Proposal for a Council Regulation on budgetary discipline (COM(1999) 364 - C5-0141/1999 - 1999/0151(CNS))
C 189/80 Official Journal of the European Communities EN 7. 7. 2000 Wednesday 17 November 1999 3. Budgetary discipline * A5-0055/1999 Proposal for a Council Regulation on budgetary discipline (COM(1999) 364 & C5-0141/1999 & 1999/0151(CNS)) The proposal was amended as follows: TEXT PROPOSED BY THE COMMISSION AMENDMENTS BY PARLIAMENT Proposal for a Council Regulation on budgetary discipline Proposal for a Council Decision on budgetary discipline (Amendment 1) Title (Amendment 2) Recital 1 (1) Whereas, at its meeting in Berlin on 24 and 25 March 1999, the European Council decided to retain and strengthen the budgetary discipline introduced by Decision 94/0729/EC and confirmed that all Community expenditure should be subject to the principles of sound public finance and budgetary discipline; (1) Whereas, at its meeting in Berlin on 24 and 25 March 1999, the European Council proposed retaining and strengthening the budgetary discipline introduced by Decision 94/0729/EC; whereas, moreover, the European Council suggested that the Union’s expenditure must respect both the imperative of budgetary discipline and efficient expen- diture, and the need to ensure that the Union has suffi- cient resources at its disposal to ensure the orderly devel- opment of its policies for the benefit of its citizens and to cope effectively with the process of enlargement; (Amendment 3) Recital 5 (5) Whereas, on the basis of the European Council’s conclusions, the institutions also agreed to maintain unchanged the refer- ence framework and the rate of increase of the agricultural guideline and to extend the guideline to all expenditure under the reformed common agricultural policy, to the new rural to veterinary and plant-health mea- development measures, sures, to expenditure connected with the agricultural pre-acces- sion instrument and to the amounts available for accession relating to agriculture; the institutions also agreed (5) Whereas to maintain unchanged the reference framework and the rate of increase of the agricultural guideline and to extend the guideline to all expenditure under the reformed common agricultural policy, to the new rural development measures, to veterinary and plant- health measures and to expenditure connected with the agri- cultural pre-accession instrument; (Amendment 4) Recital 9 (9) Whereas, as a result, savings may have to be made; whereas, in the absence of a decision by the Council, acting on a proposal from the Commission, measures could be taken during a special Council meeting held as part of the budget discussions before 15 September; (9) Whereas, as a result, measures may have to be taken to enable the ceilings on expenditure to be complied with, for which the Commission should submit appropriate pro- posals; whereas the two arms of the budgetary authority should try to reach agreement on these measures during for which the consultations Annex III to the Interinstitutional Agreement of 6 May 1999 on budgetary discipline and improvement of the budgetary procedure (1) provides; among the institutions (1) OJ C 172, 18. 6. 1999, p. 1. 7. 7. 2000 EN Official Journal of the European Communities C 189/81 TEXT PROPOSED BY THE COMMISSION Wednesday 17 November 1999 AMENDMENTS BY PARLIAMENT (Amendment 5) Recital 10 (10) Whereas urgent measures must be taken to safeguard the Union’s financial interests; whereas, as a result, the Commis- sion’s management powers must be increased; Deleted (Amendment 6) Recital 11 (11) Whereas, with regard to this objective, it is essential that consideration be given to proposing appropriate measures in the medium term; (11) Whereas, according to the Interinstitutional Agree- ment, the financial perspective is intended to ensure that, in the medium term, Community expenditure, broken down by broad category, develops in an orderly manner and within the limits of the own resources assigned to the Community; whereas it is essential that consideration be given to proposing any measures in the medium term that may be necessary; (Amendment 7) Recital 12 (12) Whereas savings may have to be made in the very short term to achieve the objective of ensuring compliance with the ceilings laid down for heading 1; whereas the parties interested should be informed of this aspect so that they can adjust their expectations accordingly; whereas, in taking these measures, the need for legal security must be taken into account as far as possible; (12) Whereas measures which are taken in order to make savings should not place in doubt the principles on which the CAP is based; whereas the reform of the CAP should facilitate the stabilisation of agricultural expenditure; (Amendment 8) Recital 12a (new) (12a) Whereas any measures which may prove necessary in relation to agricultural expenditure should be taken in such a way that the respective powers of the institutions in budgetary matters, as defined in the Treaties, are respected; (Amendment 9) Recital 12b (new) (12b) Whereas the Interinstitutional Agreement offers the Commission the possibility of proposing a revision of the financial perspective in the event of unforeseen cir- cumstances; whereas, in that case, the institutions will first examine the scope for re-allocating expenditure cov- ered by the heading concerned by the revision; (Amendment 10) Recital 16 (16) Whereas provision should be made for the possibility of reducing or temporarily suspending the monthly advances when the information communicated by the Member States does not enable the Commission to confirm that the Commun- ity rules applicable have been observed or indicates a clear mis- use of Community funds; (16) Whereas in order to protect the financial interests of the Union precautionary measures may need to be adopted; whereas, consequently, provision should be made for the possibility of reducing or temporarily suspending the monthly advances when the information communicated by the Member States does not enable the Commission to confirm C 189/82 Official Journal of the European Communities EN 7. 7. 2000 Wednesday 17 November 1999 TEXT PROPOSED BY THE COMMISSION AMENDMENTS BY PARLIAMENT that the Community rules applicable have been observed or indicates a clear misuse of Community funds; whereas for reasons of transparency, the Commission should submit a report every year to the budgetary authority concerning any cases in which it has reduced or suspended the monthly advances referred to above; (Amendment 11) Recital 20 (20) Whereas, should be repealed and replaced by this Regulation, for reasons of clarity, Decision 94/0729/EC (20) Whereas, should be repealed and replaced by this Decision, for reasons of clarity, Decision 94/0729/EC (Amendment 12) Article 1 Budgetary discipline shall apply to all expenditure. Such disci- pline shall be applied, as appropriate, by the Financial Regula- tion, this Regulation and the Interinstitutional Agreement of 6 May 1999. Budgetary discipline shall apply to all expenditure covered by Annex I to the Interinstitutional Agreement of 6 May 1999 (‘Financial perspective (EU-15)’). Such discipline shall be applied, in accordance with the Treaty, by the Financial Regulation, this Decision and the abovementioned Interinsti- tutional Agreement. (Amendment 31) Article 3(2), 1st indent @ 74 % of the rate of increase in GNP between 1995 @ 74 % of the rate of increase in GNP between 1988 (base year) and the year in question, (base year) and the year in question, (Amendments 32 and 13) Article 4(1) 1. The agricultural guideline shall cover expenditure charge- able to Titles 1 to 4 of Sub-section B1 of Section III of the budget in the nomenclature adopted for the 2000 budget, the expenditure connected with the agricultural pre-accession instrument under heading 7 of the financial perspective and the amounts relating to agriculture which are available for accession under the financial perspective. 1. The agricultural guideline shall cover expenditure charge- able to Titles 1 to 4 of Sub-section B1 of Section III of the budget in the nomenclature adopted for the 2000 budget and the expenditure connected with the agricultural pre-accession instrument under heading 7 of the financial perspective. The agricultural guideline shall be reviewed on the basis of a report which the Commission shall submit to the Council and to the European Parliament before the first enlargement of the Union so that any necessary adjust- ments can be made. (Amendment 14) Article 5(1) 1. All the legislative measures proposed by the Commission or adopted by the Council or the Commission under the common agri- cultural policy shall comply with the amounts laid down in the financial perspective under the sub-heading for expenditure on the CAP (‘sub-heading 1a’) and under the sub-heading for rural development and accompanying measures (‘sub-heading 1b’). 1. The Commission shall not present any legislative proposal, or alter its proposals, or adopt any implement- ing measure, which does not comply with the amounts laid down in the financial perspective under the sub-heading for expenditure on the CAP (‘sub-heading 1a’) and under the sub- heading for rural development and accompanying measures (‘sub-heading 1b’), whichever is applicable. All such propo- sals and measures adopted by the Council shall comply with the amounts laid down in the same sub-headings, whichever is applicable. 7. 7. 2000 EN Official Journal of the European Communities C 189/83 TEXT PROPOSED BY THE COMMISSION Wednesday 17 November 1999 AMENDMENTS BY PARLIAMENT (Amendment 15) Article 5(2) 2. The Commission shall examine the medium-term budget situation when the preliminary draft budget is established for a given year. If it appears that there is a risk of sub-headings 1a and 1b of the financial perspective being exceeded for that year and the following financial year, the Commission shall propose appropriate measures to the Council these amounts are respected. to ensure that 2. The Commission shall examine the medium-term budget situation when the preliminary draft budget is established for a given year. If it appears that there is a risk of sub-headings 1a and/or 1b of the financial perspective being exceeded for that year and the following financial year, the Commission shall propose appropriate measures to the budgetary authority to ensure that these amounts are respected. (Amendment 16) Article 5(4) If, when the preliminary draft budget is established, 4. it appears that the appropriations required for the financial year in question exceed the amounts referred to in paragraph 3, the Commission shall take appropriate measures to remedy the situation under the management powers at its disposal. If this is not possible, or if the measures taken prove insufficient, the Commission shall propose other measures, where applicable as part of the prices package and related measures, to ensure that these amounts are observed. The Council shall take a decision on these measures by 1 July of the year preceding the financial year covered by the preliminary draft budget in question. If, when the preliminary draft budget is established, 4. it appears that the appropriations required for the financial year in question exceed the amounts referred to in paragraph 3, the Commission shall take appropriate measures to remedy the situation using the management powers at its disposal under the provisions of Treaty and of the relevant regulations. The Commission shall inform both arms of the budgetary authority of the measures taken. If the situation cannot be remedied in this way, or if the measures taken prove insuffi- cient, the Commission shall propose other measures, where applicable as part of the prices package and related measures, to ensure that these amounts are observed, and the institu- tions shall use the procedures foreseen in the Interinstitu- tional Agreement to reach an agreement on the budgetary implications of the measures proposed. The Council shall take a decision on these measures by 1 July of the year preced- ing the financial year covered by the preliminary draft budget in question. (Amendment 17) Article 5(5) 5. In the absence of a Council decision before the deadline referred to in paragraph 4, or if the Commission considers that the outcome of the Council’s discussions on these proposals is likely to exceed the costs put forward in its original proposals, the Council shall take a decision on the measures required at a special meeting held as part of its budget discussions before 15 September of the year preceding the financial year covered by the preliminary draft budget in question. 5. In the absence of an agreement between the two arms of the budgetary authority, or if the Commission considers that the outcome of the budgetary authority’s discussions on these proposals is likely to exceed the costs put forward in its original proposals, the Council shall take a decision on the measures required at a special meeting held as part of its bud- get discussions before 15 September of the year preceding the financial year covered by the preliminary draft budget in ques- tion. The institutions shall make every effort to secure an agreement on the measures to be taken on the basis of the procedures foreseen in the Interinstitutional Agreement. In particular, if there is a risk of the amounts referred to in paragraph 3 being exceeded, the rules for the revision of the financial perspective shall apply. (Amendment 18) Article 5(6) 6. The European Parliament is invited to deliver its opinion within six weeks of receiving any Commission proposal to ensure compliance with the amounts referred to in paragraph 3. 6. The European Parliament is invited to take a decision within six weeks of receiving any Commission proposal to ensure compliance with the amounts referred to in paragraph 3. C 189/84 Official Journal of the European Communities EN 7. 7. 2000 Wednesday 17 November 1999 TEXT PROPOSED BY THE COMMISSION AMENDMENTS BY PARLIAMENT (Amendment 19) Article 5(7) as for a given year, a precautionary measure, If, on establishment of the letter of amendment to the 7. preliminary draft budget it appears that the amount fixed for sub-heading 1a cannot be respected, the Commission shall, reduce the amount for re-imbursement of direct aid to farmers for the financial year covered by the letter of amendment. If a positive margin emerges during implementation of the budget for that financial year or the following year, the amount of reimbursement of direct aid shall be adjusted accordingly. The Commission shall take the measures which are necessary as a result of this adjustment, in particular proposals for transfers. At all events, the financial costs undertaken by the Member States shall be re-paid from the Community budget by, as a priority and entirely during the financial year following the year covered by the letter of amendment. for a given year, If, on establishment of the letter of amendment to the 7. preliminary draft budget it appears that the amount fixed for sub-heading 1a cannot be respected and if it also appears that the amount cannot be revised according to the procedures foreseen in the Interinstitu- tional Agreement, the Commission shall, as a precautionary measure, reduce the amount for re-imbursement of direct aid to farmers for the financial year covered by the letter of amendment. If a positive margin emerges during implementa- tion of the budget for that financial year or the following year, the amount of reimbursement of direct aid shall be adjusted accordingly. The Commission shall take the measures which are necessary as a result of this adjustment, in particular pro- posals for transfers. At all events, the financial costs undertaken by the Member States maybe re-paid from the Community budget within the limit of the appropriations available dur- ing the financial year following the year covered by the letter of amendment. (Amendment 34) Article 5(7), 2nd subparagraph (new) The Commission shall submit appropriate proposals for preventing a cycle arising from suspended payable amounts, which lead to the suspension of other amounts, which then have to be paid out, resulting in fresh suspen- sions, etc. The Commission shall also ensure that sus- pended amounts from year x−1 are not paid out at the expense of actual requirements in year x. (Amendment 20) Article 5(8) For the implementation of this article, the support mea- 8. sures and institutional prices provided for under the common agricultural policy shall apply without prejudice to the adoption, whenever appropriate, of measures to ensure compliance with the amounts referred to in paragraph 3. For the implementation of this article, care shall be 8. taken when adopting the support measures and the institu- tional prices provided for under the common agricultural pol- icy to ensure compliance with the amounts referred to in para- graph 3. (Amendment 21) Article 6(5) If it concludes from the examination that there is a risk of 5. the appropriations for sub-heading 1a being exceeded at the end of the year, the Commission shall take action to remedy the situation under the management powers at its disposal. If these measures prove to be insufficient, the Commission shall evaluate the impact of the measures to be proposed to the Council with respect to both the savings which they are likely to produce and the time required for them to have their first economic and budgetary effects. The budgetary authority shall be informed of this evaluation. If effective measures are found to control expenditure, the Commission shall propose them to the Council. The European Parliament is invited to deliver its opinion within six weeks and the Council shall act within two months of receiving the Commission’s proposal in order to bring expenditure back into line with the allocation provided. If it concludes from the examination that there is a risk of 5. the appropriations for sub-heading 1a being exceeded at the end of the year, the Commission shall take action to remedy the situation under the management powers at its disposal. The Commission shall inform the budgetary authority of the measures taken. If these measures prove to be insufficient, the Commission shall evaluate the impact of the measures to be proposed to the budgetary authoritywith respect to both the savings which they are likely to produce and the time required for them to have their first economic and budgetary effects. The budgetary authority shall be informed of this evalu- ation. If effective measures are found to control expenditure, the institutions shall use the procedures foreseen in the Interinstitutional Agreement to reach an agreement on the budgetary implications of the necessary measures and 7. 7. 2000 EN Official Journal of the European Communities C 189/85 TEXT PROPOSED BY THE COMMISSION Wednesday 17 November 1999 AMENDMENTS BY PARLIAMENT the Commission shall propose them to the budgetary authori- ty. The two arms of the budgetary authority shall try to reach agreement on these measures during the consulta- tions among the institutions for which Annex III to the Interinstitutional Agreement of 6 May 1999 on budgetary discipline and improvement of the budgetary procedure provides. (Amendment 22) Article 6(6) If it proves impossible to remedy the situation before the 6. end of the budget year or if the Council does not take a deci- sion within the time limit laid down, the Commission shall, as a precaution, suspend the payment of the monthly advances made to the Member States under the EAGGF Guarantee Sec- tion. This suspension shall be in proportion to the total over- run for the subheading concerned. The amounts suspended shall be charged as a priority and entirely to the budget for the following year. If it proves impossible to remedy the situation before the 6. end of the budget year or to complete the procedure for the revision of the financial perspective, or if the Council does not take a decision within the time limit laid down, the Com- mission shall, as a precaution, suspend the payment of the monthly advances made to the Member States under the EAGGF Guarantee Section. This suspension shall be in propor- tion to the total overrun for the subheading concerned. The amounts suspended may be charged to the budget for the fol- lowing year within the limit of the appropriations avail- able. (Amendment 23) Article 6a (new) Article 6a If at any point in the procedures laid down in Articles 5 or 6 there should appear a risk that the amounts fixed for sub-heading 1a or for sub-heading 1b of the financial per- spective were to be exceeded, despite the possible mea- sures to be taken, the Commission may avail itself of the possibility offered by the Interinstitutional Agreement to propose an appropriate revision of the financial perspec- tive. (Amendments 24 and 36) Article 6b (new) Article 6b The Commission may propose to the Council and to the European Parliament the necessary measures to allow the transfer of resources in Chapters B1-1 to B1-3 and B1-4 which are not utilised in one budgetary year to the fol- lowing budgetary year in order to ease the burden on the budget in the following year. Unused resources entered in Chapters B1-1 to B1-3 and B1-4 may thereby be transferred to the following year and shall not be returned to the Member States. The Commission may make use of this power when draw- ing up the preliminary draft budget. C 189/86 Official Journal of the European Communities EN 7. 7. 2000 Wednesday 17 November 1999 TEXT PROPOSED BY THE COMMISSION AMENDMENTS BY PARLIAMENT (Amendment 25) Article 8, 1st paragraph € 500 million shall be entered in a reserve in the general bud- get of the European Communities, as a provision to cover the developments caused by movements in the euro/dollar market rate in relation to the rate used in the budget referred to in Article 10. € 500 million shall be entered in a reserve in the general bud- get of the European Communities, as a provision to cover the developments caused by movements in the euro/dollar market rate in relation to the rate used in the budget referred to in Article 10 as well as by unforeseen developments in the agricultural markets. (Amendment 26) Article 9 By no later than the end of October each year, the Commission shall report to the budgetary authority on the impact of move- ments in the average euro/dollar rate on expenditure under Titles 1 to 3 (heading 1). By no later than the end of October each year, and before it presents a letter of amendment to the preliminary draft budget, the Commission shall report to the budgetary authori- ty on the impact of movements in the average euro/dollar rate on expenditure under Titles 1 to 3 of sub-section B1 of the budget (heading 1 of the financial perspective). (Amendment 27) Article 13(3a) (new) 3a. The Commission shall present an annual report to the budgetary authority on the application of this Article during the previous financial year. (Amendment 28) Article 18 No act adopted under the codecision procedure by the European Par- liament and the Council nor any act adopted by the Council which involves exceeding the appropriations available in the budget or the allocations available in the financial perspective may be implemented in financial terms until the budget has been amended and, if necessary, the financial perspective has been appropriately revised in accordance with the relevant procedure for each of these cases. The financial implementation of any act of the European Parliament and the Council or of any act of the Council which involves exceeding the appropriations available in the budget or the allocations available in the financial perspective may not take place until the budget has been amended and, if necessary, the financial perspective has been appropriately revised in accordance with the relevant procedure for each of these cases. (Amendment 29) Article 18a (new) Article 18a Any act amending or replacing this Decision shall only be adopted after recourse to the conciliation procedure referred to in the Interinstitutional Agreement and after that procedure has resulted in an agreement between the European Parliament and the Council on the amendments to be made. 7. 7. 2000 EN Official Journal of the European Communities C 189/87 TEXT PROPOSED BY THE COMMISSION Wednesday 17 November 1999 AMENDMENTS BY PARLIAMENT This Regulation shall enter into force on the seventh day following its publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities. This Decision is addressed to the Member States and to the Commission. (Amendment 30) Article 20 It shall apply from … This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States. European Parliament legislative resolution on the proposal for a Council Regulation on budgetary discipline (COM(1999) 364 & C5-0141/1999 & 1999/0151(CNS)) (Consultation procedure) The European Parliament, @ having regard to the Commission proposal to the Council (COM(1999) 364), @ having been consulted by the Council pursuant to Articles 37, 279 and 308 of the EC Treaty (C5-0141/1999), @ having regard to Rule 67 of its Rules of Procedure, @ having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgets and the opinion of the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development (A5-0055/1999), 1. Approves the Commission proposal as amended; Calls on the Commission to alter its proposal accordingly, pursuant to Article 250(2) of the EC 2. Treaty; Calls for the conciliation procedure to be initiated should the Council intend to depart from the text 3. approved by Parliament; 4. 5. Asks to be consulted again if the Council intends to amend the Commission proposal substantially; Instructs its President to forward its position to the Council and Commission