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) No 966/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2012 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union and repealing Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002(1), and in particular Article 41 thereof,

–  having regard to the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2014, as definitively adopted on 20 November 2013(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 Draft amending budget No 7/2014, which the Commission adopted on 17 October 2014 (COM(2014)0650),

–  having regard to the Joint conclusions agreed by the Parliament and the Council on 8 December 2014,

–  having regard to the position on Draft amending budget No 7/2014 which the Council adopted on 12 December 2014 and forwarded to the Parliament on the same day (16744/2014 – C8-0292/2014),

–  having regard to Rules 88 and 91 of its Rules of Procedure,

–  having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgets (A8-0072/2014),

A.  whereas Draft amending budget No 7/2014 relates to the mobilisation of the EU Solidarity Fund (EUSF) for an amount of EUR 79 726 440 in commitment and payment appropriations in relation to the floods in Serbia and Croatia in May 2014 and the floods in Bulgaria in June 2014;

B.  whereas the purpose of Draft amending budget No 7/2014 is to formally enter this budgetary adjustment into the 2014 budget;

1.  Takes note of Draft amending budget (DAB) No 7/2014, as submitted by the Commission;

2.  Stresses the urgent need to release financial assistance through the EUSF to the countries affected by these natural disasters;

3.  Underlines that the shortage of payment appropriations for 2014, which was the underlying reason for the presentation of DAB No 3/2014 and the accompanying proposal by the Commission to mobilise the Contingency Margin, excludes a priori the possibility of finding the resources for DAB No 7/2014 through redeployment;

4.  Endorses the Joint conclusions agreed by the Parliament and the Council on 8 December 2014 with the view of approving the additional commitment appropriations amounting to EUR 80 million in budget 2014 and shifting the corresponding payment needs to the 2015 budget;

5.  Approves the Council position on Draft amending budget No 7/2014;

6.  Instructs its President to declare that amending budget No 6/2014 has been definitively adopted and arrange for its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union;

7.  Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission and the national parliaments.

(1) OJ L 298, 26.10.2012, p. 1. (2) OJ L 51, 20.2.2014, p. 1. (3) OJ L 347, 20.12.2013, p. 884. (4) OJ C 373, 20.12.2013, p. 1.