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Bio-based Industries Joint Undertaking (BBI JU)
Report on Budgetary and Financial Management 2017
This report is provided in accordance with in accordance with the Statutes of the BBI JU annexed to
Council Regulation (EU) No 560/2014 and with [Article 31] of the Financial Rules of the BBI JU.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
1 Introduction .................................................................................................................... 3
2 Overview of the budget .................................................................................................. 5
2.1 Budgetary principles .............................................................................................. 5
2.2 Initial amending and final budgets ........................................................................... 5
2.3 Budget implementation ......................................................................................... 15
2.3.1 Budget implementation at a glance .............................................................. 15
2.3.2 Overall BBI JU implementation ..................................................................... 15
2.3.3 Highlights of the budgetary implementation .................................................. 24
2.4 Revenue ............................................................................................................... 26
3 Multi-annual overview (operational expenditure) .......................................................... 27
4 Evolution of outstanding commitments .................................................................................. 28
5 Budgetary outturn ........................................................................................................ 29
6 Financial situation and main achievements .................................................................. 31
7 Glossary on terms, abbreviations and acronyms .......................................................... 32
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1. INTRODUCTION The Bio-Based Industries Joint Undertaking (BBI JU) is a Public-Private Partnership between the
European Union – represented by the European Commission (EC) - and the Bio-based Industries
Consortium (BIC). Operating under Horizon 2020, BBI JU is driven by the Strategic Innovation and
Research Agenda (SIRA1).
BIC is a non-profit organisation that was created to represent the industry group that supports the
BBI JU. Its members cover the entire bio-based value chain and consist of large industries, small
and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), regional clusters, European trade associations, and
European Technology Platforms. The aim of BIC is to ensure and promote the technological and
economic development of the bio-based industries in Europe. Any interested stakeholders along
the bio-based value chain may apply for membership. It applies general principles of openness and
transparency regarding membership, ensuring a wide industrial involvement.
BIC developed the SIRA based on extensive consultation with public and private stakeholders. The
SIRA describes the main technological and innovation challenges that need to be overcome in
order to develop sustainable and competitive bio-based industries in Europe and identifies
research, demonstration and deployment activities to be carried out by a Joint Technology Initiative
on Bio-based Industries, the BBI JU.
The Commission Communication of 13 February 2012 entitled "Innovating for Sustainable Growth:
A Bioeconomy for Europe", and in particular its Action Plan, calls for a public-private partnership to
support the establishment of sustainable and competitive bio-based industries and value chains in
Europe. In view of the move towards a post-petroleum society, the Communication aims to integrate
better biomass producing and processing sectors in order to reconcile food security and natural
resource scarcity and environmental objectives with the use of biomass for industrial and energy
purposes.
The Commission Communication of 10 October 2012 entitled "A Stronger European Industry for
Growth and Economic Recovery" confirms the strategic importance of bio-based industries for the
future competitiveness of Europe, as identified in the Commission Communication of 21 December
2007 entitled "A lead market initiative for Europe", and stresses the need for the BBI Initiative.
On 6 May 2014, the Council adopted Regulation (EU) No 560/2014 establishing the Bio-based
Industries Joint Undertaking (BBI Regulation). According to Article 19 of the Regulation, the
Commission was responsible for the establishment and initial operation of the BBI Joint
Undertaking until it reached the operational capacity to implement its own budget on 26 October
2015.
1 https://www.bbi-europe.eu/sites/default/files/sira-2017.pdf
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BBI JU Objectives BBI JU’s mission is to implement the Strategic Innovation and Research Agenda (SIRA) developed
by the Bio-based Industry Consortium (BIC) and endorsed by the European Commission on behalf
of the European Union (EU). BBI JU operates its programme as the catalyst to enable the EU and
industry to align their strategy and vision while respecting the principles of openness, transparency
and excellence required for funding under the Horizon 2020 framework programme, through the
annual calls for proposals organised by BBI JU.
BBI JU’s objective, and that of its founding partners, is to contribute to the development of a
sustainable and competitive bio-based industry in Europe based on advanced biorefineries that
source their biomass sustainably; and in particular to demonstrate technologies that:
enable new chemical building blocks, new materials, and new consumer products from
European biomass and which replace the need for fossil based inputs;
develop business models that integrate economic actors along the whole value chain from
supply of biomass to biorefinery plants to consumers of bio-based materials, chemicals
and fuels, including through creating new cross-sector interconnections and supporting
cross industry clusters; and
set up flagship biorefinery plants that deploy the technologies and business models for
bio-based materials, chemicals and fuels and demonstrate cost and performance
improvements to levels that are competitive with fossil based alternatives.
The objective of the BBI JU should be achieved by means of supporting research and innovation
activities by using resources from the public and private sectors. To this end, the BBI JU should
organise calls for proposals for supporting research, demonstration and deployment activities.
The maximum EU contribution to the BBI JU operations, under the Horizon 2020 research and
innovation framework programme covering the period 2014-2020, is € 975 000 000 including
EFTA appropriations (of which up to € 29.25 million is for administrative expenditure). Members
of the JU other than the Union are expected to make a total contribution of at least € 2.730 million
over the 10 year period, of which € 182.5 million is the minimum financial contribution to
operational costs. In addition in-kind contributions of at least € 1.755 million should be incurred by
them in implementing additional activities outside the work plan of the JU and contributing to its
objectives.
The total administrative costs of the BBI Joint Undertaking shall not exceed € 58 500 000 and will
be covered by means of financial contributions divided equally on an annual basis between the
Union and the members other than the Union (BIC). If part of the contribution for administrative
costs is not used, it may be made available to cover the operational costs of the BBI Joint
Undertaking.
The financial reporting of the BBI JU is governed by the provisions of the Financial Rules of the BBI
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JU2, which take into account the particular needs to combine public and private funding. The
presented financial information deals with the period 1st January to 31st December 2016.
2. OVERVIEW OF THE BUDGET 2.1 Budgetary principles As set out in Chapter 2 of the BBI JU Financial Rules, the budget of BBI JU was established and
implemented in accordance with the principles of unity, budget accuracy, annuality, equilibrium,
unit of account, universality, specification, sound financial management and transparency.
2.2 Initial, amending and final budgets The budget of the BBI JU is divided into 3 titles as follows:
Title 1: Staff expenses (includes salaries and allowances, recruitment costs, training, missions,
socio-medical and representation costs)
Title 2: Administrative expenses (includes the general infrastructure and running costs such as
building rental, IT costs, office furniture and equipment, communications and meetings, and other
miscellaneous administrative costs)
Title 3: Operational expenses (for the implementation of the activities and tasks assigned to BBI
JU in accordance with its establishing Council Regulation)
Fund sources used for the budget include funds from the current year (C1), funds carried over from
previous years and reactivated under the N+3 rule applicable to Joint Undertakings (C2), funds
carried over from the previous year as budgetary RAL (C8) and internal assigned revenue (C4).
The budgetary execution discussed in this report is that of the amended budget (so including the
surplus carried over from prior years) after transfers between budget lines, though for the
administrative budget the comparison with the notional execution of the original budget will often
also be given for clarity.
The Governing Board adopted the original 2017 budget for BBI JU on 15 December 2016, for the
global amount of € 92 421 059 in commitment appropriations (CAs) and € 76 254 922 in payment
appropriations (PAs).
There was one amendment to the 2017 budget voted by the Governing Board on 22 May 2017,
2 Adopted by the Governing Board decision 14 October 2014, and amended by the Governing Board decision of 23 December 2015.
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approving the following:
i) the allocation to Titles 1, 2 and 3 of unused commitment and payment appropriations (CA and
PA) from prior years, included in Title 4 of the voted budget, as follows:
Administrative CA and PA 2016 € 1 700 000
Operational CA 2015 € 1 353 523
Operational PA 2015 € 328,920
ii) the reactivation of additional administrative unused appropriations (CA and PA) once the year-
end budgetary surplus was known with accuracy, arising from both C1 and C8 budget lines, as
follows:
Operational CA 2016 € 3 097 134
Administrative CA 2015 € 561 770
Administrative PA 2015 € 3 498
Administrative CA 2016 € 284 479
Administrative PA 2016 € 1 071 476
iii) the receipt of additional requested operational payment appropriations of € 14 698 790 from the
Commission, to top up the prefinancing payments of the projects from the 2016 call, for which the
original budget was too low.
In accordance with the BBI JU Financial Rules (Article 10 (2)), as decided by the Executive Director,
internal transfers were also implemented in order to better allocate the resources needed for the
running costs.
Please see below the original and amended budgets, including the transfers:
I - Statement of revenue:
HEADING VOTED BUDGET 15.12.2016 AMENDMENTS/ TRANSFERS DESCRIPTION FINAL BUDGET
CA PA CA PA CA PA
EU contribution 81 174 465 69 172 903 14 698 790 81 174 465 83 871 693
of which Administrative
2 285 155 2 285 155
Unused appropriations from prior years reactivated under N+3
2 285 155 2 285 155
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HEADING VOTED BUDGET 15.12.2016 AMENDMENTS/ TRANSFERS DESCRIPTION FINAL BUDGET
of which Operational3
78 889 310 66 887 748 14 698 790 Top up for Call 2016 project prefinancing
78 889 310 81 586 538
EFTA contribution
1 980 657 1 687 819
1 980 657 1 687 819
of which Administrative
55 758 55 758
53 133 53 133
of which Operational
1 924 899 1 632 061 1 924 899 1 632 061
Industry (financial) contribution
3 115 280 3 365 280 3 115 280 3 365 280
of which Administrative (incl. 2/6 compensation for 2014)
2 615 280 2 615 280 2 615 280 2 615 280
of which Operational
500 000 750 000 500 000 750 000
SUB-TOTAL REVENUES
86 270 402 74 226 002 86 292 962 88 947 352
C2 reactivation of unused appropriations from administrative expenditure4
1 700 000 1 700 000 846 249 1 074 974 2 546 249 2 774 974
Of which from 2015
428 175 428 175 561 770 3 498 989 945 431 673
Of which from 2016
1 271 825 1 271 825 284 479 1 071 476 1 556 304 2 343 301
C2 reactivation of unused appropriations from operational expenditure
4 450 657 328 920 4 450 657 2 774 974
Of which from 2015
1 353 523 328 920 1 353 523 328 920
Of which from 2016
3 097 134 3 097 134
3 The additional operational payment appropriations were deemed to be received without an EFTA contribution 4 The reactivations of the administrative surplus from prior years (both the amounts included in the original budget and the additional amounts in the amended budget) are all shown at the level of “C2 reactivation of unused appropriations from administrative expenditure” for clarity. The allocation to individual titles/chapters is detailed in the statement of expenditure
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HEADING VOTED BUDGET 15.12.2016 AMENDMENTS/ TRANSFERS DESCRIPTION FINAL BUDGET
SUB-TOTAL REACTIVATIONS
6 150 657 2 028 920 6 996 906 3 103 894
Other administrative revenue
22 560 22 560 22 560 22 560
GRAND TOTAL 92 421 059 76 254 922 868 809 15 796 324 0 93 289 868 92 051 246
II – Statement of expenditure: Title Chapter
HEADING VOTED BUDGET 15/12/2016 AMENDMENTS TRANSFERS FINAL BUDGET
CA PA CA PA CA PA CA PA
1 Staff Expenditure
2 868 192 2 868 192 1 579 958 1 590 593 -152 725 0 4 295 425 4 458 785
1 1 Staff in active employment
2 544 200 2 544 200 1 401 844 1 442 017 -107 905 73 751 3 838 139 4 059 968
1 2 Staff recruitment /Miscellaneous expenditure
51 200 51 200 44 969 10 554 -40 269 -8 441 55 900 53 313
1 3 Mission and duty travels
95 000 95 000 64 349 89 412 -27 455 -68 714 131 894 115 698
1 4 Other staff costs (socio-medical structure)
167 792 167 792 55 574 48 508 29 376 3 506 252 742 219 806
1 5
Entertainment and representation expenses
10 000 10 000 13 222 102 -6 473 -102 16 749 10 000
2 Other administrative expenditure
2 088 001 2 088 001 988 851 1 206 941 152 725 0 3 229 577 3 294 942
2 0 Rental of buildings and associated costs
307 001 307 001 25 780 64 446 180 389 201 232 490 609 572 679
2 1 Administrative information technology
223 100 223 100 36 747 83 446 -21 786 -63 648 238 061 242 898
2 2 Movable property and associated costs
14 000 14 000 11 082 76 863 -11 082 -66 790 14 000 24 073
2 3 Current administrative expenditure
42 000 42 000 8 661 13 400 -3 661 -7 542 47 000 47 858
2 4 Telecommunications and postal charges
9 000 9 000 4 550 13 926 -3 050 -13 110 10 500 9 816
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Title Chapter
HEADING VOTED BUDGET 15/12/2016 AMENDMENTS TRANSFERS FINAL BUDGET
2 5 Expenditure on formal meetings
115 700 115 700 37 332 61 571 -35 032 -8 883 118 000 168 388
2 6
External communication, information, publicity
525 000 525 000 110 423 151 866 305 235 215 329 940 658 892 195
2 7 Studies 100 000 100 000 87 360 94 000 -64 600 -64 600 122 760 129 400
2 8 Experts contracts and evaluations
668 300 668 300 647 423 647 423 -191 988 -191 988 1 123 735 1 123 735
29 Expert reviewers 83 900 83 900 19 494 0 -1 700 83 900
3 Operational expenditure
81 314 209 69 269 809 4 450 657 15 027 710 85 764 866 84 297 519
30 Previous years’ calls
4 450 657 15 027 710 84 297 819
33 Call 2017
85 764 886
4
Re-entered appropriations from previous years
6 150 657 2 028 920 -6 150 657 -2 028 920
40
Of which administrative
1 700 000 1 700 000 -1 700 000 -1 700 000
41
Of which operational
4 450 657 328 920 -4 450 657 -328 920
TOTAL EXPENDITURE
93 267 308 93 289 868 846 249 15 773 764 0.00 0 00 93 289 868
92 051 246
Below is a table showing the list of individual credit transfers (CAs and PAs) by budget item, by
title. The majority of the credit transfers were made to reallocate budget wherever it was needed to
enable new commitments to be made, existing commitments to be boosted and additional payment
appropriations to be made available in the case of unexpected or larger-than-foreseen payment
requirements. All of the credit transfers were between items within a title, with the exception of an
amount of € 152 725 of C2 commitment appropriations transferred from Title 1 to Title 2, mainly to
the communications budget line, to enable substantial payments related to the 2017 Stakeholder
Forum event in early December 2017. The transfer, made from several Title 1 lines, was below the
10% threshold permitted by Article 10 of the BBI JU Financial Regulations.
In view of the reactivated surplus from 2017, there was no risk of exhausting the budget. However
the aim, as of around June 2017, when the reactivated C2 credits became available following a
budgetary amendment, was to attempt to execute all of the C2 payment and commitment
appropriations (which should be used in priority), so that the inevitable year-end surplus, or most
of it, would be in C1.
The exercise was successful overall, with only € 88 251 left in C2 commitment appropriations
(resulting mainly from year-end decommitments of budget deemed unnecessary for 2017) and
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€ 28 006 left in payment appropriations. These appropriations will be reactivated via a budgetary
amendment in 2018, to be executed in priority.
COMMITMENT APPROPRIATIONS
Budget line Fund source Initial Transfers Amended Credit Available Com
Amount
A-1100 C1 2 544 200 - 157 000 2 387 200
A-1100 C2 - 189 249 1 389 249 1 200 000
A-1110 C1 157 000 157 000
A-1110 C2 84 674 9 266 93 940
A-1120 C2 - 3 330 3 330 0
A-1200 C1 51 200 51 200
A-1200 C2 - 30 053 34 753 4 700
A-1201 C2 - 10 215 10 215 0
A-1300 C1 95 000 95 000
A-1300 C2 - 27 455 64 349 36 894
A-1400 C1 9 092 9 092
A-1400 C2 6 306 6 306
A-1401 C1 87 900 87 900
A-1401 C2 43 644 43 644
A-1402 C1 70 800 70 800
A-1402 C2 - 14 268 49 268 35 000
A-1500 C1 10 000 10 000
A-1500 C2 - 6 473 13 222 6 749
TOTAL TITLE 1 2 868 192 - 152 725 1 579 958 4 295 425
A-2000 C1 307 001 307 001
A-2000 C2 165 389 3 219 168 608
Other revenue C4 22 560 22 560
A-2010 C1 15 000 15 000
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Budget line Fund source Initial Transfers Amended Credit Available Com
Amount
A-2100 C1 45 100 45 100
A-2100 C2 - 30 494 35 494 5 000
A-2101 C1 178 000 178 000
A-2101 C2 8 708 1 253 9 961
A-2200 C1 14 000 14 000
A-2200 C2 - 11 082 11 082
A-2300 C1 25 000 25 000
A-2300 C2 - 3 661 8 661 5 000
A-2303 C1 17 000 17 000
A-2303 C2
A-2400 C1 9 000 9 000
A-2400 C2 - 3 050 4 550 1 500
A-2500 C1 115 700 - 10 000 105 700
A-2500 C2 - 25 032 37 332 12 300
A-2600 C1 205 000 - 21 000 184 000
A-2600 C2 296 183 59 158 355 342
A-2601 C1 100 000 100 000
A-2601 C2 37 736 27 581 65 316
A-2602 C1 120 000 10 000 130 000
A-2602 C2 - 23 684 23 684 0
A-2603 C1 100 000 6 000 106 000
A-2603 C2
A-2700 C1 100 000 100 000
A-2700 C2 - 64 600 87 360 22 760
A-2800 C1 668 300 668 300
A-2800 C2 - 191 988 219 249 27 260
A-2800 C2 428 175 428 175
A-2900 C1 83 900 83 900
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Budget line Fund source Initial Transfers Amended Credit Available Com
Amount
A-2900 C2 - 1 700 19 494 17 794
TOTAL TITLE 2 2 088 001 152 725 988 852 3 229 578
B3-000 C1
B3-100 C2
B3-200 C1
B3-200 C2
B3-300 C1 81 314 209 81 314 209
B3-300 C2 4 450 657 4 450 657
TOTAL TITLE 3 81,314,209 0 4,450,657 85 764 866
TOTAL 86 270 402 0 7 019 466 93 289 868
PAYMENT APPROPRIATIONS
Budget line Fund source Initial Transfers Amendments Credit Available Pay
Amount
A-1100 C1 2 544 200 - 157 000 2 387 200
A-1100 C2 67 803 1 431 920 1 499 723
A-1110 C1 157 000 157 000
A-1110 C2 6 778 9 266 16 044
A-1120 C2 - 831 831
A-1200 C1 51 200 51 200
A-1200 C2 1 774 339 2 113
A-1201 C1
A-1201 C2 - 10 215 10 215
A-1300 C1 95 000 95 000
A-1300 C2 - 68 714 89 412 20 698
A-1400 C1 9 092 9 092
A-1400 C2 - 3 144 7 193 4 049
A-1401 C1 87 900 87 900
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Budget line Fund source Initial Transfers Amended Credit Available Com
Amount
A-1401 C2 34 818 1 786 36 604
A-1402 C1 70 800 70 800
A-1402 C2 - 28 168 39 530 11 361
A-1500 C1 10 000 10 000
A-1500 C2 - 102 102
TOTAL TITLE 1 2 868 192 0 1 590 593 4 458 785
A-2000 C1 307 001 307 001
A-2000 C2 192 432 41 886 234 318
Other revenue C4 22 560 22 560
A-2010 C1
A-2010 C2 8 801 8 801
A-2100 C1 45 100 45 100
A-2100 C2 - 83 115 83 115
A-2101 C1 178 000 178 000
A-2101 C2 19 467 331 19 798
A-2200 C1 14 000 14 000
A-2200 C2 - 66 790 76 863 10 073
A-2300 C1 25 000 25 000
A-2300 C2 59 2 900 2 959
A-2303 C1 17 000 17 000
A-2303 C2 - 7 601 10 500 2 900
A-2400 C1 9 000 9 000
A-2400 C2 - 13 110 13 926 816
A-2500 C1 115 700 115 700
A-2500 C2 - 8 883 61 571 52 688
A-2600 C1 205 000 205 000
A-2600 C2 89 360 121 957 211 317
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Budget line Fund source Initial Transfers Amended Credit Available Com
Amount
A-2601 C1 100 000 100 000
A-2601 C2 145 344 533 145 878
A-2602 C1 120 000 120 000
A-2602 C2 - 19 375 29 375 10 000
A-2603 C1 100 000 100 000
A-2603 C2
A-2700 C1 100 000 100 000
A-2700 C2 - 64 600 94 000 29 400
A-2800 C1 668 300 668 300
A-2800 C2 - 191 988 647 423 455 435
A-2900 C1 83 900 83 900
A-2900 C2
TOTAL TITLE 2 2 088 001 0 1 206 941 3 294 942
B3-000 C1 69 269 809 -47 946 688 21 323 121
B3-100 C2
B3-200 C1 62 645 478 62 645 478
B3-200 C2 328 920 328 920
B3-300 -14 698 790 14 698 790 0
TOTAL TITLE 3 69 269 809 328 920 14 698 790 84 297 519
TOTAL 74 226 002 328 920 17 496 324 92 051 246
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2.3 Budget implementation
2.3.1 Budget implementation at a glance
2.3.2 Overall BBI JU implementation Operational expenditure – general comments
One call was launched in 2017. A total amount of € 85 764 866 was budgeted for this call, consisting of the following amounts: € 81 314 209 of voted commitment appropriations as well as € 1 353 523 of unused CAs from 2015 and € 3 097 134 of unused CAs from 2016.
There were 17 proposals retained out of a total of 149 proposals received, with a total requested
funding of € 85 764 866.
Revenue
•100% of EU revenue collected (operations and admininstrative). 100% of BICfunds to administrative costs collected. (Of the EU contribution € 396 000 was notactually received but was transferred to the REA by RTD for the expert-evaluatorsof Call 2017)
Commitments
•100% for operations, 59% for admin (including execution of evaluations costs byREA)
Payments
•99% for operations, 54% for admin (including execution of evaluations costs byREA)
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Total budget expenditure in figures
Please find below a detail of the budgetary implementation (for both commitment and payment appropriations) for 2017:
EXPENDITURE Amended budget 2017
(AWP)
Amended budget
2017 after transfers
Executed Budget
2017 %
Carry over to 2018
(C8)
Available for future use (N+3 rule) (C2)
(Commitment appropriations)
Title 1 - Staff expenditure 4 448 150 4 295 425 2 205 969 51.36% 79 716 2 089 456
11 Salaries & allowances 3 946 044 3 838 139 1 995 899 52.00% 27 041 1 842 240
12 Expenditure relating to Staff recruitment
96 169 55 900 9 028 16.15% 3 298 46 872
13 Mission expenses 159 349 131 894 60 868 46.15% 2 104 71 026
14 Socio-medical infrastructure (inc training)
223 366 252 743 129 164 51.10% 45 964 123 579
15 Receptions, events and representation
23 222 16 749 11 010 65.74% 1 310 5 739
Title 2 - Infrastructure and operating expenditure
3 054 292 3 229 577 2 206 434 68.32% 347 894 1 023 143
20 Rental of buildings and associated costs
310 220 490 609 310 252 63.24% 6 199 202 917
CALL BUDGET 2015 unused CA reactivated
1%
CALL BUDGET 2016 unused CA
reactivated4%
CALL BUDGET 2017 voted CA
95%
CALL 2017 TOTAL AMOUNT
17
EXPENDITURE Amended budget 2017
(AWP)
Amended budget
2017 after transfers
Executed Budget
2017 %
Carry over to 2018
(C8)
Available for future use (N+3 rule) (C2)
(Commitment appropriations)
Other revenue (2) 22 560
21 Information, communication technology and data processing
259 847 238 061 167 528 70.37% 56 540 70 533
22 Movable property and associated costs
25 082 14 000 7 131 50.94% 2 248 6 869
23 Current administrative expenditure
50 661 47 000 15 510 33.00% 4 290 31 490
24 Postage / Telecommunications 13 550 10 500 4 819 45.90% 2 955 5 681
25 Expenditure on formal meetings 153 032 118 000 65 017 55.10% 808 52 983
26 External communication information and publishing
635 423 940 658 659 942 70.16% 236 461 280 716
27 Service contracts 187 360 122 760 68 160 55.52% 22 760 54 600
28 Experts contracts and evaluations (1)
1 315 723 1 123 735 824 175 73.34% 0 299 560
29 Expert reviewers 103 394 101 694 83 900 82.50% 15 634 17 794
Title 3 - Operational expenditure 85 764 866 85 764 866 85 764 866 100.00% 336 210 809 0
30 Previous years’ Calls 127 862 752
31 Addition to call 2015.2 339 888
32 Call 2016 (unused from L1 for memo only)
122 243 304 825 798
L1 Commitment for Call 2017 85 764 866 85 764 886 85 764 886 100,00% 85 764 866
TOTAL 93 267 308 93 289 868 90 177 269 96.66% 336 638 420 3 112 599
1) This budget line concerns the contracting and payment of expert evaluators by the REA for the calls of BBI JU. The funds are made available
to REA by the EC from its administrative contributions to BBI.In respect of the figures shown, please note the following: the figures for both
the "amended budget" and the "amended budget after transfers" include an amount of €428,175, which is on a budget line of REA since 2015
and was fully consumed in 2017. Regarding the executed budget, this represents a commitment by REA of the €428,175 as well as €396,000
of BBI C1 commitment appropriations made available by the EC from BBI's administrative budget (and committed also by BBI).
2) Amount which was not included in the voted amended budget but became available during the year following the recovery of administrative
expenditure (prinicipally a recovery of overpaid rental charges in 2017)
18
51.36% 52.00%
16.15%
46.15%51.10%
65.74%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Total Title 1 -Staff CA
Salaries +allowances
Staff recruitment Mission Socio-medicaland training
Representation
Budget execution in Title 1 2017 commitment consumption (%)
70.37%63.24%
70.37%
50.94%
33.00%
45.90%55.10%
70.16%
55.52%
73.34%82.50%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Budget execution in Title 2 2017 commitment consumption (%)
19
EXPENDITURE
Amended Budget 2017
Amended budget 2017
after transfers
Executed Budget
2017 %
Available for future use (N+3 rule)
(C2)
(Payment appropriations)
Title 1 - Staff expenditure 4 458 785 4 458 785 2 178 053 52.35% 2 280 732
11 Salaries & allowances 3 986 217 4 059 967 1 983 387 51.79% 2 076 580
12 Expenditure relating to Staff recruitment
61 754 53 313 28 971 90.06% 24 342
13 Mission expenses 184 412 115 698 62 881 37.00% 52 817
14 Socio-medical infrastructure (inc training)
216 300 219 807 92 910 67.51% 126 897
15 Receptions, events and representation
10 102 10 000 9 904 98.73% 96
Title 2 - Infrastructure and operating expenditure
3 272 382 3 294 942 2 001 706 60.75% 1 293 236
20 Rental of buildings and associated costs
348 887 550 120 304 053 68.88% 268 626
20 Other revenue (4) 22 560
21 Information, communication technology and data processing
306 546 242 898 131 611 54.18% 111 287
22 Movable property and associated costs
90 863 24 073 10 884 45.21% 13 189
23 Current administrative expenditure
55 400 47 858 12 729 26.60% 35 129
24 Postage / Telecommunications 22 926 9 816 5 652 57.58% 4 164
25 Expenditure on formal meetings 177 271 168 388 64 209 38.13% 104 179
26 External communication information and publishing
676 866 892 195 563 786 63.19% 328 409
27 Service Contracts 194 000 129 400 79 540 61.47% 49 860
28 Experts contracts and evaluations (2)
1 315 723 1 123 735 760 976 67.72% 362 759
29 Expert reviewers 83 900 83 900 68 266 81.37% 15 634
Title 3 - Operational expenditure 84 297 519 84 297 519 83 810 862 99.42% 486 657
30 Previous years’ Calls 84 297 519 84 297 519 83 810 862 99.42% 486 657
31 Call 2017
TOTAL 92 028 686 92 051 246 87 990 621 95.59% 4 060 625
3) See note 1 to the commitment appropriations table. In respect of the executed budget, the 2017 consumption shown was
communicated to BBI by REA, who made the payments on behalf of BBI.
4) See note 2 to the commitment appropriations table.
20
48.85% 48.85%54.34% 54.35%
42.27%
99.04%
0.00%
20.00%
40.00%
60.00%
80.00%
100.00%
Total Title 1 -Staff
Salaries +allowances
Staffrecruitment
Missions Socio-medicaland training
Representation
Budget execution in Title 1 2017 payment consumption (%)
60.75%55.27% 54.18%
45.21%
26.60%
57.58%
38.13%
63.19% 61.47%67.72%
99.42%
0.00%
20.00%
40.00%
60.00%
80.00%
100.00%
120.00%
Budget execution in Title 2 2017 payment consumption (%)
21
Administrative expenditure
The 2017 administrative budget was prepared on the assumption that at the beginning of the year:
i) all 22 BBI JU staff would be in place and operational and ii) all necessary furniture and equipment
would be purchased. The administrative surplus brought forward from 2016 was € 2.3 million in
CAs and € 2.8 million in PAs, with around 75% in CA and 68% in PA accounted for by Title 1. The
overall surplus at the end of the year was € 3.1 million in CAs and € 4.1 million in PAs,
demonstrating that the original surplus was not absorbed at all, and in fact an additional surplus
was created by the 2017 execution. A large part of this surplus (€ 2 million) will be reactivated and
reabsorbed in 2019 (by reducing the administrative contributions of both the European Commission
and BIC by € 1 million each. The remaining surplus will be reabsorbed as of 2020 onwards.
Overview by title Title 1 – Staff-related costs
Commitment appropriations
Final budget (EUR) Original budget (EUR Executed Budget year 2017 (EUR)
Execution final budget
Execution original budget
4,295,425 2,868,192 2,205,969 51.36% 76.91%
Payment appropriations
Final budget (EUR) Original budget (EUR Executed Budget year 2017 (EUR)
Execution final budget
Execution original budget
4,458,785 2,868,192 2,178,053 48.85% 75.94%
22
Title 2 – Infrastructure and operating expenditure
Commitment appropriations
Final budget (EUR) Original budget (EUR) Executed Budget year 2017 (EUR)
Execution final budget
Execution original budget
3,229,577 2,088,001 2,206,434 68.32% 105.67%
Payment appropriations
Final budget (EUR) Original budget (EUR Executed Budget year 2016 (EUR)
Execution final budget
Execution original budget
3,294,942 2,088,001 2,001,706 60.75% 95.87%
23
51%
77%
49%
76%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
Execution final budget Execution original budget
Budget execution - commitment appropriations
Title 1 Title 2
68%
106%
61%
96%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
120%
Execution final budget Execution original budget
Budget execution - payment appropriations
Title 1 Title 2
24
2.3.3 Highlights of the budgetary execution
The overall budget implementation for the year 2017 shows positive figures both in commitment
appropriations (96.7%) and in payment appropriations (95.6%).
The management of BBI JU’s 2017 budget was characterised by two important elements: i) the
consumption of the prior year administrative surplus and ii) an initial lack of payment appropriations
on the operational side.
As was the case for 2016, the 2017 BBI JU administrative budget included a surplus of unused
budget from prior years (mainly 2016). These unused (payment and commitment) appropriations,
amounting to almost EUR 3 000 000, were reactivated via an amendment to the BBI JU 2017
annual work plan and budget in June 2017. Despite the late availability of these C2 appropriations,
they were consumed in priority in line with BBI’s financial rules art. 6(5), and reached almost 100%
consumption by year end.
Regarding the accumulated surplus outstanding at the end of 2017, the BBI JU Governing Board
decided in December 2017 that most of it (around EUR 2 million) will be reabsorbed in 2019 by
reducing the contributions of both the Commission and industry members (BIC) to BBI JU’s
administrative budget by EUR 1 000 000 each. The BBI JU Governing Board will decide on the
treatment of any remaining surplus and appropriations will be reactivated accordingly in future
years’ budgets.
Concerning the operational budget, it should be mentioned that the available payment
appropriations included in BBI JU’s 2017 budget were too low compared to the actual needs. As
the payments of periodic reports are a contractual obligation, the only way to deal with the
deficiency in the voted budget would have been to lower the pre-financing rate compared to
previous calls. This measure could have negatively impacted projects dealing with high start-up
investments as well as those involving a high number of SMEs.
This issue was discussed during the BBI JU Governing Board meeting at the end of 2016 and –
with the support of the Commission – BBI JU was able to obtain, via an amendment to the 2017
annual work plan and budget, additional appropriations to top up the pre-financing payments for
the projects of the 2016 call. Although the subsequent payment of the pre-financings was a
complicated exercise involving careful planning as well as amendments to the grant agreements, it
was carried out successfully, increasing the PF rate from 25 % to around 34 % on average.
25
1. Commitment appropriations:
Operational: The 2017 call was committed for EUR 85 764 866 including EUR 80
814 209 of voted commitment appropriations, EUR 4 450 656 of unused
commitment appropriations from 2016 and EUR 500 000 from industry (BIC). The
evaluation was successfully concluded by the end of 2017, resulting in a potential
consumption of 99.9 % if all grants amounting to a total of EUR 85 672 213 are
signed in 2018.
Administrative:
I. for staff expenditure (Title 1) only 51% was executed over the year due to
the large surplus carried over from 2016. Execution of the original budget
would be 77%, which means that this budget was also too high (particularly
at the level of staff recruitment and missions costs).
II. for infrastructure (Title 2) there was a 68% execution. Building rental
execution (63%), IT costs (70%), communications costs (70%) expert
evaluator costs (73%) and expert reviewers (83%) were reasonably strong,
but all costs were affected by the surplus carried over from 2016, with poor
execution noted for current administrative expenses (33%), formal meetings
(55%), postage/telecommunications (46%) and service contracts (56%). €
824 175 of the total budget was committed by the REA Agency on behalf of
BBI for call evaluations costs. Execution of the original Title 2 budget would
be just over 100% (this is because a certain amount of the prior year
reactivated surplus was consumed in line with increased needs in the
communications and evaluations posts).
2. Payment appropriations:
Operational: In respect of the payment appropriations, the programme office
achieved 99.4 % implementation of the 2017 budget with pre-financing payments for
the grants of Call 2016 together with payments of periodic reports for grants from
the BBI Call 2014. An amount of EUR 486 658 remaining from the total payment
appropriations of EUR 84 297 519, has been reactivated in the BBI JU 2018 budget.
During the course of 2017 43 pre-financings were paid for a total amount of EUR 62
487 741 and 10 periodic reports payments were made for a total of EUR 21 323 120.
Administrative:
I. for staff expenditure execution was 49% for the reason given in 1.I above.
Execution of the original budget would be 76% (see point 1.I above).
II. for infrastructure the overall implementation was 61%. A reasonably strong
execution was noted for expert reviewers (81%), expert evaluators (68%)
and communications (63%) but most costs were affected by the surplus
brought forward from 2016, with the poorest execution ranging from 27%
(current administrative expenditure) to 58% (postage/telecommunications).
Execution of the original budget would be 96%.
26
2.4 Revenue
The funding of the BBI JU 2017 budget was as follows (in EUR):
Heading Voted income appropriations (EUR)
Amended income appropriations (EUR)
Cashed in 2017 (EUR)
Outstanding balance (EUR)
EU contribution 70 860 722 85 559 512 83 437 058 2 122 454
of which Administrative 2 340 913 2 340 913 705 116 1 635 797
of which Operational 68 519 809 83 218 599 82 731 942 486 657
Industry (financial) contribution 3 365 280 3 387 840 1 477 675 1 910 165
of which Administrative 2 615 280 2 615 280 705 115 1 910 165
of which Operational 750 000 750 000 750 000 0
Other revenues 22 560 22 560 0
Sub-total revenues 74 226 002 88 947 352 84 914 733 4 032 619
C2 reactivation of unused appropriations from administrative expenditure
1 700 000 2 774 974 2 746 968 28 006
of which from 2015 428 175 431 673 431 673 0
of which from 2016 1 271 825 2 343 301 2 315 295 28 006
C2 reactivation of unused appropriations from operational expenditure
328 920 328 920 328 920 0
of which from 2015 328 920 328 920 328 920 0
of which from 2016
Sub-total reactivations 2 028 920 3 103 894 3 075 888 28 006
GRAND TOTAL 76 254 922 92 051 246 87 990 621 4 060 625
¹ Includes EFTA at 2.44%
EU contribution
This is the annual subsidy which the BBI JU receives from the European Commission for the BBI
JU Programme as foreseen in the Council Regulation (Article 3 (1)) establishing the BBI Joint
Undertaking). The subsidy covers both operational and administrative costs up to a total of
€ 975 000 000 over the 10 year programme.
27
Industry contribution
Each year the JU sends out debit notes to its industry member (BIC) for its contribution to the
administrative costs (usually paid in 2 instalments). In accordance with Article 12 (2) of the Statutes,
the administrative costs are to be shared equally between the EC and private members, and over
the whole programme shall not exceed € 58 500 000.
In 2014 only the Union contributed to the BBI JU administrative costs (€ 581 758). In 2015 an
agreement was drawn up on the basis of which BIC (the members of the BBI JU other than the
Union) agreed to reimburse the same amount in agreed annual instalments from 2015 to 2017. In
2017 this amount was reimbursed in full.
Assigned revenue
There was no assigned revenue as such in 2017. The ˮother revenuesˮ of € 22 560 resulted from
a recovery in 2017 of rental charges overpaid in 2016 (€ 21 955) as well as around € 600 of other
small recoveries related to salary regularisations.
3. MULTI-ANNUAL OVERVIEW Regarding the multi-annual forecasting of the operational payment appropriations, each financial
year brings more challenges and a higher volume of transactions. 2017 was the first year in which
BBI dealt not only with prefinancing payments of grants but also the first interim cost claims. Over
time the volume of these payments will continue to increase with the yearly calls as more projects
are running in parallel, and prefinancing, interim and final payments could all be dealt with in a
given year. Below is an estimation of the operations to be performed by BBI JU in 2018:
Year 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
Total awarded grants
€ 49 653 708 € 179 036 974 € 185 602 866 € 85 264 866 € 85 264 866
Pre-financing
€ - € 17 713 972 € 61 790 837 € 62 487 741 € 34 305 946
Interim payments
€ - € - € - € 21 323 121 € 77 361 128
Final payments
€ - € - € - € - € 772 028
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4. EVOLUTION OF OUTSTANDING COMMITMENTS
The table below shows the evolution of the budgetary RAL ("reste à liquider") brought forward from 2016, by
budget title. The operational balance outstanding at the end of 2017 includes the RAC ("reste à contracter")
on the total L1 commitment raised for the 2017 call, for which all grants will be committed (L2) and signed in
2018. The administrative RAL at the end of 2017 is expected to be executed (paid) in the first quarter of 2018.
Budget Title Carry forward
(RAL) from 2016 (EUR)
Commitments made during 2017 (EUR)
De-commitments of RAL (EUR)
Payments (EUR)
Commitments outstanding at
end 2017 (EUR)
Administrative Title 1
88 635 2 205 969 -38 145 -2 178 053 78 406
Administrative Title 2
244 324 2 206 434 -73 898 -2 001 706 375 154
Operational Title 3
335 082 603 85 764 866 -825 798 -83 810 862 336 210 809
TOTAL 335 415 562 90 177 269 -112 043 -87 990 621 336 664 369
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5. BUDGETARY OUTTURN
The budgetary outturn for a financial year corresponds to the total revenues actually cashed during
the year plus appropriations carried over from previous years minus total payments made during
the year, minus appropriations (both automatic and non-automatic) carried over to the following
year.
Below is the budget result as reflected in the BBI JU's annual accounts for 2017, taking into account
the implementation by REA, on behalf of BBI, of part of the BBI's administrative budget for the
expert evaluators of Call 2017 :
RESULT OF THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE BUDGET
EUR '000
2017 2016 Revenue for the financial year 88 947 65 487 Payments against current year appropriations (87 990) (64 377) Adjustment for REA transactions 365
Budget result 1 322 1 110
The revenues for the financial year are composed of the following: EC contribution € 83 871 693
Of which administrative € 2 285 155 Of which operational € 81 586 538 EFTA contribution € 1 687 819
Of which administrative € 55 758 Of which operational €1 632 061 BIC contribution € 3 365 280
Of which administrative € 2 615 280 Of which operational €750 000 Other revenues (recoveries) 22 560 TOTAL € 88 947 352
The payments for the financial year are composed of the following: Title 1 (staff-related) € 2 178 053 Title 2 (general administrative) € 2 001 706 Title 3 (operational) € 83 810 862 TOTAL € 87 990 621
The annual accounts also contain a reconciliation of the economic result with the budget result as
shown above. The economic result is adjusted for accrual items (such as depreciation) and
budgetary items (such as fixed asset acquisitions and members cash contributions).
30
RECONCILIATION OF ECONOMIC RESULT WITH BUDGET RESULT
EUR '000
2017 2016
ECONOMIC RESULT OF THE YEAR (105 936) (45 088)
Adjustment for accrual items (items not in the budgetary result
but included in the economic result)
Adjustments for accrual cut-off (net) 79 717 42 521
Unpaid invoices at year end but booked in expenses 9 18
Depreciation of intangible and tangible assets 14 10
Other individually immaterial (1) 2
Adjustment for budgetary items (item included in the budgetary result but not in the economic result)
Members' cash contributions collected in the year 88 925 65 487
Asset acquisitions (less unpaid amounts) (9) (51)
New pre-financing paid in the year and remaining open as at 31 December
(61 760) (61 791)
Payments made from non-budget lines
Payment appropriations carried over to following year Other individually immaterial
1
Adjustment for expert-evaluator transactions managed directly by REA 365
BUDGET RESULT OF THE YEAR 1 322 1 110
The amount indicated for the “accrual cutoff” (net) is composed of the following items:
Accrued project costs € 57 974 372
Accrued IKOP € 21 565 513
Staff unpaid leave accrual €37 973
Administrative accruals €149 229
Deferred charges -€10 537
TOTAL € 79 716 550
31
6. FINANCIAL SITUATION AND MAIN ACHIEVEMENTS The budget
The 2017 BBI JU administrative budget was still impacted in terms of execution by the surplus of
unused budget from prior years (mainly 2016). BBI JU made considerable efforts to consume these
previous years’ appropriations in priority in line with BBI’s financial rules, reaching an almost full
consumption. For what concerns the accumulated surplus outstanding at the end of 2017, the BBI
JU Governing Board decided that most of it (for an amount of €2 000 000) will be reabsorbed in
2019. This should also allow BBI in future years to show a budgetary performance based on
execution compared to the actual voted budget.
The operational budget shows a very efficient execution, also maximising the consumption of
unused appropriations from previous years, both in payment and commitment appropriations.
Other financial highlights BBI JU continued to improve its internal procedures, in particular fine-tuning the tendering and
signature of procurement contracts under the administrative budget. An extended use of framework
contracts, Memoranda of understanding and Service level agreements was put in place in order to
maximise the use of existing resources.
Concerning the operational budget, BBI JU performed its first payments of grants periodic reports.
Operational and financial staff took advantage of internal and corporate trainings in order to execute
these operations via efficiently the corporate H2020 IT tools.
Overall BBI JU as an organisation is progressing well towards its maturity, solidifying its knowledge
and practices in the financial domain. Preparation, planning and execution are consistently
improving and this is shown in the budgetary results.
32
7. GLOSSARY
Term Definition ABAC This is the name given to the Commission’s
accounting system, which since 2005 has been enriched by accrual accounting rules. Apart from the cash-based budget accounts, the Commission produces accrual-based accounts which recognise revenue when
earned, rather than when collected. Expenses are recognised when incurred rather than when paid. This contrasts with cash basis budgetary accounting that recognises transactions and other events only when cash
is received or paid.
Accounting The act of recording and reporting financial transactions, including the creation of the transaction, its recognition, processing, and summarisation in the financial statements.
Administrative appropriations Administrative appropriations cover the running costs of the Institutions and entities (staff, buildings, office equipment).
Adjustment Amending budget or transfer of funds from
one budget item to another
Adopted budget Draft budget becomes the adopted budget as soon as it is approved by the Budgetary
Authority.
Cf. Budget.
Agencies EU bodies having a distinct legal personality, and to whom budget implementing powers may be delegated under strict conditions. They are subject to a distinct discharge from
the discharge authority.
Amending budget Decision adopted during the budget year to amend (increase, decrease, transfer) aspects of the adopted budget of that year.
Annuality The budgetary principle according to which expenditure and revenue is programmed and authorised for one year, starting on 1 January
and ending on 31 December.
Appropriations Budget funding. The budget forecasts both commitments (legal pledges to provide finance, provided that certain conditions are fulfilled) and payments (cash or bank transfers to the beneficiaries). Appropriations for commitments and payments often differ —
differentiated appropriations — because multiannual programmes and projects are usually fully committed in the year they are decided and are paid over the years as the
33
implementation of the programme and project progresses. Non-differentiated appropriations
apply to administrative expenditure, for agricultural market support and direct payments and commitment appropriations equal payment appropriations.
Assigned revenue External/Internal
Dedicated revenue received to finance specific items of expenditure.
Main sources of external assigned revenue are financial contributions from third countries to programmes financed by the Union. Main sources of internal assigned revenue is revenue from third parties in respect of goods, services or work supplied at their request; (c)
revenue arising from the repayment of
amounts wrongly paid and revenue from the sale of publications and films, including those on an electronic medium. The complete list of items constituting assigned revenue is given in the Financial Regulation Art.21.2.
Authorising Officer (AO) The AO is responsible in each institution for authorising revenue and expenditure operations in accordance with the principles of sound financial management and for ensuring that the requirements of legality and
regularity are complied with.
Budget Annual financial plan, drawn up according to budgetary principles, that provides forecasts and authorises, for each financial year, an estimate of future costs and revenue and
expenditures and their detailed description
and justification, the latter included in budgetary remarks.
Budget result The difference between income received and amounts paid, including adjustments for carry-overs, cancellations and exchange rate differences. The resulting amount will have to
be reimbursed to the funding authority as provided in the Financial Regulation for Agencies.
Budget implementation Consumption of the budget through expenditure and revenue operations.
Budget item / Budget line / Budget position As far as the budget structure is concerned, revenue and expenditure are shown in the budget in accordance with a binding nomenclature which reflects the nature and
purpose of each item, as imposed by the budgetary authority. The individual headings
(title, chapter, article or item) provide a formal description of the nomenclature.
Budgetary authority Institutions with decisional powers on budgetary matters: the European Parliament and the Council of Ministers
Budgetary commitment A budgetary commitment is a reservation of appropriations to cover for subsequent expenses.
Cancellation of appropriations Unused appropriations that may no longer be used.
34
Carryover of appropriations Exception to the principle of annuality in so far as appropriations that could not be used in a given budget year may, under strict
conditions, be exceptionally carried over for use during the following year.
Commitment appropriations Commitment appropriations cover the total cost of legal obligations (contracts, grant agreements/decisions) that could be signed in
the current financial year. Art. 7 FR: Commitment appropriations cover the total cost in the current financial year of legal obligations (contracts, grant agreements/decisions) entered into for operations extending over more than one
year.
De-commitment Cancellation of a reservation of appropriations
Differentiated appropriations Differentiated appropriations are used to
finance multiannual operations; they cover, for the current financial year, the total cost of the legal obligations entered into for operations whose implementation extends over more than one financial year. Art. 7 FR: Differentiated appropriations are entered for
multiannual operations. They consist of commitment appropriations and payment appropriations.
Earmarked revenue Revenue earmarked for a specific purpose,
such as income from foundations, subsidies,
gifts and bequests, including the earmarked revenue specific to each institution. (Cf. Assigned revenue)
Economic result Impact on the balance sheet of expenditure and revenue based on accrual accounting
rules.
Entitlements established Entitlements are recovery orders that the European Union must establish for collecting income.
Exchange rate difference The difference resulting from currency exchange rates applied to the transactions concerning countries outside the euro area, or from the revaluation of assets and liabilities in
foreign currency at the closure.
Expenditure Term used to describe spending the budget from all types of funds sources.
Financial regulation (FR) Adopted through the ordinary legislative
procedure after consulting the European Court of Auditors, this regulation lays down the rules for the establishment and implementation of the general budget of the European Union. (OJ L 298, 26.10.2012)
35
Funds Source Type of appropriations (e.g.: C1, C2, etc.)
Grants Direct financial contributions, by way of donation, from the budget in order to finance either an action intended to help achieve an objective part of an EU policy or the functioning of a body which pursues an aim of general European interest or has an objective
forming part of an EU policy.
Implementation Cf. Budget implementation
Income Cf. Revenue
Joint Undertakings (JUs) A legal EU-body established under the TFEU.
The term can be used to describe any collaborative structure proposed for the "efficient execution of Union research,
technological development and demonstration programmes".
Lapsing appropriations Unused appropriations to be cancelled at the end of the financial year. Lapsing means the
cancellation of all or part of the authorisation to make expenditures and/or incur liabilities which is represented by an appropriation.
Legal base (basic act) The legal base or basis is, as a general rule, a law based on an article in the Treaty giving
competence to the Community for a specific policy area and setting out the conditions for
fulfilling that competence including budget implementation. Certain Treaty articles authorise the Commission to undertake certain actions, which imply spending, without
there being a further legal act.
Legal commitment A legal commitment establishes a legal obligation towards third parties.
Non-differentiated appropriations Non-differentiated appropriations are for operations of an annual nature. (Art. 9 FR). In the EU-Budget non-differentiated appropriations apply toadministrative expenditure, for agricultural market support and direct payments
Operational appropriations Operational appropriations finance the different policies, mainly in the form of grants or procurement.
Outstanding commitment Legal commitments having not fully given rise to liquidation by payments. Cf. RAL.
Outturn Cf. Budget result
Payment A payment is a cash disbursement to honour legal obligations.
36
Payment appropriations Payment appropriations cover expenditure due in the current year, arising from legal
commitments entered in the current year and/or earlier years (Art. 7 FR).
RAL Sum of outstanding commitments. Outstanding commitments (or RAL, from the French ‘reste à liquider’) are defined as the amount of appropriations committed that have not yet been paid. They stem directly from the
existence of multiannual programmes and the dissociation between commitment and payment appropriations. (Cf. Outstanding commitments).
Recovery The recovery order is the procedure by which
the Authorising officer (AO) registers an entitlement by the Commission in order to retrieve the amount which is due. The entitlement is the right that the Commission has to claim the sum which is due by a debtor, usually a beneficiary.
Result Cf. Outturn
Revenue Term used to describe income from all sources
financing the budget.
Rules of application Detailed rules for the implementation of the financial regulation. They are set out in a Commission regulation adopted after consulting all institutions and cannot alter the
financial regulation upon which they depend.
Surplus Positive difference between revenue and expenditure (see Budget result) which has to be returned to the funding authority as
provided in the Financial Regulation.
Transfer Transfers between budget lines imply the relocation of appropriations from one budget line to another, in the course of the financial year, and thereby they constitute an exception
to the budgetary principle of specification. They are, however, expressly authorised by the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union under the conditions laid down in the Financial Regulation. The FR identifies
different types of transfers depending on whether they are between or within budget
titles, chapters, articles or headings and require different levels of authorization.
