Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012 as regards the financing of European political parties

It is necessary to amend Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2012 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union ("the Financial Regulation") in order to take account of the changes proposed in the Commission proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the statute and funding of European political parties and European political foundations, which will replace current Regulation (EC) No 2004/2003.

In application of Article 224 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) the draft Regulation replacing Regulation (EC) No 2004/2003 contains new rules regarding, inter alia, the funding of political parties and political foundations at European level. Their effectiveness requires that they are accompanied by a corresponding set of financial rules anchored in the Financial Regulation.

The proposal follows the EP resolution regarding the financing of the European political parties (the Giannakou report) which considers that, in light of the experience gained, the financing of European political parties and European political foundations should be improved as regards a number of points. In particular, it calls for an end to the system of grants and the creation of a new financing instrument in the Financial Regulation 'devoted solely and tailored specifically to the funding of European Parties and foundations'.

After close analysis, it is proposed that Political parties should indeed be financed through a new instrument ("contributions") as illustrated in this draft proposal rather than through an operating grant, as it is currently the case. As regards European political foundations, it is considered that they should continue to receive an operating grant.

EUR-Lex: COM(2012)712: Follow the progress of this document through the decision-making procedure http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/HIS/?uri=COM:2012:712:FIN

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