Brussels, 13/10/2015 (Agence Europe) - On Monday 12 October, the MEPs of the committee on budgets of the European Parliament approved the draft amending budget (no. 7 for 2015) providing for additional funding (€330.7 million in fresh money, +€70.5 million in redeployed credits) to deal with the refugee crisis.
The Council approved its position on 8 October (see EUROPE 11406) and the two institutions have adopted without modification the draft amending budget proposed by the European Commission. The EP will approve the unblocking of these emergency funds this Wednesday 14 October.
The budgets committee also approved the proposal to mobilise the flexibility instrument (mechanism to exceed the upper limit of a heading of the multi-annual financial framework) to the tune of €66.1 million in commitment appropriations, in order to fund some of the measures to tackle the migration crisis.
The MEPs also decided that a long-term solution to pay for the migration measures should be found when the multi-annual financial framework 2014-2020 is examined in 2016 (mid-term review).
Readers may recall that draft amending budget 7/2015 provides for: €100 million in commitment appropriations for the 'asylum, migration and integration' fund and the internal security fund; €1.3 million in commitment and payment appropriations for the 120 new jobs to be created in EU agencies (such as Europol and Frontex); €300 million in commitment appropriations for the European neighbourhood instrument (ENI) to feed into the 'Madad' fund (to attenuate the Syrian crisis). (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)