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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

Type Regulation

Publication 2018-07-30

Last updated 2022-12-14

State Repealed

Department Council of the European Union, European Parliament

Source EUR-Lex

articles 289

Reform history JSON API

In order to reduce the risk of fraud, irregularities and non-achievement of objectives, the financial statement shall provide information on the internal control system set up, an estimate of the costs and benefits of the controls implied by such a system and an assessment of the expected level of risk of error, as well as information on existing and planned fraud prevention and protection measures.

Such assessment shall take into account the likely scale and type of errors, as well as the specific conditions of the policy area concerned and the rules applicable thereto.

When presenting revised or new spending proposals, the Commission shall estimate the costs and benefits of control systems, as well as the expected level of risk of error as referred to in paragraph 3.

Article 36

Internal control of budget implementation

Pursuant to the principle of sound financial management, the budget shall be implemented in compliance with the effective and efficient internal control appropriate to each method of implementation, and in accordance with the relevant sector-specific rules.

For the purposes of budget implementation, internal control shall be applied at all levels of management and shall be designed to provide reasonable assurance of achieving the following objectives:

(a) effectiveness, efficiency and economy of operations;

(b) reliability of reporting;

(d) prevention, detection, correction and follow-up of fraud and irregularities;

(e) adequate management of the risks relating to the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions, taking into account the multiannual character of programmes as well as the nature of the payments concerned.

Effective internal control shall be based on best international practices and include, in particular, the following elements:

(a) segregation of tasks;

(b) an appropriate risk management and control strategy that includes control at recipient level;

(d) adequate audit trails and data integrity in data systems;

(e) procedures for monitoring effectiveness and efficiency;

(f) procedures for follow-up of identified internal control weaknesses and exceptions;

(g) periodic assessment of the sound functioning of the internal control system.

Efficient internal control shall be based on the following elements:

(a) the implementation of an appropriate risk management and control strategy coordinated among appropriate actors involved in the control chain;

(b) the accessibility for all appropriate actors in the control chain of the results of controls carried out;

(c) reliance, where appropriate, on management declarations of implementation partners and on independent audit opinions, provided that the quality of the underlying work is adequate and acceptable and that it was performed in accordance with agreed standards;

(d) the timely application of corrective measures including, where appropriate, dissuasive penalties;

(e) clear and unambiguous legislation underlying the policies concerned, including basic acts on the elements of the internal control;

(f) the elimination of multiple controls;

(g) the improvement of the cost benefit ratio of controls.

If, during implementation, the level of error is persistently high, the Commission shall identify the weaknesses in the control systems, analyse the costs and benefits of possible corrective measures and take or propose appropriate action, such as simplification of the applicable provisions, improvement of the control systems and redesign of the programme or delivery systems.

CHAPTER 8 Principle of transparency

Article 37

Publication of accounts and budgets

The budget shall be established and implemented and the accounts presented in accordance with the principle of transparency.

The President of the European Parliament shall have the budget and any amending budget, as definitively adopted, published in the Official Journal of the European Union.

The budgets shall be published within three months of the date on which they are declared definitively adopted.

Pending official publication in the Official Journal of the European Union, the final detailed budget figures shall be published in all languages on the website of Union institutions, on the Commission’s initiative, as soon as possible and no later than four weeks after the definitive adoption of the budget.

The consolidated annual accounts shall be published in the Official Journal of the European Union and on the website of Union institutions.

Article 38

Publication of information on recipients and other information

The Commission shall make available, in an appropriate and timely manner, information on recipients of funds financed from the budget, where the budget is implemented by it in accordance with point (a) of the first subparagraph of Article 62(1).

The first subparagraph of this paragraph shall also apply to other Union institutions when they implement the budget pursuant to Article 59(1).

Save in the cases referred to in paragraphs 3 and 4, the following information shall be published, having due regard for the requirements of confidentiality and security, in particular the protection of personal data:

(a) the name of the recipient;

(b) the locality of the recipient, namely:
(i) the address of the recipient when the recipient is a legal person;
(ii) the region on NUTS 2 level when the recipient is a natural person;

(d) the nature and purpose of the measure.

The information referred to in the first subparagraph of this paragraph shall only be published for prizes, grants and contracts which have been awarded as a result of contests, grant award procedures or procurement procedures, and for experts selected pursuant to Article 237(2).

The information referred to in the first subparagraph of paragraph 2 shall not be published for:

(a) education supports paid to natural persons and other direct support paid to natural persons most in need as referred to in point (b) of Article 191(4);

(b) very low value contracts awarded to experts selected pursuant to Article 237(2) as well as very low value contracts below the amount referred to in point 14.4 of Annex I;

(d) where disclosure risks threatening the rights and freedoms of the persons or entities concerned as protected by the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union or harming the commercial interests of the recipients.

In the cases referred to in point (c) of the first subparagraph, the information made available shall be limited to statistical data, aggregated in accordance with relevant criteria, such as geographical situation, economic typology of recipients, type of support received and the Union policy area under which such support was provided.

Where natural persons are concerned, the disclosure of the information referred to in the first subparagraph of paragraph 2 shall be based on relevant criteria such as the frequency or the type of the measure and the amounts involved.

Persons or entities implementing Union funds pursuant to point (c) of the first subparagraph of Article 62(1) shall publish information on recipients in accordance with their rules and procedures, to the extent that those rules are deemed equivalent following the assessment carried out by the Commission pursuant to point (e) of the first subparagraph of Article 154(4), and provided that any publication of personal data is subject to safeguards equivalent to those set out in this Article.

Bodies designated pursuant to Article 63(3) shall publish information in accordance with sector-specific rules. Those sector-specific rules may, in accordance with the relevant legal basis, derogate from paragraphs 2 and 3 of this Article, in particular for the publication of personal data, where justified on the basis of the criteria referred to in the third subparagraph of paragraph 3 of this Article, and taking into account the specificities of the sector concerned.

The information referred to in paragraph 1 shall be published on the websites of Union institutions, no later than 30 June of the year following the financial year in which the funds were legally committed.

The websites of Union institutions shall contain a reference to the address of the website where the information referred to in paragraph 1 can be found if it is not published directly on a dedicated website of Union institutions.

The Commission shall make available, in an appropriate and timely manner, information about a single website, including a reference to its address, where the information as provided by the persons, entities or bodies referred to in paragraph 4 can be found.

Where personal data are published, the information shall be removed two years after the end of the financial year in which the funds were legally committed. This shall also apply to personal data referring to legal persons whose official name identifies one or more natural persons.

TITLE III ESTABLISHMENT AND STRUCTURE OF THE BUDGET

CHAPTER 1 Establishment of the budget

Article 39

Estimates of revenue and expenditure

Each Union institution other than the Commission shall draw up an estimate of its revenue and expenditure, which it shall send to the Commission, and in parallel, for information, to the European Parliament and to the Council, before 1 July each year.

The High Representative shall hold consultations with the members of the Commission responsible for development policy, neighbourhood policy, international cooperation, humanitarian aid and crisis response, regarding their respective responsibilities.

The Commission shall draw up its own estimates, which it shall send, directly after their adoption, to the European Parliament and to the Council. In preparing its estimates, the Commission shall use the information referred to in Article 40.

Article 40

Estimated budget of the Union bodies referred to in Article 70

By 31 January each year, each Union body referred to in Article 70 shall, in accordance with the instrument establishing it, send the Commission, the European Parliament and the Council its draft single programming document containing its annual and multi-annual programming with the corresponding planning for human and financial resources.

Article 41

Draft budget

The Commission shall submit a proposal containing the draft budget to the European Parliament and to the Council by 1 September of the year preceding that in which the budget is to be implemented. It shall transmit that proposal, for information, to the national parliaments.

The draft budget shall contain a summary general statement of the revenue and expenditure of the Union and shall consolidate the estimates referred to in Article 39. It may also contain different estimates from those drawn up by Union institutions.

The draft budget shall follow the structure and presentation set out in Articles 47 to 52.

Each section of the draft budget shall be preceded by an introduction drawn up by the Union institution concerned.

The Commission shall draw up the general introduction to the draft budget. The general introduction shall comprise financial tables covering the main data by titles and justifications for the changes in the appropriations from one financial year to the next by categories of expenditure of the multiannual financial framework.

In order to provide more precise and reliable forecasts of the budgetary implications of legislation in force and of pending legislative proposals, the Commission shall attach to the draft budget an indicative financial programming for the following years, structured by category of expenditure, policy area and budget line. The complete financial programming shall cover the categories of expenditure covered by point 30 of 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 ([^E0006]). Summary data shall be provided for the categories of expenditure not covered by point 30 of that Interinstitutional Agreement.

The indicative financial programming shall be updated after the adoption of the budget to incorporate the results of the budgetary procedure and any other relevant decisions.

The Commission shall attach to the draft budget:

(a) a comparative table including the draft budget for other Union institutions and the original estimates of other Union institutions as sent to the Commission and, where applicable, setting out the reasons for which the draft budget contains estimates different from those drawn up by other Union institutions;

(b) any working document it considers useful in connection with the establishment plans of Union institutions, showing the latest authorised establishment plan and presenting:
(i) all staff employed by the Union, displayed by type of employment contract;
(ii) a statement of the policy on posts and external personnel and on gender balance;
(iii) the number of posts actually filled on the last day of the year preceding the year in which the draft budget is presented and the annual average of full-time equivalents actually in place for that preceding year, indicating their distribution by grade, by gender and by administrative unit;
(iv) a list of posts broken down per policy area;
(v) for each category of external personnel, the initial estimated number of full-time equivalents on the basis of the authorised appropriations, as well as the number of persons actually in place at the beginning of the year in which the draft budget is presented, indicating their distribution by function group and, as appropriate, by grade;

(c) for the Union bodies referred to in Articles 70 and 71, a working document presenting the revenue and expenditure, as well as all information on staff as referred to in point (b) of this subparagraph;

(d) a working document on the planned implementation of appropriations for the financial year and on commitments outstanding;

(e) as regards appropriations for administration, a working document presenting administrative expenditure to be implemented by the Commission under its section of the budget;

(f) a working document on pilot projects and preparatory actions which also contain an assessment of the results and the follow-up envisaged;

(g) as regards funding to international organisations, a working document containing:
(i) a summary of all contributions, with a breakdown per Union programme or fund and per international organisation;
(ii) a statement of reasons explaining why it is more efficient for the Union to fund those international organisations rather than to act directly;

(h) programme statements or any other relevant document containing the following:
(i) an indication of which Union policies and objectives the programme is to contribute to;
(ii) a clear rationale for intervention at Union level in accordance, inter alia, with the principle of subsidiarity;
(iii) progress in achieving programme objectives, as specified in Article 33;
(iv) a full justification, including a cost-benefit analysis for proposed changes in the level of appropriations;
(v) information on the implementation rates of the programme for the current and preceding financial year;

(i) a summary statement of the schedule of payments summarising per programme and per heading payments due in subsequent financial years to meet budgetary commitments proposed in the draft budget entered into in preceding financial years.

Where public-private partnerships make use of financial instruments, the information relating to those instruments shall be included in the working document referred to in paragraph 4.

Where the Commission makes use of financial instruments, it shall attach to the draft budget a working document presenting for each financial instrument the following:

(a) a reference to the financial instrument and its basic act, together with a general description of the instrument, its impact on the budget, its duration and the added value of the Union contribution;

(b) the financial institutions involved in implementation, including any issues relating to the application of Article 155(2);

(c) the contribution of the financial instrument to the achievement of the objectives of the programme concerned as measured by the indicators established including, where applicable, the geographical diversification;

(d) the envisaged operations, including target volumes based on the target leverage and expected private capital to be mobilised or, when unavailable, on the leverage effect arising from the existing financial instruments;

(e) budget lines corresponding to the relevant operations and the aggregate budgetary commitments and payments from the budget;

(f) the average duration between the budgetary commitment to the financial instruments and the legal commitments for individual projects in the form of equity or debt, where that duration exceeds three years;

(g) revenue and repayments under Article 209(3), presented separately, including an evaluation of their use;

(h) the value of equity investments, with respect to preceding years;

(i) the total amount of provisions for risks and liabilities, as well as any information on the financial risk exposure of the Union, including any contingent liability;

(j) impairments of assets and called guarantees both for the preceding year and the respective accumulated figures;

(k) the performance of the financial instrument, including the investments realised, the target and the achieved leverage and multiplier effects, and also the amount of private capital mobilised;

(l) the provisioned resources in the common provisioning fund and, when applicable, the balance on the fiduciary account.

The working document referred to in the first subparagraph shall also include an overview of the administrative expenditure arising from management fees and other financial and operating charges paid for the management of financial instruments in total and per managing party and per financial instrument managed.

The Commission shall explain the reasons for the duration referred to in point (f) of the first subparagraph and shall, where appropriate, provide an action plan for the reduction of the duration in the framework of the annual discharge procedure.

The working document referred to in the first subparagraph shall summarise in a clear and concise table information per financial instrument.

Where the Union has granted a budgetary guarantee, the Commission shall attach to the draft budget a working document presenting for each budgetary guarantee and for the common provisioning fund the following:

(a) a reference to the budgetary guarantee and its basic act, together with a general description of the budgetary guarantee, its impact on the financial liabilities of the budget, its duration and the added value of the Union support;

(b) the counterparts for the budgetary guarantee, including any issues relating to the application of Article 155(2);

(c) the budgetary guarantee’s contribution to the achievement of the objectives of the budgetary guarantee as measured by the indicators established, including, where applicable, the geographical diversification and the mobilisation of private sector resources;

(d) information on operations covered by the budgetary guarantee on an aggregated basis by sectors, countries and instruments, including, where applicable, portfolios and support combined with other Union actions;

(e) the amount transferred to recipients as well as an assessment of the leverage effect achieved by the projects supported under the budgetary guarantee;

(f) information aggregated on the same basis as referred to in point (d) on calls on the budgetary guarantee, losses, returns, amounts recovered and any other payments received;

(g) information about the financial management, the performance and the risk of the common provisioning fund at the end of the preceding calendar year;

(h) the effective provisioning rate of the common provisioning fund and, where applicable, the subsequent operations in accordance with Article 213(4);

(i) the financial flows in the common provisioning fund during the preceding calendar year as well as the significant transactions and any relevant information on the financial risk exposure of the Union;

(j) pursuant to Article 210(3), an assessment of the sustainability of the contingent liabilities borne by the budget arising from budgetary guarantees or financial assistance.

Where the Commission makes use of Union trust funds for external actions, it shall attach to the draft budget a detailed working document on the activities supported by those trust funds, including:

(a) on their implementation, containing, inter alia, information on the monitoring arrangements with the entities implementing the trust funds;

(b) their management costs;

(d) a preliminary assessment of their performance based on the conditions set out in Article 234(3);

(e) a description on how their activities have contributed to the objectives laid down in the basic act of the instrument from which the Union contribution to the trust funds were provided.

The Commission shall attach to the draft budget a list of its decisions imposing fines in the area of competition law and the amount of each fine imposed, together with information on whether the fines have become definitive or whether they are or could still become subject to an appeal before the Court of Justice of the European Union, as well as, where possible, information on when each fine is expected to become definitive.

The Commission shall attach to the draft budget a working document indicating, for each budget line receiving internal or external assigned revenue:

(a) the estimated amount of such revenue to be received;

(b) the estimated amount of such revenue carried over from preceding years.

The Commission shall also attach to the draft budget any further working document it considers useful for the European Parliament and for the Council to assess the budget requests.

10.

In accordance with Article 8(5) of Council Decision 2010/427/EU ([^E0007]), the Commission shall transmit to the European Parliament and to the Council, together with the draft budget, a working document presenting, in a comprehensive way:

(a) all administrative and operational expenditure relating to the external actions of the Union, including CFSP and common security and defence policy tasks, and financed from the budget;

(b) the EEAS’ overall administrative expenditure for the preceding year, broken down into expenditure per Union delegation and expenditure for the central administration of the EEAS, together with operational expenditure, broken down by geographic area (regions, countries), thematic areas, Union delegations and missions.

11.

The working document referred to in paragraph 10 shall also:

(a) show the number of posts for each grade in each category and the number of permanent and temporary posts, including contractual and local staff authorised within the limits of the appropriations in each Union delegation, as well as in the central administration of the EEAS;

(b) show any increase or reduction, compared to the preceding financial year, of posts by grade and category in the central administration of the EEAS, and in all Union delegations;

(c) show the number of posts authorised for the financial year and for the preceding financial year, as well as the number of posts occupied by diplomats seconded from Member States, and by Union officials;

(d) provide a detailed picture of all personnel in place in Union delegations at the time of presenting the draft budget, including a breakdown by geographic area, gender, individual country and mission, distinguishing between establishment plan posts, contract agents, local agents and seconded national experts, and of appropriations requested in the draft budget for such types of personnel with corresponding estimates of the number of full-time equivalents on the basis of the appropriations requested.

Article 42

Letter of amendment to the draft budget

On the basis of any new information which was not available at the time the draft budget was established, the Commission may, on its own initiative or if requested by another Union institutions in respect of its respective section, submit simultaneously to the European Parliament and to the Council one or more letters of amendment to the draft budget before the Conciliation Committee referred to in Article 314 TFEU is convened. Such letters may include a letter of amendment updating, in particular, expenditure estimates for agriculture.

Article 43

Obligations of Member States as a result of the adoption of the budget

The President of the European Parliament shall declare the budget definitively adopted in accordance with the procedure provided for in Article 314(9) TFEU and Article 106a of the Euratom Treaty.

Once the budget has been declared definitively adopted, each Member State shall, from 1 January of the following financial year or from the date of the declaration of definitive adoption of the budget if that occurs after 1 January, be bound to make the payments due to the Union, as specified in Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 609/2014.

Article 44

Draft amending budgets

The Commission may present draft amending budgets which are primarily revenue-driven in the following circumstances:

(a) to enter in the budget the balance of the preceding financial year, in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 18;

(b) to revise the forecast of own resources on the basis of updated economic forecasts;

(c) to update the revised forecast of own resources and other revenue, as well as to review the availability of, and need for, payment appropriations.

If there are unavoidable, exceptional and unforeseen circumstances, in particular in view of the mobilisation of the European Union Solidarity Fund, the Commission may present draft amending budgets which are primarily expenditure-driven.

Requests for amending budgets, in the same circumstances as referred to in paragraph 1, from Union institutions other than the Commission shall be sent to the Commission.

Before presenting a draft amending budget, the Commission and the other Union institutions concerned shall examine the scope for reallocation of the relevant appropriations, with particular reference to any expected under-implementation of appropriations.

Article 43 shall apply to amending budgets. Amending budgets shall be substantiated by reference to the budget the estimates of which they are amending.

The Commission shall, except in duly justified exceptional circumstances or in the case of the mobilisation of the European Union Solidarity Fund for which a draft amending budget can be presented at any time of the year, submit its draft amending budgets simultaneously to the European Parliament and to the Council by 1 September of each financial year. It may attach an opinion to the requests for amending budgets from other Union institutions.

Draft amending budgets shall be accompanied by statements of reasons and information on budget implementation for the preceding and current financial years available at the time of their establishment.

Article 45

Early transmission of estimates and draft budgets

The Commission, the European Parliament and the Council may agree to bring forward certain dates for the transmission of the estimates, and for the adoption and transmission of the draft budget. Such an arrangement shall not, however, have the effect of shortening or extending the periods for which provision is made for consideration of those texts under Article 314 TFEU and Article 106a of the Euratom Treaty.

CHAPTER 2 Structure and presentation of the budget

Article 46

Structure of the budget

The budget shall consist of the following:

(a) a general statement of revenue and expenditure;

(b) separate sections for each Union institution, with the exception of the European Council and of the Council which shall share the same section, subdivided into statements of revenue and expenditure.

Article 47

Budget nomenclature

Commission revenue and the revenue and expenditure of the other Union institutions shall be classified by the European Parliament and by the Council according to their type or the use to which they are assigned under titles, chapters, articles and items.

The statement of expenditure for the section of the budget relating to the Commission shall be set out on the basis of a nomenclature adopted by the European Parliament and by the Council and classified according to the purpose of the expenditure.

Each title shall correspond to a policy area and each chapter shall, as a rule, correspond to a programme or an activity.

Each title may include operational appropriations and administrative appropriations. The administrative appropriations for a title shall be grouped in a single chapter.

The budget nomenclature shall comply with the principles of specification, sound financial management and transparency. It shall provide the clarity and transparency necessary for the budgetary process, facilitating the identification of the main objectives as reflected in the relevant legal bases, making choices on political priorities possible and enabling efficient and effective implementation.

The Commission may request the addition of a token entry pro memoria on an entry without authorised appropriations. Such a request shall be approved in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 31.

When presented by purpose, administrative appropriations for individual titles shall be classified as follows:

(a) expenditure on staff authorised in the establishment plan, which shall include an amount of appropriations and a number of establishment plan posts corresponding to that expenditure;

(b) expenditure on external personnel and other expenditure referred to in point (b) of the first subparagraph of Article 30(1) and financed under the ‘administration’ heading of the multiannual financial framework;

(c) expenditure on buildings and other related expenditure, including cleaning and maintenance, rental and hiring, telecommunications, water, gas and electricity;

(d) expenditure on external personnel and technical assistance directly linked to the implementation of programmes.

Any administrative expenditure of the Commission of a type which is common to several titles shall be set out in a separate summary statement classified by type.

Article 48

Negative revenue

The budget shall not contain negative revenue, except where it results from negative remuneration of deposits in total.

The own resources paid under Decision 2014/335/EU, Euratom shall be net amounts and shall be shown as such in the summary statement of revenue in the budget.

Article 49

Provisions

Each section of the budget may include a ‘provisions’ title. Appropriations shall be entered in that title in any of the following cases:

(a) no basic act exists for the action concerned when the budget is established;

(b) there are serious grounds for doubting the adequacy of the appropriations or the possibility of implementing, under conditions in accordance with the principle of sound financial management, the appropriations entered on the budget lines concerned.

The appropriations in that title may be used only after transfers in accordance with the procedure laid down in point (c) of the first subparagraph of Article 30(1) of this Regulation, where the adoption of the basic act is subject to the procedure laid down in Article 294 TFEU, and in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 31 of this Regulation, for all other cases.

In the event of serious implementation difficulties, the Commission may, in the course of a financial year, propose that appropriations be transferred to the ‘provisions’ title. The European Parliament and the Council shall take a decision on such transfers as provided for in Article 31.

Article 50

Negative reserve

The section of the budget relating to the Commission may include a ‘negative reserve’ limited to a maximum amount of EUR 200 000 000 . Such a reserve, which shall be entered in a separate title, shall comprise payment appropriations only.

That negative reserve shall be drawn upon before the end of the financial year by means of transfers in accordance with the procedure laid down in Articles 30 and 31.

Article 51

Emergency Aid Reserve

The section of the budget relating to the Commission shall include a reserve for emergency aid for third countries.

The reserve referred to in paragraph 1 shall be drawn upon before the end of the financial year by means of transfers in accordance with the procedure laid down in Articles 30 and 32.

Article 52

Presentation of the budget

The budget shall show:

(a) in the general statement of revenue and expenditure:
(i) the estimated revenue of the Union for the current financial year concerned (‘year n’);
(ii) the estimated revenue for the preceding financial year and the revenue for year n-2;
(iii) the commitment and payment appropriations for year n;
(iv) the commitment and payment appropriations for the preceding financial year;
(v) the expenditure committed and the expenditure paid in year n–2, the latter also expressed as a percentage of the budget of year n;
(vi) appropriate remarks on each subdivision, as set out in Article 47(1), including the references of the basic act, where one exists, as well as all appropriate explanations concerning the nature and purpose of the appropriations;

(b) in each section, the revenue and expenditure following the same structure as set out in point (a);

(c) with regard to staff:
(i) for each section, an establishment plan setting the number of posts for each grade in each category and in each service and the number of permanent and temporary posts authorised within the limits of the appropriations;
(ii) an establishment plan for staff paid from the research and technological development appropriations for direct action and an establishment plan for staff paid from the same appropriations for indirect action; the establishment plans shall be classified by category and grade and shall distinguish between permanent and temporary posts, authorised within the limits of the appropriations;
(iii) an establishment plan setting the number of posts by grade and by category for each Union body referred to in Article 70 which receives a contribution charged to the budget. The establishment plans shall show, next to the number of posts authorised for the financial year, the number authorised for the preceding year. The staff of the Euratom Supply Agency shall appear separately in the Commission establishment plan;

(d) with regard to financial assistance and budgetary guarantees:
(i) in the general statement of revenue, the budget lines corresponding to the relevant operations and intended to record any reimbursements received from recipients who initially defaulted. Those lines shall carry a token entry pro memoria and be accompanied by appropriate remarks;
(ii) in the section of the budget relating to the Commission:
— the budget lines containing the budgetary guarantees in respect of the operations concerned. Those lines shall carry a token entry pro memoria, provided that no effective charge which has to be covered by definitive resources has arisen;
— remarks giving the reference to the basic act and the volume of the operations envisaged, the duration and the financial guarantee provided by the Union in respect of such operations;
(iii) in a document annexed to the section of the budget relating to the Commission, as an indication, also of the corresponding risks:
— ongoing capital operations and debt management;
— the capital operations and debt management for year n;

(e) with regard to financial instruments to be established without a basic act:
(i) budget lines corresponding to the relevant operations;
(ii) a general description of the financial instruments, including their duration and their impact on the budget;
(iii) the envisaged operations, including target volumes based on the expected multiplier and leverage effect;

(f) with regard to the funds implemented by persons or entities pursuant to point (c) of the first subparagraph of Article 62(1):
(i) a reference to the basic act of the relevant programme;
(ii) corresponding budget lines;
(iii) a general description of the action, including its duration and its impact on the budget;

(g) the total amount of CFSP expenditure entered in a chapter, entitled ‘CFSP’, with specific articles covering CFSP expenditure and containing specific budget lines identifying at least the single major missions.

In addition to the documents referred to in paragraph 1, the European Parliament and the Council may attach any other relevant documents to the budget.

Article 53

Rules on the establishment plans for staff

The establishment plans referred to in point (c) of Article 52(1) shall constitute an absolute limit for each Union institution or body. No appointment shall be made in excess of the limit set.

However, save in the case of grades AD 14, AD 15 and AD 16, each Union institution or body may modify its establishment plans by up to 10 % of posts authorised, subject to the following conditions:

(a) the volume of staff appropriations corresponding to a full financial year is not affected;

(b) the limit of the total number of posts authorised by each establishment plan is not exceeded;

(c) the Union institution or body has taken part in a benchmarking exercise with other Union institutions and bodies as initiated by the Commission’s staff screening exercise.

Three weeks before making the modifications referred to in the second subparagraph, the Union institution shall inform the European Parliament and the Council of its intention to do so. In the event that duly justified objections are raised within this period by either the European Parliament or the Council, the Union institution shall refrain from making the modifications and the procedure laid down in Article 44 shall apply.

By way of derogation from the first subparagraph of paragraph 1, the effects of part-time work authorised by the appointing authority in accordance with the Staff Regulations may be offset by other appointments.

CHAPTER 3 Budgetary discipline

Article 54

Compliance with the multiannual financial framework and Decision 2014/335/EU, Euratom

The budget shall comply with the multiannual financial framework and Decision 2014/335/EU, Euratom.

Article 55

Compliance of Union acts with the budget

Where the implementation of a Union act exceeds the appropriations available in the budget, such an act shall not be implemented in financial terms until the budget has been amended accordingly.

TITLE IV BUDGET IMPLEMENTATION

CHAPTER 1 General provisions

Article 56

Budget implementation in accordance with the principle of sound financial management

The Commission shall implement the revenue and expenditure of the budget in accordance with this Regulation, under its own responsibility and within the limits of the appropriations authorised.

The Member States shall cooperate with the Commission so that the appropriations are used in accordance with the principle of sound financial management.

Article 57

Information on transfers of personal data for audit purposes

In any call made in the context of grants, procurement or prizes implemented under direct management, potential beneficiaries, candidates, tenderers and participants shall, in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 be informed that, for the purposes of safeguarding the financial interests of the Union, their personal data may be transferred to internal audit services, to the Court of Auditors or to the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) and between authorising officers of the Commission, and the executive agencies referred to in Article 69 of this Regulation and the Union bodies referred to in Articles 70 and 71 of this Regulation.

Article 58

Basic act and exceptions

Appropriations entered in the budget for any Union action shall only be used if a basic act has been adopted.

By way of derogation from paragraph 1, and subject to the conditions set out in paragraphs 3, 4 and 5, the following appropriations may be implemented without a basic act provided the actions which they are intended to finance fall within the competences of the Union:

(a) appropriations for pilot projects of an experimental nature designed to test the feasibility of an action and its usefulness;

(b) appropriations for preparatory actions in the field of application of the TFEU and the Euratom Treaty, designed to prepare proposals with a view to the adoption of future actions;

(d) appropriations for one-off actions, or for actions for an indefinite duration, carried out by the Commission by virtue of tasks resulting from its prerogatives at institutional level pursuant to the TFEU and to the Euratom Treaty, other than its right of legislative initiative to submit proposals as referred to in point (b) of this paragraph, and under specific powers directly conferred on it by Articles 154, 156, 159 and 160 TFEU, Articles 168(2), 171(2) and 173(2) TFEU, the second paragraph of Article 175 TFEU, Article 181(2) TFEU, Article 190 TFEU and Articles 210(2) and 214(6) TFEU and Articles 70 and 77 to 85 of the Euratom Treaty;

(e) appropriations for the operation of each Union institution under its administrative autonomy.

With regard to appropriations referred to in point (a) of paragraph 2, the relevant commitment appropriations may be entered in the budget for not more than two consecutive financial years. The total amount of appropriations for pilot projects shall not exceed EUR 40 000 000 in any financial year.

With regard to appropriations referred to in point (b) of paragraph 2, preparatory actions shall follow a coherent approach and may take various forms. The relevant commitment appropriations may be entered in the budget for not more than three consecutive financial years. The procedure for the adoption of the relevant basic act shall be concluded before the end of the third financial year. In the course of that procedure, the commitment of appropriations shall correspond to the particular features of the preparatory action with regard to the activities envisaged, the aims pursued and the recipients. As a result, the amount of the appropriations committed shall not correspond to the amount of those envisaged for financing the definitive action itself.

The total amount of appropriations for new preparatory actions referred to in point (b) of paragraph 2 shall not exceed EUR 50 000 000 in any financial year, and the total amount of appropriations actually committed for preparatory actions shall not exceed EUR 100 000 000 .

With regard to the appropriations referred to in point (c) of paragraph 2, preparatory measures shall be limited to a short period of time and shall be designed to establish the conditions for Union action in fulfilment of the objectives of the CFSP and for the adoption of the necessary legal instruments.

For the purpose of Union crisis management operations, preparatory measures shall be designed, inter alia, to assess the operational requirements, to provide for a rapid initial deployment of resources, or to establish the conditions on the ground for the launching of the operation. Preparatory measures shall be agreed by the Council, on a proposal by the High Representative.

In order to ensure the rapid implementation of preparatory measures, the High Representative shall inform the European Parliament and the Commission as early as possible of the Council’s intention to launch a preparatory measure and, in particular, of the estimated resources required for that purpose. The Commission shall take all the measures necessary to ensure a rapid disbursement of the funds.

The financing of measures agreed by the Council for the preparation of Union crisis management operations under Title V TEU shall cover incremental costs directly arising from a specific field deployment of a mission or team involving, inter alia, personnel from Union institutions, including high-risk insurance, travel and accommodation costs and per diem payments.

Article 59

Budget implementation by Union institutions other than the Commission

The Commission shall confer on the other Union institutions the requisite powers for the implementation of the sections of the budget relating to them.

In order to facilitate the implementation of their appropriations, Union institutions may conclude service-level agreements with each other laying down the conditions governing the provision of services, supply of products, execution of works or of building contracts.

Those agreements shall enable the transfer of appropriations or the recovery of costs, which result from their implementation.

Service-level agreements referred to in paragraph 2 may also be agreed upon between departments of Union institutions, Union bodies, European offices, bodies or persons entrusted with implementation of specific actions in the CFSP pursuant to Title V of the TEU and the Office of the Secretary-General of the Board of Governors of the European schools. The Commission and other Union institutions shall report regularly to the European Parliament and to the Council on the service-level agreements they conclude with other Union institutions.

Article 60

Delegation of budget implementation powers

The Commission and each of the other Union institutions may, within their departments, delegate their powers of budget implementation in accordance with the conditions laid down in this Regulation and their internal rules and within the limits laid down in the instrument of delegation. Those so empowered shall act within the limits of the powers expressly conferred upon them.

In addition to paragraph 1, the Commission may delegate its powers of budget implementation concerning the operational appropriations of its own section of the budget to Heads of Union delegations and, in order to ensure business continuity during their absence, to deputy Heads of Union delegations. Such delegation shall be without prejudice to the responsibility of Heads of Union delegations for budget implementation. Where the absence of a Head of Union delegation exceeds four weeks, the Commission shall revise its decision to delegate powers of budget implementation. When Heads of Union delegations, and their deputies in the absence of the former, act as authorising officers by subdelegation of the Commission, they shall apply the Commission rules for budget implementation and shall be subject to the same duties, obligations and accountability as any other authorising officer by subdelegation of the Commission.

The Commission may withdraw the delegation of powers referred to in the first subparagraph in accordance with its own rules.

For the purposes of the first subparagraph, the High Representative shall take the measures necessary to facilitate cooperation between Union delegations and Commission departments.

The EEAS may exceptionally delegate its powers of budget implementation concerning the administrative appropriations of its own section of the budget to Commission staff of Union delegations where this is necessary in order to ensure the continuity in the administration of such delegations in the absence of the EEAS competent authorising officer from the country where his or her delegation is based. In the exceptional cases where Commission staff of Union delegations act as authorising officers by subdelegation of the EEAS, they shall apply the EEAS internal rules for budget implementation and shall be subject to the same duties, obligations and accountability as any other authorising officer by subdelegation of the EEAS.

The EEAS may withdraw the delegation of powers referred to in the first subparagraph in accordance with its own rules.

Article 61

Conflict of interests

Financial actors within the meaning of Chapter 4 of this Title and other persons, including national authorities at any level, involved in budget implementation under direct, indirect and shared management, including acts preparatory thereto, audit or control, shall not take any action which may bring their own interests into conflict with those of the Union. They shall also take appropriate measures to prevent a conflict of interests from arising in the functions under their responsibility and to address situations which may objectively be perceived as a conflict of interests.

Where there is a risk of a conflict of interests involving a member of staff of a national authority, the person in question shall refer the matter to his or her hierarchical superior. Where such a risk exists for staff covered by the Staff Regulations, the person in question shall refer the matter to the relevant authorising officer by delegation. The relevant hierarchical superior or the authorising officer by delegation shall confirm in writing whether a conflict of interests is found to exist. Where a conflict of interests is found to exist, the appointing authority or the relevant national authority shall ensure that the person in question ceases all activity in the matter. The relevant authorising officer by delegation or the relevant national authority shall ensure that any further appropriate action is taken in accordance with the applicable law.

For the purposes of paragraph 1, a conflict of interests exists where the impartial and objective exercise of the functions of a financial actor or other person, as referred to in paragraph 1, is compromised for reasons involving family, emotional life, political or national affinity, economic interest or any other direct or indirect personal interest.

CHAPTER 2 Methods of implementation

Article 62

Methods of budget implementation

The Commission shall implement the budget in any of the following ways:

(a) directly (‘direct management’) as set out in Articles 125 to 153, by its departments, including its staff in the Union delegations under the authority of their respective Head of delegation, in accordance with Article 60(2), or through executive agencies as referred to in Article 69;

(b) under shared management with Member States (‘shared management’) as set out in Articles 63 and 125 to 129;

(c) indirectly (‘indirect management’) as set out in Articles 125 to 149 and 154 to 159, where this is provided for in the basic act or in the cases referred to in points (a) to (d) of Article 58(2), by entrusting budget implementation tasks to:
(i) third countries or the bodies they have designated;
(ii) international organisations or their agencies, within the meaning of Article 156;
(iii) the European Investment Bank (‘the EIB’) or the European Investment Fund (‘the EIF’) or both of them acting as a group (‘the EIB group’);
(iv) Union bodies referred to in Articles 70 and 71;
(v) public law bodies, including Member State organisations;
(vi) bodies governed by private law with a public service mission, including Member State organisations, to the extent that they are provided with adequate financial guarantees;
(vii) bodies governed by the private law of a Member State that are entrusted with the implementation of a public-private partnership and that are provided with adequate financial guarantees;
(viii) bodies or persons entrusted with the implementation of specific actions in the CFSP pursuant to Title V of the TEU, and identified in the relevant basic act.

With regard to point (c)(vi) of the first subparagraph, the amount of the financial guarantees required may be set out in the relevant basic act and may be limited to the maximum amount of the Union contribution to the body concerned. In the case of multiple guarantors, the repartition of the amount of the total liability to be covered by the guarantees shall be specified in the contribution agreement, which may provide for the liability of each guarantor to be proportionate to the share of their respective contribution to the body.

For the purposes of direct management, the Commission may use the instruments referred to in Titles VII, VIII, IX, X and XII.

For the purposes of shared management, the instruments for budget implementation shall be the ones provided for in sector-specific rules.

For the purposes of indirect management, the Commission shall apply Title VI and, in the case of financial instruments and budgetary guarantees, Titles VI and X. The implementing entities shall apply the instruments for budget implementation set out in the contribution agreement concerned.

The Commission is responsible for budget implementation in accordance with Article 317 TFEU and shall not delegate those tasks to third parties, where such tasks involve a large measure of discretion implying political choices.

The Commission shall not, through contracts in accordance with Title VII of this Regulation, outsource tasks involving the exercise of public authority and discretionary powers of judgement.

Article 63

Shared management with Member States

Where the Commission implements the budget under shared management, tasks relating to budget implementation shall be delegated to Member States. The Commission and Member States shall respect the principles of sound financial management, transparency and non-discrimination and shall ensure the visibility of the Union action when they manage Union funds. To that end, the Commission and Member States shall fulfil their respective control and audit obligations and assume the resulting responsibilities laid down in this Regulation. Complementary provisions shall be laid down in sector-specific rules.

When executing tasks relating to budget implementation, Member States shall take all the necessary measures, including legislative, regulatory and administrative measures, to protect the financial interests of the Union, namely by:

(a) ensuring that actions financed from the budget are implemented correctly and effectively and in accordance with the applicable sector-specific rules;

(b) designating bodies responsible for the management and control of Union funds in accordance with paragraph 3, and supervising such bodies;

(d) cooperating, in accordance with this Regulation and sector-specific rules, with the Commission, OLAF, the Court of Auditors and, for those Member States participating in enhanced cooperation pursuant to Council Regulation (EU) 2017/1939 ([^E0008]), with the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO).

In order to protect the financial interests of the Union, Member States shall, while respecting the principle of proportionality, and in compliance with this Article and the relevant sector-specific rules, carry out ex ante and ex post controls including, where appropriate, on-the-spot checks on representative and/or risk-based samples of transactions. They shall also recover funds unduly paid and bring legal proceedings where necessary in that regard.

Member States shall impose effective, dissuasive and proportionate penalties on recipients where provided for in sector-specific rules or in specific provisions in national law.

As part of its risk assessment and in accordance with sector-specific rules, the Commission shall monitor the management and control systems established in Member States. The Commission shall, in its audit work, respect the principle of proportionality and shall take into account the level of risk assessed in accordance with sector-specific rules.

In accordance with the criteria and procedures laid down in sector-specific rules, Member States shall, at the appropriate level, designate bodies to be responsible for the management and control of Union funds. Such bodies may also carry out tasks not related to the management of Union funds and may entrust certain of their tasks to other bodies.

When deciding on the designation of bodies, Member States may base their decision on whether the management and control systems are essentially the same as those already in place for the previous period and whether they have functioned effectively.

If audit and control results show that the designated bodies no longer comply with the criteria set out in sector-specific rules, Member States shall take the measures necessary to ensure that deficiencies in the implementation of the tasks of those bodies are remedied, including by ending the designation in accordance with sector-specific rules.

Sector-specific rules shall define the role of the Commission in the process set out in this paragraph.

Bodies designated pursuant to paragraph 3 shall:

(a) set up and ensure the functioning of an effective and efficient internal control system;

(b) use an accounting system that provides accurate, complete and reliable information in a timely manner;

(d) ensure ex post publication in accordance with Article 38(2) to (6).

Any processing of personal data shall comply with Regulation (EU) 2016/679.

Bodies designated pursuant to paragraph 3 shall, by 15 February of the following financial year, provide the Commission with:

(a) their accounts on the expenditure that was incurred, during the relevant reference period as defined in sector-specific rules, in the execution of their tasks and that was presented to the Commission for reimbursement;

(b) an annual summary of the final audit reports and of controls carried out, including an analysis of the nature and extent of errors and weaknesses identified in systems, as well as corrective action taken or planned.

The accounts referred to in point (a) of paragraph 5 shall include pre-financing and sums for which recovery procedures are ongoing or have been completed. They shall be accompanied by a management declaration confirming that, in the opinion of those in charge of the management of the funds:

(a) the information is properly presented, complete and accurate;

(b) the expenditure was used for its intended purpose, as defined in sector-specific rules;

The accounts referred to in point (a) of paragraph 5 and the summary referred to in point (b) of that paragraph shall be accompanied by an opinion of an independent audit body, drawn up in accordance with internationally accepted audit standards. That opinion shall establish whether the accounts give a true and fair view, whether expenditure for which reimbursement has been requested from the Commission is legal and regular, and whether the control systems put in place function properly. The opinion shall also state whether the audit work puts in doubt the assertions made in the management declaration referred to in paragraph 6.

The deadline of 15 February set out in paragraph 5 may exceptionally be extended by the Commission to 1 March, upon communication by the Member State concerned.

Member States may, at the appropriate level, publish the information referred to in paragraphs 5 and 6 and in this paragraph.

In addition, Member States may provide to the European Parliament, to the Council and to the Commission declarations signed at the appropriate level based on the information referred to in paragraphs 5 and 6 and in this paragraph.

In order to ensure that Union funds are used in accordance with the applicable rules, the Commission shall:

(a) apply procedures for the examination and acceptance of the accounts of the designated bodies, ensuring that the accounts are complete, accurate and true;

(b) exclude from Union financing expenditure for which disbursements have been made in breach of applicable law;

The Commission shall end all or part of the interruption of payment deadlines or suspension of payments after a Member State has presented its observations and as soon as it has taken any necessary measures. The annual activity report referred to in Article 74(9) shall cover all the obligations under this paragraph.

Sector-specific rules shall take account of the needs of European Territorial Cooperation programmes as regards, in particular, the content of the management declaration, the process set out in paragraph 3 and the audit function.

10.

The Commission shall compile a register of bodies responsible for management, certification and audit activities under sector-specific rules.

11.

Member States may use resources allocated to them under shared management in combination with operations and instruments carried out under Regulation (EU) 2015/1017 in accordance with the conditions set out in the relevant sector-specific rules.

CHAPTER 3 European offices and Union bodies

Section 1 European offices

Article 64

Scope of competences of European offices

Before setting up a new European office, the Commission shall make a cost-benefit study and an assessment of the associated risks, inform the European Parliament and the Council of the results thereof and propose to enter the necessary appropriations in an annex to the section of the budget relating to the Commission.

Within the scope of their competences, European offices:

(a) shall perform obligatory tasks provided for in their act of establishment or in other legal acts of the Union;

(b) may, in accordance with Article 66, perform non-obligatory tasks authorised by their Management Committees having considered the costs, benefits and associated risks for the parties involved.

This Section shall apply to the operation of OLAF, with the exception of paragraph 4 of this Article, Article 66 and Article 67(1), (2) and (3).

The internal auditor of the Commission shall exercise all responsibilities laid down in Chapter 8 of this Title.

Article 65

Appropriations regarding European offices

The appropriations authorised to implement obligatory tasks of each European office shall be entered in a specific budget line within the section of the budget relating to the Commission and shall be set out in detail in an annex to that section.

The annex referred to in the first subparagraph shall take the form of a statement of revenue and expenditure, subdivided in the same way as the sections of the budget.

The appropriations entered in that annex:

(a) shall cover all the financial requirements of each European office in the performance of the obligatory tasks provided for in its act of establishment or in other legal acts of the Union;

(b) may cover financial requirements of a European office in the performance of tasks requested by Union institutions, Union bodies, other European offices and agencies established by or under the Treaties and authorised in accordance with the act of establishment of the office.

The Commission shall, in respect of the appropriations entered in the annex for each European office, delegate the powers of authorising officer to the Director of the European office concerned, in accordance with Article 73.

The establishment plan of each European office shall be annexed to that of the Commission.

The Director of each European office shall take decisions on transfers within the annex referred to in paragraph 1. The Commission shall inform the European Parliament and the Council of such transfers.

Article 66

Non-obligatory tasks

For the non-obligatory tasks referred to in point (b) of Article 64(2), a European office may:

(a) receive delegation to its Director from Union institutions, Union bodies and other European offices, together with a delegation of the powers of the authorising officer concerning appropriations entered in the section of the budget relating to the Union institution, Union body or other European office;

(b) conclude ad-hoc service-level agreements with Union institutions, Union bodies, other European offices or third parties.

In the cases referred to in point (a) of paragraph 1, Union institutions, Union bodies and other European offices concerned shall set the limits and conditions for the delegation of powers. Such delegation shall be agreed in accordance with the act of establishment of the European office, in particular as regards the conditions and modalities of the delegation.

In the cases referred to in point (b) of paragraph 1, the Director of the European office shall, in accordance with its act of establishment, adopt the specific provisions governing the implementation of the tasks, the recovery of costs incurred, and the keeping of the corresponding accounting records. The European office shall report the result of such accounting records to the Union institutions, Union bodies or other European offices concerned.

Article 67

Accounting records of European offices

Each European office shall draw up accounting records of its expenditure, enabling the proportion of its services supplied to each of Union institutions, Union bodies or other European offices to be determined. The Director of the European office concerned shall, after approval by its Management Committee, adopt the criteria upon which the accounting records shall be based.

The remarks concerning the specific budget line, in which the total appropriations for each European office to which the powers of authorising officer have been delegated in accordance with point (a) of Article 66(1) are entered, shall show an estimate of the costs of services supplied by that office to each of the Union institutions, Union bodies and other European offices concerned. This shall be based on the accounting records provided for in paragraph 1 of this Article.

Each European office to which authorising officer powers have been delegated in accordance with point (a) of Article 66(1) shall notify the Union institutions, Union bodies and other European offices concerned of the results of the accounting records provided for in paragraph 1 of this Article.

Each European office’s accounting records shall form an integral part of the Union’s accounts in accordance with Article 241.

The accounting officer of the Commission, acting on a proposal from the Management Committee of the European office concerned, may delegate to a member of staff of the European office some of the officer’s tasks relating to the collection of revenue and the payment of expenditure made directly by the European office concerned.

To meet the cash requirements of the European office, bank accounts or post office giro accounts may be opened in its name by the Commission, acting on a proposal from the Management Committee. The final cash position for each year shall be reconciled and adjusted between the European office concerned and the Commission at the end of the financial year.

Section 2 Agencies and Union bodies

Article 68

Applicability to the Euratom Supply Agency

This Regulation shall apply to the implementation of the budget for the Euratom Supply Agency.

Article 69

Executive agencies

The Commission may delegate powers to executive agencies to implement all or part of a Union programme or project, including pilot projects and preparatory actions and the implementation of administrative expenditure, on its behalf and under its responsibility, in accordance with Council Regulation (EC) No 58/2003 ([^E0009]). Executive agencies shall be created by means of a Commission decision and shall have legal personality under Union law. They shall receive an annual contribution.

The directors of executive agencies shall act as authorising officers by delegation as regards the implementation of the operational appropriations relating to the Union programmes which they manage in whole or in part.

The steering committee of an executive agency may agree with the Commission that the accounting officer of the Commission shall also act as the accounting officer of the executive agency concerned. The steering committee may also entrust the accounting officer of the Commission with part of the tasks of the accounting officer of the executive agency concerned, taking into account cost-benefit considerations. In both cases, the arrangements necessary to avoid any conflict of interests shall be made.

Article 70

Bodies set up under the TFEU and the Euratom Treaty

The Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 269 of this Regulation to supplement this Regulation with a framework financial regulation for bodies which are set up under the TFEU and the Euratom Treaty and which have legal personality and receive contributions charged to the budget.

The framework financial regulation shall be based on the principles and rules set out in this Regulation, taking into account the specificities of the bodies referred to in paragraph 1.

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