Considerations on COM(2023)337 - Amendment of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2020/2093 laying down the multiannual financial framework for the years 2021 to 2027 - Main contents
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| dossier | COM(2023)337 - Amendment of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2020/2093 laying down the multiannual financial framework for the years 2021 to 2027. |
|---|---|
| document | COM(2023)337 |
| date | February 29, 2024 |
(2) Since December 2020, the Union has faced a series of unprecedented and unexpected challenges. The Union has acted swiftly and used all means at its disposal, but the limited budgetary flexibility embedded in the 2021-2027 MFF is nearly exhausted, hindering the EU budget’s capacity to address even the most urgent challenges.
(3) Special instruments have been extensively used in the first years of implementation of the MFF to address multiple challenges. The need to take further action persists, while the budgetary availabilities to confront such situations in the remaining period of the MFF are extremely limited.
(4) The EU budget should enable the Union to provide the necessary policy responses to emerging challenges and to meet legal obligations which cannot be accommmodated within existing ceilings nor by exhausted flexibility. The expenditure ceilings in commitment appropriations for Headings 1, 3, 5, 6, and 7 including the sub-ceiling for administrative expenditure of the institutions for the years 2024, 2025, 2026 and 2027, and the ceiling for Heading 4 for the years 2025, 2026 and 2027 should therefore be increased. As a result, the expenditure ceilings in payment appropriations for the years 2026 and 2027 should be increased.
(5) Russia’s illegal war of aggression against Ukraine has brought war back to European soil. The Union will keep supporting Ukraine for as long as it takes and firmly help Ukraine on its European path. To that end, the European Parliament and the Council have adopted Regulation (EU) [XXX] [Ukraine Facility]21 as the Union’s response to support Ukraine’s macro-financial stability, reconstruction and modernisation, while supporting Ukraine’s reforms effort as part its EU accession path.
(6) Given the uncertainties linked to Russia’s war of aggression, the Ukraine Facility should be a flexible instrument to provide the adequate form and level of support until 2027. Support under the Ukraine Facility should be provided in the form of loans, non-repayable support and provisioning for budgetary guarantees.
(7) For the part of the Ukraine Facility support provided in the form of loans, it is appropriate to extend until 2027 the existing Union budget guarantee to cover the financial assistance which is made available to Ukraine. As a consequence, it should be possible to mobilise the necessary appropriations in the Union budget over and above the ceilings of the MFF for financial assistance to Ukraine available until the end of 2027.
(8) For the part of the Ukraine Facility support provided in the form of non-repayable support and provisioning of budgetary guarantees, the appropriations should be provided through a new thematic special instrument, the ‘Ukraine Reserve’. The commitment appropriations and corresponding payment appropriations should be mobilised annually in the framework of the budgetary procedure set out in Article 314 TFEU, over and above the ceilings of the MFF.
(9) For the programmability of the Ukraine Facility and the orderly development of expenditure, it is appropriate to set out indicative minimum annual amounts and maximum amounts that may be made available annually for the Ukraine Reserve through the period 2024 to 2027.
(10) Since 2022, the Union and most major economies have witnessed a surge of interest rates for all bonds issuers, including the Union. As a result, the funding costs for the European Union Recovery Instrument (‘NextGenerationEU’) borrowing to be borne by the Union budget under Article 5(2) of Decision (EU, Euratom) No 2020/205322 are expected to exceed the estimates initially programmed under the MFF ceilings at the time of its adoption in December 2020.
(11) Given the uncertainty surrounding the future evolution of interest rates and in order to avoid undue pressures on Union programmes, it is appropriate to establish a new thematic special instrument to cover all funding costs for NextGenerationEU borrowing which exceed the amounts initially programmed. The necessary commitment appropriations and corresponding payment appropriations in the Union budget should be made available over and above the ceilings of the MFF.
(12) The Solidarity and Emergency Aid Reserve Reserve and the Flexibility Instrument should be reinforced in order to maintain a sufficient capacity for the Union to react to unforeseen circumstances until 2027.
(13) In the light of these unexpected events and new challenges, it is necessary to revise the MFF, and Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2020/2093 should therefore be amended accordingly.
(14) The amendments to Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2020/2093 are without prejudice to the obligation to respect the own resources ceilings laid down in Articles 3(1) and 6 of Council Decision (EU, Euratom) 2020/2053.