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Amending budget 6/2007: Section III, Commission, EU Solidarity Fund, accession to the World Customs Organisation, damage requests resulting from legal procedures, Civil Protection Financial Instrument and Financial Instrument for the Environment (LIFE+)

2007/2178(BUD)

On 13 September 2007, the Commission forwarded to the Council a proposal for a Decision of the European Parliament and of the Council on the mobilisation of the EU Solidarity Fund for Germany and France, accompanied by the corresponding Preliminary Draft Amending Budget (PDAB) No. 6/2007.

The aim of the proposal is to:

  • mobilise a total amount of EUR 172 195 985 in commitment appropriations in order to allocate EUR 166 905 985 to Germany and EUR 5 290 000 to France for financial assistance from the EU Solidarity Fund relating to a major storm in Germany in January 2007, and a tropical cyclone in France (La Réunion) in February 2007. The corresponding payment appropriations shall be redeployed from budget line 13 04 01 (Cohesion Fund - completion of previous projects);
  • create a new budget Article 14 03 03, with a “token entry”, to support financial obligations stemming from the accession of the European Communities to the World Customs Organisation;
  • mobilise new funds for an amount of EUR 35.5 million in commitment appropriations on Article 26 01 50 07 to pay damages to applicants following the Court of First Instance final judgements. The corresponding payment appropriations shall be redeployed;
  • create a new budget Article 03 03 02 ("Damage requests resulting from legal procedures against the Commission's decisions in the field of competition"), with a token entry;
  • integrate into the 2007 budget the necessary technical adjustments following the adoption by the Council of Decision 2007/162/EC establishing the Civil Protection Financial Instrument for the period 2007-2013; and the adoption by the European Parliament and the Council of Regulation (EC) No. 614/2007 concerning the Financial Instrument for the Environment (LIFE+).

The requirements detailed above entail an additional amount of EUR 207.7 million in commitment appropriations; the corresponding payment appropriations shall be found by redeployment between Headings.

At the Trilogue meeting, held on 16 October 2007, an agreement was reached on the Decision of the European Parliament and of the Council on the mobilisation of the EU Solidarity Fund for Germany and France as proposed by the Commission and on PDAB No. 6/2007 as presented by the Commission both for commitment and payment appropriations, with the exception of the creation of a new budget line for legal damage requests.