Sustainable Financial Framework Clause Samples

Sustainable Financial Framework. The Commission underlines its commitment to maintain and continue its original budgetary allocation for ITER. However, given the scale of the financing gap and the need for a systemic solution that will respect the Budget of the Union throughout the life of the project, there is a need for additional funds. The Commission has therefore explored the options requested by the Council. The European Investment Bank (EIB) could be asked to grant a loan to F4E as the underlying research infrastructure activities are within its lending objectives. In order to grant a credit line to F4E, the EIB would need to further investigate if an explicit collateral or guarantee from EURATOM would be required. Should the EIB need an explicit guarantee from EURATOM, the Commission would have to prepare a proposal for modifying the legal act establishing F4E that would need to be adopted by unanimity. Specific provisions would thereafter be set out in an agreement between EURATOM (represented by the Commission), the EIB and F4E. Moreover, certain changes and/or clarifications in the F4E financial regulation and its implementing rules would be required. However, the main problem with using a loan to fill the financing gap is the absence of an identifiable income stream which could be used to make repayments on a loan; in practice this precludes a loan as being an appropriate solution for the identified funding gap. Additional financing needs for ITER could be partially covered by the transfer of funds from other headings. However, given the scale of the funding gap and the need for a systemic approach throughout the life of the ITER project, the recourse to redeployment of existing Union funds on this scale would have a significantly negative effect on a range of policies and programmes which are at the heart of the EUROPE 2020 agenda. In policy terms, it would not be advisable to make such significant reductions in these areas. This issue was already signalled in the Commission's recent report on the functioning of the Inter-institutional agreement on budgetary discipline11. In addition, neither of these options (EIB nor redeployment) provides a structural solution to this issue. The commitment of the Council, also towards the European Parliament, to guarantee adequate financial support to the ITER project throughout its construction and operations phases is a pre-condition of sustainability. Excluding the options of an EIB loan and of redeployment, the Commission considers that...