PURPOSE: presentation of Amending Letter N°2 to the draft general budget 2016 - updating of the estimated needs for agricultural expenditure and fisheries Managing the refugee crisis: immediate budgetary measures under the European Agenda on Migration.
CONTENT: this Amending Letter No 2 (AL2) to the draft budget for the year 2016 covers the following:
- the updating of the estimated needs, assigned revenue and appropriations for agricultural expenditure. In addition to changing market factors, the AL 2/2016 also incorporates the impact of decisions in the agricultural sector since the draft budget (DB) 2016 was presented in May 2015 as well as other proposals expected to have a significant effect during the budget year. After taking into account of the additional revenue assigned to the EAGF, the net result for heading 2 is a decrease of EUR 477.3 million for both commitment and payment appropriations;
- an update of the situation for Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Agreements, to take account of the latest estimates, on the basis of which the necessary expenditure is EUR 11 million lower, for both commitment and payment appropriations, than originally estimated;
- the necessary reinforcements for immediate measures to manage the refugee crisis under the European Agenda on Migration, building on the measures proposed in draft amending budget 7/2015, as follows:
· Heading 3: Security and Citizenship: a reinforcement of emergency assistance in favour of Member States more exposed, the increased capacity of the three front-line agencies, as well as the integration of the two relocation decisions taken in September 2015 and the need for a further top-up of funding under the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF) and the Internal Security Fund (ISF). Altogether, the proposed measures for 2016 require a reinforcement of EUR 1 380 million in commitment appropriations and EUR 778.8 million in payment appropriations. Consequently, the Commission proposes to mobilise the Flexibility Instrument for an amount of EUR 1 504 million in heading 3. This includes EUR 124 million, which the Commission already proposed to mobilise from the Flexibility Instrument together with the initial draft budget 2016; such a proposal is now repealed and replaced by the new draft act accompanying this amending letter.
· Heading 4: Global Europe: an increase for Humanitarian Aid of EUR 150 million in commitment appropriations and EUR 405 million in payment appropriations, and a reinforcement of the payment appropriations for the European Neighbourhood Instrument of EUR 210 million.
· Heading 5: Administration: an increase of EUR 23.9 million in commitment and payment appropriations to cover salaries and missions.
- an increase of EUR 5 million in commitment and payment appropriations to cover the fees obligations towards the European Investment Fund (EIF) for the implementation of the new small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) window products under the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI).
- a budgetary neutral amendment to the structure of the establishment plan of the Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER);
- a reduction of EUR 20 million in payment appropriations under the Food and Feed programme.
The net budgetary impact of these changes across all headings is an increase in commitment appropriations of EUR 1 070.6 million, and in payment appropriations of EUR 914.5 million.