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CHAPTER 1 U.K. General provisions

Article 1U.K.Multiannual Financial Framework

The multiannual financial framework for the period 2014 to 2020 (the "MFF") is set out in the Annex.

Article 2U.K.Mid-term review/revision of the MFF

By the end of 2016 at the latest, the Commission shall present a review of the functioning of the MFF taking full account of the economic situation at that time as well as the latest macroeconomic projections. This compulsory review shall, as appropriate, be accompanied by a legislative proposal for the revision of this Regulation in accordance with the procedures set out in the TFEU. Without prejudice to Article 7 of this Regulation, preallocated national envelopes shall not be reduced through such a revision.

Article 3U.K.Compliance with the ceilings of the MFF

1.The European Parliament, the Council and the Commission shall, during each budgetary procedure and when implementing the budget for the year concerned, comply with the annual expenditure ceilings set out in the MFF.

The sub-ceiling for Heading 2 as set out in the Annex is established without prejudice to the flexibility between the two pillars of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). The adjusted ceiling to be applied to pillar I of the CAP following the transfers between the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development and direct payments shall be laid down in the relevant legal act and the MFF shall be adjusted accordingly under the technical adjustment provided for in Article 6(1) of this Regulation.

[F12. The special instruments provided for in Articles 9 to 15 shall ensure the flexibility of the MFF and shall be laid down in order to allow the budget procedure to run smoothly. The commitment appropriations may be entered in the budget over and above the ceilings of the relevant headings laid down in the MFF where it is necessary to use the resources from the Emergency Aid Reserve, the European Union Solidarity Fund, the Flexibility Instrument, the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund, the Contingency Margin, the specific flexibility to tackle youth unemployment and strengthen research and the global margin for commitments for growth and employment, in particular youth employment, and for migration and security measures, in accordance with Council Regulation (EC) No 2012/2002 (1) , Regulation (EU) No 1309/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council (2) , and the Interinstitutional Agreement on budgetary discipline, on cooperation in budgetary matters and on sound financial management (3) .]

3.Where a guarantee for a loan covered by the general budget of the Union in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 332/2002 or Regulation (EU) No 407/2010 needs to be mobilised, it shall be over and above the ceilings laid down in the MFF.

Article 4U.K.Respect of own resources ceiling

1.For each of the years covered by the MFF, the total appropriations for payments required, after annual adjustment and taking account of any other adjustments and revisions as well as the application of paragraphs 2 and 3 of Article 3, shall not be such as to produce a call-in rate for own resources that exceeds the own resources ceiling set in accordance with Decision 2007/436/EC, Euratom.

2.Where necessary, the ceilings set in the MFF shall be lowered by way of revision in order to ensure compliance with the own-resources ceiling set in accordance with Decision 2007/436/EC, Euratom.

Article 5U.K.Global margin for payments

1.Every year, starting in 2015, as part of the technical adjustment referred to in Article 6, the Commission shall adjust the payment ceiling for the years 2015-2020 upwards by an amount equivalent to the difference between the executed payments and the MFF payment ceiling of the year n-1.

[F12. The annual adjustments shall not exceed the following maximum amounts (in 2011 prices) for the years 2018-2020 as compared to the original payment ceiling of the relevant years:

3.Any upward adjustment shall be fully offset by a corresponding reduction of the payment ceiling for year n-1.

Article 6U.K.Technical adjustments

1.Each year the Commission, acting ahead of the budgetary procedure for year n+1, shall make the following technical adjustments to the MFF:

(a)revaluation, at year n+1 prices, of the ceilings and of the overall figures for appropriations for commitments and appropriations for payments;

(b)calculation of the margin available under the own-resources ceiling set in accordance with Decision 2007/436/EC, Euratom;

(c)calculation of the absolute amount of the Contingency Margin provided for in Article 13;

(d)calculation of the global margin for payments provided for in Article 5;

(e)calculation of the global margin for commitments provided for in Article 14[F1;]

[F2(f) calculation of the amounts to be made available to the Flexibility Instrument under the second subparagraph of Article 11(1).]

2.The Commission shall make the technical adjustments referred to in paragraph 1 on the basis of a fixed deflator of 2 % per year.

3.The Commission shall communicate the results of the technical adjustments referred to in paragraph 1 and the underlying economic forecasts to the European Parliament and the Council.

4.Without prejudice to Article 7 and 8, no further technical adjustments shall be made in respect of the year concerned, either during the year or as ex-post corrections during subsequent years.

Article 7U.K.Adjustment of cohesion policy envelopes

1.To take account of the particularly difficult situation of Member States suffering from the crisis, the Commission shall in 2016, together with the technical adjustment for the year 2017, review all Member States' total allocations under the "Investment for growth and jobs" goal of cohesion policy for the years 2017 to 2020, applying the allocation method defined in the relevant basic act on the basis of the then available most recent statistics and of the comparison, for the capped Member States, between the cumulated national GDP observed for the years 2014 and 2015 and the cumulated national GDP estimated in 2012. It shall adjust those total allocations whenever there is a cumulative divergence of more than +/- 5 %.

2.The adjustments required shall be spread in equal proportions over the years 2017-2020 and the corresponding ceilings of the MFF shall be modified accordingly. The payment ceilings shall also be modified accordingly to ensure an orderly progression in relation to the appropriations for commitments.

3.In its technical adustment for the year 2017, following the mid-term review of the eligibility of Member States for the Cohesion Fund provided for in Article 90(5) of Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council(4), in case a Member State either becomes newly eligible to the Cohesion Fund or loses its existing eligibility, the Commission shall add or subtract the resulting amounts to or from the funds allocated to the Member State for the years 2017 to 2020.

4.The required adjustments resulting from paragraph 3 shall be spread in equal proportions over the years 2017-2020 and the corresponding ceilings of the MFF shall be modified accordingly. The payment ceilings shall also be modified accordingly to ensure an orderly progression in relation to the appropriations for commitments.

5.The total net effect, whether positive or negative, of the adjustments referred to in paragraphs 1 and 3 shall not exceed EUR 4 billion.

Article 8U.K.Adjustments related to measures linking effectiveness of funds to sound economic governance

In the case of the lifting by the Commission of a suspension of budgetary commitments concerning the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund, the Cohesion Fund, the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development or the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund in the context of measures linking effectiveness of funds to sound economic governance, the Commission, in accordance with the relevant basic act, shall transfer the suspended commitments to the following years. Suspended commitments of year n may not be re-budgeted beyond year n+3.

(1)

[F1Council Regulation (EC) No 2012/2002 of 11 November 2002 establishing the European Union Solidarity Fund ( OJ L 311, 14.11.2002, p. 3 ).]

(2)

[F1Regulation (EU) No 1309/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 December 2013 on the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (2014-2020) and repealing Regulation (EC) No 1927/2006 ( OJ L 347, 20.12.2013, p. 855 ).]

(3)

[F1Interinstitutional 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 ( OJ C 373, 20.12.2013, p. 1 ).]

(4)

Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 December 2013 laying down common provisions on the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund, the Cohesion Fund, the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund covered by the Common Strategic Framework and laying down general provisions on the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund and the Cohesion Fund and repealing Council Regulation (EC) No 1083/2006 (See page 320 of this Official Journal.).