Amending budget 2/2011: 2010 budget surplus

The European Parliament adopted by 624 votes to 14, with 29 abstentions, a resolution aiming to adopt, unamended, the Council's position on Draft amending budget No 3/2011.

It recalls that Draft amending budget No 3/2011 aims to enter in the 2011 budget the surplus from the 2010 financial year, amounting to EUR 4 539 394 283.

The main components of that surplus are: (i) a positive outturn on income of more than EUR 1.8 billion; (ii) an under-spend in expenditure of EUR 2.72 billion; (iii) a positive exchange rate difference of EUR 22.3 million,

The major part of the income side (EUR 1.28 billion out of EUR 1.8 billion) comes from interest on late payments and fines.

Parliament is firmly convinced that the part of income calculated from interest on late payments and fines is not to be considered as a surplus and should therefore not be deducted from the Member States' contributions (own resources based on GNI). Such income should be directly put back and reinvested in the EU budget.

Parliament approves, however, Council's position on Draft amending budget No 3/2011 unamended and stresses that it is determined to promote and defend this principle in the forthcoming negotiations on annual and multiannual budgets.