A3-0313/93

Resolution on the draft general budget of the European Communities for the financial year 1994

Section I-European Parliament

Section II-Council

Annex: Economic and Social Committee

Section IV-Court of Justice

Section V-Court of Auditors

The European Parliament,

-having regard to Article 203 of the EEC Treaty,

-having regard to its resolution of 24 June 1993 on the estimates of Parliament's revenue and expenditure for the financial year 1994,

-having regard to the draft general budget for the financial year 1994 (C3-0250/93),

-having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgets and the opinion of the Committee on Institutional Affairs (A3-0313/93),

whereas the discussions between the two arms of the budgetary authority with the active assistance of the Commission, with a view to the conclusion of a new interinstitutional agreement, have been completed;

I.GENERAL FRAMEWORK

1.Asserts the need to make Community institutions operate as efficiently as possible in order that they may discharge their responsibilities;

2.Notes that, at the first reading of the draft budget, the Council has made swingeing cuts, even in essential expenditure;

3.Points out that, as administrative entities, the Community institutions are required to manage human resources and movable and immovable property; observes that the limited financial resources available for administrative expenditure make it necessary to lay down an order of priorities between the institutions and within each institution;

4.Notes that a financial margin remains available in category 5 of the financial perspective and that this financial margin should be earmarked for the setting up of new bodies and for requirements deriving from the implementation of the Treaty on European Union on the basis of a proper estimate of requirements by the institutions directly concerned;

5.Welcomes the common approach taken by the two arms of the budgetary authority for rational and effective management of human resources; takes the view that management must proceed with due regard for the national diversity of the institutions' human capital; urges all the institutions to evaluate the results of the equal opportunities policy as regards their staff;

6.Stresses that, each year, a full-scale evaluation of manpower requirements, coupled with a redeployment of human resources, leads to productivity gains;

7.Points out that the requirements for the institutions' spending on buildings are not confined to allocations for one financial year only and that those requirements are secondary to political decisions on the seats and to each of the institutions' requirements in terms of organizing its work; believes therefore that multiannual planning of this policy must continue in order to enable the financial impact thereof to be aggregated within the financial resources available within the Community budget;

8.Points out in particular in the run-up to enlargement that this property policy, which is based on a balance between renting and purchasing as recommended as long ago as 1988, has led the Community to establish its own property assets;

9.Notes that the amount for reuse for sections other than the Commission's is put at ECU 2 579 822; stresses in this connection that a pricing policy based on a cost-benefit analysis should be beneficial, in particular in the case of budget headings which produce appropriations for reuse; calls therefore on the institutions to supply, along with their estimates, appropriate information from now on with regard to this aspect of reuse;

10.Points out that the work on harmonizing nomenclature in certain chapters of Title I on 'expenditure relating to persons working with the institution' enhances budgetary transparency, and calls on the institutions to continue this effort for the other chapters of Titles I and II;

II.As regards the European Parliament

11.Believes that the volume of appropriations earmarked in the 1994 estimates is sufficient to ensure that the institution operates properly; enters, however, to allow for the Treaty on European Union, an additional amount of ECU 202 000 in Chapter 100 for the Ombudsman, which is to be used to set up an interim structure; stresses that this amount should not prejudice the independent nature of the office of Ombudsman when he has been appointed pursuant to Article 138e of that Treaty;

12.Reiterates the views it gave, when the 1994 estimates were adopted, with regard to the restructuring of the Secretariat; highlights in this connection the need to plan the setting up of the various structures in order to ensure consistency with the ongoing and annual nature of the evaluation-of-services report (screening);

13.Recalls the need for Parliament's Establishment Plan, in all categories and at all levels, to reflect the principle of parity between languages and for existing linguistic imbalances to be eliminated, with a view to improving the services provided for Members; recalls, with this in mind, the human and material resources made available to the Secretary-General for that purpose on recent, successive occasions and refers in particular to the provisions of the Staff Regulations concerning the criterion of merit, which arose when the estimates were adopted;

14.Recalls that the draft budget for 1994 has the requisite appropriations for the creation of posts in areas identified in the screening; recalls the need to set in place as soon as possible the facilities required by the new procedures as regards legislative activity following the entry into force of the Treaty on European Union;

15.Decides therefore to amend the draft budget as follows:

(a)by entering in Chapter 100 an amount of ECU 1 711 962 for Chapter 11 in order to ensure coordination between the new structures and staff requirements;

(b)by authorizing the upgrading of one A5 post to A4 for the political groups and two A5 posts to A4 and four A6 posts to A5 for the Secretariat; by converting the six D1 posts for temporary staff/political groups (drivers) into six permanent D1 posts in order to ensure that they are managed by the Secretariat;

(c)by entering an amount of ECU 50 000 in Article 201 - Insurance, while calling on the Secretary-General to submit a report on the respective objectives and costs of the various insurance policies;

16.Calls on the administrative body, on the basis of the conclusions of the screening as regards staff policy, to organize within the 1994 financial year internal competitions for promotions from category C to B and from D to C with a view to ensuring a better framework for some duties and proper compensation for the assignments undertaken (photocomposition, ushers, receptionists); takes the view, therefore, that posts in categories B and C should be earmarked for the successful candidates in the competitions referred to;

17.Points out that, as a result of developments in certain areas since its estimates were adopted, expenditure for certain budget articles/items in Chapters 16, 18, 20, 22, 23 and 26 can be better assessed; adjusts the amounts of appropriations by means of redeployment within the allocation established in June 1993; stresses that this redeployment of appropriations permits an increase of about 8% in the appropriations in Chapter 101 'Contingency reserve';

18.Recalls the outstanding issue of a statute for Members' assistants as mentioned in its aforementioned resolution of 24 June 1993 (paragraph 19) and calls on the competent authorities to pursue their negotiations with a view to finding an appropriate solution before the 1994-1999 parliamentary term;

19.Recalls that, when it adopted its estimates, it called for reports to be drawn up on various areas of activity; notes that not all such reports have been submitted and that, among those which have been submitted, some simply describe the situation in the areas under consideration;

III.As regards the Council and the Economic and Social Committee

20.Observes that the greatest increase among the institutions' administrative budgets is in Section II, Council: + 7.49%;

21.Notes that, in its own budget, the Council has set aside an amount of ECU 6 m in Chapter 100 to cover the impact of Maastricht and accession;

22.Believes that there must be a reduction in the across-the-board cut for the Economic and Social Committee, together with four upgradings of posts for categories B and C and two conversions of posts from category D to category C; points out that this option should enable the ESC to redefine its staff policy by activating the posts entered in its establishment plan and to ensure normal career development;

23.Decides to amend:

(a)the appropriations in Article 202 'Water, gas, electricity' on the basis of the changes in the parameters used to calculate this expenditure;

(b)the appropriations in Article 255 'Conferences, congresses and meetings' in order to ensure that meetings between the social partners in the Community and third countries proceed smoothly;

24.Highlights the relative share of appropriations for computing and calls on the Secretary-General to submit a report on the basis of a cost-benefit analysis;

25.Points out that the Council has entered an unitemized allocation of ECU 12 m in Chapter 100 of the ESC's budget for the setting up of the Committee of the Regions, adding two clauses: ratification of the Treaty on European Union; the political decisions to be taken regarding the Committee's precise organizational arrangements;

26.Points out, moreover, that the Council advocates particularly strict budgetary discipline with regard to measures without a well-defined legal basis; decides therefore to examine the financial implications of the Committee of the Regions, as soon as the decision-taking procedures concerning the organizational arrangements have been completed, within the limits of the financial resources available; points out, however, that an allocation of ECU 2 m is already earmarked for the Committee of the Regions in the ESC's budget for the financial year 1993;

27.Looks to the Council to set up the Committee of the Regions immediately after the Maastricht Treaty comes into effect;

28.Calls on the Council to submit a draft budget reflecting the requirements of this Committee based on a phased development of the organizational structures (with particular regard to posts) in order to give the members of the new body sufficient leeway;

29.Will in future treat the proposals of the Committee of the Regions pertaining to the Community budget in the same way as it has treated proposals by the Economic and Social Committee;

IV.As regards the Court of Justice

30.Points out that, when the 1987 budget was adopted, the private offices of the Members of the Court were augmented by a third law clerk and that, in the meantime, the creation of the Court of First Instance and the extension of its jurisdiction, on the basis of the June 1993 Council decision, militate in favour of increasing the complement of law clerks by creating six A6 posts and six A5 posts for temporary staff;

31.Decides to reduce the across-the-board cut in order to enable the institution to fill more of the posts entered in the establishment plan; authorizes the upgrading/conversion of eight posts (one LA7 to LA6; three B5 to B4; two C2 to C1; two C3 to B4) and the conversion of 16 temporary staff posts to permanent posts with a view to proper career development within the institution;

32.Reaffirms its willingness to ensure that the Court can publish judgments and the source index of Community case-law and therefore increases the appropriations in Chapter 27 by ECU 339 100;

33.Calls on the Registrar of the Court to submit a feasibility study on the publication of a compendium of Community law and national decisions on Community law;

V.As regards the Court of Auditors

34.Points to the new responsibility of the Court of Auditors, provided for in the Treaty on European Union, to issue a statement of assurance as to the reliability of the accounts and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions;

35.Decides therefore by means of amendments:

(a)to create 25 posts (two A4, seven A5, four A6, eight A7, one LA 4, two LA6, one B1);

(b)to reduce the across-the-board cut in order to enable the Court to activate the posts already entered in its establishment plan;

(c)to increase the appropriations for expenditure on overheads (Article 200 - Rent, 201 - Insurance, 202 - Water, gas, electricity, 203 - Cleaning/maintenance) by a total amount of ECU 600 500;

36.Enters an amount of ECU 270 000 in Chapter 100 for Article 130 'Mission expenses' while calling on the Secretary-General to submit a report to it on this area;

VI.As regards the institutions as a whole

37.Restates its concern at publishing activities and, in particular, cooperation on the basis of a pricing scheme as between the institutions and the OOPEC; therefore repeats its call for an in-depth study into the activities of the OOPEC;

38.Recalls its support for interinstitutional cooperation and, therefore, notes the amendments to the nomenclature carried out for certain activities in Chapters 11 and 16, now grouped together in Chapter 18 - Interinstitutional cooperation; calls on the Council, therefore, to take this new presentation into account as well;

39.Calls on the Institutions to submit to it a report on how they recycle the various materials that they use, especially paper;

40.Stresses that, during the budgetary procedures, reports on the various activities financed by administrative budgets are required to be produced; takes the view that the conclusions of these reports must provide assessment criteria which enable a decision to be taken in each case on the basis of the various options, account being taken of the foreseeable financial implications;

41.Instructs its President to forward this resolution to all the Community institutions, including the Commission.