2007 budget: other sections

PURPOSE: final adoption of the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2007.

LEGISLATIVE ACT: 2007/143/EC, Euratom.

CONTENT: the 2007 budget of the European Union was finally adopted on 14 December 2006, in accordance with the budgetary procedure (see summary of Parliament’s resolution of 14/12/2006 in procedure file BUD/2006/2018).

The budget is the first one to be issued under the 2007-2013 financial framework and the first involving the enlarged European Union of 27 Member-States. It supports a new generation of programmes which deal with the main priorities of the Union, namely sustainable growth and employment.

The budget for 2007 amounts to EUR 126.5 billion in commitment appropriations. This represents 1.08% of Community GNI and is an increase of 5% on the 2006 budget.

Payment appropriations amount to EUR 115.5 billion, or 0.99% of GNI. This represents an increase of 7.6% on 2006.

The key priority of the 2007 budget for the European Union remains growth and employment in line with the Lisbon Strategy.

The heading ‘administration’, which includes the expenditure of all the EU institutions, represents 5.5% of the total EU budget and totals almost EUR 7 billion (commitments and payments).

In terms of that expenditure, the budget of the other institutions (European Parliament, Council, Court of Justice, Court of Auditors, European Economic and Social Committee, Committee of the Regions, European Ombudsman and European Data Protection Supervisor) represents 37.1% of the total budget (or EUR 2 577 189 874).