EU budget 2015ec.europa.eu/budget/financialreport/2015/lib/financial_report_2015... · EU Budget Focused on Results ISSN 1830-7280 EU budget 2015 Financial report EU budget 2015 —

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EU Budget Focused on Results

ISSN 1830-7280

EU budget 2015Financial report

EU budget 2015

Financial Report

Budget

EU budget 2015Financial report

More information on the European Union is available on the Internet (http://europa.eu).

Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union, 2016

Print: doi:10.2761/942103 ISBN 978-92-79-57995-0 KV-AI-16-001-EN-COnline: doi:10.2761/27662 ISBN 978-92-79-57996-7 KV-AI-16-001-EN-N

European Union, 2016

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F I N A N C I A L R E P O R T

Foreword ............................................................................................................................................5

Key achievements of the EU budget .....................................................................................7

Section I 2015 EU budget ......................................................................................................9Multiannual financial framework ................................................................................................................................11The budgetary procedure ................................................................................................................................................14Budget management ........................................................................................................................................................16Control of the EU budget .................................................................................................................................................20

Section II Revenue ..................................................................................................................23

Section III Expenditure ..........................................................................................................31Allocation of EU expenditure for 2015 by Member State ..............................................................................33Competitiveness for growth and jobs .......................................................................................................................36Economic, social and territorial cohesion ................................................................................................................43Sustainable growth: natural resources .....................................................................................................................51Security and citizenship ...................................................................................................................................................57Global Europe ........................................................................................................................................................................63Administration.......................................................................................................................................................................69

Section IV Annexes .................................................................................................................71Annex 1 Financial frameworks 2007-2013 and 2014-2020 ..................................................................72Annex 2 Expenditure and revenue 2015 by heading, type of source and Member State .........74Annex 3 Operating budgetary balances ..............................................................................................................80Annex 4 Recoveries and financial corrections ..................................................................................................84Annex 5 Borrowing and lending activities ...........................................................................................................87

Glossary ..........................................................................................................................................90

Contents

F I N A N C I A L R E P O R T 5

Foreword

2015 was a year of many challenges for the Europe-an Union. Even as we continued to record the signs of recovery getting underway, we were also still dealing with and feeling the effects of the economic crisis. This had a strong impact on a number of countries, most dramatically Greece. At the same time we were coping with an unprecedented influx of refugees and a deadly wave of terrorist attacks, notably in France. We were therefore called upon to stretch our budgetary resourc-es to their limit to meet new challenges and continue to invest in our key policies and priorities.

The migration pressure on our borders and across our Union has demonstrated that no country can nor should face this kind of situation alone. Our strength lies in pooling our resources and coordinating how we respond. In 2015 the Commission launched and began to implement the European Agenda for Migration. We set out a plan to combat illegal migration, save lives and secure the external borders of the EU. It will support the integration of refugees, address the root causes of displacement in mi-grants countries of origin and offer assistance to countries through which they transit. We supported this plan with EU funding which doubles the budget for our internal and external response to more than EUR 10 billion in 2015 and 2016.

Unemployment remained very high and investment very low in 2015, so it was of the greatest importance that we maximised the contribution of the EU budget to boosting jobs, growth and competitiveness. The European Fund for Strategic Investments was established in 2015, and triggered investment of more than EUR 100 billion during its first year of operation. The EU budget helped farmers, reduced regional disparities and provided additional liquidity to support financial stability in Greece. Significant progress was made in moving towards an Energy Union, Capital Markets Union and a Digital Single Market all of which will help to achieve growth.

The challenges facing us have increased but the EU budget has not. As a result of strict monitoring on spending, combined with a flexible approach and positive developments on the revenue side, we managed to meet the additional financial needs without call-ing on our Member States to provide more money. The annual budget was fully im-plemented and the so-called backlog of unpaid bills from the past was absorbed. In order to ensure that every euro of taxpayers money delivers maximum benefits on the ground, we launched the Budget Focused on Results initiative.

Faced with diverse risks and pressures we need a budget which is sufficiently agile to be able to respond to the circumstances. The world we live in has changed. It is more fragile and prone to shocks economic, natural and man-made disasters or conflicts - which feed extremism and insecurity. We cannot afford to be unprepared, neither in terms of policy choices nor when it comes to our financial programming.

The mid-term review of the multiannual financial framework presents us with the opportunity to see where we need to adjust and improve, taking into account the

F I N A N C I A L R E P O R T6

experience gleaned from the first years of the current cycle. We must be ambitious, pragmatic and flexible. We must keep doing more with less and doing it even better. More than 500 million Europeans rely on us to invest their money in ensuring their se-curity and prosperity. We will continue to work together on delivering a better tomorrow.

Kristalina GeorgievaVice-President for Budget and Human Resources, European Commission


Key achievements of the EU budget

2014-2020 multiannual financial framework

The European Fund for Strategic Investments allowed, in its first year, approximately EUR 100 billion of investments, thus boosting growth and jobs.

Funding in support of security, migration, border control, addressing the root causes of migration and integration of refugees was doubled to over EUR 10 billion for 2015-2016.

Over 350 000 migrants were rescued in the Mediterranean thanks to the tripling of funding for Triton and Poseidon interventions and the reinforcement of staff.

More than EUR 2.5 billion were allocated during 2015 and 2016 to Syria and Africa trust funds and to the Facility for Refugees in Turkey to address the basic needs of refugees in their countries of origin or transit.

In 2014-2015, more than 1 million individuals took part in education actions under the new Erasmus+ programme.

The Galileo satellites deployment was accelerated: 12 satellites launched, out of which nine in operation.

Number of airports with European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EG-NOS) capability, increasing the security of landing operations, went up from 150 to 174.

Rido - Fotolia

Romolo Tavani - Fotolia

European Union

European Union - ECHO - Jonathan Hyams


Increased competitiveness of European agriculture allowed for a 6 % rise in the ex-port of agricultural products despite the Russian ban.

Humanitarian and development assistance strengthening health systems, resilience of livelihoods, access to water in schools and economic support was provided to countries affected by Ebola in an overall amount of EUR 885 million. At the end of 2015, the affected countries were all on the path to being declared Ebola-free.

Over 800 000 of the most vulnerable people in the Ukraine received support in the form of shelter, food and healthcare.

Cultural and audio-visual operators from 38 countries were involved in cross-border projects supported by the Creative Europe programme.

2007-2013 multiannual financial framework

The seventh framework programme for research and technological development had an estimated indirect economic effect of EUR 20 billion annually in additional GDP (0.15 %) and supported 11 Nobel laureates.

9 million citizens received training, improved skills or gained employment through the European Social Fund.

825 000 jobs were created and 120 000 start-ups across the EU were helped thanks to the European Regional Development Fund.

The Guarantee Facility for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEG) catalysed nearly EUR 21 billion SME financing for close to 400 000 SMEs.

Erasmus increased the employability advantage over non-mobile students by 45 %. One out of two European graduates studying or training abroad benefits from Erasmus.

The Marie Skodowska Curie Actions have enhanced the employability, career devel-opment opportunities and mobility of researchers in Europe and beyond. Some 95 % of fellows were in employment 2 years after the end of their fellowship.

The European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development supported 430 000 farm modernisation projects and provided start-up support to 165 000 young farmers.

The improvement of the environmental performance of EU farming expanded to 47 million ha, representing more than 25 % of the EU-27 utilised agricultural area in 2013.

The LIFE programme for environment and climate action contributed to the reduction of more than 1 million tonnes of CO2 emissions per year.

Section I

2015 EU budget Spumador - Fotolia


Multiannual financial framework

Since 1988, EU leaders have agreed on long-term spending plans known as multi-annual financial frameworks (MFF) that provide a stable basis for appropriate plan-ning and implementation of programmes throughout a period of 7 years. The MFF allows the EU to complement national budgets, by funding policies with a European added value.

The current financial framework was adopted for the 2014-2020 period. It should be reviewed by the Commission before the end of 2016 to take full account of the eco-nomic situation as well as the latest macroeconomic projections.

Ceilings maximum annual amounts

The multiannual financial framework lays down the maximum annual amounts (ceil-ings) which the EU may spend in different political fields (headings).

These ceilings set limits for commitments for each category of expenses (legal pledg-es to provide finances) and overall payments (actual money to be paid from the EU budget to beneficiaries), for each of the 7 years. Total annual ceilings are expressed in millions of euros and as a percentage of EU gross national income (GNI).

This percentage is updated every year on the basis of the latest available GNI forecasts.

Headings The EU policy areas

For the period 2014-2020, the multiannual financial framework sets a maximum amount of EUR 1 083 billion for commitment appropriations and EUR 1 024 billion for payment appropriations (in current prices).

The 2014-2020 multiannual financial framework is divided into six categories of ex-penditure (headings) corresponding to different areas of EU activities:

1. Smart and inclusive growth

(a) Competitiveness for growth and jobs: includes research and innovation; education and training; trans-European networks in energy, transport and tel-ecommunications; large infrastructure projects; social policy; development of enterprises, etc.

(b) Economic, social and territorial cohesion: covers regional policy which aims at helping the least developed EU countries and regions to catch up with


the rest, strengthening all regions competitiveness and developing inter-re-gional cooperation.

2. Sustainable growth: natural resources: includes the common agricultural policy, common fisheries policy, rural development and environmental measures.

3. Security and citizenship: includes justice and home affairs, border protection, immigration and asylum policy, public health, consumer protection, culture, youth, information and dialogue with citizens.

4. Global Europe: covers all external action (foreign policy) by the EU such as de-velopment assistance or humanitarian aid with the exception of the European De-velopment Fund (EDF) which provides aid for development cooperation with African, Caribbean and Pacific countries, as well as overseas countries and territories. As it is not funded from the EU budget but from direct contributions from EU Member States, the EDF does not fall under the MFF.

5. Administration: covers the administrative expenditure of all the European institu-tions, pensions and European Schools.

Flexibility and other special instruments

The multiannual financial framework provides for some flexibility to mobilise the funds necessary to react to unforeseen events.

The Emergency Aid Reserve finances humanitarian, civilian crisis management and protection operations in non-EU countries. The EU Solidarity Fund releases emergency financial aid following a major disaster in a Member State or candidate country. The Flexibility Instrument can provide additional funding for a given year for clearly identi-fied expenses that cannot be covered by the EU budget without exceeding the ceilings. The European Globalisation Adjustment Fund helps workers reintegrate into the labour market after they have been made redundant.

New flexibility measures have been introduced in the 2014-2020 multiannual finan-cial framework such as the global margin for commitments (the difference between the final adopted budget and the ceiling of a given year), the global margin for pay-ments (the difference between the executed payments and the payment ceilings of a given year) and the contingency margin. The latter is a last resort instrument to react to unforeseen circumstances and amounts to a maximum of 0.03 % of the EUs GNI every year. If mobilised, the same amount has to be offset against the margins in one or more MFF headings for the current or future financial years so that the overall amount of the MFF remains unchanged.

Over the years, the scope of some special instruments, such as the Emergency Aid Reserve has been broadened, the maximum allocation increased and the carrying over of unused amounts to the following year(s) has been allowed.


Revision

The multiannual financial framework can be revised in the event of unforeseen circumstances.

The framework may also be revised if new rules or programmes managed by Member States (mainly in the areas of cohesion and agricultural policy) are adopted after the adoption of a specific MFF.

As a result of the late agreement on relevant legal acts in 2014, during the first year of the new MFF, a significant number of programmes could not be adopted. EUR 21 bil-lion had therefore to be transferred to 2015, 2016 and 2017 by means of a revision of the multiannual financial framework (1). In total, the amount of EUR 16.5 billion was transferred to 2015, of which EUR 11.2 billion in Heading 1b, EUR 5 billion in Heading 2 and EUR 0.2 billion in Heading 3.

According to the MFF regulation, the Commission is obliged to prepare a mid-term review of the functioning of the MFF and may, as appropriate, present a legislative proposal for a revision of the MFF regulation no later than the end of 2016.

Technical adjustment

The Commission makes a technical adjustment to the financial framework each year to take account of the changes in EU GNI and prices, based on the latest economic forecasts available. It then informs the European Parliament and the Council on the results of these adjustments.

For the 2014-2020 multiannual financial framework, a fixed deflator of 2 % per year was applied for the whole period to express the ceilings in current prices. No further adjustment as regards prices are necessary.

The technical adjustment for 2015 was made in May 2014.

(1) Council Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2015/623 of 21 April 2015 amending Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 1311/2013 lay-ing down the multiannual financial framework for the years 2014-2020 (OJ L 103, 22.4.2015, p. 1).


The budgetary procedure

Every year the European Commission prepares a draft EU budget respecting the annual limits set by the multiannual framework and following the guidelines of the EU leaders for the coming year.

The annual budget is usually below the MFF ceilings in order to provide for some mar-gins to cope with unforeseen needs.

Commissions draft budget

The Commission adopted the draft budget for 2015 (1) on 24 June 2014. The priorities were to contribute to growth and jobs, ensure adequate resources to meet both past and present commitments, and continue to show restraint on administrative expendi-ture, including a further reduction of 1 % of its staff.

On the basis of the Commissions proposal, the European Parliament and the Council engaged in a negotiation process (known as conciliation) in order to find a compro-mise and adopt the budget by the end of the year. As the conciliation (21 days period which ended on 17 November 2014) failed this time, the Commission proposed a sec-ond draft budget on 27 November. An agreement was then found and the 2015 budget was adopted by the Council and the Parliament on 10 and 17 December respectively.

In the adopted 2015 budget, the overall level of commitment appropriations was set at EUR 145 322 million. In Heading 1a the commitment appropriations of Horizon 2020 were increased by EUR 45 million, Erasmus+ (a programme that supports vari-ous actions in the areas of education, training, youth and sport) by EUR 16 million, and COSME (Europes programme for small and medium-sized enterprises) by EUR 2 mil-lion. Similarly, in Heading 4, the European Neighbourhood Instrument was increased by EUR 22 million, Humanitarian aid by EUR 10 million and Common Foreign and Se-curity Policy by EUR 20 million, whereas administrative expenditure was reduced by EUR 20 million.

The overall level of payment appropriations in the 2015 budget was set at EUR 141 214 million. This included an amount of EUR 127 million related to the mobi-lisation of the EU Solidarity Fund, EUR 440 million for the Youth Employment Initiative moved from the 2014 budget to the 2015 budget and the mobilisation of the Flex-ibility Instrument for additional assistance to Cyprus in 2014 and 2015, estimated at EUR 11 million.

(1) http://ec.europa.eu/budget/biblio/documents/2015/2015_en.cfm

http://ec.europa.eu/budget/biblio/documents/2015/2015_en.cfm


From the draft budget to the agreed initial budget for 2015 (million EUR)

Commitments

MFF Heading Final adopted budget

2014 (1)

Draft budget

2015 (including

AL No 1/2015) (2)

Councils position

(3)

European Parliaments position (4)

Second draft

budget (5)

Councils position

(6)

European Parlia-ments

position (7)

Voted budget

2015 (8)

Difference (8)/(1)=

(9)

1a Competitiveness for growth and jobs 16 484 17 447 17 124 17 666 17 488 17 552 17 552 17 552 6.5 %1b Economic, social and territorial

Cohesion47 502 49 227 49 227 49 247 49 230 49 230 49 230 49 230 3.6 %

2 Sustainable growth: Natural resources 59 191 58 806 59 183 59 306 58 809 58 809 58 809 58 809 -0.6 %3 Security and citizenship 2 172 2 131 2 100 2 216 2 147 2 147 2 147 2 147 -1.2 %4 Global Europe 8 423 8 413 8 343 8 748 8 356 8 408 8 408 8 408 -0.2 %5 Administration 8 405 8 612 8 585 8 683 8 680 8 660 8 660 8 660 3.0 %

Total commitment appropriations 142 205 144 635 144 562 145 866 144 711 144 806 144 806 144 806 1.8 %Special instruments 485 515 515 515 515 515 515 515 6.2 %Grand Total 142 690 145 151 145 078 146 381 145 226 145 322 145 322 145 322 1.8 %

The voted commitment appropriations represented 1.04 % of GNI.

Payments

MFF Heading Final adopted budget

2014 (1)

Draft budget

2015 (2)

Councils position

(3)

European Parliaments position (4)

Second draft

budget (5)

Councils position

(6)

European Parlia-ments

position (7)

Voted budget

2015 (8)

Difference (8)/(1)=

(9)

1a Competitiveness for growth and jobs 11 857 15 823 14 247 15 893 15 833 15 798 15 798 15 798 33.2 %1b Economic, social and territorial

Cohesion54 006 51 602 51 382 54 960 51 067 51 125 51 125 51 125 -5.3 %

2 Sustainable growth: Natural resources 55 959 56 510 56 762 56 955 56 231 55 999 55 999 55 999 0.1 %3 Security and citizenship 1 660 1 887 1 853 1 920 1 884 1 860 1 860 1 860 12.0 %4 Global Europe 6 925 7 479 6 943 7 512 7 428 7 422 7 422 7 422 7.2 %5 Administration 8 406 8 612 8 585 8 672 8 668 8 658 8 659 8 659 3.0 %

Total payment appropriations 138 841 141 912 139 772 145 914 141 112 140 862 140 862 140 862 1.5 %Special instruments 193 225 225 503 225 352 352 352 82.4 %Grand Total 139 034 142 137 139 997 146 417 141 337 141 214 141 214 141 214 1.6 %

The voted payment appropriations represented 1.01 % of GNI.


Budget management

Budget management modes

Once the budget is adopted, it is implemented either:

directly by the Commission (at headquarters or in EU delegations to non-EU coun-tries) and other EU bodies such as executive agencies (direct management);

indirectly by other international organisations or non-EU countries (indirect management);

by both the Commission and Member States (shared management).

Up to 80 % of the EU budget expenditure is managed by Member States under shared management in areas such as agriculture, cohesion policy, growth and employment. However, ultimate responsibility for implementing the budget lies with the European Commission.

The EU budget lifecycle

Once a new year has started, the Commission may propose to modify the budget to respond to changing conditions. Usually this is done either through transfers (money from the reserves added to the budget or transfers between the lines of a chapter or between budget headings) or through amending budgets (amendments to the adopted budget of a given year, for example in order to mobilise assistance from the European Solidarity Fund).

Procedures similar to that used for adopting the budget apply to the adoption of sub-sequent amendments to the budget. A budget of a given year can thus only be con-sidered as final once the year in question has ended and all changes to it have been adopted by the European Parliament and the Council. These changes therefore reflect the effect, at the end of the financial year, of active budget management.

The following factors can cause items in the annual budget to vary over the course of the financial year:

Carryovers are amounts from the previous years budget that have not been used and that are following specific rules carried forward to the current financial year. The Commissions decision on carryovers was taken on 11 February 2015.

Amending budgets take into account political, economic or administrative needs which could not have been foreseen at the point at which the budget was prepared and adopted. They ensure more precise and more economical financing of the EU


Transfers

Transfers between budget items are by definition neutral in their effect on the over-all budget. They may increase the amount of appropriations available in operational budget lines when reserves are mobilised.

Decisions relating to transfers are generally made by the European Parliament and the Council, but institutions are allowed to carry out internal transfers under specified conditions.

budget by the Member States. Eight amending budgets were adopted in 2015 (see table), none of which entailed additional contributions from Member States.

Summary table of amending budgets in 2015 (million EUR)

Amending budget

Date of adoption

Main subject Official Journal Impact on commitment appropriations

Impact on payment appropriations

1 28-Apr Reprogramming of unused commitments in 2014 OJ L 190 17.7.2015 16 4792 7-Jul European Fund for Strategic Investment OJ L 261 7.10.20153 7-Jul Surplus 2014 OJ L 261 7.10.20154 7-Jul EU Solidarity Fund related to two floods in Romania, one

in Bulgaria and one in ItalyOJ L 261 7.10.2015 66 66

5 7-Jul Migration and refugee flows, redeployment of payments from the Galileo programme

OJ L 261 7.10.2015 76

6 14-Oct Revision of TOR, VAT and GNI contributions OJ L 320 4.12.20157 14-Oct Budgetary measures under the European Agenda on

MigrationOJ L 320 4.12.2015 344 19

8 25-Nov Own resources, a reduction in the budget of the European Data Protection Supervisor

OJ L 18 27.01.2016

TOTAL without reserves 16 966 85Reserves -14 -19

Changes in payment appropriations by heading in 2015 (million EUR)

Heading Initial budget Carry-over from 2014

Amending budgets

Transfers Total

1a Competitiveness for growth and jobs 1a 15 798 112 -70 -119 15 7211b Economic, social and territorial

Cohesion1b 51 125 16 0 -158 50 983

2 Sustainable growth: Natural resources 2 55 911 902 -1 303 57 1153 Security and citizenship 3 1 860 8 67 36 1 9714 Global Europe 4 7 422 42 56 174 7 6945 Administration 5 8 659 845 0 0 9 504Total 140 775 1 924 52 236 142 987Special instruments 9 352 36 33 -167 254Grand Total 141 127 1 960 85 69 143 241

Figures without unmobilised reserves

From an accounting point of view, the budget outturn is, in general terms, the difference between total revenue and total expenditure, a positive difference thus indi-cating a surplus. Payments cannot exceed receipts. Out of EUR 143 241 million avail-able, EUR 141 586 million - almost 99 % - has been used.


Financial regulation

The financial regulation (1) lays down the rules for the establishment and implementa-tion of the EU budget. It was last amended in 2015 (2) to be aligned with the so-called procurement directives and to introduce the Early Detection and Exclusion System (EDES) a system designed to protect the Unions financial interests against unreli-able economic operators.

The new public procurement rules encourage the wider use of green procurement (en-vironmentally friendly goods, services and works) and thus support the shift towards a more resource-efficient and low-carbon economy. Moreover, the simplified rules al-leviate the administrative burden both on EU institutions and on business, and acceler-ate the access to EU funds. For example, applicants no longer need to fill in the same details each time they apply for EU funds and applications can now be made online.

Over the years, stricter requirements have also been introduced as regards the ac-countability of those involved in managing EU finances.

Accounting framework

Since its introduction in January 2005, accruals-based accounting has become a part of the Commissions continued effort to modernise the management of EU finances. Accruals-based accounts recognise revenue when it is earned, rather than when it is collected. Expenses are recognised when they are incurred rather than when they are paid. This contrasts with cash-based accounting that recognises transactions and other events only when cash is received or paid out.

(1) Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2012 on the fi-nancial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union and repealing Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 (OJ L 298, 26.10.2012, p. 1) (http://ec.europa.eu/budget/biblio/publications/publications_en.cfm#finreg).(2) Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2015/1929 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 28 October 2015 amending Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union (OJ L 286, 30.10.2015, p. 1).

Active budget management 2000-2015 (million EUR)

0

20 000

40 000

60 000

80 000

100 000

120 000

140 000

160 000

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Final adopted budget

Implemented budget

Surplus

http://ec.europa.eu/budget/biblio/publications/publications_en.cfm#finreg


The accounting rules in place are based on the internationally accepted standards for the public sector, the International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS).

Annual accounts

The EUs annual accounts are drawn up in accordance with the financial regulation and with the EU accounting rules. The accounting system of the European institutions comprises two sets of accounts: the general accounts (financial statements) and the budgetary accounts. The two sets of accounts together constitute the annual accounts.

The annual financial statements aim to provide a fair representation of the financial position and performance of the EU in a given year. Explanatory notes giving further information on the figures are also included. The same accounting rules are used by all consolidated European bodies.

The budgetary accounts provide information on the implementation of the EU budget in a given year and include the budget result for the year.

The accounts are kept in euros and the accounting year is the calendar year.

The Commissions Accounting Officer produces the consolidated EU annual accounts which are available online, as well as the monthly and quarterly reporting on the imple-mentation of the budget (1). The annual accounts are audited by the European Court of Auditors before being adopted by the Commission. They are then sent to the European Parliament and to the Council.

Treasury management

The own resources, the main source of EU revenue, are credited twice a month to the accounts held with Member States treasuries or central banks. From there, the Com-mission transfers the necessary funds to its accounts with commercial banks, from which payments are made to EU beneficiaries. However, the Commission only transfers the funds needed to carry out its daily payments (the just in time principle).

Member States make their contributions to the budget in their national currencies, while most of the Commissions payments are denominated in euro. The Commission therefore needs to make foreign exchange transactions, in order to convert contribu-tions from Member States that have not yet adopted the euro and to be able to make payments in non-EU currencies.

In 2015, 0.4 % of more than 2 million payments made were executed through treasur-ies and central banks, representing 66 % of the total amount paid (EUR 139.5 billion). The remaining 99.6 % of payments were made through commercial banks (represent-ing 34 % of the total amount paid). The Commissions funds are mainly kept in ac-counts held with Member States treasuries and with central banks.

(1) http://ec.europa.eu/budget/biblio/publications/publications_en.cfm

http://ec.europa.eu/budget/biblio/publications/publications_en.cfm


Control of the EU budget

The budgetary discharge procedure

Every year, after a recommendation by the Council, the European Parliament decides on whether or not to provide its final approval, known as discharge, to the way the Commission implemented the EU budget in a given year. The discharge is one of the instruments used by the Parliament and the Council to control the way the EU budget is spent. When granted, it leads to the formal closure of the accounts of the institution for a given year.

When deciding whether to grant, postpone or refuse a discharge, Parliament takes into consideration the accounts and the annual evaluation report prepared by the Commis-sion along with the European Court of Auditors annual report on how the budget has been spent and any relevant special reports from the Court. More particularly, every year the independent European Unions external auditor, the European Court of Audi-tors, examines:

the reliability of accounts;

whether all revenue has been received and all expenditure incurred in a lawful and regular manner;

whether the financial management has been sound.

During the discharge procedure, relevant Commissioners reply to written questions from the Committee on Budgetary Control in the European Parliament and appear in the committee for an exchange of views (Hearings).

The discharge for the 2015 budget should be granted in May 2017.

Financial corrections and recoveries

Member States are the ones primarily responsible for the daily management of EU funds for around 80 % of the EUs annual budget, notably in the areas of agriculture and cohesion policy. When administrative errors are identified, the Commission and the national authorities in Member States take measures to recover the money.

Solid mechanisms are in place to prevent, detect and rectify incorrect expenditure.

The Commission must recover all unduly paid funds, whether resulting from er-ror, irregularity or deliberate fraud. Errors do not mean that EU money is lost, wasted


or affected by fraud. They do not mean that the projects have not been properly implemented and that EU citizens are not benefiting from them. Errors mainly stem from misinterpretations of the public procurement rules or from mistakes in the eli-gibility applications submitted by beneficiaries.

National governments are equally responsible for protecting the EUs financial interests. This involves cooperation with the Commission and its An-ti-Fraud Office (OLAF).

The process of identifying and rectifying errors can take several years. Indeed, the bulk of EU expenditure is multiannual and so are the control systems. Most correc-tive actions take place at the end of the programmes, not in the same year as the erroneous transaction. Any analysis of the impact of errors on the implementation of the EU budget should therefore consider this corrective capacity throughout the whole programming period.

For more information, see Annex 4.

Section II

Revenue Joseph Galea - European Union


Revenue

According to the equilibrium principle, the total budgeted EU revenue must equal the total budgeted EU expenditure. When determining Member States own resources con-tributions, the starting point is the total amount of authorised expenditure.

A small part of this amount is covered by other revenue (taxes levied on the salaries of EU staff, interest on late payments and fines, contributions from non-EU countries to certain programmes, etc.).

Whereas the EU budget must always be in balance, at the end of the year there can sometimes be a positive difference (surplus) in comparison to the budget estimates.

The remainder is mostly financed by Member States own resources contributions, which account for around 97 % of all revenue.

In 2015, the EU had own resources of EUR 137 334.7 million and other revenue of EUR 7 258.2 million. The surplus carried over from 2014 was EUR 1 434.6 million.

Own resources

The bulk of the EU funding comes from own resources, which are funds that belong to the EU but are collected on its behalf by Member States. The own resources can be divided into the following categories:

Traditional own resources, including customs duties and sugar levies;

A participation in the national collection of value added tax (VAT); and

The gross national income (GNI) own resource, which serves as the balancing re-source: it finances all spending not covered by other sources of revenue so that revenue and expenditure are always in balance.

The total amount of own resources cannot exceed 1.23 % of EU GNI.

The key for determining the own resources is the Own Resources Decision. The current one (1) was agreed on 26 May 2014 and, once ratified by all Member States, will enter into force with retroactive effect from 1 January 2014.

In addition, some Member States may choose not to participate in certain justice and home affairs policies. Their own resources payments are adjusted accordingly. This has been done since 2003 for Denmark and since 2006 for Ireland and the United Kingdom (see the section below on Justice and home affairs adjustment for Denmark, Ireland and the United Kingdom).

(1) Council Decision 2014/335/EU, Euratom of 26 May 2014 on the system of own resources of the European Union (OJ L 168, 7.6.2014, p. 105).


Traditional own resources (customs duties and sugar levies)

Traditional own resources (TOR) are levied on economic operators and collected by Member States on behalf of the EU. These payments accrue directly to the EU budget, after a 25 % deduction that Member States retain as collection costs. Customs duties are levied on imports of agricultural and non-agricultural products from non-EU coun-tries, at rates based on the Common Customs Tariff.

In 2015, the EUs revenue from customs duties was EUR 18 607 million (12.7 % of its total revenue). A production charge paid by sugar producers brought revenue of EUR 124 million. Total revenue from traditional own resources (customs duties and sugar levies) was EUR 18 730 million (12.8 % of the EUs total revenue).

VAT own resource

The VAT bases of all Member States are first harmonised in accordance with EU rules. They are then capped at 50 % of the GNI base (in order to remedy the regressive aspects of the VAT-based resource). Finally, a uniform rate of 0.3 is levied on each Member States harmonised VAT base.

In 2015, five Member States saw their VAT contribution reduced thanks to this 50 % cap (Croatia, Cyprus, Luxembourg, Malta and Slovenia).

The EUs total revenue from the VAT own resource (including balances from previous years of EUR -181.9 million) was EUR 18 087 million (12.4 % of total revenue) in 2015.

Gross national income own resource

The GNI own resource was introduced in 1988 to balance budget revenue and expendi-ture, i.e. to finance the part of the budget not covered by other revenue. The amount of the GNI own resource needed therefore depends on the difference between total expenditure and the sum of all other revenue.

The same percentage is levied on each Member States GNI, established in accordance with EU rules. The rate is fixed as part of the budgetary procedure.

In 2015, the rate of call of GNI was 0.6618480 (1) and the total amount of the GNI resource levied (including balances from previous years of EUR 6 958 million, part of which were deferred payments for the 2014 VAT and GNI balances exercise by some Member States) was EUR 100 967 million (representing 69.14 % of total revenue).

The UK correction

The current UK correction mechanism was introduced in 1985 to reduce the net contri-bution of the UK to the funding of the EU budget. This mechanism has been modified

(1) Amending budget 8/2015, http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=OJ:L:2016:018:FULL&from=EN, Table 3, p. L18/7.

http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=OJ:L:2016:018:FULL&from=EN


on several occasions to take account of changes made to the system of EU budget financing, but the essential principles remain the same.

The amount is calculated as the difference between the UK share in EU expenditure allocated to Member States, and its share in the total VAT base. The difference in percentage points is multiplied by the total amount of EU expenditure allocated to Member States. The UK is reimbursed 66 % of this budgetary difference.

The cost of the UK correction is borne by the other 27 Member States. The distribution of the financing is first calculated on the basis of each countrys share in total EU GNI. However, Germany, the Netherlands, Austria and Sweden only pay one quarter of the amounts calculated on the basis of their respective GNI. The rest is redistributed across the remaining Member States.

The UK correction in 2015 was EUR 6 083.6 million.

Justice and home affairs adjustment for Denmark, Ireland and the United Kingdom

Denmark, Ireland and the United Kingdom are fully exempt from financing specific parts of freedom, security and justice policies, with the exception of the related ad-ministrative costs.

The Commission calculates this adjustment during the year following the financial year concerned, at the same time as it determines the GNI balances.

Other revenue and surplus from the previous year

Revenue other than own resources includes: tax and other deductions from EU staff remunerations, contributions from non-EU countries to certain programmes (e.g. in re-search), interest on late payments and fines, and other diverse items.

As the balance from the previous years budget is usually positive in comparison to the budget estimates, there is sometimes a surplus at the end of the year. This positive difference is returned to the Member States in the form of reduced contributions the following year.

In 2015, other revenue totalled EUR 7 258.2 million, and the surplus carried over from the year 2014 was EUR 1 434.6 million.

Donations

According to the financial regulation, the Commission may accept or renounce any donation made to the EU, including foundations, subsidies, gifts and bequests.

The acceptance of donations with a value of EUR 50 000 or more that involve a fi-nancial charge, including follow-up costs, exceeding 10 % of the value of the donation made is subject to the authorisation of the Parliament and the Council.


Donations occur very rarely. In 2015, the Commission was not required to take any decisions on donations.

Fines

Fines imposed on companies for infringing EU competition rules are also a source of revenue.

In 2015, the European Commission imposed 38 individual fines on companies breach-ing competition law. These related to five separate cases and had a combined value of EUR 364 million. Of the 38 fines, 12, worth EUR 127 million, have not been contested by the companies and are thus final. In the other cases, the companies have submitted appeals to the General Court.

When a company served with a fine decides to appeal against the Commissions deci-sion before the Court, the fine must be covered either by a provisional payment or by a bank guarantee. Of all pending fines from 2015 and earlier, at 31 December 2015, approximately EUR 1.8 billion was covered by guarantees (representing a coverage of 96.07 % of total amount of fines) and provisional cash payments had been made in respect of approximately EUR 4.6 billion. Fines for EUR 790 million were reimbursed to companies at the beginning of 2016 because the General Court annulled a Commis-sion decision in the air freight case in December 2015.

Revenues received by way of fines must not be recorded as budgetary revenue as long as the decisions imposing them may be annulled by the Court of Justice. Provisional payments must therefore be kept off budget. The legal proceedings may take up to 8 years. Depending on the final judgment, any fines provisionally paid, including earned interest, are either transferred to the EUs income account and booked in the budget as other revenue, or are reimbursed to the companies.

Revenue earned from fines in 2015 resulted from a combination of fines imposed dur-ing 2015 that were not contested and fines imposed in earlier years where legal pro-ceedings finished during 2015. In total it was worth EUR 1.4 billion, which represented around 1 % of the EU budget in 2015.


National contribution by Member State and traditional own resources collected on behalf of the EU in 2015 (million EUR)

GNI VAT own resource

GNI own resource

UK correction Reduction in GNI-OR granted to

the NL and SE

TOTALnational contribution

Traditional own resources (TOR),

net (75%)

TOTALown

resources

(1) (2) (*) (3) (**) (4) (**) (5)=(1)+(2)+(3)+(4) % % GNI (6) (7)=(5)+(6) % % GNI

BE 415 782.3 584.7 2 826.4 280.8 0.0 3 691.9 3.1 % 0.89 % 1 778.8 5 470.7 4.0 % 1.32 %

BG 42 801.7 61.1 333.0 30.0 0.0 424.1 0.4 % 0.99 % 59.8 484.0 0.4 % 1.13 %

CZ 151 342.2 206.1 1 007.2 101.9 0.0 1 315.2 1.1 % 0.87 % 227.2 1 542.4 1.1 % 1.02 %

DK 273 002.2 294.5 1 715.4 180.6 0.0 2 190.6 1.8 % 0.80 % 330.6 2 521.2 1.8 % 0.92 %

DE 3 091 500.0 3 673.2 20 249.5 360.7 0.0 24 283.4 20.5 % 0.79 % 3 842.0 28 125.5 20.5 % 0.91 %

EE 20 034.6 29.1 141.5 14.1 0.0 184.8 0.2 % 0.92 % 25.3 210.1 0.2 % 1.05 %

IE 182 267.0 222.1 1 216.6 119.8 0.0 1 558.4 1.3 % 0.86 % 280.9 1 839.3 1.3 % 1.01 %

EL 176 522.7 171.1 916.9 117.7 0.0 1 205.6 1.0 % 0.68 % 137.2 1 342.8 1.0 % 0.76 %

ES 1 080 330.0 1 255.0 6 768.1 749.3 0.0 8 772.5 7.4 % 0.81 % 1 317.0 10 089.4 7.3 % 0.93 %

FR 2 226 210.9 2 849.1 14 669.2 1 494.2 0.0 19 012.5 16.0 % 0.85 % 1 593.7 20 606.2 15.0 % 0.93 %

HR 43 596.5 61.1 269.5 26.1 0.0 356.8 0.3 % 0.82 % 40.3 397.1 0.3 % 0.91 %

IT 1 634 366.3 1 486.9 11 619.4 1 125.2 0.0 14 231.6 12.0 % 0.87 % 1 688.7 15 920.3 11.6 % 0.97 %

CY 17 473.3 35.5 162.5 13.8 0.0 211.9 0.2 % 1.21 % 18.3 230.2 0.2 % 1.32 %

LV 24 308.1 28.5 161.6 15.8 0.0 205.9 0.2 % 0.85 % 29.7 235.6 0.2 % 0.97 %

LT 35 750.7 42.9 247.4 25.6 0.0 315.8 0.3 % 0.88 % 73.9 389.7 0.3 % 1.09 %

LU 34 327.6 60.2 274.3 15.7 0.0 350.3 0.3 % 1.02 % 16.5 366.8 0.3 % 1.07 %

HU 105 740.9 134.2 738.2 73.5 0.0 945.8 0.8 % 0.89 % 127.8 1 073.6 0.8 % 1.02 %

MT 8 567.5 15.6 70.4 6.4 0.0 92.3 0.1 % 1.08 % 11.8 104.1 0.1 % 1.22 %

NL 678 284.0 770.7 4 902.1 86.4 0.0 5 759.2 4.9 % 0.85 % 2 187.9 7 947.1 5.8 % 1.17 %

AT 335 224.3 445.3 2 047.6 36.3 0.0 2 529.2 2.1 % 0.75 % 197.1 2 726.4 2.0 % 0.81 %

PL 411 402.5 542.5 2 898.5 277.0 0.0 3 718.0 3.1 % 0.90 % 518.4 4 236.4 3.1 % 1.03 %

PT 175 546.1 253.9 1 153.4 121.4 0.0 1 528.7 1.3 % 0.87 % 117.7 1 646.4 1.2 % 0.94 %

RO 157 510.3 153.0 1 058.1 108.3 0.0 1 319.4 1.1 % 0.84 % 127.0 1 446.4 1.1 % 0.92 %

SI 38 233.2 56.9 257.7 26.0 0.0 340.7 0.3 % 0.89 % 62.7 403.4 0.3 % 1.06 %

SK 76 102.1 85.0 473.4 49.5 0.0 607.9 0.5 % 0.80 % 88.9 696.8 0.5 % 0.92 %

FI 209 410.0 265.6 1 328.9 134.5 0.0 1 729.1 1.5 % 0.83 % 125.1 1 854.1 1.4 % 0.89 %

SE 454 557.8 565.4 2 898.1 49.8 0.0 3 513.3 3.0 % 0.77 % 506.0 4 019.3 2.9 % 0.88 %

UK 2 521 046.8 3 737.5 20 555.6 -6 083.6 0.0 18 209.4 15.4 % 0.72 % 3 199.9 21 409.3 15.6 % 0.85 %

EU-28 14 621 241.5 18 087.0 100 960.4 -443.0 0.0 118 604.3 100 % 0.81 % 18 730.4 137 334.7 100 % 0.94 %

(*) For simplicity of the presentation, the GNI-based own resource includes the JHA-adjustment.(**) Totals for UK correction payments and GNI reduction granted to NL and SE are not equal to zero on account of exchange rate differences.

Surplus from previous year 1 434.6

Surplus external aid guarantee fund 0.0

Other revenue 7 258.2

Total revenue 146 027.4

EU revenue 2015 (after UK correction)

TOR: 12.8 %

Surplus from previous year: 1 %

GNI own resource: 68.8 %

Other: 5 %

VAT own resource: 12.4 %


EU revenue 2000-2015 (million EUR)

0

10 000

20 000

30 000

40 000

50 000

60 000

70 000

80 000

90 000

100 000

110 000

120 000

130 000

140 000

150 000

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Surplus from previous year

Other

GNI own resource

VAT own resource

TOR

National contribution per Member State and TOR collected on behalf of the EU in 2015 (million EUR)

GNI own resource

VAT own resourceTraditional ownresources (TOR),net (75 %)

0

5 000

10 000

15 000

20 000

25 000

30 000

BE BG CZ DK DE EE IE EL ES FR HR IT CY LV LT LU HU MT NL AT PL PT RO SI SK FI SE UK

National contribution per Member State and TORcollected on behalf of the EU in 2015 (mln EUR)

UK correction

(6 083.6 million EUR)

UK payments

(after correction):

21 409.3 million EUR

Section III

Expenditure RUSSELL CHEYNE - European Union


Allocation of EU expenditure for 2015 by Member State

The allocation of expenditure to Member States is merely an accounting exercise. The amounts that Member States receive through this exercise does not give a full picture of the benefits that each Member State derives from the membership. There are numerous other non-pecuniary and indirect benefits gained from EU policies, such as those relating to the internal market and economic integration, trade, not to mention political stability and security.

In 2015, EUR 130 109 million (89.6 % of total EU expenditure) was allocated to Member States. For further details on the methodology used for the allocation of expenditure see the notes to tables in the annexes.

In total, 94 % of the EU budget is allocated to Member States for funding policies and projects being implemented in the EU as well as in other countries. The chart below shows the amount allocated to each country from the budget, as a percentage of na-tional GNI. This gives an indication of the relative importance of EU expenditure for each country.

EU budget 2015 Payments executed (million EUR)

2 Sustainable growth:Natural resources;

56 634 (40%)

3 Security and citizenship;1 958 (1 %)

4 Global Europe;7 648 (5 %)

EUR 141 586 million

1a Competitiveness for growthand jobs;15 581 (11 %)

5 Administration;8 551 (6 %)

Special instruments;252 (1 %)

1b Economic, socialand territorial cohesion;50 961 (36 %)


Methodological note: allocation of expenditure in 2015

Executed EU expenditure came to a total of EUR 141 977 million in 2015 excluding the expenditure related to earmarked revenue (EUR 3 267 million) and including that relating to EFTA (1) contributions (EUR 390 million) or EUR 145 243 million including ex-penditure related to earmarked revenue and expenditure related to revenue from EFTA contributions. Of this total expenditure, EUR 130 109 million (89.6 %) was allocated to Member States and EUR 8 116 million to non-EU countries.

In addition, the amount of EUR 3 752 million was allocated to beneficiaries whose countries cannot be determined.

The table below shows the allocation of expenditure in 2015 and 2014.

2015 (million EUR) 2014 (million EUR)

Total executed EU expenditure (*) 141 977 138 724

Expenditure allocated to Member States 130 109 128 565

Expenditure allocated to non-EU countries 8 116 6 575

Expenditure with an undetermined beneficiary 3 752 3 584

(*) Excluding the expenditure related to earmarked revenue and including that relating to EFTA contributions.

(1) The European Free Trade Association (EFTA) is an intergovernmental trade organisation and free trade area consisting of four European states: Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland.

Expenditure by Member State in 2015 (million EUR)

0.00 %

1.00 %

2.00 %

3.00 %

4.00 %

5.00 %

6.00 %

7.00 %

0

1 500

3 000

4 500

6 000

7 500

9 000

10 500

12 000

13 500

15 000

FR ES PL IT DE UK CZ BE RO EL HU SK BG PT NL IE AT LU DK SE FI LV SI LT HR EE CY MT

1a. Competitiveness 1b. Cohesion 2. Natural resources 3. Security and citizenship4. Global Europe

5. Administration6. Compensations8. Negative reserve 9. Special instruments % GNI


Expenditure allocated to non-EU countries in 2015 (EUR 8 116 million) mainly re-lated to the EUs role as a global player (EUR 5 903 million). Significant amounts were also allocated to large infrastructure projects (EUR 83 million), research and innova-tion (EUR 1 071 million), Erasmus+ (EUR 85 million), the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) (EUR 382 million), fisheries (EUR 123 million) and other programmes and actions (EUR 469 million).

Expenditure with an undetermined beneficiary (EUR 3 752 million in 2015) includes the following two categories: expenditure related to the EUs role as a global player (EUR 1 612 million, in addition to the expenditure of this type that was allocated to a specific non-EU country, as referred to above); and expenditure benefiting EU Mem-ber States but that, by its nature, cannot be attributed to a specific Member State (EUR 2 140 million). This related to administration (EUR 828 million), research and innovation (EUR 737 million), COSME (Competitiveness of enterprises and small and medium-sized enterprises EUR 201 million), Galileo programme (implementation and exploitation of European satellite navigation systems EUR 156 million), the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) (EUR 86 million) and the rest of the programmes and actions (EUR 132 million). The transfers to financial instruments managed by the Eu-ropean Investment Bank (EIB) and European Investment Fund (EIF) are also included in this category.

Methodology

Year of reference

Executed and allocated expenditure are actual payments made during a financial year, resulting from that years appropriations or from carryovers of unused appropriations from the previous year. Expenditure financed from earmarked revenue is presented separately.

Allocation of expenditure

Expenditure is allocated according to the criteria used for the UK correction, i.e. that all possible expenditure must be allocated with the exception of expenditure related to external actions, the pre-accession strategy, guarantees, reserves and earmarked revenue.

Allocation by Member State

Expenditure is allocated to the country in which the principal recipient resides, on the basis of the information available in the Commissions financial system ABAC. Some expenditure is not (or is improperly) allocated in ABAC, due to conceptual difficulties. In such cases, additional information received from the relevant services is used when-ever available (e.g. for Galileo, research and administration).


A new boost for jobs, growth and investment is one of the EU priorities put forward by the Commission under President Jean-Claude Juncker. The expenditure allocated to the budget subheading Competitiveness for growth and jobs therefore plays an ever more important role in boosting growth and creating jobs in the EU. The area includes: research and innovation; education and training; trans-European networks in energy, transport and telecommunications; social policy; and the devel-opment of businesses. The main programmes financed under this subheading are Horizon 2020 and large infrastructure projects such as Galileo (global satellite navigation) and EGNOS (the European geostationary navigation overlay service), ITER (fusion energy), Erasmus+ (education, training, young people and sport), the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) (transport energy and telecommunications) and COSME (Competitiveness of enterprises and small and medium-sized enterprises).

A major Commission priority in 2015 was preparing the implementation of the Investment Plan for Europe, launched in 2014, which focuses on mobilising at least EUR 315 billion in additional investment over the next 3 years. In partnership with the European Investment Bank (EIB) the Commission created the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI). This fund will be supported by a guarantee of EUR 16 billion from the EU budget, backed by a guarantee fund covering 50 % of the EFSI. Amending Budget 2 provisioned the EFSI guarantee fund for the year 2015.

Competitiveness for growth and jobs

Highlights

The European Fund for Strategic Investments allowed, in its first year, about EUR 100 billion of investments, thus boosting growth and jobs.

The Galileo satellites deployment was accelerated: 12 satellites launched, out of which nine in operation.

The seventh framework programme for research and technological development (FP7) had an estimated indirect economic effect of EUR 20 billion annually in additional GDP (0.15 %) and supported 11 Nobel laureates.

In 2014-2015, more than 1 million individuals took part in education actions under the new Erasmus+ programme.

European Union

Luta Valentina Morciano

OHB thinkstock shutterstock


Insert from Excel: SEC.3.H1A_impl_paym_

Heading 1A Payments executed in 2015 (million EUR)

Euratom Research and Training Programme;332 (2 %)

CEF Transport;1 227 (8 %)

Energy projects to aideconomic recovery (EERP);

385 (2 %)

Other actions and programmes; 202 (2 %)

Actions financed under the prerogatives of theCommission and specific competences

conferred to the Commission; 113 (1 %)

Pilot projects and preparatory actions; 17 (0 %)Decentralised agencies; 235 (2 %)

European Satellite Navigation Systems (EGNOS & GALILEO) 810 (5 %)

Nuclear Safetyand Decommissioning;150 (1 %)

ITER; 395 (3 %)

European Earth ObservationProgramme (Copernicus);506 (3 %)

European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI); 4 (0 %)

Competitiveness of enterprises and smalland medium-sized enterprises (COSME);

339 (2 %)

Education, Training,Youth and Sport (Erasmus+);

1 572 (10 %)

Customs, Fiscalis and Anti-Fraud;105 (1 %)

CEF Energy;78 (0 %)

CEF Information andCommunication Technology (ICT);

22 (0 %)

Employment and SocialInnovation (EaSI);

85 (1 %)

EUR 15 581 million

Horizon 2020;9 007 (58 %)

Heading 1A Expenditure by Member State in 2015

in billion EUR % GNI

0.00 %

0.50 %

1.00 %

1.50 %

2.00 %

2.50 %

0.0 billion

0.5 billion

1.0 billion

1.5 billion

2.0 billion

2.5 billion

FR DE UK ES BE IT NL AT SE DK EL PT FI IE LU PL BG CZ LT HU RO SI SK EE LV CY HR MT

Payments in 2015 cover both the current programmes and the completion of previous programmes. Only the names of the current programmes are given in the pie chart.


ec.europa.eu/budget/euprojects #EUBudget4Results

Sustainable forestry: creating jobs, benefiting rural communities, advancing gender equality

Climate change presents risks to the ecosystem and to populations living in the Medi-terranean region. Menfri is an innovation project closely related to rural and local development, and is fully engaged with issues such as poverty and gender equality. The project combats climate change through establishing forest management strate-gies and solutions, which address environmental concerns across the Mediterranean and also create jobs.

Project results:

The project has shown that sustainable and economically beneficial forestry is pos-sible. In Europe, where land abandonment is a key issue, responsible forest tourism is being encouraged as a way to bring economic benefits to local communities while promoting forest conservation. In Africa, Menfri is encouraging local womens associa-tions to start marketing non-wood products in order to increase income and gender equality. Menfri is also in negotiations with the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC), the worlds largest forest certification system, to encourage the certification of more forest-based products at a regional and global level.

Programme name: Seventh research framework programme (including completion of sixth research FP)

EU budget contribution to the project: EUR 745 958

Coordinating organisation(s)/institution(s): Centro de Investigacin Ecolgica y Aplicaciones, Forestales, Spain

Project partner(s): Belgium, Italy, Morocco, Tunisia, Spain

Project location: Barcelona, Spain

Timeframe: 2013 to 2016 E. Doblas-Miranda

http://europa.eu/!yJ46cc

http://europa.eu/!yJ46cc




EU budget contribution to the project: EUR 12 983 143

Coordinating organisation(s)/institution (s): Stiftelsen SINTEF

Project partner(s): Austria, Germany, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, United Kingdom

Project location: Trondheim, Norway

Timeframe: 2011 to 2015 Kzenon Fotolia

http://europa.eu/!Jc83uQ

Bridging the information gap in crisis response

Earthquakes, terrorist attacks, fires crises like these require fire, police and health services to coordinate their actions. However, these services often lack compatible communication systems, especially if the services are based in different regions or countries. The EU-funded project BRIDGE is improving the ICT systems at their disposal.

Project results:

The BRIDGE project has developed a software package to help emergency workers ef-ficiently respond to disasters, save more lives and protect infrastructure.

http://europa.eu/!Jc83uQ



New bomb-proof bag for safer air travel

Bombs hidden by terrorists are an all-too-real threat to airline security. The EU-fund-ed FLY-BAG2 project has developed a technology that enables aeroplanes to survive a Lockerbie-type explosion scenario. FLY-BAG2 is the first lightweight solution able to contain the devastation caused by bombs hidden in luggage. FLYBAG is ready to be manufactured and installed in the holds and cabins of all passenger aircraft.

Project results:

EU-funded researchers have created FLY-BAG a bag capable of dulling the effects of an explosion on board a plane.



Coordinating organisation(s)/institution(s): DAppolonia S.p.A.

Project partner(s): Germany, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, Sweden, United Kingdom

Project location: Genoa, Italy

Timeframe: 2012 to 2015 dappolonia

http://europa.eu/!tr99pY

http://europa.eu/!tr99pY



EU cluster matchmaking missions for SMEs

EU cluster matchmaking events are organised in Europe and beyond. These events en-courage transnational cooperation between clusters from Europe, as well as from third countries, to support the internationalisation of their SME members. By pooling and offering resources that individual SMEs might not be able to afford otherwise, these events help SMEs go international and develop their products and services.

Project results:

Eight cluster matchmaking events are planned to be organised in Belgium, Spain and China in the context of the Missions for Growth, and Italy in the context of Milan Expo 2015, with south Mediterranean, Latin American, ASEAN countries and the US and Canada. For each event there is a delegation of 12 to 30 European cluster representa-tives participating in cluster-to-cluster and cluster-to-business meetings.

Programme name: Competitiveness and innovation framework programme (CIP)

Coordinating organisation(s)/institution(s): Sociedade Portuguesa de Inovaao (SPI), Portugal

Project partner(s): INNO TSD and Steinbeis-Europa-Zentrum (SEZ), Germany

Project location: Portugal

Timeframe: 2013 to 2015

thinkstock

http://europa.eu/!JW63qK

http://europa.eu/!JW63qK



Youngsters on the move

The project Youngsters on the move lasts 18 months, during which volunteers support two institutions: the Centre for Autism and a Special School in Krakow. The main objec-tives of Youngsters on the move are to support people with disabilities, enable young people to acquire new skills and to raise awareness about migration to encourage young people to debate current social issues.

Project results:

The project allows the volunteers to better understand the problems of disabled peo-ple and to treat them with respect and dignity. The volunteers engaged in the project develop their tolerance, openness and understanding towards people facing social and physical problems. This enables the volunteers to raise their voices with awareness in the public debate.

Programme name: Education, Training, Youth and Sport (Erasmus+)

EU budget contribution to the project: EUR 54 763

Coordinating organisation(s)/institution(s): Internationaler Bund Polska

Project partner(s): Spain, France, Sweden

Project location: Krakw, Poland

Timeframe: 2015 to 2017 Photographee.eu Fotolia

http://europa.eu/!FQ63jm

http://europa.eu/!FQ63jm


Cohesion policy aims to promote economic, social and territorial cohesion by helping the least-developed EU coun-tries and regions to catch up with the other Member States, improving competitiveness in all regions and encouraging cooperation between regions. It also promotes more balanced and sustainable territorial development. The policy targets all regions and cities in the EU, in order to support job creation, business competitiveness, economic growth and sustainable development, and to improve the quality of life of EU citizens.

Cohesion policy supports hundreds of thousands of projects all over Europe that receive funding from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), the European Social Fund (ESF) and the Cohesion Fund. (The Cohesion Fund awards funding to programmes in EU Member States that have a GDP lower than 90 % of the EU average.)

For the 2014-2010 budgetary period there are five funds known as the European Structural and Investment Funds (ESI) which contribute to cohesion policy and regional development: the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), the European Social Fund (ESF), the Cohesion Fund, the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD), and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF). Coordination and consistency between these funds are ensured by a single set of rules (2).

(1) RegioStars Awards 2016: The objective of the RegioStars Awards is to identify good practices in regional development and to highlight original and innovative projects which could be attractive and inspiring to other regions.(2) https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/news/regulation-eu-no-13032013-european-parliament-and-council

Economic, social and territorial cohesion

Highlights

825 000 jobs were created and 120 000 start-ups across the EU were helped thanks to the European Regional Development Fund, during 2007-2013.

9 million citizens received training, improved skills or gained employment through the European Social Fund in the 2007-2013 period.

In November 2015, the European Commission and business leaders launched the European Pact for Youth to improve partnerships between business and education to boost the chances of young people getting jobs.

The Diritti a scuola project in Puglia (Italy) was one of the winners of the Regiostars awards (1) in 2015. Based on a mixed approach of education and social care, it significantly reduced early school leaving in the region.

thinkstock

European Union

Rido Fotolia School T. Fiore, Bari, Italy

https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/news/regulation-eu-no-13032013-european-parliament-and-council


Heading 1B Payments executed (million EUR) in 2015

Regional convergence(less developed regions); 27 633 (54 %)

Contribution from theCohesion Fund to CEF; 394 (1 %)

European Aid to theMost Deprived (FEAD); 46 (0 %)

Youth employment initiative (specific top-up allocation);1 035 (2 %)

Pilot projects and preparatory actions; 4 (0 %)

Competitiveness(more developed regions);

7 532 (15 %)

Cohesion fund;12 070 (24 %)

European territorialcooperation;

1 278 (3 %)

Technical assistanceand innovative actions;

160 (0 %)

Outermost and sparselypopulated regions;

25 (0 %)

Transition regions;785 (2 %)

EUR 50 961 million

Payments in 2015 cover both the current programmes and the completion of previous programmes. Only the names of the current programmes are given in the pie chart.

Heading 1B Expenditure by Member State in 2015


0.00%

0.50%

1.00%

1.50%

2.00%

2.50%

3.00%

3.50%

4.00%

4.50%

0.0 billion EUR

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2.0 billion EUR

3.0 billion EUR

4.0 billion EUR

5.0 billion EUR

6.0 billion EUR

7.0 billion EUR

8.0 billion EUR

9.0 billion EUR

PL CZ ES IT HU RO SK EL DE FR UK BG PT LV SI BE AT HR LT NL EE SE IE FI DK MT CY LU



Refugees and asylum seekers integrated into the region

Various bodies in the region of Koblenz, Germany, concerned with job market integra-tion and refugee counselling have united in the project network FaiR. The aim of this project, which is partly financed by ESF, is to provide guidance to refugees and help them improve their qualifications and make a successful start in the German job market.

Project results:

Refugees are supported individually and, if needed, are given placements in ca-reer-related language courses, professional orientation and qualification schemes in inter-company training areas and in cooperating businesses. Linguists and interpret-ers are on hand to overcome potential language barriers. In addition, programmes for businesses, public institutions and other establishments are provided in order to structurally improve access for refugees to employment and training. For this purpose, seminars and conferences or workshops are offered to the aforementioned bodies in northern Rhineland-Palatinate.

At the end of January 2016, 90 persons had already benefited from such tailor-made support and 30 had been transferred to other projects. The project aims to support 900 persons by 2019.

Programme name: Competitiveness (More developed regions)


Coordinating organisation(s)/institution(s): Caritasverband Koblenz e.V.

Project location: Koblenz, Germany


Caritasverband Koblenz e. V./Marco Wagner

http://europa.eu/!yj84kB

http://europa.eu/!yj84kB



A multifunctional ship to tackle marine pollution in Estonia

A multifunctional ship has been procured for Estonia to deal with incidents of marine pollution in Estonian waters and other parts of Baltic Sea. The ship is capable, under normal conditions, of removing the source of marine pollution within 48 hours. Under the care of the Estonian Police and Border Guard Board, it also monitors and supervises the marine environment, helping to prevent potential disasters.

Project results:

Estonian ports and others in the Gulf of Finland and the Baltic Sea are heavily involved in the trans-shipping of oil and oil products, making them particularly vulnerable to the occurrence of major oil spills. The ship was successfully launched in April 2011 to ad-dress the risk of oil spills.

The ship is now on call to react to emergencies in Estonian waters or in other parts of the Baltic Sea, allowing crews to respond and intervene before waves carry oil to the shore, greatly reducing the costs and damage. In the event of an alert, the ship will be ready to leave from the harbour to the marine pollution area within 2 hours, be at the pollution area within 6 hours and start remediation works within 12 hours. This means that under normal conditions the marine pollution should be removed within 48 hours.

Fund name: European Regional Development Fund


Coordinating organisation(s)/institution(s): Eesti Vabariigi Siseministeerium, Estonia

Project location: Tallinn, Estonia


Kindral Kurvits - European Commission

http://europa.eu/!dF44Dh

http://europa.eu/!dF44Dh



South Moravian Innovation Centre (JIC): A catalyst for innovation and growth

An ERDF-funded business support programme has evolved to become the largest busi-ness incubator scheme in the Czech Republic. The JIC Innovation Park is stimulating innovation and entrepreneurship in the fields of IT, software engineering, computer se-curity, machining, bio-technology and robotics as well as other high-technology fields.

Project results:

Start-ups as well as young small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are provided with work, office and/or laboratory space, and access to support facilities at the In-novation Park, which with its 7 000 m2 of space has enough capacity to pro-vide accommodation for 60 companies at any one time. To qualify for access to the programme companies have to have been established for no longer than 3 years and must have an annual turnover of under CZK 10 million (around EUR 400 000).

Since its launch in 2003 more than 100 companies have been incubated at the JIC Innovation Park and the majority of these successfully established themselves in busi-ness after leaving the programme. In 2012, companies involved in the programme launched 53 new products or services and generated turnover of nearly EUR 21 mil-lion. In the same year, seed capital invested in programme companies amounted to EUR 1 264 000 and the proportion of people employed at the park in full-time research and development positions rose to 44 % of the parks total workforce of nearly 300.

The ambitious long-term targets of the programme include the creation of five global leading companies, the creation of at least one company with a turnover of more than CZK 1 billion (around EUR 38.7 million) by 2020 and the creation of 2 000 highly quali-fied jobs.

Fund: European Regional Development Fund


Coordinating organisation(s)/institution(s): Ministerstvo prmyslu a obchodu (Ministry of Industry and Trade of

the Czech Republic)

Project partner(s): Jihomoravsk Inovan Centrum (South Moravian Innovation Centre)

Project location: Brno, Czech Republic


BillionPhotos.com - Fotolia

http://europa.eu/!Uy66GR

http://europa.eu/!Uy66GR



E-prescriptions help to modernise Greeces medical care network

The e-prescription project provides a stable nationwide system accessible only to authorised experts and at the same time it offers a clear overview of the patients medical history, by replacing existing practices of handwritten prescription orders with a digitalised operating framework related to online services and procedures that mod-ernise the health system in Greece. Additionally, the project contributes to transparency as well as to the decision-making policy ensured through accurate statistical data.

Project results:

The project has had a high rate of coverage and penetration throughout the country and is regarded as one of the major fully operating national e-government applica-tions, including medicine prescriptions and medical act referrals.

Some statistics:

Cooperation and involvement of 10 200 to 11 000 pharmacies in the prescription process per month.

Participation of 40 000 active doctors from 49 000 doctors subscribed in the system per month.

Provision of 6 000 000 e-prescriptions services per month.

Provision of 2 000 000 diagnostic referrals per month.

Provision of e-prescription service to 2 400 000-2 600 000 patients per month.

Provision of medical act referrals services to 1 000 000 patients.

Fund name: European Regional Development Fund


Coordinating organisation(s)/institution(s): Managing Authority of the O.P. Digital Convergence, Greece

Project partner(s): IDIKA S.A (e-government centre for social security services, supervised by the Ministry of

Labour, Social Security and Welfare), Greece

Project location: Greece

Timeframe: 2010 to 2015 eHealth - European Commission

http://europa.eu/!ct33fV

http://europa.eu/!ct33fV



Overhauling Sofias waste management system

As Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria, grows and modernises, the city is making sure that its waste management system keeps up. This project consists of three separate phases: a landfill for non-hazardous waste, a mechanical biological treatment plant, for which the construction started in the beginning of 2014, and a central heating plant. The first two phases were co-financed under the 2007-2013 Structural Funds Environment programme. The third phase of this project, the central heating plant, is financed under the 2014-2020 Environment programme.

Project results:

Construction of a mechanical biological treatment (MBT) plant at the Sadinata site with refuse-derived fuel (RDF) production capabilities.

After sorting out bio-waste and green waste, the plant is able to treat all household waste from Sofia.

With a capacity of approximately 410 000 tonnes per year, waste treatment op-erations can run 310 days a year, meaning an average daily treatment capacity of 1 320 tonnes per day.

Creating more than 100 direct jobs, as well as non-direct jobs.

Utilising organic fraction to obtain a compost-like output, a stabilised compost which can be applied in land remediation processes or as a soil improver.

By segregating and finding alternative uses for waste the city is limiting and reducing the amount of waste that would potentially be deposited in a landfill, and reducing potential emissions from the landfill.

Funds name: European Regional Development Fund and Cohesion Fund


Coordinating organisations/institutions: Municipality of Sofia, Bulgaria

Project location: Sofia, Bulgaria


Mikko Lemola - Fotolia

http://europa.eu/!uN94vG



e-Volve

The e-Volve project aimed to improve e-government and e-business skill levels in Cy-prus. It aimed to achieve this by helping companies and organisations to adopt best e-business practices. An e-business awareness campaign to promote e-business prac-tices to the business world and the general public was implemented and included, among other initiatives, the production of educational films, through which the avail-able e-government services, e-banking, e-learning and other e-business good practices were presented and promoted.

Project results:

Over 800 companies and organisations have received training and consultancy servic-es on e-business-related issues. More than 3 400 persons have attended the regular training programmes offered in Nicosia and Limassol.

Fund name: European Social Fund

EU budget contribution to the project (from European Social Fund): EUR 798 880

Coordinating organisations/institutions: Cyprus Produc-tivity Centre, Cyprus

Project location: Nicosia, Cyprus


European Communities, 2005 Alain Schroeder

http://europa.eu/!dx73tT

http://europa.eu/!dx73tT


Increased competitiveness of European agriculture allowed for a 6 % rise in the export of agricultural products despite the Russian ban.

The European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development support-ed 430 000 farm modernisation projects and provided start-up support to 165 000 young farmers during 2007-2013.

The improvement of the envi-ronmental performance of EU farming expanded to 47 mil-lion ha, representing more than 25 % of the EU-27 utilised agricultural area in 2013.

The LIFE programme for environment and climate action contributed to the reduction of more than 1 million tonnes of CO2 emissions per year.

European Union

Production Perig Fotolia

European Union

weerapat1003 - Fotolia

This budget heading covers the common agricultural policy, the common fisheries policy, rural development and environmental measures.

The EU common agricultural policy encourages the production of safe, high quality food. It promotes EU agricultural products, encourages innovation in farming and food processing, and supports farmers. The budget allocated to the common agricultural policy is used to finance both direct payments to farmers and measures to help address market disturbances, e.g. private or pub-lic storage and export refunds. The 2013 common agriculture policy reform focused on providing public goods for EU citizens. Its objectives included improving the quality of food, ensuring the sustainability of farming, and protecting biodiversity and natural heritage. Many of the new rules only applied from 2015 to ensure that Member States have enough time to roll out the new policy and to inform and prepare farmers. From June 2015 onwards, Member States have to publish the list of beneficiaries of common agricultural policy payments to increase the transparency rules.

Agriculture has been challenged at lot in 2015. Following the Russian ban of imports of certain agricultural products from the EU, as well as a supplydemand imbalance in the livestock sectors, the European Commission adopted several exceptional support measures for the dairy sector, for pig meat producers, for fruit and vegetables, and for overarching reinforced promotion measures. In the context of the adoption of the budget for 2015, the overall cost of these measures had been estimated at EUR 277 million. For the adoption of the budget for 2016, the overall cost of these measures had been estimated at EUR 711.5 million.

The EU is committed to increasing the economic potential of rural areas. Through the European Agricultural Fund for Rural De-velopment, it aims to create new sources of income for those living in rural areas by encouraging the diversification of activities. This fund is also used to help protect rural heritage.

Equally importantly, the EU promotes the efficient and sustainable use of land and forests. It encourages measures that ensure better protection of nature and biodiversity, reduce waste production and greenhouse gas emissions, make use of clean tech-nologies and improve air quality. The LIFE programme supports environmental protection and nature conservation.

The common fisheries policy promotes sustainable fisheries and aquaculture. The reform of the common fisheries policy began to be implemented in 2014. Its main objective is to ensure the long-term environmental sustainability of fishing and aquaculture.

Sustainable growth: natural resourcesHighlights


Heading 2 Payments executed (million EUR) in 2015

European AgriculturalGuarantee Fund (EAGF) Market related expenditure anddirect payments; 43 863 (77 %)

European AgriculturalFund for Rural

Development (EAFRD); 11 448 (20 %)

Actions financed under the prerogatives of the Commission andspecific competences conferred to the Commission; 8 (0 %)

Pilot projects and preparatory actions; 13 (0 %)Decentralised agencies; 50 (0 %)

Regional Fisheries Management Organisations (RFMOs)and Sustainable Fisheries Agreements (SFAs); 125 (0 %)

European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF);786 (1 %)

Environment and climate action (LIFE); 339 (1 %)

EUR 56 634 million

Heading 2 Expenditure by Member State in 2015


0.00 %

0.50 %

1.00 %

1.50 %

2.00 %

2.50 %

3.00 %

0.0 billion

2.0 billion

4.0 billion

EU budget 2015ec.europa.eu/budget/financialreport/2015/lib/financial_report_2015... · EU Budget Focused on Results ISSN 1830-7280 EU budget 2015 Financial report EU budget 2015 —

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