In December 2020, the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission concluded the agreement on budgetary discipline, cooperation on budgetary matters and sound financial management as well as on new own resources, including a roadmap towards the introduction of new own resources (IIA). The IIA was adopted in parallel to the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) Regulation
Over the period 2021-2027, the agreement aims to:
- provide for rules on cooperation between the institutions on budgetary matters, in line with the principles of budgetary discipline and sound financial management
- improve the EU’s annual budgetary procedure and the cooperation between the institutions during this procedure
- establish a roadmap towards introducing new own resources to cover the repayment of NextGenerationEU, which supports recovery in the aftermath of the COVID-19 crisis
The agreement is made of four parts:
- Part I contains complementary details regarding the 2021-2027 MFF, including the mobilisation procedures of special instruments which can provide additional funds over and above the ceilings of the MFF
- Part II aims to improve the cooperation between the Parliament, the Council and the Commission in relation to budgetary matters (e.g. revision to the current MFF, budgetary transparency, annual budgetary procedure)
- Part III deals with the sound financial management of EU funds, including the detailed financial programming for the MFF to be submitted by the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament twice per year, and the cooperation procedures applicable for the creation or modification of regulatory agencies
- Part IV covers the agreement to introduce standardised measures to collect, compare and aggregate data on the beneficiaries and final recipients of EU funding for the purposes of control and audit, to enhance the protection of the EU budget and of the EU Recovery Instrument against fraud and irregularities
The annex of the agreement details the roadmap for the introduction of new own resources.