Decision (EU) 2020/1268 on the mobilisation of the Contingency Margin in 2020 to provide continued humanitarian support to refugees in Turkey

Summary:

Decision adopted by the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union on 15 July 2020 concerning the mobilisation of the  Contingency Margin in 2020 to support humanitarian programmes to refugees in Turkey.

Further information:

The European Commission submitted a Draft Amending Budget (DAB) No 5/2020, which responds to the need for support to refugees and host communities in Turkey and elsewhere. This amendment proposes, in commitment appropriations, the allocation €485 million to ensure the continuation of the urgent humanitarian support to refugees in Turkey within Heading 4 of the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF).

After conducting an analysis on the potential reallocation of significant amounts under such Heading, the Commission concluded that there is no room for redeployments in 2020, while the unallocated margin is largely insufficient to cover the support required. Because of the full exhaustion of the envelopes of the other two special instruments of the MFF Regulation, the European Commission put forward a proposal to mobilise the Contingency Margin for 2020 for an amount of €481,6 million to ensure the full financing of commitment appropriations related to the expenditure under Heading 4 in the EU General Budget for 2020.

The proposal was adopted by the European Commission on 3 June 2020. The plenary of the European Parliament endorsed the proposal on 10 July. The co-legislators formally signed the Decision on 15 July, which was published in the Official Journal on 11 September 2020.

Official

EUR-Lex: COM(2020)422: Proposal for a Decision on the mobilisation of the Contingency Margin in 2020 to continue humanitarian support to refugees in Turkey https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/ALL/?uri=COM:2020:422:FIN

European Parliament: Legislative Observatory: Procedure File for Proposal on Mobilisation of the Contingency Margin in 2020: continuation of humanitarian support to refugees in Turkey https://oeil.secure.europarl.europa.eu/oeil/popups/ficheprocedure.do?lang=en&reference=2020/2094(BUD)

European Commission: Draft amending budget No 5/2020 https://ec.europa.eu/info/publications/draft-amending-budget-no-5-2020_en

European Parliament: Press Release, 10/07/2020: MEPs approve €585 million to support Syrian refugees in neighbouring countries https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/press-room/20200706IPR82727/

European Commission: Press Release, 10/07/2020: Turkey: Extension of EU humanitarian programmes supporting 1.7 million refugees receives green light https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_20_1324

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Commentary and Analysis

EPRS: At a Glance, July 2020: Amending Budget No 5/2020: Continuation of support to refugees in response to the Syria crisis https://www.europarl.europa.eu/thinktank/en/document.html?reference=EPRS_ATA(2020)652003

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