REPORT on the Council position on Draft amending budget No 2/2019 of the European Union for the financial year 2019 – Reinforcement of key programmes for EU competitiveness: Horizon 2020 and Erasmus+
9.9.2019 - (11731/2019 – C9‑0112/2019 – 2019/2022(BUD))
Committee on Budgets
Rapporteur: John Howarth
MOTION FOR A EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT RESOLUTION
on the Council position on Draft amending budget No 2/2019 of the European Union for the financial year 2019 – Reinforcement of key programmes for EU competitiveness: Horizon 2020 and Erasmus+
(11731/2019 – C9‑0112/2019 – 2019/2022(BUD))
The European Parliament,
– having regard to Article 314 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,
– having regard to Article 106a of the Treaty establishing the European Atomic Energy Community,
– having regard to Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, amending Regulations (EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014, and Decision No 541/2014/EU, and repealing Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012[1], and in particular and in particular Articles 18(3) and 44 thereof,
– having regard to the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2019, as adopted on 12 December 2018[2],
– having regard to Council Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 1311/2013 of 2 December 2013 laying down the multiannual financial framework for the years 2014-2020[3],
– having regard to the Interinstitutional Agreement of 2 December 2013 between the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission on budgetary discipline, on cooperation in budgetary matters and on sound financial management[4],
– having regard to Council Decision 2014/335/EU, Euratom of 26 May 2014 on the system of own resources of the European Union[5],
– having regard to Draft amending budget No 2/2019, which the Commission adopted on 15 May 2019 (COM(2019)0320),
– having regard to the position on Draft amending budget No 2/2019 which the Council adopted on 3 September 2019 and forwarded to Parliament on the same day (11731/2019 – C9‑0112/2019),
– having regard to Rules 94 and 96 of its Rules of Procedure,
– having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgets (A9-0004/2019),
A. whereas, at the insistence of Parliament, the European Parliament and the Council decided, within the context of the budgetary procedure 2019, to budget EUR 100 million in an amending budget in 2019 to reinforce Horizon 2020 and Erasmus; Parliament and the Council invited the Commission to present this amending budget, which will not contain any other elements, as soon as the technical adjustment of the Multiannual Financial Framework for 2020 including the calculation of the Global margin for commitments is completed in the spring of 2019;
B. whereas the Commission has accordingly proposed to amend the budget 2019 to reflect this agreement;
C. whereas the Commission has proposed to allocate an additional EUR 80 million to reinforce Horizon 2020 and an additional EUR 20 million to Erasmus+ budget; whereas no indication on the share of each instrument in the global reinforcement was specified in the agreement on the budget 2019;
D. whereas, within the Horizon 2020 reinforcement, the Commission has proposed to allocate an additional EUR 34,6 million to Horizon 2020 budget item 08 02 03 04 — Achieving a European transport system that is resource-efficient, environmentally friendly, safe and seamless to reinforce the 2019 actions against climate change, in particular batteries, Green Vehicles and Greening Aviation, and additional EUR 45,4 million to Horizon 2020 budget item 08 02 01 02 — Strengthening research in future and emerging technologies to increase the amount for the “Breakthrough zero-emissions energy generation for full decarbonisation" and “Energy and climate change related technologies” topics;
E. whereas the Commission has proposed that the Erasmus+ be reinforced for its core mobility activities in particular in the field of higher education and vocational education and training, as well as for centres of vocational excellence; whereas it has also proposed that part of the reinforcement go to European Universities, a recent and fundamental action developed in the framework of the European Education Area by 2025 to foster excellence, innovation and inclusion in higher education across Europe;
1. Takes note of Draft amending budget No 2/2019 as submitted by the Commission, which is devoted to providing an additional EUR 100 million of commitment appropriations to Horizon 2020 and Erasmus+, to reflect the agreement reached between Parliament and the Council in the framework of the budget 2019 negotiations; notes that no reinforcement in payment appropriations has been proposed at this stage;
2. Notes that, given the programmes’ profiles, while there might be no need to reinforce payment appropriations for Horizon 2020 by the end of year 2019, the reinforced commitment appropriations for Erasmus+ will most probably need to be matched by increased payment appropriations still this year; asks the Commission to inform the budgetary authority about how it intends to cover these increased payment needs;
3. Approves the Council position on Draft amending budget No 2/2019;
4. Instructs its President to declare that Amending budget No 2/2019 has been definitively adopted and arrange for its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union;
5. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the other institutions and bodies concerned and the national parliaments.
ANNEX: LETTER OF THE COMMITTEE ON CULTURE AND EDUCATION
Letter from Sabine Verheyen, Chair of the Committee on Culture and Education, to Mr Johan Van Overtveldt, Chair of the Committee on Budgets
Mr Johan VAN OVERTVELDT
Chair of the Committee on Budgets
WIB 02M029
IPOL-COM-CULT D (2019) 26164
Dear Chair,
On 15 May 2019, the European Commission published Draft Amending Budget No. 2 to the 2019 General Budget of the Union. DAB 2/2019 translates the agreement reached during conciliation to make available an additional 100 million EUR to the Horizon 2020 and Erasmus+ programmes in 2019. As such, the Committee on Culture and Education would like, via this letter, to convey to the BUDG Committee its assessment of DAB 2/2019.
With respect to the Commission’s proposal to divide the additional allocations between Horizon 2020 and Erasmus+ on an 80-20 basis, the CULT Committee considers that this mirrors the approximate ratio of budgetary allocations to the two programmes, since the Horizon 2020 financial envelope is roughly five times that of Erasmus+. Moreover, our discussions with the Commission have made clear that, owing to the nature of funding under Erasmus+, it would be extremely difficult for the programme to absorb higher levels of funding than the additional 20 million EUR proposed in DAB 2/2019 at such a late stage in the year. As such, the CULT Committee can support the proposed division of funding.
DAB 2/2019 also sets out, in the explanatory memorandum, which actions the Commission intends to spend the additional resources on. The CULT Committee unreservedly welcomes the use of funding to boost core mobility activities in the field of higher education and vocational education and training. Nevertheless, we would like to register our concern that the Commission intends to use some of the additional money to boost funding for pilot initiatives on European Universities and Centres of Vocational Excellence.
For the sake of clarity, this concern is neither a comment on the merits of the two initiatives nor on the validity of piloting new ideas. Rather, it is important to underline that both initiatives are proposed for the next generation of the Erasmus+ programme from 2021-2027, but do not feature in the existing programme. They are nevertheless being funded through the 2019 work programme, European Universities to the tune of 30 million EUR already before the top-up via the DAB. The decision to fund them - taken through the work programme - represents a clear secondary policy choice supplementing the basic act.
As you know, such supplementary policy choices are only to be adopted via delegated acts with oversight powers for both legislators and not via implementing acts since they do not relate purely to implementation. The CULT Committee intends to remedy this situation in the next generation of programmes by ensuring that political priorities are decided, as the Treaty intends, by the legislators.
We trust that the above considerations are clear and we remain at your disposal for any questions you may have or follow-up required.
Yours sincerely,
Sabine VERHEYEN
Cc: Budget 2019 Rapporteur (tbc);
INFORMATION ON ADOPTION IN COMMITTEE RESPONSIBLE
Date adopted |
3.9.2019 |
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Result of final vote |
+: –: 0: |
31 7 1 |
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Members present for the final vote |
Rasmus Andresen, Clotilde Armand, Robert Biedroń, Anna Bonfrisco, Jonathan Bullock, Olivier Chastel, Lefteris Christoforou, David Cormand, Paolo De Castro, José Manuel Fernandes, Eider Gardiazabal Rubial, Alexandra Geese, Valentino Grant, Elisabetta Gualmini, Valerie Hayer, Niclas Herbst, Monika Hohlmeier, John Howarth, Moritz Körner, Joachim Kuhs, Zbigniew Kuźmiuk, Hélène Laporte, Pierre Larrouturou, Margarida Marques, Siegfried Mureşan, Jan Olbrycht, Henrik Overgaard Nielsen, Karlo Ressler, Bogdan Rzońca, Nicolae Ştefănuță, Nils Torvalds, Nils Ušakovs, Johan Van Overtveldt, Rainer Wieland, Angelika Winzig |
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Substitutes present for the final vote |
Damian Boeselager, Herbert Dorfmann, Jake Pugh |
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FINAL VOTE BY ROLL CALL IN COMMITTEE RESPONSIBLE
31 |
+ |
ECR |
Zbigniew Kuźmiuk, Bogdan Rzońca, Johan Van Overtveldt |
PPE |
Lefteris Christoforou, Herbert Dorfmann, José Manuel Fernandes, Niclas Herbst, Monika Hohlmeier, Siegfried Mureşan, Jan Olbrycht, Karlo Ressler, Rainer Wieland, Angelika Winzig |
RENEW |
Clotilde Armand, Olivier Chastel, Valerie Hayer, Moritz Körner, Nicolae Ştefănuță, Nils Torvalds |
S&D |
Robert Biedroń, Paolo De Castro, Eider Gardiazabal Rubial, Elisabetta Gualmini, John Howarth, Pierre Larrouturou, Margarida Marques, Nils Ušakovs |
VERTS/ALES |
Rasmus Andresen, Damian Boeselager, David Cormand, Alexandra Geese |
7 |
- |
ID |
Anna Bonfrisco, Valentino Grant, Joachim Kuhs, Hélène Laporte |
NI |
Jonathan Bullock, Henrik Overgaard Nielsen, Jake Pugh |
1 |
0 |
NI |
Mislav Kolakušić |
Key to symbols:
+ : in favour
- : against
0 : abstention