Amending budget No 4/2023

Commission's proposal: Draft Amending Budget 4/2023,  COM(2023) 530 – 11 October 2023
Council's position: 09/11/2023
Parliament's position: 22/11/2023

Draft Amending Budget 4/2023 – Reduction in payment appropriations, other adjustments and technical updates

The purpose of Draft Amending Budget (DAB) No 4 for the year 2023 is to update the expenditure side of the budget for the following purposes:

• To reduce the appropriations of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) project by EUR 280 million in commitment and EUR 264 million in payment appropriations, due to the delays accrued in the implementation of the project, which will not be possible to be caught up later this year;
• To decrease the level of payment appropriations for the Digital Europe Programme (DEP), the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), the European Social Fund Plus (ESF+), the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) and the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF) for a total amount of EUR 3 billion. These amounts could not be included in the redeployments proposed in the ‘Global transfer’ (DEC 13/2023) submitted to Parliament and Council on 27 September 2023;
• To adjust the level of administrative expenditure, pensions and European Schools in heading 7 and increase the level of appropriations by EUR 32,5 million as a result of salary revision, higher number of pension beneficiaries, and continued high energy prices;
• To allow the European External Action Service (EEAS) to recruit 20 cost-free seconded national experts for Military Planning and Conduct Capability (MPCC) without impact on the level of appropriations in 2023;
• To adjust the EU contribution and the number of posts of the European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO) to reinforce its security and cybersecurity;
• To adjust the EU contribution to the European Environment Agency to take account of the ongoing negotiations on the Nature restoration law proposal;

Overall, the net impact of this DAB on expenditure amounts to a decrease of EUR 247,5 million in commitment appropriations and of EUR 3 254,8 million in payment appropriations.

Amending budget No 4/2023