EU Budget Focused on Results Presentation by Vice-President Kristalina Georgieva 15 September 2015 – European Parliament

"Make sure that every action we take delivers maximum performance and value added" Jean-Claude Juncker

Outline 1.Why "EU budget focused on results"? And what precisely is it? 2.Progress to date and future challenges 3.Key milestones

Why EU budget focused on results? Scarce resources (see MFF ceilings) Too much focus on absorption and compliance; too little focus on performance Better spending debate during negotiations for MFF Image problems of the EU budget Obligation towards the tax payers and citizens

Comparison of ceilings

What is EU Budget Focused on Results? 2. HOW do we spend? More leverage of EU funds More simplification efforts BFOR Relevant for: Annual budget Discharge Mid-term review Post 2020 MFF 1. In WHICH areas do we spend? European public goods with higher EU added value of funds 3. How are we ASSESSED? Rigorous application and further development of our control framework 4. HOW do we communicate?

Progress in MFF framework A system to measure and communicate past performance Performance improvements in the new MFF : Higher amounts in key growth and competitiveness areas Multiple objectives: example climate mainstreaming Higher leverage for EU money Reinforced link to economic governance Programme performance framework + performance reserve Simplified delivery system Reduce the error rate

Reporting on performance some examples for 2014 Growth, competitiveness and employment Increased participation of SMEs in research Lower business start-up costs New jobs for researchers 2014 Nobel Prizes in Medicine Higher employability for Erasmus students Coping with international crises Fighting Ebola Humanitarian aid to Syria and Ukraine Climate funding

Further work and challenges How much can we expect from indicators? Do the costs of collecting indicators data outweigh their benefits? To what extent can we draw aggregated conclusions? Can we really find a one-size-fits-all solution? When does the time factor help or hinder performance management (e.g. long cohesion implementation times)? The bottom line: can we improve the performance informed decision-making at a reasonable cost?

How we are assessed: Managing legality and risks What if the level of error is still persistently high… Additional cost- effective controls Further simplification Multiannual residual error rate too high Deeper analysis of structural causes of errors in Member States Multiannual residual error rate still too high ??? Redesign programme Possible budgetary decisions on the basis of the assessment of the performance/error of the programme

Conference - EU Budget Focused on Results on 22 September 2015 Agenda: 1.Performance in the Public Sector: Theory and Practice 2.Key Features of the EU Budget's Performance 3.Outlook: an EU Budget Focused on Results 4.Focus on Policy: the EU Budget in Climate Action High-level participation of: -National Ministers -MEPs and Court of Auditors -Commissioners And key note address by President Jean-Claude Juncker

Inter-Institutional Working Group on Performance-Based Budgeting Mandate: focus on substance, not procedures Composition: broad but manageable Deliverables: shared vision on how to increase performance orientation of the EU budget  Flexible, hands-on approach for an effective product  Need to agree on the format and start the work!

Thank you!