Budget 2009 in figures

The most important events that prompted amending budgets in 2009 are described below.

• Floods affecting Romania led to funding from the EU Solidarity Fund for an amount of EUR 11.8 million in payment appropriations (17 April 2009).
• The financial and economic crisis brought the European Commission to launch the European economic recovery plan (EERP) — approved and fine-tuned during the spring EU summit in March 2009 — which was translated into the EU budget in the form of financing for the following initiatives (3 July 2009):
  • energy projects to aid economic recovery, commitment appropriations of EUR 2 000 million and payment appropriations of EUR 76.2 million;
  • broadband Internet infrastructure in rural areas and CAP health check ‘new challenges’, commitment appropriations of 600 million.
• Storms affecting France led to funding from the EU Solidarity Fund for an amount of EUR 109.4 million in commitment and payment appropriations (10/11/2009)
• The long-term objective of the European Commission concerning the Eradication of bluetongue disease led to an increase in the EU budget of EUR 49.3 million in commitment appropriations for budget item ‘Animal disease eradication and monitoring programmes and monitoring of the physical conditions of animals that could pose a public health risk linked to an external factor — New measures’. (10/11/2009)
• The earthquake in and around L’Aquila in April 2009 initiated the mobilisation of the EU Solidarity Fund for an amount of EUR 493.7 million in commitment and payment appropriations (11/12/2009)
• The financial and economic crisis — to which the European Commission reacted by launching European Economic Recovery Plan (EERP) — led to a decrease in commitment appropriations under headings 2 and 5 (by EUR 359 million), leading to a corresponding increase in the respective margin, which will then be available for the financing of the second part of the EERP (27/10/2009)