31.8.2013   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

CE 251/37

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having regard to Articles 313 and 314 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

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having regard to the Interinstitutional Agreement of 17 May 2006 between the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission on budgetary discipline and sound financial management (1) (IIA),

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having regard to the Commission’s updated financial programming for 2007-2013, submitted in accordance with Point 46 of the aforementioned IIA of 17 May 2006,

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having regard to the European Union’s general budget for the 2012 financial year (2),

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having regard to the Council conclusions of 21 February 2012 on the budget guidelines for 2013,

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having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgets (A7-0040/2012),

1.

Acknowledges the fiscal consolidation efforts undertaken by most Member States because of the financial and budgetary crisis; underlines, however, the fact that the EU will never be able to respond properly to the current economic and social crisis or prevent future crises without further political integration, common instruments, such as automatic sanctions, and the Commission having the right to take legal action in a deficit procedure, but also common EU-funded programmes and the resources to make them work; insists, that economic recovery requires measures to strengthen solidarity and boost sustainable growth and employment; welcomes the fact that the European Council recognised this in its statement of 30 January 2012 and in its Conclusions following the Summit of 1-2 March 2012, but insists on the need for concrete measures to be taken, notably by making use of the EU budget as a common instrument; underlines the fact that the priorities singled out in the above-mentioned statements are those defended by Parliament in previous budgetary procedures;

2.

Continues to be concerned at the unprecedented global crisis that has seriously damaged economic growth and financial stability and provoked a strong deterioration in the government deficit and debt position of the Member States; understands the Council’s concern regarding economic and budgetary constraints at national level and insists that 2013 will be a key year for economic recovery;

3.

Recalls that the European Union’s budget is one of the most important instruments where solidarity between Member States and between generations is being demonstrated, and that it provides a clear added value, given its extraordinary impact on the real economy and daily lives of European citizens; recalls that if the Union’s policies were to be financed solely by Member States, their costs would skyrocket and that, seen in this light and if used in a synergetic manner, the European budget intrinsically represents a clear common saving for the wellbeing of all; takes the view that austerity measures undertaken at national level should not lead to an equivalent decrease at EU level, since one euro spent at this level can generate savings in the 27 Member States;

4.

Stresses that, in times of crisis more than ever, the collective efforts made at EU level must be strengthened in order to ensure that our actions deliver results; underlines the fact that the annual European Union budget with its leverage effect, the priorities in national budgets and all other European instruments must support Member States' recovery policies and need to be aligned with the Europe 2020 Strategy for Growth and Jobs, and that this is essential for the Strategy’s success and in order to maintain confidence in EU policies, especially amongst its citizens; stresses that, given its role as a catalyst for investment, lowering the level of the EU budget would have an adverse impact on the creation of growth and jobs in the Union;

5.

Takes the view that the promotion of growth and jobs requires specific actions and enhanced budgetary efforts to support a sustainable and long-term industrial policy, competitiveness, innovation and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), since most of the EU's economic potential lies in SMEs, which, according to latest studies, created 85% of net new jobs in the EU between 2002 and 2010 and are the backbone of our economic growth; therefore the promotion of entrepreneurial mindsets and business start-ups through concrete actions is of utmost importance and adequate resources should be provided for that purpose; acknowledges, therefore, that efforts need to be made to further strengthen EU funding in support of growth efforts;

6.

Stresses that such support would be instrumental in preventing SMEs from cutting back their investments, in particular in research and development, while at the same time promoting employment and professional training, especially for younger citizens and ensuring that skills are conserved; considers that strengthening EIB support for SMEs and infrastructure should be considered a key priority thus helping to unleash SMEs’ innovation potential, which is essential to the EU’s prosperity and to the creation of a knowledge-based society; stresses in this context the need to further simplify the application procedure for EU-funded programmes;

7.

Believes that increased investments through the EU budget in a sustainable economy could lead to a higher rate of job creation than with the current budget; such investments could thus contribute significantly to getting the EU back on a growth track;

8.

Underlines the fact that the results of the Europe 2020 Strategy depend to a large extent on today's youth, which is the highest-educated, most technically advanced and most mobile ever, and therefore is and will be the biggest asset for growth and jobs in the EU; is concerned about the high level of youth unemployment in Member States; this being the case, stresses that every effort must be made at EU and national level to ensure that growth and jobs are a reality, especially for young people, who represent the EU's common future; equally highlights the need to address urgently the challenges of unemployment and the growing level of poverty in the European Union in the spirit of the flagship initiative "European Platform against poverty and social exclusion";

9.

Takes note of the Commission's proposal to redirect EUR 82 billion of the money still to be programmed under all EU structural funds (the European Regional Development Fund and the European Social Fund) into helping SMEs and combating youth unemployment; asks to be kept duly informed about this initiative, its implementation and its eventual impact for the 2013 budget;

10.

Underlines the fact that all the measures taken so far to combat the crisis should help to return to the path of growth; stresses, in this regard, that the tailor-made austerity measures already taken need to be accompanied by targeted investments resulting in sustainable economic development; points out that the EU budget has a decisive role to play in this context as a tool to ensure prompt and well-coordinated action in all fields in order to mitigate the effects of the crisis on the real economy and to act as a catalyst to boost investment, growth and jobs in Europe;

11.

Stresses that well-coordinated, coherent and timely implementation of political commitments and priorities shared at national and EU level requires national and European institutions to work together to prioritise public spending on growth areas, assess ex ante the effects of planned actions, increase synergies between them and ensure that they have a positive impact by removing obstacles and tapping into under-utilised potential; in this regard, underlines the importance of continuing to organise, before the Spring Summit, the presentation by the Commission of its draft budget, and the start of the national budgetary procedures in Member States, interparliamentary debates on the common economic and budgetary orientations of the Member States and the Union in order to ensure that there is coordination between the national and EU budgets in the general framework of Parliament’s upgraded activities in the European Semester in order to enhance its democratic legitimacy as demanded in the resolution of 1 December 2011 on the European Semester for Economic Policy Coordination;

12.

Calls for the adoption of a responsible and result-oriented budget, based on good-quality spending and optimal and timely use of existing EU financing; in the spirit of the statement of 30 January 2012 by the Members of the European Council; emphasises the need to invest in growth and jobs, especially in terms of SMEs and young people; underlines its intention of engaging, together with the specialised parliamentary committees, not only in the identification of concrete areas where actions need to be strengthened, but also in identifying possible negative priorities;

13.

Stresses that the EU budget represents an investment solely directed towards policies and actions demonstrating EU added value; draws attention to the fact that the EU budget – which cannot run into deficit – has a leverage effect on growth and employment much higher than that of national spending, as does its capacity to gear up investment, deliver stability in Europe and help the EU out of the current economic and financial crisis; underlines, however, the need to leverage more investments in order not to endanger key projects for economic recovery and competitiveness; highlights, in this context, the fact that developing new and improved financial instruments could further enhance the leverage effect of EU spending’s contribution to growth, by attracting private investment, thus compensating for constraints at national level and optimising public spending;

14.

Recalls that between 2000 and 2011, national budgets in the EU increased on average by 62% while EU budget payments increased by slightly less than 42%, whereas the EU grew from 15 to 27 Member States;

15.

Will pay specific attention, in the context of the 2013 budgetary procedure, to the implementation of the EP’s previous years’ budgetary priorities and will, in particular, follow closely the funding and implementation of the Europe 2020 Strategy, which is fully endorsed by Member States, in terms of promoting competitiveness and employment, as well as of its other sectoral priorities;

16.

Welcomes the fact that the in the latest version of the financial programming for 2012-13 the Commission respected the EP’s 2012 budgetary priorities, as it did in 2011, by not offsetting past increases; asks for the 2013 draft budget to follow the same line;

17.

Recalls that the ceilings for several headings, in particular Heading 1a (competitiveness for growth and jobs) and Heading 4 (the EU as a global actor) within the current financial framework are insufficient to meet the policies approved as priorities by Parliament, the Council and the Commission; recalls, moreover, that the appropriations allocated for some policies have had to be revised several times in order to meet new goals and tasks, making the use of the Flexibility Instrument necessary in almost every annual budget; stresses that it will not accept longstanding EU political commitments being jeopardised; recalls, in particular, that financial commitments entered into in international agreements and/or agreements between the EU and international organisations should be respected and duly included in the draft budget;

18.

Recalls that the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) 2007-2013 was designed to improve the prosperity and quality of life of our citizens and to exploit all the potential of enlargement, yet since 2008 the EU has experienced an unprecedented crisis, which has also impacted on each of the annual budgets; underlines, against this background, the fact that the 2007-2013 financial framework was not revised to accommodate additional financing needs stemming from the current crisis but that, on the contrary, substantial global margins have been left under the overall ceilings in every annual budget since 2007 and that, to that extent, all the annual budgets have been contained and austere; stresses that the corresponding payments should therefore at least be disbursed according to the normal budget cycle; recalls that payments are dissociated from commitment appropriations only because of the time lag, in the case of multiannual programmes, before the actual disbursement of the funds;

19.

Stresses that, 2013 being the last year of the current programming period, catching up will be necessary in terms of payments, as has always been the case at the end of financial perspectives, owing to the start of the completion process for the 2007-2013 programmes, and, in terms of commitments, in order to respect the financial programming amounts, which are close to EUR 152 billion for 2013; reiterates that any artificial cut made to the level of payments will delay meeting both contractual obligations and past EU commitments, and could also result in late interest being due and loss of confidence in European policies and the EU institutions’ credibility; underlines, therefore, that contractual debts should be paid as soon as possible as a matter of budgetary discipline;

20.

Notes that the level of payments, which, being the mere result of past commitments, should be determined on the basis of technical criteria such as implementation figures, absorption forecasts or the level of outstanding commitments (RAL), has become the main political issue within the Council in the past few budgetary procedures; points to the growing level of RAL at the end of 2011, amounting to EUR 207 billion, which represents almost 7% more than the level at the end of 2010; in view of the upcoming interinstitutional meeting on the difference between commitment and payment appropriations will establish a dialogue with the Commission in order to fully clarify how the RAL is composed; insists that the Council refrain from deciding a priori the level of payments without taking account of actual needs and legal obligations; notes further that accruing RAL actually undermines a transparent EU budget in which it is clearly visible how commitments and payments are related in a specific budgetary year;

21.

Underlines the fact that a pure ‘net EU budget contributor/net EU budget beneficiary’ approach does not take due account of the great positive spill-over effects the EU budget produces between EU countries to the benefit of common EU policy goals; is deeply concerned at the very moderate increases in payments in the last two budgets, which in the case of the 2012 budget were even below the level of inflation, at a crucial time when all the investment programmes should be running at full speed and unfolding their full potential;

22.

Stresses that under-budgeting should be avoided as a matter of sound financial management, and that appropriations need to be aligned to realistic estimates of absorption capacity; points out that artificially lowering the level of appropriations as against the Commission’s realistic estimates may, conversely, prevent the final level of budgetary implementation from reaching its full potential; recalls that the level of payment appropriations proposed by the Commission in its draft budget is determined mainly by the Member States’ own forecasts and their implementation capacity, since Member States co-manage, together with the Commission, more than 80% of EU funding;

23.

Regrets the fact that, while the Council refused in December 2011 to finance identified additional needs, some payment claims amounting to more than EUR 10 billion could not be honoured in late 2011, which is now impacting directly on available 2012 payments; is concerned at the fact that this resulted from the Council’s questioning of the Commission’s implementation data and assessments of need without providing any alternative data or source;

24.

Is therefore extremely worried about the payments situation in 2012 and calls for the Commission to put forward proposals so that a solution can be found as early as possible this year, in order to avoid postponing the problem once again, to 2013; takes the view, moreover, that such use of the upcoming year’s appropriations to fund current needs is bad financial management and infringes the principle of budget annuality; expresses serious concerns that this practice undermines the zero-debt principle of the Union;

25.

Reiterates its call for the Council to refrain from making artificial cuts in payments during the budgetary procedure, and stresses that this seems to be leading to an unsustainable level of payments; requests, in the event of such proposals being made, that the Council clearly and publicly identify and justify which of the EU’s programmes or projects it believes could be delayed or dropped altogether;

26.

In this context, asks the Council to align its position to one of realistic and responsible budgeting, and undertakes to continue to monitor constantly the implementation of the 2012 appropriations and, in particular, payments; calls on the Council to follow suit, so that the budgetary authority can work on the basis of common, updated implementation data and make reliable estimates of expenditure; to this end, invites the Council and the Commission to an interinstitutional meeting to be held during the first semester of 2012 at an appropriate political level with a view to clarifying and settling any possible misunderstanding as to implementation figures and estimated payment needs and to jointly taking stock of the payments situation for the budget years 2012 and 2013;

27.

Highlights the importance of funding the European Supervisory Authorities (EBA, EIOPA and ESMA) to enable comprehensive delivery of the financial regulation agenda and supervisory structures to prevent future crises; stresses that funding for ESAs and independent legal services for them should be prioritised within the budget;

28.

Welcomes the agreement reached on financing the additional costs of ITER in December 2011; urges the Commission to respect the joint conclusions in this agreement in their entirety and to make concrete proposals on the amount of EUR 360 million in the 2013 draft budget, making full use of the provisions laid down in the Financial Regulation and in the IIA of 17 May 2006 and excluding any further ITER-related revision of the MFF; reiterates its strong conviction that securing the amount of EUR 360 million in the 2013 budget should not impair the successful implementation of other EU policies, especially those that contribute to achieving the goals of the EU 2020 strategy during this last year of the programming period, and specifically opposes any redeployments infringing upon this budgetary priority; stresses that in its financial programming the Commission foresees a margin of EUR 47 million in Heading 1a, which partially covers the needs for ITER;

29.

Expects, in view of the upcoming accession of Croatia on 1 July 2013, that the revision of the MFF will be adopted swiftly, in line with Point 29 of the IIA (‘Adjustment of the financial framework to cater for enlargement’) and asks the Commission to present its proposal for the corresponding additional appropriations as soon as the Act of Accession has been ratified by all Member States; reiterates that the enlargement to include Croatia should be accompanied by appropriate additional funding with fresh money rather than redeployments for the second part of 2013;

30.

Takes note of the letter dated 23 January 2012 from the Commissioner for Budgets and Financial Programming expressing the Commission’s willingness to reduce the number of posts in its establishment plans by 1% as early as 2013, taking carefully into account the different effects for large, medium-sized and small directorates-general; intends to closely examine the Commission’s intention of reducing by 2018 the staffing level in EU institutions and bodies by 5% compared to 2013, and recalls that this is to be seen as an overall goal; recalls that any change to the establishment plan has a direct impact on the budget and should in no way compromise the budgetary prerogatives of the Committee on Budgets and of the European Parliament; considers that any short-term or long-term reduction in staff should be based on a prior impact assessment and take full account of, inter alia, the Union’s legal obligations and the institutions’ new competences and increased tasks arising from the treaties;

31.

Recalls the importance of close and constructive interinstitutional cooperation throughout the procedure and reaffirms its willingness to contribute fully to such cooperation in full accordance with the provisions of the TFEU; expects the present guidelines to be taken fully into account during the budgetary procedure and in the preparation of the draft budget;

32.

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