Amending budget 2/2006: budgeting the surplus from the implementation of the budget year 2005

The European Parliament adopted a resolution drafted by Giovanni PITTELLA (PES, Italy) and decided to accept Council's Draft amending budget unamended.

To recall, draft amending budget No 2/2006 aims to enter in the 2006 budget the surplus from the financial year 2005, amounting to EUR 2 410 million. The two main elements of this surplus are an over-registering in revenue of EUR 1 292 million and an under-spending in expenditure of EUR 1 077 million. The under-spending of payment appropriations, compared to the years before, has decreased overall to about 1% of the budget, i.e. only EUR 1 077 million of the total EU 2005 budget of EUR 105 684 048 940 were not used. For agriculture, the sum not spent amounted to EUR 157 million, or 0.3%, of EUR 48 510 million, for structural funding it was EUR 58 million (0.2%) of a total EUR 32 641 million, for external action it amounted to EUR 181 million (3.5%) of the total allowance of EUR 5 171 million, for administration it was EUR 66 million (1.0%) of a total EUR 6 292 million and for pre-accession strategy it amounted to EUR 463 million (13.5%) of a total of EUR 3 428 million.

Parliament stated that, compared to 2004, there have been considerable general improvements in the uptake of allocations in the fields of structural funds, where in 2004, EUR 232 million or 0.7% of the total budget of EUR 34 451 million were not spent, and internal policies, where an amount of EUR 50 million (0.7%) of a total of EUR 7 432 million was left unused in 2004. There is still some room for improvement, especially in the field of external action, where EUR 181 million equalling 3.5% of the total allowance were not spent in 2005, and in pre-accession strategy where the amount unused, compared to 2004, has actually gone up to EUR 463 million or 13,5% of the allowance initially planned.

Parliament welcomed the positive development in budget implementation over the last few years. It called on the Commission to continue its efforts to fully implement the budget which is even more important in view of the limited resources that will be available under the new financial framework 2007 – 2013.