REPORT on the draft general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2006

17.10.2005 - (C6‑0300/2005 – 2005/2002(BUD))

Section I                       –  European Parliament
Section II                      –  Council
Section IV                     –  Court of Justice
Section V                      –  Court of Auditors
Section VI                     –  European Economic and Social Committee
Section VII                   –  Committee of the Regions
Section VIII (A)            –  European Ombudsman
Section VIII (B)            –  European Data Protection Supervisor
Part 1: Motion for a resolution
Committee on Budgets
Rapporteur: Valdis Dombrovskis

MOTION FOR A EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT RESOLUTION

on the draft general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2006, Section I – European Parliament, Section II – Council, Section IV – Court of Justice, Section V – Court of Auditors, Section VI – European Economic and Social Committee, Section VII – Committee of the Regions, Section VIII(A) – European Ombudsman, Section VIII(B) – European Data Protection Supervisor (C6‑0300/2005 – 2005/2002(BUD))

The European Parliament,

–   having regard to Article 272 of the EC Treaty,

–   having regard to Council Decision 2000/597/EC, Euratom of 29 September 2000 on the system of the European Communities' own resources[1],

–   having regard to the Interinstitutional Agreement of 6 May 1999 between the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission on budgetary discipline and improvement of the budgetary procedure[2],

–   having regard to its resolution of 9 March 2005 on the guidelines for Sections II, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII(A) and VIII(B) and on the European Parliament's preliminary draft estimates (Section I) for the 2006 budget procedure[3],

–   having regard to its resolution of 12 May 2005 on the estimates of revenue and expenditure of Parliament for the financial year 2006 (2005/2012(BUD))[4],

–   having regard to the preliminary draft general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2006, which the Commission presented on 27 April 2005 (COM(2005)0300),

–   having regard to the draft general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2006, which the Council established on 15 July 2005 (C6‑0300/2005),

–   having regard to Rule 69 of and Annex IV to its Rules of Procedure,

–   having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgets and the opinions of the Committee on International Trade, Committee on Budgetary Control,, Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs and Committee on Petitions (A6‑0307/2005),

A. whereas the current financial perspective has set the ceiling for heading 5 (Administrative expenditure) for the financial year 2006 at EUR 6 708 million at current prices,

B.  whereas the preliminary draft budget (PDB) for 2006 left a margin of around EUR 10,2 million below the ceiling of heading 5 of the financial perspective for the financial year 2006,

C. whereas the Council's draft budget (DB) left a margin of around EUR 130,1 million below the ceiling of heading 5 for 2006, thus decreasing the expenditure by EUR -119,9 million,

D. whereas Parliament's estimates were set at EUR 1 341,6 million, corresponding to the maximum level of 20% of heading 5,

E.  whereas the importance of applying the principles of sound financial management and budgetary rigour to Parliament's administrative expenditure was underlined in the above-mentioned resolution of 12 May 2005 on Parliament's estimates,

1.  Reiterates its commitment to provide the European institutions with the necessary means to consolidate the 2004 enlargement, to prepare for the next enlargement and to ensure the proper functioning of the institutions;

2.  Invites all institutions to use the available appropriations in a rational way for improving the effectiveness of their core activities and for the accomplishment of the priorities they have set;

3.  Considers that the requests for fulfilling the level of recruitment of staff from the Member States who joined in 2004 must be satisfied; requests all the institutions to analyse the causes of any delays in recruitment or persisting vacancies and to address them by specific measures;

4.  Can align itself on Council's position of applying budgetary rigour to administrative expenditure, but takes the view that while applying budgetary rigour, the real needs of each institution have to be evaluated individually; criticises the Council for using the method of undifferentiated across-the-board cuts on the level of posts and appropriations, and therefore differentiates its approach from that of the Council;

5.   Is in favour of leaving an adequate margin under the ceiling of heading 5 (Administrative expenditure); proposes to restore some EUR 7,4 million out of the EUR -15,1 million cut made by the Council in its first reading on the budgets of the other institutions (excluding Parliament and the Council);

Section I - European Parliament

Level of budgeting

6.  Notes the Bureau's proposal to budget at the maximum level of 20% of heading 5, corresponding to an overall increase in Parliament's budget of 6.1% over the 2005 budget, which is above the 4.5% average increase in the administrative expenditure in heading 5 in the draft budget; confirms Parliament's traditional share of the budget corresponding to 20% of heading 5; stresses that Parliament has successfully respected this self-imposed ceiling and has made important savings due to the accelerated payments for the buildings;

7.  Recalls that there have been significant amounts of "ramassage" and even cancelled appropriations systematically in recent years; believes that this does not constitute a consistent way of budgeting; recalls that for 2004 the amount of "ramassage" was over EUR 150 million and EUR 27 million were cancelled and that, for 2005, the surplus is estimated at EUR 98 million;

8.  Decides to enter in the reserve of the 'Provisional appropriations to cover the institution's property investments' (Item 2009) an amount of EUR 15 million to allow the continuing acquisition of buildings;

9.  Agrees that in order to allow capital injections for the purchase of buildings, any amount unutilised within the 20% of heading 5 would be fully supported by the Committee on Budgets through Amending budgets;

10. Recalls the statement made in paragraph 27 of its above-mentioned resolution of 12 May 2005 on Parliament's estimates that the overall level of Parliament's budget should be determined on the basis of justified, real needs after their careful examination; ; estimates that after prudent evaluation, for the 2006 Budget, there is a potential for reducing Parliament's budget by EUR 20 million below 20% of heading 5 without hindering the effective functioning of Parliament; decides therefore to set Parliament's budget for 2006 at EUR 1 321, 6 million; stresses that this does not constitute a precedent for limiting Parliament's right to use the 20% of heading 5 in subsequent years;

11. Considers that a prudent approach should be taken when deciding on new priorities in order to ensure coverage of Parliament's financial needs in the longer term; points to the introduction from the middle of 2009 onwards of the new Statute for Members, which it is estimated will cost around EUR 100 million per year;

Information and Communication policy

12. Considers that the Bureau proposal to set aside an amount of EUR 50 million in an 'Information' reserve and to leave an additional amount of EUR 17,2 million in the contingency reserve is not in line with the current stage of development of new political priorities nor with the principle of budgetary rigour;

13. Reiterates its position that information and communication policy is one of Parliament's priorities and supports investment to improve communication between EU citizens and Parliament; has decided to enter EUR 20 million in an 'Information and Communication' reserve to be used for improving Parliament's communication with citizens;

14. Observes that better communication of its work presupposes greater use of the modern (audiovisual) media and a more comprehensible and attractive structure for debates in plenary;

15. Recalls the priorities highlighted in paragraphs 11 and 12 of its above-mentioned resolution of 12 May 2005 on Parliament's estimates, mainly to improve the Visitors' Service, and to strengthen the role of Information Offices in order to decentralise information activities to Member States, with a view in particular to facilitating Members' contacts with citizens;

16. Considers that any proposal should provide clear information on the financial cost and the medium-term financial requirements; points out that new projects on information and communication policy should ensure appropriate oversight arrangements involving Parliament's governing bodies and political groups;

Enlargement

17. Supports further improvement of provision of linguistic services to Members; is concerned about the high level of vacancies in this specific area and considers that this issue should be given the necessary attention; expects the Administration to put forward specific proposals by 17 October 2005;

18. Confirms the following enlargement measures:

§ as decided previously in the estimates, to create 113 posts (77 A*, 14 B* and 22 C*) for Parliament's Secretariat and 22 posts (10 A*, 4 B* and 8 C*) for the political groups in the 2006 establishment plan;

§ with regard to posts created for the May 2004 enlargement, to convert 12 D* to C*;

§ to upgrade five A*5 posts to A*9 and five A*5 to A*12 so that officials from the May 2004 enlargement countries can be recruited at middle-management level;

19. Has decided, in addition to the amount of EUR 13,8 million entered in its estimates, to make available further appropriations totalling EUR 9,726 million in connection with preparations for Romanian and Bulgarian accession:

§ to enter EUR 3 850 000 against item 1400 "Other staff";

§ to enter EUR 900 000 against item 1402 "Conference interpreters";

§ to enter EUR 440 000 against item 1420 "Outside services";

§ to enter EUR 1 136 000 against item 2001 "Annual lease payments";

§ to enter EUR 1 400 000 against item 2007 "Fitting-out of premises";

§ to enter EUR 2 000 000 against item 4000 "Current administrative expenditure and expenditure relating to the political and information activities of the political groups and non-attached Members";

More comprehensive budgeting

20. Calls for improvement in the presentation of revenue accruing from loans or rents or the provision of services, which should be clearly indicated in the Statement of Revenue of Parliament's budget;

21. Proposes that a separate item be created for the Information Offices and requests that the number of staff related to those be indicated in a footnote within Parliament's establishment plan;

22. Requests that mission costs related to training be presented in a separate budget item;

Buildings policy

23. Regrets that the Bureau has not responded to the request to present an updated plan for the acquisition of property, including the options to purchase premises for Information Offices; requests that this information be provided by 17 October 2005; considers Parliament should have a clear property policy to allow appropriate financial planning;

Personnel policy

24. Regrets that the Bureau requests for 112 new non-enlargement staff did not take account of the possibility of redeploying of existing staff as stated in paragraph 6 of its above-mentioned resolution of 12 May 2005 on Parliament's estimates;

25. Reiterates its request for a report containing detailed information on the current numbers of contract and temporary staff and a comparison of before and after the change in status by 17 October 2005; considers that the information in the previous report was too brief and general;

26. Requests Parliament's administration to include detailed information on the number of contract staff in Parliament's Secretariat and political groups as well as all staff in the Information Offices in the proposal for Parliament's preliminary draft estimates;

27. Has decided the following establishment plan measures:

a)  to create 18 A* posts in web publishing, in order to ensure its multilingualism;

b)  to create 41 posts (19 A*, 1 temporary A*, 16 B*, 5 C*) for all the other priority areas, including EMAS, Security Unit, Information Technologies Directorate, Support for parliamentary services, DG External Policies, DG Information, DG Personnel, DG Infrastructure and Interpretation, DG Finance, to extend 4 temporary posts (3 A* and 1 C*) in the Legal Service, and to transform 6 A* posts in DG Information from temporary to permanent;

c)  to endorse technical upgrading of 60 A*5 posts to A*12, 39 B*3 posts to B*11 and 91 C*1 to C*7 to facilitate interinstitutional transfers;

d)  to enter the necessary upgradings to implement Parliament's staff promotion policy and to apply correctly the new Staff Regulations which have introduced a new grading structure with the following breakdown: 245 A* grades, 87 B* grades, 573 C* grades and 35 D* grades;

e)  to make provision for additional upgradings in the political group secretariats for the same reason:

§ 6 A*12 to A*13, 4 A*11 to A*12, 6 A*10 to A*11, 1 A*9 to A*10, 1 A*8 to A*9, 10 A*6 to A*7, 1 A*5 to A*7, 7 A*5 to A*6, 2 B*10 to B*11, 1 B*8 to B*10, 3 B*8 to B*9, 5 B*7 to B*8, 2 B*6 to B*7, 2 B*5 to B*6, 13 B*3 to B*4, 2 C*6 to C*7, 1 C*5 to C*6, 1 C*3 to C*4, 5 C*1 to C*2, 1 D*4 to C*4, 1 D*3 to C*4;

§ suppression of the following upgradings entered in its estimates: 2 A*6 to A*9;

f)   to make provision for one ad personam promotion from A*14 to A*15 for a long serving official;

g)  to make provision for the following upgradings of temporary posts:

§ Parliament’s Secretariat: 1 A*12 to A*13 for the Medical Service;

§ Non-attached Members’ secretariat: 3 C* to 3 B*;

h)  to authorise a technical adjustment in connection with the last special early retirement scheme:

§ Parliament’s Secretariat: 1 B*7 to B*8, 3 B*3 to B*5, and 1 C*5 to C*6;

§ Political groups: 1 A*5 to A*12, 1 B*10 to B*8, 1 B*7 to B*6, and 1 C*1 to B*3;

28. Notes that Parliament's administration should fully comply with the Code of Good Practice for the employment of people with disabilities;

Other issues

29. Has decided to enter a token entry for the debate about the "Future of Europe" pending the deliberations of the Conference of Presidents;

30. Requests Parliament's administration to examine the possibility of developing an apprenticeship programme which will allow for a certain number of trainees to benefit from a training programme within Parliament; invites the Secretary-General to present a report on this issue; proposes to create in the reserve 5 (1 A* and 4 B*) posts for the vocational training unit and a new budget line 1407 Training allowance (European Parliament apprenticeship programme) with a token entry;

31. Calls on the newly established posts for Eco-management and Audit Scheme (EMAS) to examine the use by Parliament of vehicles that are less polluting for the environment;

32. Has decided to make adjustments in other areas in which developments have taken place since the estimates were adopted:

§ entering a p.m. against item 3222/02 (Expenditure on archive resources: processing the papers of Members of the European Parliament handed over in the form of legal donations or legacies) where appropriations could be transferred to the budget line when the Bureau has completed its assessment of the policy for historical archives;

§ increasing the allocation for Item 3200/02 (Acquisition of expertise: experts and other persons involved in EU external policies) by EUR 65 000;

33. Calls on the Bureau to study ways to reduce the rise in energy costs, e.g. by following the Japanese initiative of "no-ties", reducing air-conditioning in summer time;

Other institutions

34. Has created new posts in relation to the next enlargement to ensure that the needs of the institutions are met in this respect; has reinstated a part of the appropriations cut by the Council to enable the institutions to function properly;

35. Approves the upgradings for career development following the provisions of the new Staff Regulations, as requested by the institutions and agreed by the Council in the draft budget;

Section II - Council

36. Is concerned as regards the appropriations allocated to cover expenditure on CFSP activities as well as the introduction of multiple new budget lines for ESDP/CFSP related activities; recalls that other institutions' budgets should cover administrative expenditure;

37. Notes the creation of 161 new posts (1 A*15, 4 A*12, 6 A*11, 1 A*10 T, 8 A*9, 12 A*7, 58 A*5, 2 B*7, 6 B*6, 17 B*3, 23 C*4, 23 C*1) and the transfer of 1 C*1 post to the Commission;

Section IV - Court of Justice

38. Calls on the Court of Justice of the European Communities to amend by 1 November 2005 its administrative decision of 31 March 2004 in such a way as to rule out private use of official cars;

39. Has decided the following establishment plan measures:

–   creation of 5 new permanent posts (4 B*3 and 1 C*1), in addition to the 22 new posts (2 A*14 T, 2 A*12 T, 3 A*11 T, 1 A*10 T, 4 A*6, 1 A*5, 1 B*5 T, 3 B*3, 3 B*3 T, 2 C*1 of which 18 for the new Civil Service Tribunal) already agreed to by the Council in its draft budget;

–   creation of 16 permanent posts for Romania and Bulgaria (10 A*7, 2 B*3 and 4 C*1);

40. Points out that the decision on the final number of posts for the new Civil Service Tribunal has been brought forward and will be taken during 2005;

41. Has decided to increase the appropriations made available by the Council in the draft budget by EUR 3 400 000, mainly for salary appropriations, freelance translation and information technology;

Section V - Court of Auditors

42. Calls on the Court of Auditors to amend by 1 November 2005 its administrative decision of 15 June 2004 in such a way as to rule out private use of official cars;

43. Has decided the following establishment plan measures:

–   creation of 4 new permanent posts (4 B*3), in addition to the 11 new posts (10 A*6 and 1 B*3) already agreed to by the Council in its draft budget, and removal of 1 temporary A*12;

44. Has decided to increase the appropriations made available by the Council in the draft budget by EUR 1 555 000, mainly for salary appropriations;

Section VI - European Economic and Social Committee (EESC)

45. Has decided the following establishment plan measures:

–   creation of 7 new permanent posts (7 B*3), in addition to the 28 new posts (1 A*12, 23 A*6 and 4 B*3) already agreed to by the Council in its draft budget;

46. Has decided to increase the appropriations made available by the Council in the draft budget by EUR 1 190 000, mainly for salary appropriations and to make adjustments on buildings-related expenditure;

Section VII - Committee of the Regions (CoR)

47. Notes with satisfaction that the completion of the Belliard building took place on 15 June 2004 and appreciates the fact that the Committee of the Regions and the European Economic and Social Committee have jointly informed Parliament on a regular basis of the progress of the construction work; requests that the two Committees ask for a report from the Sicabel consultancy company, which monitored the construction work from the commencement of the refurbishing project, to acknowledge that the project was carried out in conformity with the contract and its annexes; requests that the report be submitted to Parliament before 1 March 2006;

48. Has decided the following establishment plan measures:

–   creation of 11 new posts (6 permanent B*3, 2 temporary B*3 and 3 C*1), in addition to the 20 posts (1 A*12, 18 A*6, of which 14 language-related posts, and 1 temporary A*6) already agreed to by the Council in its draft budget,

49. Has decided to increase the appropriations made available by the Council in the draft budget by EUR 1 259 500, mainly for salary appropriations and to make adjustments on buildings-related expenditure;

Section VIII (A) - European Ombudsman

50. Has decided the following establishment plan measures:

-    creation of 2 new temporary posts (2 B*3), in addition to the 4 new posts (3 A*5 and 1 C*1) already agreed to by the Council in its draft budget;

51. Has decided to increase the appropriations made available by the Council in the draft budget by EUR 173 056;

Section VIII (B) - European Data Protection Supervisor

52. Has decided the following establishment plan measures:

–   creation of 2 new permanent posts (1 B*8 and 1 C*6), in addition to the 3 new posts (3 A*8) already agreed to by the Council in its draft budget;

53. Has decided to increase the appropriations made available by the Council in the draft budget by EUR 136 600;

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54. Instructs its President to forward this resolution, together with the amendments to Sections I, II, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII(A) and VIII(B) of the draft general budget, to the Council, the Commission and the other institutions and bodies concerned.

• [1]  OJ L 253, 7.10.2000, p. 42.
• [2]  OJ C 172, 18.6.1999, p. 1. Agreement amended by Decision 2003/429/EC (OJ L 147, 14.6.2003, p. 25).
• [3]  Texts Adopted, P6_TA(2005)0067.
• [4]  Texts Adopted, P6_TA(2005)0181.

EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

7 June 2005

Overview of the situation in 2006 in heading 5

After the technical adjustment, the ceiling of heading 5 for 2006 amounts to EUR 6 708 million at current prices, compared to EUR 6 661.6 million, as was estimated in the March 2004 report by the Secretaries-General on Trends in Heading 5. Heading 5 grows from 2005 to 2006 with 5.5 %. In addition, as a result of the 2004 salary adjustment (0.7% instead of 2.6%), requirements in 2006 for salaries and pensions are reduced compared to previous estimates.

The 2006 estimates of the other institutions (excluding pensions) have been set at

EUR 2 497.2 million.

	Budget 2005 (excl. AB 2/2005)	Estimates 2006	Increase (excl. AB 2/2005)
Total other sections	2.355.540.949	2.497.238.570	6,0%
Commission administration	3.129.731.309	3.296.000.000	5,3%
Pensions	865.927.000	905.240.000	4,5%
Total heading 5	6.351.199.258	6.698.478.570	5,5%
Heading 5 ceiling	6.360.000.000	6.708.000.000	5,5%
Margin	8.800.742	9.521.430

There is currently in heading 5 for 2006 a margin of around EUR 9,5 million compared to a negative margin of EUR –18.9 million in 2005 at the estimates stage (EUR 8.8 margin in 2005 budget as originally adopted and an estimated EUR 67 million as proposed in PDAB 2/2005 on salary adjustment).

In the March 2005 report by the Secretaries-General on Trends in Heading 5, the 2006 margin was estimated at EUR 15.3 million. The Commission had estimated the margin to amount to EUR 25 million, but the estimates of the Council are currently EUR 15 million higher than the preliminary information available to the Commission when the PDB was presented.

Taking into account the existing margin under heading 5, the availability of sufficient appropriations for the functioning of the institutions should not be a problem during the budget procedure contrary to last year. Even if the starting budgetary situation is positive, the demands of the institutions will be evaluated on the basis of their justification and budgetary rigour.

Key questions for the other sections in the 2006 budgetary procedure

Consolidation and preparing for the next enlargement

Most of the new staff from the 10 new Member States should be recruited by 2006, with the full financial impact on the budgets of the other institutions. The year 2006 will be crucial in the preparations for the next enlargement to include Romania and Bulgaria, projected for 2007. It is important to study carefully the enlargement-related requests on posts and appropriations.

ESTABLISHMENT PLAN	Budget 2005	Estimates 2006 - total new posts	Estimates 2006 - new enlargement posts
Parliament	5.597	135	135
Council	3.234	184	97
Court of Justice	1.717	38	(16 contract staff)
Court of Auditors	736	15	6
Economic and Social Committee	636	38	27
Committee of the Regions	428	47	24
Ombudsman	51	6	3
European Data-Protection Supervisor	19	5	0
Total other sections	12.418	468	292 (excl. contract staff)

Especially in view of the next enlargement to Romania and Bulgaria, a common approach on recruitment is needed.

Currently, some institutions (e.g. EP, Council, EESC and COR) propose to create new posts for the next enlargement, while Court of Justice and EDPS do not. Similarly and linked to creating posts, some institutions intend to recruit new staff as auxiliaries (e.g. Court of Auditors with 6 new posts to be created without appropriations for 2006 and to be filled by auxiliary agents), while Court of Justice plans to employ 16 contract staff and create no new enlargement posts for 2006.

There are also some differences in grading of enlargement posts: some institutions, notably the EP, plan to recruit mainly at base grades, while most of the other institutions propose to create the posts at higher grades. The differences in proposed levels of standard abatement should also be examined.

In the 2006 guidelines report on other sections, Parliament requested the institutions to provide detailed information on their plans for preparations and estimations of the financial consequences of the next enlargement by 1 September 2005. The Rapporteur considers that more detailed information on recruitment is needed to be able to better assess the situation and apply a more harmonised, common approach on new staff in view of the next enlargement.

Efficient and rational use of appropriations

The institutions should improve the quality of spending by using the available appropriations in a more efficient and rational way for their core activities. Reallocation of appropriations and redeployment of staff should be the first option for finding resources to improve the functioning of the institutions and, when assessing proposed new initiatives, the long-term financial implications should be taken into consideration. New expenditure on information policy measures should be well thought-out and focused. Proposals affecting the overall level of the budgets should be submitted timely to allow for a smooth budgetary procedure.

Savings and more efficiency could be created through interinstitutional cooperation in areas such as interpretation and translation, publication, training, buildings projects and IT expenditure. In the 2006 budget guidelines report on other sections, Parliament called for a report by the Commission by 1 July 2005 presenting the benefits to date of interinstitutional cooperation. The rapporteur when assessing the requests of the institutions will make recommendations on the basis of these evaluation results.

The final levels of budgets of the other institutions will be set on the basis of enlargement and non-enlargement related justified budgetary needs and application of an appropriate level of budgetary rigour. For determining the total levels, expenditure on staff and buildings will continue to play a significant role. For several institutions, information and communication expenditure seems to be important as well.

The 2005 budget figures are presented in the table as originally adopted without the expected salary adjustment.[1]

	Budget 2005 (excl. AB 2/2005)	Estimates 2006	Increase (excl. AB 2/2005)	2006 estimates as % of heading 5 ceiling
Parliament	1.272.000.000	1.341.600.000	5,5%	20,0%
Council	568.343.403	602.030.000	5,9%	9,0%
Court of Justice	232.346.872	253.904.000	9,3%	3,8%
Court of Auditors	108.560.579	114.596.500	5,6%	1,7%
Economic and Social Committee	103.820.925	109.279.818	5,3%	1,6%
Committee of the Regions	60.277.251	64.484.782	7,0%	1,0%
Ombudsman	7.312.614	7.732.538	5,7%	0,1%
European Data-Protection Supervisor	2.879.305	3.610.932	25,4%	0,1%
Total other sections	2.355.540.949	2.497.238.570	6,0%	37,2%

Towards more comprehensive budgeting

The structure and content of the other institutions' budgets should be more comprehensive. The Rapporteur proposes to organise a Monitoring Group on budget presentation to study this issue in more detail together with interested Members and experts.

The institutions had agreed to clarify the presentation of the other institutions' budgets. The new partially-revised nomenclature has been introduced by some institutions (Parliament, Council and the Ombudsman), while others have not adapted their budget presentation. The Rapporteur is looking for more information on the reasons for the different approaches by the institutions.

Specific issues on other institutions' budgets

Parliament (Section I)

EP
Estimates 2006	1.341.600.000
Budget 2005	1.272.000.000
Budget 2004	1.231.000.000
Total increase in %	5.5%
Organigramme 2005	5597
New posts requested	135 post (next enlargement): 113 in EP Secretariat, 22 in political groups other possible new posts: first readng

The European Parliament set its estimates at EUR 1 341.6 million, corresponding to the maximum level of 20% of heading 5. Parliament decided at this stage to enter EUR 90.5 million in the contingency reserve, contrary to the position of the Committee on Budgets to cut this amount by EUR 30 million and to set EUR 10 million in the buildings reserve.

Several key questions, including the final decision on the level of Parliament's budget, were left open at estimates stage to be dealt with in the first reading. For more details, see the resolution of 12 May 2005 on Parliament’s estimates for 2006.

Council (Section II)

Council
Estimates 2006	602.000.000
Budget 2005 (incl. AB 2/2005)	563.051.402
Budget 2004	541.912.200
Total increase in %	6.9 %
Organigramme 2005	3234
New posts requested	184 (97 for next enlargement)

The estimates by the Council Secretariat proposes that Council’s administrative expenditure in 2006 is set at EUR 602 million, which corresponds to an increase of 6.9 % over 2005 budget. Council’s share of heading 5 (including pensions) would account for 9.0 %. As a comparison, Council’s share of heading 5 in 2001 was 7.7 %.

Title 3 (Expenditure arising out of the institutions performance of missions) shows an increase of +19%. This stems from personnel expenditure (+18%: reinforcement of military seconded national experts and payment of full allowance to all seconded national experts) and informatics (+ 53%).

The main issues in Council’s budget for 2006 include:

· Consolidation of the 2004 enlargement (occupation of Lex building in November 2006 with EUR 4.4. additional expenditure in 2006) and preparation for the next enlargement (EUR 7.3 million)

· SESAME (Secured European System for Automatic Messaging): The ESDP and Cortesy computer networks used for communication between Member States and Council’s General-Secretariat will be replaced by the end of 2007. The budgetary impact 2005-2007 is estimated at around EUR 48 million, with an increase of some EUR 9.1 million in 2006.

· Delivery of the OPCEN in 2006: Following the decision of the European Council of 17-18 June 2005 on the establishment of an operations centre, around EUR 10 million will be provided for 2006 (EUR 13 million in 2005)

· Child care: Following the enlargement, the Council plans to open a new creche in September 2006 to cover requirement arising with a budgetary impact of EUR 4.1 million in 2006.

Out of the 184 new posts, 97 posts are requested to meet enlargement needs, 68 correspond to new tasks, 20 are needed for the occupation of the Lex building and one post is transferred to the Commission.

Contrary to the other institutions, the Council does not submit its estimates to the Commission to be included in the PDB documents. In the 2006 guidelines report on other institutions, the Parliament called on the Council – once again - to present its estimates at the same time as the other institutions and to have them published as part of the preliminary draft budget. After examination of the administration’s proposals, the appropriations are voted at Council’s first reading of the budget.

In the 2006 guidelines report on other institutions, the Parliament called on the Council, should it introduce new initiatives, to find resources firstly through reallocation. It also requested the Council to apply the same rigour in establishing its own budget as it applies to the budgets of other institutions. The Rapporteur is planning to examine in more detail the reasons for the above-average increases of the Council's budget in the recent years.

Court of Justice (Section IV)

ECJ
Estimates 2006	253.900.000
Budget 2005 (incl. AB 2/2005)	229.000.000
Budget 2004 (incl. frontloading of EUR 12.6 mio to reduce costs in 2005)	222.400.000
Total increase in %	10.9 %
Organigramme 2004	1717
New posts requested	38 (26 for Civil Service Tribunal)

Section IV covers both the expenditure necessary for the functioning of the Court of Justice and of the Court of First Instance. The estimates by the Court of Justice are set at EUR 253.9 million, which corresponds to an increase of 10.9 % over 2005 budget.

The Court of Justice has made early payments for its buildings, which reduced the budgetary cost for 2005. Part of the budget increase can thus be explained by the fact that due the 2004 frontloading of EUR 12.6 million on buildings, the annual lease-purchase allowance of EUR 10.1 million was not included in the 2005 budget of the Court of Justice. The annual payments for the ‘Annex’ buildings are scheduled to be resumed in 2006. An amount of EUR 8.5 million is therefore entered in the 2006 estimates for lease/purchase payments of property.

In addition, the new Civil Service Tribunal, which is expected to take up its duties at the beginning of 2006, is included in the estimates for 2006 with EUR 6.9 million of additional expenditure. The requested 26 new posts are to be provided for the new Tribunal: 16 for the cabinets of the seven judges and 10 for the Registry.

The other 12 new posts (4 A*6, 7 B*3 and 1 C*1) requested are all for reinforcement of the Informatics and New Technologies Division.

It is proposed to recruit 16 contract staff in the lead-up to enlargement to Romania and Bulgaria. There is an increase of EUR 1.749 million under Article 189 « Supplementary services » for freelance interpretation, proof-reading of texts and translation. Following the decision to cease the paper version version of the « Bulletin » of the Court’s activities and replace it by a document circulated electronically, savings accounting for EUR 395 000 can be made in Chapter 27 « Publishing and information ».

Court of Auditors (Section V)

CoA
Estimates 2006	114.596.500
Budget 2005 (incl. AB 2/2005)	106.948.579
Budget 2004 (incl. frontloading of EUR 204.000 to reduce costs in 2005)	97.799.130
Total increase in %	7.15%
Organigramme 2005	736
New posts requested	15

The estimates by the Court of Auditors are set at around EUR 114.6 million, which corresponds to an increase of 7.15 % over 2005 budget.

Specific events that will have to be financed in the 2006 budget include the end of mandates of eight Members of the Court (EUR 1.6 million), limited preparations for the next enlargement (EUR 471.200 for conversion of offices into two cabinets of Members and employment of auxiliary translators in the new languages), studies on projects on updating K1 building and construction of K3 building (EUR 200.000) and software on accruals accounting (EUR 310.000).

Six new posts in view of the next enlargement are sought in 2006. The Court of Auditors plans to exceptionnally recruit six translators as auxiliaries from Romania and Bulgaria in advance of the next enlargement. It is also requesting six AD6 posts without financing to able to offer these auxiliary staff permanent posts following the enlargement, providing that they have passed the competition and perform satisfactorily. Otherwise, the Court of Auditors will no longer recruit auxiliary staff from 1 May 2005.

The Court of Auditors is requesting nine other new posts: one AD6 auditor post (to replace a temporary AD12 posts reployed to Cabinet of President), one AD6 to accountancy service as well as two AD6 posts plus five AST3 assistant posts to human resources.

Following a recent call for tenders reducing printing costs, the estimate for Article 270 – Official Journal – for 2006 is EUR 850 000 corresponding to a reduction of 32.16%.

Economic and Social Committee (Section VI)

ESC
Estimates 2005	109.279.818
Budget 2006	103.820.925
Budget 2004 (incl. frontloading to reduce costs in 2005)	102.709.246
Total increase in %	5.3%
Organigramme 2005	636
New posts requested	38

The estimates by the European Economic and Social Committee are set at around EUR 109.3 million, which corresponds to an increase of 5.3 % over 2005 budget.

The Economic and Social Committee is requesting 38 new posts. 30 new posts are requested for the joint services: 27 posts (1 A*12, 19 A*6 and 7 B*3) mainly for translation in view of the next enlargement and three other posts (1 A*6 for IT, 1 A*6 for financial and contract management, 1 B*3 multimedia specialist). Eight other posts (2 A*6, 6 B*3) are requested for different services in its own secretariat (committee on industrial change, external relations, communication, registry, human resources).

Budget items in the increase include office furniture (frontloading in 2004), day nurseries, interpretating and publication in the Official Journal.

In the 2006 guidelines report on other institutions, Parliament stressed the importance of budgetary rigour, especially in relation to property projects. It invited the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions to submit a report to the European Parliament on their building projects and needs for rented office space and on the functioning of the joint services. The EP asked the two institutions to provide reports on the situation as regards the occupation of posts in financial control.

Committee of the Regions (Section VII)

CoR
Estimates 2006	64.484.782
Budget 2005	60.277.251
Budget 2004 (incl. frontloading to reduce costs in 2005)	59.413.031
Total increase in %	6.98%
Organigramme 2004	428
New posts requested	47

The estimates by the Committee of the Regions are set at around EUR 60.3 million, which corresponds to an increase of 6.98 % over 2005 budget.

Contrary to the other institutions, the Committee of the Regions was not allocated all posts it requested in the 2005 procedure (seven posts were not created). It is now requesting 47 new posts (21 for joint services - mainly translators in view of the next enlargement), 3 enlargement posts for the political groups and 21 other posts for its own secretariat, mainly for committee work.

The appropriations for studies and external experts (Article 260) increase by EUR 199 500 corresponding to +30%. Some information lines are also subject to relatively high increases.

Ombudsman (Section VIII A)

Ombudsman
Estimates 2006	7.732.538
Budget 2005	7.312.614
Budget 2004	5.782.968
Total increase 2005/2006 in %	5.7 %
Organigramme 2005	51
New posts requested	6

The European Ombudsman was established in 1995. Since 2000, the Ombudsman's budget is no longer an annex to Parliament's budget, but constitutes a separate Section of the budget. The Ombudsman considers it necessary to revisit the co-operation agreements with the European Parliament and achieve full autonomy in relation to staff management.

The total number of complaints received by the Ombudsman in 2004 was 3 276, representing a 53 % increase compared to the previous year. The number of complaints received in the first quarter of 2005 represents a 38 % increase relative to the preceding year.

The estimates by the Ombudsman are set at around EUR 7.7 million. The increase over 2005 budget amounts to 5.7 %. The Ombudsman requests two A*5 posts and one C*1 posts in view of the next enlargement. In addition, the Ombudsman requests one A*5 and two B*3 posts for direct management of his staff.

European Data-Protection Supervisor (EDPS) (Section VIII B)

EDPS
Estimates 2006	3.610.932
Budget 2005	2.879.305
Budget 2004	1.272.000
Total increase 2005/2006 in %	25 %
Organigramme 2005	19
New posts requested	5
Conversion of posts	-
Upgradings	-

The budget proposal is set at EUR 3.6 million corresponding to an increase of 25 % over the 2005 budget.

The EDPS requests the creation of 5 new permanent posts (3 A*8, 1 B*8 and 1 C*6). The posts are requested at level which would allow for transfers from other institutions.

The increase of staff in 2006 is considered by the EDPS to require the rental of additional premises estimated at 50% of the current premises.

Outlook on the 2006 budget procedure on other institutions

In the coming months, the Rapporteur will meet with representatives of all other institutions, study their estimates in detail and gather information in view of Parliament's first reading.

Following the July budget conciliation and the adoption of Council's Draft Budget, the Rapporteur on other institutions, together with the General Rapporteur on Commission's budget, will present a working document on Heading 5 - Administrative expenditure. An exchange of views with the Secretaries-General of other institutions will take place in the Committee on Budgets in September. Parliament's Secretary-General and the Vice-President responsible for budget will attend a meeting of the Committee on Budgets to present the proposals by the Bureau.

The Committee on Budgets will vote on the budgetary amendments and the budget resolution on other sections in October, in view of the first reading vote in plenary of the budget for 2006 at the end of October 2005.

Due to the tight deadlines, the Rapporteur calls for timely submission of all necessary information to be able to make recommendations, negotiate and table budgetary amendments.

13 September 2005

Council's Draft budget for 2006 on Administrative Expenditure

At its first reading of the 2006 budget, the Council decided to apply a reduction of 2% on current administrative expenditure. As in previous years, the Council claimed that this reduction was possible due to efficiency gains and the impact of interinstitutional co-operation.

Concerning the Staff related demands of the other institutions, the Council accepted conversions and upgradings, in particular related to career development under the new Staff Regulations. It accepted all new A* posts requested in relation to enlargement and new activities, while significant reductions were applied to B* and C* posts. It also increased the standard flat rate abatement on salaries for some institutions, taking into account their current vacancy rate. It decided to accept 75% of the appropriation requests of the institutions for new posts for pre-enlargement, taking into account the current state of recruitment on new posts granted in the past years.

As a result, the Council set the margin available under this Heading at EUR 130.11 million.

EUR	2005 (AB 1 and 2 included)	PDB 2006	DB 2006	DB-PDB	% DB-2005
Parliament	1 264 024 722	1 341 600 000	1 341 600 000	0	+ 6.1
Council	563 163 403	602 030 000	591 752 953	- 10 277 047	+ 5.1
Court of Justice	228 952 872	253 905 400	246 940 602	- 6 964 798	+ 7.9
Court of Auditors	106 948 579	114 596 500	111 641 491	- 2 955 009	+ 4.4
Economic and Social Cttee	102 836 216	109 279 819	106 794 805	- 2 485 014	+ 3.8
Committee of the Regions	59 749 002	64 487 373	62 103 170	- 2 384 203	+ 3.9
Ombudsman	7 224 554	7 732 538	7 509 482	- 223 056	+ 3.9
Data Protection Supervisor	2 840 733	3 610 932	3 447 233	- 163 699	+ 21.4
TOTAL Other institutions	2 335 740 081	2 497 242 562	2 471 789 736	-25 553 637	+5.8
Commission (excl. pensions)	3 105 195 287	3 295 695 925	3 201 278 377	- 94 417 548	+ 3.1
Pensions	851 432 000	904 818 000	904 818 000	0	+ 6.3
TOTAL Commission	3 956 627 287	4 200 513 925	4 106 096 377	- 94 417 548	+ 3.8
TOTAL Heading 5	6 292 367 368	6 697 756 487	6 577 886 113	- 119 870 374	+4.5

Specific issues on other institutions' budgets

Parliament (Section I)

EP
Estimates 2006 (=DB)	1.341.600.000
Budget 2005(incl. AB 1-2)	1.272.000.000
Budget 2004	1.231.000.000
Total increase in % DB/2005	6.14%
Organigramme 2005	5597
New posts requested	Next enlargement: 135 posts decided in estimates (113 in EP Secretariat, 22 in political groups). 80 contract staff proposed by the Bureau in the first reading. Non-enlargement: 104 additional posts (plus 4 in the reserve) proposed by the Bureau in the first reading

The European Parliament set its estimates at EUR 1 341.6 million, corresponding to the maximum level of 20% of heading 5. Parliament decided at that stage to enter EUR 90.5 million in the contingency reserve, contrary to the position of the Committee on Budgets to cut this amount by EUR 30 million and to set EUR 10 million in the buildings reserve.

At its meeting of 7 September 2005, the Bureau proposed to keep the budget at 20% of heading 5 to finance new political priorities, notably the strengthening of Parliament’s information and communication policy. The Bureau proposes to create a specific ‘Information’ reserve of EUR 50 million for the following projects: EUR 15 million for initial payments for audiovisual equipment in D4/D5 buildings and the remaining EUR 35 million, for the new Visitor’s Centre in D4 building and a European Parliament web-based television channel. For these two projects, the Bureau will have to take final decisions when detailed proposals and financial costs become available. Should this amount prove to be superior to the needs, Bureau suggests that the budgetary authority decides on alternatives.

The Bureau proposes adjustments for an amount of EUR 9.726 million in connection with preparation for Romanian and Bulgarian accession (mainly to provide for 80 additional contract agents, interpreters, translation and adapt the two hemicycles and office space).

The Bureau proposes to create in Parliament’s Secretariat 40 posts directly linked to the new information and communication policy and 38 posts in other areas where additional needs have arise. No proposal for reallocation of posts within the institution has been made.

In addition to the Secretary-General’s proposals, the Bureau also approved to enter EUR 4.36 million for a new electronic voting system and 4 new posts to manage the system, while awaiting detailed specification on this system. It proposes to create a new budget line with a token entry (p.m.) for a European Parliament Democracy Programme and create 4 posts in the reserve for this purpose, given that the conference of Presidents will discuss the feasibility of this proposal. The Bureau also decided to create 22 C* posts for the assistance of Committee Chairmen and to upgrade the five Quaestors’ assistants from C* to B*.

The proposals by the Bureau are explained in more detail in the letter of 8 September 2005 from President Borrell and Vice-President Cocilovo to Chairman Lewandowski on the first reading of Parliament’s budget for 2006.

Council (Section II)

Council
DB 2006	591 752 953
Estimates 2006	602.000.000
Budget 2005 (incl. AB 2/2005)	563.051.402
Budget 2004	541.912.200
Total increase in % DB /2005	5.08 %
Organigramme 2005	3234
New posts requested	184 (97 for next enlargement)
New posts approved in DB	161 (-23)

The estimates by the Council Secretariat propose that Council’s administrative expenditure in 2006 is set at EUR 602 million. In the DB, the Council allocated for its section of the budget, an overall amount of EUR 591 752 953, which represents an increase of EUR 28 589 550 (+ 5.08%) over the 2005 budget.

Personnel expenditure in title 3 increased by 18% notably for the reinforcement of military seconded national experts and informatics by 53% (13 million) primarily due to the need to fund the Sesame project (Secured European System for Automatic MEssaging), previously ESDP/CORTESY-net project.

Out of the 184 new posts requested in the estimates, 97 posts are requested to meet enlargement needs, 68 correspond to new tasks, 20 are needed for the occupation of the Lex building and one post is transferred to the Commission.

The Council approved the creation of 161 new posts (1 A*15, 4 A*12, 6 A*11, 1 A*10 T, 8 A*9, 12 A*7, 58 A*5, 2 B*7, 6 B*6, 17 B*3, 23 C*4, 23 C*1) and transfer of 1 C*1 post to the Commission.

Court of Justice (Section IV)

ECJ
DB 2006	246 940 602
Estimates 2006	253.900.000
Budget 2005 (incl. AB 1-2/2005)	229.000.000
Budget 2004 (incl. frontloading of EUR 12.6 mio to reduce costs in 2005)	222.400.000
Total increase in %	10.9 %
Organigramme 2004	1717
New posts requested	38 (26 for Civil Service Tribunal)
New posts approved in DB	22 (-16) (18 for Civil Service Tribunal)

In the DB for 2006, the Council allocated an overall amount of EUR 246 940 602, which represents an increase of EUR 17 987 730 (+ 7.86%) over the 2005 budget.

The new Civil Service Tribunal, which is expected to take up its duties at the beginning of 2006, is included in the estimates for 2006 with EUR 6.9 million of additional expenditure. The requested 26 new posts are to be provided for the new Tribunal: 16 for the cabinets of the seven judges and 10 for the Registry. The other 12 new posts (4 A*6, 7 B*3 and 1 C*1) requested are all for reinforcement of the Informatics and New Technologies Division.

In the DB, the Council approved the appropriations for 8 new Members (7 judges and 1 registrar) for the new Civil Service Tribunal and the creation of 22 new posts (2 A*14 T, 2 A*12 T, 3 A*11 T, 1 A*10 T, 4 A*6, 1 A*5, 1 B*5 T, 3 B*3, 3 B*3 T, 2 C*1) of which 18 for the new Civil Service Tribunal. The Council could not accept the request for 4 B*3. In relation to new Civil Service Tribunal, special attention will be drawn to the request for the creation of 18 posts put forward now by the Court of Justice in the Preliminary Draft Amending Budget 7/2005.

In its estimates, the Court of Justice had requested only the appropriations for the recruitment of 16 contract staff in the lead-up to enlargement to Romania and Bulgaria. In line with the other institutions, it has updated its request and is now requesting the creation of this number of posts

Court of Auditors (Section V)

CoA
DB 2006	111 641 491
Estimates 2006	114.596.500
Budget 2005 (incl. AB 1-2/2005)	106.948.579
Budget 2004 (incl. frontloading of EUR 204.000 to reduce costs in 2005)	97.799.130
Total increase in % DB/2005	4.39 %
Organigramme 2005	736
New posts requested	15
New posts approved in DB	11 (-4)

The estimates by the Court of Auditors are set at around EUR 114.6 million. In the DB, the Council allocated an overall amount of EUR 111 641 491, which represents an increase of EUR 4 692 912 (+ 4.39%) over the 2005 budget.

Six new posts in view of the next enlargement are sought by the Court of Auditors in 2006. The Court of Auditors is requesting nine other new posts: one AD6 auditor post (to replace a temporary AD12 posts redeployed to Cabinet of President), one AD6 to accountancy service as well as two AD6 posts plus five AST3 assistant posts to human resources.

In the DB, the Council accepted the creation of 11 new posts (10 A*6 of which 6 without financing in view of the forthcoming accession of Romania and Bulgaria and 1 B*3) including the removal of 1 temporary A*12. The Council did not accept the request for 4 B*3.

Economic and Social Committee (Section VI)

ESC
DB 2006	106 794 805
Estimates 2006	109.279.818
Budget 2005 (incl. AB 1-2)	102.836.216
Budget 2004 (incl. frontloading to reduce costs in 2005)	102.709.246
Total increase in % DB/2005	3.85%
Organigramme 2005	636
New posts requested	38
New posts approved in DB	28 (-10)

The estimates by the European Economic and Social Committee are set at around EUR 109.3 million. In the DB, the Council allocated an overall amount of EUR 106 794 805, which represents an increase of EUR 3 958 589 (+ 3.85%) over the 2005 budget.

The Economic and Social Committee is requesting 38 new posts. 30 new posts are requested the next enlargement and three other posts (1 A*6 for IT, 1 A*6 for financial and contract management, 1 B*3 multimedia specialist). Eight other posts (2 A*6, 6 B*3) are requested for different services in its own secretariat (committee on industrial change, external relations, communication, registry, human resources).

In the DB, the Council approved the creation of 28 posts (1 A*12, 23 A*6 and 4 B*3 of which 20 related to the pre-enlargement). The Council did not accept the request for 10 B*3.

Committee of the Regions (Section VII)

CoR
DB 2006	62 103 170
Estimates 2006	64.484.782
Budget 2005 (incl. AB 1-2)	59.749.002
Budget 2004 (incl. frontloading to reduce costs in 2005)	59.413.031
Total increase in % DB/2005	3.94%
Organigramme 2004	428
New posts requested	47
New posts approved in DB	20 (-27)

The estimates by the Committee of the Regions are set at around EUR 60.3 million. In the DB, the Council allocated an overall amount of EUR 62 103 170, which represents an increase of EUR 2 354 168 (+ 3.94%) over the 2004 budget.

The estimates requested 47 new posts (21 for joint services - mainly translators in view of the next enlargement), 3 enlargement posts for the political groups and 21 other posts for its own secretariat, mainly for committee work.

In the DB, the Council approved the creation of 20 posts (1 A*12, 18 A*6 of which 14 language-related posts and 1 temporary A*6). The Council did not accept the request for 13 B*3 and for 14 C*1.

Ombudsman (Section VIII A)

Ombudsman
DB 2006	7 509 482
Estimates 2006	7.732.538
Budget 2005 (incl. AB 1-2)	7 224 554
Budget 2004	5.782.968
Total increase DB/2005 in %	3.94%
Organigramme 2005	51
New posts requested	6
New posts approved in DB	4 (-2)

The estimates by the Ombudsman are set at around EUR 7.7 million. In the DB, the Council allocated an overall amount of EUR 7 509 482, which represents an increase of EUR 284 928 (+ 3.94%) over the 2005 budget.

The Ombudsman requests two A*5 posts and one C*1 posts in view of the next enlargement. In addition, the Ombudsman requests one A*5 and two B*3 posts for direct management of his staff.

In the DB, the Council approved the creation of 4 new posts (3 A*5 and 1 C*) for six months, of which 3 for the needs of the forthcoming accession of Romania and Bulgaria (2 A*5 and 1 C*1). The Council did not accept the request for 2 B*3.

European Data-Protection Supervisor (EDPS) (Section VIII B)

EDPS
DB 2006	3.446.233
Estimates 2006	3.610.932
Budget 2005 (incl. AB 1-2)	2.840.733
Budget 2004	1.272.000
Total increase 2005/2006 in %	25 %
Organigramme 2005	19
New posts requested	5
New posts approved in DB	3 (-2)

The budget proposal is set at EUR 3.6. In the DB, the Council allocated an overall amount of EUR 3 447 233, which represents an increase of EUR 606 500 (+ 21.35%) over the 2005 budget. The EDPS requests are affected by the increasing number of Agencies that it needs to supervise.

The EDPS requests the creation of 5 new permanent posts (3 A*8, 1 B*8 and 1 C*6). The posts are requested at level which would allow for transfers from other institutions.

In the DB, the Council approved the creation of 3 new posts (3 A*8). The Council did not accept the request for 1 B*8 and 1 C*6.

Conclusion

During the July conciliation, the European Parliament delegation supported the need to keep an adequate margin under Heading 5, but criticised the method of undifferentiated cross the board cuts used by the Council.

Ensuring a satisfying level of recruitment from the Member States who joined in 2004 remains a priority and the causes of delays or persisting vacancies should be addressed by specific initiatives. In view of the next enlargement to Romania and Bulgaria, a harmonised approach on recruitment during pre-enlargement phase should be considered regarding the creation of posts and status of staff (temporary staff or contractual agents) to ensure level playing field between different institutions.

The Rapporteur reinstates his view that all institutions should improve the rationality of spending by using the available appropriations in a more efficient way concentrating on their core activities. The final levels of budgets of the other institutions will be proposed on the basis of enlargement and non-enlargement evaluation of budgetary needs and application of an appropriate level of budgetary rigour. However, the Rapporteur cannot accept the Council’s undifferentiated approach and will consider the requests institution by institution on the basis of their specific needs in 2006.

As regards the Parliament’s budget, the Rapporteur regrets that the Bureau was not in the position to decide on the political priorities, nor consider the establishment plan measures in July, which would have allowed more time for the Committee on Budgets to better assess the respective allocation of resources and the significant amount of new posts requested.

Now, Bureau has decided that, rather than early payments on buildings, Information and communication policy should be developed but has not provided sufficient information to properly evaluate the budgetary impact of the new information policy projects, such as the audiovisual equipment for D4/D5, EP web television channel and the Visitor’s Centre.

While acknowledging the savings created by accelerated payment on Parliament's buildings, the Rapporteur notes that Parliament’s budget in the last several years has been overestimated. This has lead to large amounts of 'ramassage' and even significant cancellations of appropriations. Only proposals based on justified needs (P6_TA-PROV(2005)0181, par 27), should be introduced in Parliament's budget and the level of EP budget and the amounts in reserve should be assessed cautiously and budgeted at the appropriate level.

• [1]  In the individual tables per institution, the amounts are presented in the way the institution in question has presented the figures (some with salary adjustment, some without).

OPINION of the Committee on International Trade (12.9.2005)

for the Committee on Budgets

on the draft general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2006
(C6-0300/2005- 2005/2002(BUD))Other Sections, Section I - Parliament

Draftsman: David Martin

SUGGESTIONS

The Committee on International Trade calls on the Committee on Budgets, as the committee responsible, to incorporate the following suggestions in its motion for a resolution:

1.  Stresses that the European Parliament is jointly promoting, organising and co-financing the "Parliamentary Conferences on the World Trade Organization" (WTO) together with the Inter-Parliamentary Union, a Geneva-based international organisation. These conferences are a forum in which members from parliaments around the world exchange opinions, information and experience on international trade issues and provide a parliamentary dimension to the WTO by: i) overseeing WTO activities and promoting their effectiveness and fairness; ii) promoting the transparency of WTO procedures and improving dialogue between governments, parliaments and civil society, and; iii) building capacity in parliaments in matters of international trade and exerting influence on the direction of discussions within the WTO;

2.  Reiterates that it is a declared aim of the European Parliament to accompany the WTO negotiations with a parliamentary process and the organisation of Parliamentary Conferences and, therefore, stresses that there will be a constant future need of financing for this crucial activity. In 2005, for instance, Parliament needs to finance a Hong Kong Parliamentary Conference in December, during the WTO Ministerial Meeting, and in 2006 to contribute to the organisation of a Parliamentary Conference in Geneva;

3.  Requests that a new budget line be established for the financing of the European Parliament's activities within the framework of the Parliamentary dimension of the WTO. This budget line is needed to bring more transparency into spending relating to the Parliamentary dimension of the WTO. For those years in which the WTO Parliamentary Conference takes place in parallel with the WTO Ministerial Meeting, a sum of EUR 500 000 should be allocated. For other years, that is, years in which the Parliamentary Conference does not takes place in parallel with the WTO Ministerial Meeting, as is the case for 2006, organisational expenditure is lower and a sum of EUR 150 000 should be allocated.

PROCEDURE

Title	The draft general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2006 - Section I - Parliament
Procedure number	2005/2002(BUD)
Committee responsible	BUDG
Committee asked for its opinion   Date announced in plenary	INTA
Enhanced cooperation	No
Draftsman   Date appointed	David Martin 14.3.2005
Discussed in committee	12.7.2005	30.8.2005
Date suggestions adopted	12.9.2005
Result of final vote	for: against: abstentions:		26 0 1
Members present for the final vote	Kader Arif, Enrique Barón Crespo, Jean-Louis Bourlanges, Daniel Caspary, Françoise Castex, Giulietto Chiesa, Glyn Ford, Béla Glattfelder, Jacky Henin, Erika Mann, Helmuth Markov, David Martin, Javier Moreno Sánchez, Georgios Papastamkos, Godelieve Quisthoudt-Rowohl, Tokia Saïfi, Johan Van Hecke, Zbigniew Zaleski
Substitutes present for the final vote	Margrietus van den Berg, Reimer Böge, Jorgo Chatzimarkakis, Elisa Ferreira, Filip Andrzej Kaczmarek, Zuzana Roithová, Antolín Sánchez Presedo
Substitutes under Rule 178(2) present for the final vote	Marie Anne Isler Béguin, Gérard Onesta

OPINION of the Committee on Budgetary Control (4.10.2005)

for the Committee on Budgets

on the draft general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2006(C6-0300/2005 - 2005/2002(BUD))Other sections

Draftsman: Christopher Heaton-Harris

SHORT JUSTIFICATION

In this report, the aim of your draftsman has been to ensure that the budget respects the rules and follows the policies adopted by Parliament in the field of financial management and the fight against fraud. The points raised below stem from an examination of the implementation of the budget, the discharge conclusions adopted by Parliament, reports on budgetary management by the European Court of Auditors, and Parliament conclusions on the fight against fraud.

Court of Auditors

1.  In the Wynn report of 12 April 2005 on the discharge of the general budget for the financial year 2003, the Court of Auditors is invited to produce an annual performance report and to publish its audit manual and information on the Statement of Assurance (DAS) approach on its website[1]. The Wynn report also wonders whether the current structure and functioning of the "top heavy" Court of Auditors should be reviewed, particularly the large proportion of A grades in Members' cabinets[2].

Use of official cars

2.  The administrative decision of 31 March 2004 of the Court of Justice of the European Communities and the administrative decision of 15 June 2004 of the European Court of Auditors allows private use of official cars. Private use of an official car represents an undisclosed benefit-in-kind which Parliament considers inappropriate. Your draftsman considers that a significant proportion of the relevant budget allocations should be placed in reserve until the decisions mentioned are revised appropriately.

SUGGESTIONS

The Committee on Budgetary Control calls on the Committee on Budgets, as the committee responsible, to incorporate the following suggestions in its motion for a resolution:

1.  Asks the Court of Auditors for reactions by 1 November 2005 to Parliament's invitation to it to produce an annual performance report and to publish on its website its audit manual and information on the Statement of Assurance (DAS) approach and to Parliament's suggestion that the Court's top-heavy structure and functioning, and particularly the high proportion of A-grades in the Members' cabinets, might need reviewing.

2.  Calls on the Court of Justice of the European Communities to amend by 1 November 2005 its administrative decision of 31 March 2004 in such a way as to rule out private use of official cars.

3.  Calls on the Court of Auditors to amend by 1 November 2005 its administrative decision of 15 June 2004 in such a way as to rule out private use of official cars.

PROCEDURE

Title	Draft general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2006 - Other sections
References	2005/2002(BUD)
Committee responsible	BUDG
Committee asked for its opinion   Date announced in plenary	CONT 16.3.2005
Enhanced cooperation	No
Drafts(wo)man   Date appointed	Christopher Heaton-Harris 16.3.2005
Discussed in committee	12.9.2005
Date amendments adopted	3.10.2005
Result of final vote	for: against: abstentions:		11 0 1
Members present for the final vote	Simon Busuttil, Szabolcs Fazakas, Ingeborg Gräßle, Umberto Guidoni, Bart Staes, Margarita Starkevičiūtė, Alexander Stubb, Jeffrey Titford, Kyösti Tapio Virrankoski, Terence Wynn
Substitutes present for the final vote	Edit Herczog, Esko Seppänen

• [1]  P6_TA-2005-0092, paragraphs 71-72.
• [2]  P6_TA-2005-0092, paragraph 78.

OPINION of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (16.9.2005)

for the Committee on Budgets

on the draft general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2006Section I                     -          European ParliamentSection II                   -          CouncilSection IV                  -          Court of JusticeSection V                   -          Court of AuditorsSection VI                  -          European Economic and Social CommitteeSection VII                 -          Committee of the RegionsSection VIII(A)           -          European OmbudsmanSection VIII(B)           -          European Data Protection Supervisor(C6-0300/2005 - 2005/2002(BUD))

Draftsman: Gérard Deprez

SUGGESTIONS

The Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs calls on the Committee on Budgets, as the committee responsible, to incorporate the following suggestions in its motion for a resolution:

European Parliament - Section 1

- calls on Parliament's competent bodies to speed up recruitment procedures to fill the 308 non-enlargement related posts vacant as at the end of July 2005; requests that increased efforts be made to recruit interpreters and translators for the new languages; proposes to reallocate some of the vacant posts to strengthen committee secretariats;

Council - Section II

- calls once again on Council to provide sufficient resources to the Schengen and Customs Supervisory Authorities to allow them to conduct the necessary inspections.

PROCÉDURE

Titre	The draft general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2006: other sections
Numéro de procédure	2005/2002(BUD)
Commission compétente au fond	BUDG
Commission saisie pour avis   Date de l'annonce en séance	LIBE 0.0.0000
Coopération renforcée
Rapporteur pour avis   Date de la nomination	Gérard Deprez 6.6.2005
Examen en commission	13.9.2005	14.9.2005		21.6.2005	12.7.2005
Date de l'adoption des suggestions	14.9.2005
Résultat du vote final	pour: contre: abstentions:		33 0 0
Membres présents au moment du vote final	Alexander Nuno Alvaro, Alfredo Antoniozzi, Edit Bauer, Mihael Brejc, Kathalijne Maria Buitenweg, Giusto Catania, Carlos Coelho, Fausto Correia, Els De Groen-Kouwenhoven, Agustín Díaz de Mera García Consuegra, Rosa Díez González, Antoine Duquesne, Kinga Gál, Adeline Hazan, Lívia Járóka, Ewa Klamt, Magda Kósáné Kovács, Wolfgang Kreissl-Dörfler, Barbara Kudrycka, Stavros Lambrinidis, Henrik Lax, Jaime Mayor Oreja, Athanasios Pafilis, Martine Roure, Inger Segelström, Ioannis Varvitsiotis, Stefano Zappalà, Tatjana Ždanoka
Suppléants présents au moment du vote final	Gérard Deprez, Marie-Line Reynaud, Agnes Schierhuber, Antonio Tajani, Rainer Wieland
Suppléants (art. 178, par. 2) présents au moment du vote final

OPINION of the Committee on Petitions (19.7.2005)

for the Committee on Budgets

on the draft general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2006

(C6-0000/2005 - 2005/2002(BUD)

Section I                                        –    European Parliament

Section II                                       –    Council

Section IV                                     –    Court of Justice

Section V                                      –    Court of Auditors

Section VI                                     –    European Economic and Social Committee

Section VII                                    –    Committee of the Regions

Section VIII (A)                            –    European Ombudsman

Section VIII (B)                             –    European Data Protection Supervisor

(C6-0300/2005 - 2005/2002(BUD))

Draftsman: Andreas Schwab

SHORT JUSTIFICATION

The Petitions Committee has taken note of the European Ombudsman's estimates of the budgetary requirements of his office for the year 2006, which he submitted to the budgetary authority in accordance with Article 31 of Regulation 1605/2002. The total requested budget amounts to €7.732.538, representing a slight increase of 3% (in real terms) as compared with the current year's budget.

When considering the estimates, it should be recalled that the Ombudsman's tasks are of fundamental importance. Firstly, he has the responsibility to examine an ever growing number of complaints by EU citizens on cases of possible maladministration within the EU institutions and to conduct inquiries where appropriate. In doing so, he not only ensures that the rights and interests of EU citizens are safeguarded but also contributes to increasing transparency and improving the quality of services provided by the European Administration. The second core task of the Ombudsman consists in communicating and reaching out to the citizens in an enlarged EU, in order to make them aware of their rights deriving from EU law and with the intention of bringing them closer to the EU institutions. It is essential that the European Ombudsman is given adequate means to carry out these tasks in the most effective way possible.

The increase relative to the current budgetary year must be considered against the background of evolving trends in the workload of the Ombudsman's office. Firstly, the growing awareness of citizens in the enlarged EU has caused a continuous increase in the number of complaints over the years. This upward trend is confirmed by the figures available for the first months of 2005, which indicate an increase of 38% compared to the reference period in 2004. Secondly, the Ombudsman has considerably stepped up communication activities as can be seen from his latest annual report and the wide range of publications being made available to EU citizens. Furthermore, the Ombudsman increasingly communicates with citizens through the internet. While the use of e-mail provides a great opportunity for citizens to communicate efficiently with the institutions, it creates a significant extra workload for the Ombudsman's administration as it has to respond rapidly and comprehensively to a growing number of inquiries.

The Ombudsman is keen to develop close relations with his colleagues from Bulgaria and Romania in the run-up to the next enlargement, with a view to integrating them quickly into the European Network of Ombudsmen. It is also evident that his office must have the human resources necessary to address the anticipated increase in workload related to complaints and the general increase of work to be carried out in two new official languages.

CONCLUSIONS

The Committee on Petitions calls on the Committee on Budgets, as the committee responsible, to note the following points:

1.  Global level of 2006 budget

The Committee on Petitions takes the view that the total amount of budgetary resources requested by Ombudsman would enable him to meet his obligations and to carry out his tasks effectively. The limited growth of 3% (in real terms) as compared with the 2005 budget is appropriate, given the expected enlargement to include Bulgaria and Romania, the generally increased workload due to the rising number of complaints, the expansion in the range of languages covered and intensified efforts in the area of communication. .

2.  The Ombudsman's request for autonomy in relation to staff management

At present, decisions concerning the Ombudsman's staff are prepared by the European Parliament's services in accordance with Article 195(4) of the Treaty establishing the European Community and Article 11 of the decision of the European Parliament on the regulations and general conditions governing the performance of the Ombudsman´s duties.. The Ombudsman argues that if this system were to continue it would prevent him from exercising his responsibilities for carrying out the legal acts provided for in the staff regulations as an independent institution. The current system of paying an annual lump sum to the European Parliament for the provision of an indeterminate number of staff management acts would not ensure full budget transparency and efficiency. Furthermore, it would be difficult for Parliament's officials to establish priorities concerning the Ombudsman's work as distinct from that of Parliament. Therefore, in the future, the Ombudsman wishes to be directly responsible for the management of his staff. In this context, he asks for one A*5 and two B*3 posts. The additional expenditure involved should be compensated by a reduction in the above-mentioned lump sum .

The Committee on Petitions recommends that the apparent advantages and possible drawbacks of this proposal be carefully examined by the Committee responsible, from the point of view of effective budgetary control of Parliament. In particular, the Ombudsman's request for independent staff management must be weighed against the objective of avoiding unnecessary duplication of administrative and technical staff, while ensuring that the interest of Parliament's administration remains protected.

3.  Ombudsman's staff requirements prior to the accession of Romania and Bulgaria    

The Committee fully supports the Ombudsman's request for new posts in the context of enlargement. The proposal to create two new A*5 posts for recruiting one lawyer from each of the two future member countries and one C*1 post is soundly justified.

4.  Item 2500

This budget line provides, amongst other options, the facility to allow petitioners in certain circumstances to have their travel expenses met from the Parliament's budget if prior approval is obtained. It also covers the cost of a daily allowance for hotel and incidental expenses. Needless to say this is considered essential by this Committee and has already contributed positively to the ability of the Committee to better respond to the needs of European citizens.

PROCEDURE

Title	Draft general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2006 - Other Sections
Procedure number	2005/2002(BUD)
Committee responsible	BUDG
Committee asked for its opinion   Date announced in plenary	PETI
Enhanced cooperation
Draftsman   Date appointed	Andreas Schwab 24.52005
Discussed in committee	15.6.2005
Date suggestions adopted	13.7.2005
Result of final vote	for: against: abstentions:		15 0 0
Members present for the final vote	Robert Atkins, Inés Ayala Sender, Michael Cashman, Proinsias De Rossa, Janelly Fourtou, Elly de Groen-Kouwenhoven, David Hammerstein Mintz, Mairead McGuinness, Maria Matsouka, Manolis Mavrommatis, Marie Panayotopoulos-Cassiotou, Andreas Schwab
Substitutes present for the final vote	Marie-Hélène Descamps
Substitutes under Rule 178(2) present for the final vote	Albert Deß, Doris Pack

PROCEDURE

Title	Draft general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2006, Section I – European Parliament, Section II – Council, Section IV – Court of Justice, Section V – Court of Auditors, Section VI – European Economic and Social Committee, Section VII – Committee of the Regions, Section VIII(A) – European Ombudsman, Section VIII(B) – European Data Protection Supervisor
References	C6‑0300/2005 – 2005/2002(BUD)
Legal basis	Article 272 EC
Basis in Rules of Procedure	Rule 69 and Annex IV
Committee responsible         Date of referral	BUDG 29.9.2005
Committee(s) asked for opinion(s)         Date of referral	All
Rapporteur   Date appointed	Valdis Dombrovskis 6.12.2004
Previous rapporteur
Preliminary draft general budget         Date presented by Commission	COM(2005)0300 27.4.2005
Date draft general budget established by the Council	15.7.2005
Date draft general budget forwarded by the Council	29.9.2005
Letter(s) of amendment
Discussed in committee	29.9.2005	4.10.2005		13.10.2005
Date adopted	13.10.2005
Result of final vote	for: 35 against: 1 abstentions: 0
Members present for the final vote	Laima Liucija Andrikienė, Richard James Ashworth, Reimer Böge, Simon Busuttil, Paulo Casaca, Gérard Deprez, Valdis Dombrovskis, Brigitte Douay, James Elles, Neena Gill, Ingeborg Gräßle, Louis Grech, Nathalie Griesbeck, Catherine Guy-Quint, Jutta D. Haug, Anne E. Jensen, Wiesław Stefan Kuc, Zbigniew Krzysztof Kuźmiuk, Alain Lamassoure, Janusz Lewandowski, Vladimír Maňka, Mario Mauro, Gérard Onesta, Giovanni Pittella, Wojciech Roszkowski, Antonis Samaras, Esko Seppänen, Nina Škottová, László Surján, Helga Trüpel, Ralf Walter
Substitutes present for the final vote	Hans-Peter Martin, José Javier Pomés Ruiz, Paul Rübig, José Albino Silva Peneda, Peter Šťastný
Substitutes under Rule 178(2) present for the final vote
Date tabled – A6	17.10.2005		A6-0307/2005
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