget No 5/2024 of the European Union for the financial year 2024 - adjustment in payment appropriations, update of revenues and other technical updates

(00000/2024(14477/2024 – C100000/2024C100186/2024 – 2024/0252(BUD))

The European Parliament,

– having regard to Council Decision (EU, Euratom) 2020/2053 EU of 14 December 2020 on the system of own resources of the European Union and repealing Decision 2014/335/EU, Euratom,

– having regard to Draft amending budget No 5/2024, which the Commission adopted on 10 October 2024 (COM(2024)0651),(COM(2024)0650),

– having regard to the position on Draft amending budget No 5/2024, which the Council adopted on [XX.XX.2024]5 November 2024 and forwarded to Parliament on [XX.XX.2024]12 (00000/2024November 2024 (14477/2024 – C10-0000/2024),C10-0186/2024),

– having regard to Rules 96 and 98 of its Rules of Procedure,

– having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgets (A10-0000/2024),(A10-0017/2024),

A. whereas the purpose of Draft amending budget No 5/2024 is to make adjustments to expenditure, in particular as regards payment appropriations, and to update revenue for the Union budget;

4. Notes that the increased payment needs are almost entirely covered through revenue from fines and penalties, in particular the EUR 2,4 billion competition fine imposed on Google for antitrust infringements;

5. Welcomes the inclusion of revenue and expenditure budget lines for the Ukraine Loan Cooperation Mechanism; underlines the importance of sustained financial support to Ukraine in a context where financing under the Ukraine Facility and existing macro-financial assistance (MFA) arrangements falls short of needs;

5. Reiterates the need for long-term sustainable revenue for the Union budget, which has been severely stretched to respond to various crises in recent years; deplores, therefore, the absence of progress in the Council on the reform of the own resources system in line with the roadmap in the Interinstitutional Agreement; recalls its position in support of the amended Commission proposals and urges the Council and the Member States to adopt those proposals swiftly in order to increase the own resources available to the Union budget; recalls its long-standing position that fines and fees should be used as supplementary revenue for the Union budget;

6. Recalls that additional MFA loans will be underwritten by the budget’s headroom and reiterates its call to the Commission to provide the budgetary authority with details on the aggregation of liabilities to the headroom contingent on borrowing and lending operations; expects the Commission to provide Parliament and Council with all necessary information as per its statement annexed to Regulation [..] establishing the Ukraine Loan Cooperation Mechanism and providing exceptional macro-financial assistance to Ukraine;

6. Welcomes the inclusion of revenue and expenditure budget lines for the Ukraine Loan Cooperation Mechanism; underlines the importance of sustained financial support to Ukraine in a context where financing under the Ukraine Facility and existing macro-financial assistance (MFA) arrangements falls short of needs;

7. Takes note of the higher-than-budgeted salary adjustment for 2024, which impacts both remuneration and pensions, with a higher-than-forecast number of new pensioners in 2024 further pushing up pension costs; welcomes the fact that almost all additional costs across institutions have been covered through internal redeployments and that recourse to the Single Margin Instrument is therefore contained;

7. Recalls that additional MFA loans will be underwritten by the budget’s headroom and reiterates its call to the Commission to provide the budgetary authority with details on the aggregation of liabilities to the headroom contingent on borrowing and lending operations; expects the Commission to provide Parliament and Council with all necessary information as per its statement annexed to Regulation (EU) 2024/2773 of the European Parliament and of the Council;

8. Underlines that the salary adjustment also affects decentralised agencies, which have been struggling with inflation above the 2 % deflator by which their annual budgets increase and are particular insofar as staff and operating costs represent a large portion of their outgoings; welcomes the fact that agencies that could not find the resources through redeployments see a 1,7 % increase in the Union contribution; reiterates that the current treatment of decentralised agencies’ budgets as separate from administrative spending under Heading 7 of the MFF requires further reflection as part of the Commission’s preparations for the post-2027 MFF;

8. Takes note of the higher-than-budgeted salary adjustment for 2024, which impacts both remuneration and pensions, with a higher-than-forecast number of new pensioners in 2024 further pushing up pension costs; welcomes the fact that almost all additional costs across institutions have been covered through internal redeployments and that recourse to the Single Margin Instrument is therefore contained;

9. Notes the increase in appropriations for European Union Agency for the Operational Management of Large-Scale IT Systems in the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice (eu-LISA) to cover rising costs and the corresponding decrease in appropriations for the European Union Asylum Agency (EUAA); recalls that the EUAA was reinforced as part of the mid-term revision of the MFF in order to enable it to carry out new tasks in accordance with the Pact on Migration and Asylum; calls on the Commission to work closely with the agency to ensure that it is equipped to perform those new tasks and absorb the additional appropriations from 2025;

9. Underlines that the salary adjustment also affects decentralised agencies, which have been struggling with inflation above the 2 % deflator by which their annual budgets increase and are particular insofar as staff and operating costs represent a large portion of their outgoings; welcomes the fact that agencies that could not find the resources through redeployments see a 1,7 % increase in the Union contribution; reiterates that the current treatment of decentralised agencies’ budgets requires further reflection as part of the Commission’s preparations for the post-2027 MFF;

10. Welcomes the additional appropriations for the EU Agency for Law Enforcement Training (CEPOL) in 2024 in the wake of the June 2024 cyber-attack on the agency; insists on the need for lessons to be learnt and for further technical support to be provided to other agencies by the Cybersecurity Service for the Union entities (CERT-EU), in view of the high cybersecurity threat;

10. Notes the increase in appropriations for European Union Agency for the Operational Management of Large-Scale IT Systems in the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice (eu-LISA) to cover rising costs, though is concerned about the corresponding decrease in appropriations for the European Union Asylum Agency (EUAA); welcomes the fact that the EUAA was reinforced as part of the mid-term revision of the MFF in order to enable it to carry out new tasks with respect to the implementation of the Pact on Migration and Asylum; calls on the Commission to work closely with both agencies to ensure that they are equipped to perform their tasks in full and absorb the additional appropriations assigned to them;

11. Underlines the importance of the newly established Anti-Money Laundering Authority in the revised anti-money laundering framework at Union level; is therefore deeply concerned by the delays in the set-up phase, in particular in relation to recruitment;

11. Welcomes the additional appropriations for the EU Agency for Law Enforcement Training (CEPOL) in 2024 in the wake of the June 2024 cyber-attack on the agency; insists on the need for lessons to be learnt and for further technical support to be provided to other agencies and institutions by the Cybersecurity Service for the Union entities (CERT-EU), in view of the high cybersecurity threat and in order to ensure that another attack does not compromise any Union agency or institution;

12. Welcomes the fact that, with the recast Financial Regulation now in force, it is possible to include negative revenue in the budget for the payment of compensatory interest in lost court cases; notes that the Commission is currently establishing the precise amount of such interest and calls on the Commission to provide this information to the budgetary authority as soon as possible in 2025;

12. Underlines the importance of the newly established Anti-Money Laundering Authority in the revised anti-money laundering framework at Union level; is therefore deeply concerned by the delays in the set-up phase, in particular in relation to recruitment;

13. Approves the Council position on Draft amending budget No 5/2024;

13. Welcomes the fact that, with the recast Financial Regulation now in force, it is possible to include negative revenue in the budget for the payment of compensatory interest in lost court cases; notes that the Commission is currently establishing the precise amount of such interest and calls on the Commission to provide this information to the budgetary authority as soon as possible in 2025;

14. Instructs its President to declare that Amending budget No 5/2024 has been definitively adopted and arrange for its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union;

14. Approves the Council position on Draft amending budget No 5/2024;

15. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission and the national parliaments.

15. Instructs its President to declare that Amending budget No 5/2024 has been definitively adopted and arrange for its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union;

16. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission and the national parliaments.

ANNEX: ENTITIES OR PERSONS FROM WHOM THE RAPPORTEUR HAS RECEIVED INPUT

Pursuant to Article 8 of Annex I to the Rules of Procedure, the rapporteur declares that he has received input from the following entities or persons in the preparation of the report, prior to the adoption thereof in committee:

The list above is drawn up under the exclusive responsibility of the rapporteur.

Where natural persons are identified in the list by their name, by their function or by both, the rapporteur declares that he has submitted to the concerned natural persons the European Parliament's Data Protection Notice No 484 (https://www.europarl.europa.eu/data-protect/index.do), which sets out the conditions applicable to the processing of their personal data and the rights linked to that processing.

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