Budgetary discipline: flexibility instrument, conversion of the Spanish and Portuguese fleets

The committee adopted the report by Joan COLOM I NAVAL (PES, E) approving the decision to mobilise the flexibility instrument to help pay for the remaining EUR 27m for the fleet restructuring programme under the 2003 budget (EUR 170m of the total programme funding of EUR 197m had already been provided by mobilising the flexibility instrument under the 2002 budget). The report welcomed the Commission's efforts to find part of the funding by means of a transfer of funds not spent under the 2002 budget to Heading 2 (EUR 14 991 760). The committee said that, in this case, it could accept the departure from the general principle that the flexibility instrument should not be used to cover the same needs two years running and therefore approved the decision to mobilise the flexibility instrument for the 2003 budgetary year to provide the sum of EUR 12 008 240 which, combined with the abovementioned transfer, would enable EUR 27m to be entered in the 2003 budget for the conversion of the Spanish and Portuguese fishing fleets. �