On Thursday 27 April in Brussels, the European Parliament decided with 466 votes in favour, 173 against, and 11 abstentions, to grant the Commission a discharge on the implementation of the general European Union budget for 2015 (see EUROPE 11771).
Parliament regrets, however, in its adoption (482 in favour, 154 against, with 14 abstentions) of the report by Joachim Zeller (EPP, Germany) on the discharge granted to the Commission, the significant backlog accumulated in the use of structural funds for 2007-13, as well as the end of 2015, when 10% of the €446.2 billion in payments allocated to all operational programmes approved were still outstanding. Parliament is concerned that this situation could compromise the efficiency of the funds in certain member states. MEPs emphasise that current payment backlogs and the global economic recession could mean that “delays in budget execution for the 2014-2020 programming period will be greater than those experienced for the 2007-2013”. MEPs deplore the fact that climate-related spending accounted for only 17.3% in 2015, even though the objective was to reach at least, 20% over the financial period.
For the seventh consecutive year, Parliament has decided to postpone granting discharge to the Council of Ministers and the European Council for 2015. The spending to 2015 by the other institutions and agencies are validated by way of the discharge procedure. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)