Brussels, 22/07/2013 (Agence Europe) - On Monday 22 July, the Council of the EU adopted procedural decisions with a view to the formal adoption of the regulation laying down the multi-annual financial framework (MFF) for the period 2014-2020 and of the inter-institutional agreement between the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission on budgetary discipline, cooperation in budgetary matters and good financial management (see EUROPE 10876).
The Council has called on the EP to approve the regulation on the MFF 2014-2020 and on the Commission and the EP to approve the text of the inter-institutional agreement.
Finally, the member states are calling on the EP and the Commission to approve the declarations which are part of the political agreement on the MFF reached at the end of June: - on own resources: a high-level group will carry out a general re-examination of the system of own resources, taking account of the general objectives of simplicity, transparency, equity and democratic responsibility. An initial assessment will be available at the end of 2014. On the basis of the findings, the Commission will assess whether there are grounds to undertake additional initiatives regarding the own resources; - on the improvement of the efficiency of public expenditure in the fields covered by EU measures; - on the MFF: €2,143 million will be earmarked for youth employment, €200 million for Horizon 2020, €150 million for Erasmus and €50 million for COSME; - on re-examination/revision: the Commission confirms its intention to submit legislative proposals (in 2016) for a revision of the MFF regulation. In this context, it will pay particular attention to the functioning of the global margin for payments in order to ensure that the overall payments ceiling remains available throughout the period in question. It will also examine the evolution of the global margin for commitments. The Commission will also take account of the particular requirements of the Horizon 2020 programme. The Commission will also look into the possibility of aligning its proposals for the next MFF with the political cycles of the institutions.
Once the European Parliament has given its consent to the MFF regulation and the European Parliament and the Commission have approved the inter-institutional agreement and the declarations, the Council will formally adopt the regulation and approve the inter-institutional agreement and the statements. (LC/transl.fl)