The European Parliament,

–   having regard to Article 272 of the EC Treaty,

–   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(1),

–   having regard to the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2005(2),

–   having regard to the annual report of the Court of Auditors for the 2003 financial year, together with the replies of the institutions under audit(3),

–   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 opinion of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (A6-0043/2005),

A.   whereas the provisional figures for the technical adjustment of the financial perspective provide for a ceiling of EUR 6 704 million for heading 5 ('Administrative expenditure') in the 2006 budget,

B.   whereas the budget for 2006 will include the full financial effect of the enlargement which took place in 2004, with the majority of new staff having been recruited,

C.   whereas a significant proportion of the preparatory work for the next enlargement, projected for 2007, will be carried out in 2006,

D.   whereas 2006 is the last financial year of the current financial perspective,

Political priorities
Consolidation and preparing for the next enlargement

1.  Considers it crucial to adopt, if needed, adequate additional measures to conclude the 2004 enlargement round efficiently; estimates that most of the new staff from the 10 new Member States will be recruited by 2006, with the full financial impact on the budgets of the other institutions;

2.  Stresses the importance of accommodating new staff within the institutions' structure; considers that specific training measures should be taken in areas which are lagging behind, such as translation and interpretation;

3.  Underlines the need to make a dynamic start on preparations for the next enlargement to include Romania and Bulgaria, projected for 2007; requests the institutions to provide detailed information on their plans for such preparations and estimations of the financial consequences by 1 September 2005;

Efficient and rational use of appropriations

4.  Calls on the institutions to improve the quality of spending by using the available appropriations in a more efficient and rational way for their core activities; expects them to reflect that attitude in their estimate proposals;

5.  Is of the opinion that reallocation of appropriations and redeployment of staff should be the first option for finding resources to improve the functioning of the institutions; points out that, when assessing proposed new initiatives, the long-term financial implications should be taken into consideration;

6.  Is in favour of increasing interinstitutional cooperation to increase efficiency; calls for a report by the Commission by 1 July 2005 presenting the benefits to date of interinstitutional cooperation;

7.  Suggests the creation of an information tool allowing the translators of all institutions to share texts and amendments which have already been translated so as to save costs and increase the quality of translations;

Towards more comprehensive budgeting

8.  Considers that the structure and content of the other institutions' budgets should be more comprehensive; welcomes the plans to clarify the nomenclatures of the other institutions' budgets; invites the institutions to include in their estimates a clear breakdown of the budget allocation by their principal activities and functions;

Other issues

9.  Calls on the institutions to give an overview by 1 September 2005 of measures taken to overcome obstacles to equal treatment as defined in Article 13 of the EC Treaty, taking account of the possibilities offered by the new Staff Regulations;

10.  Considers that implementation of environmentally friendly policies should be an aspect of an institution's daily work; calls for an updated evaluation by all institutions by 1 September 2005 of the actions undertaken in relation to participation in EMAS (European Union Eco-Management and Audit Scheme); points out that new building projects in particular offer an opportunity to invest, following a cost-benefit analysis, in environmentally friendly energy systems, which in the long term will be less costly and significantly less polluting; considers that the European institutions should serve as an example in this respect;

11.  Calls upon the institutions to report by 1 September 2005 on the ways in which they encourage staff to use public transportation;

12.  Points to the impact of the increase in staff receiving pension payments in the years to come; looks to the Commission Administration for proposals preventing the burden on the ordinary operating budget from becoming excessive, for instance by means of a pension fund;

European Parliament
Consolidating the 2004 enlargement

13.  Considers it important that enlargement posts should be filled; stresses the importance of accommodating enlargement posts at different grades; supports the requirement for sufficient numbers of qualified interpreters and translators to be made available for all official languages to enable all Members to participate actively in Parliament's work; stresses the importance of taking the necessary measures to ensure equal treatment of all Members;

Preparations for the 2007 enlargement

14.  Considers it crucial to ensure that the necessary preparations are made for Romania's and Bulgaria's smooth entry into the European Union; invites its Secretary-General to submit, by 1 September 2005, practical proposals for those preparations; stresses the need to provide adequate linguistic services for new Observers and Members;

Bringing Parliament closer to citizens

15.  Recalls that information and communication policy has a key role to play in bringing Parliament closer to citizens; points out the importance of audiovisual services for that task; considers that Parliament's website should be made more user-friendly and that webcasting should be improved;

16.  Calls for a comprehensive review of the European Parliament's information and communication policies; asks the Secretary-General to present a report by 1 June 2005, which includes a review of the improvements to the Visitors Service to update the display area, improve the standard visitor programme and increase staff resources;

17.  Stresses the importance of cooperation and sharing responsibilities with Commission offices; reiterates its support for the aim of setting up Europe Houses (shared premises for the external offices of Parliament and the Commission) in all Member States; considers that the efficiency and visibility of Europe Houses could be improved;

18.  Considers that the role of external offices in Parliament's information and communication policy and their tasks have to be further developed and that the external offices have to be provided with appropriate resources; is willing to examine the scope for developing the role of external offices in supporting Members' activities;

Quality and efficiency of Parliament's work

19.  Stresses that, with regard to work, quantity should not take priority over quality; is therefore willing to consider whether modifications should be made to its administrative structures or further support provided for its core activities to optimise the work of the institution;

20.  Takes the view that the increased responsibility of the European Parliament in legislative decision-making requires significantly more resources to be allocated to support this core activity (more committee meeting rooms equipped with facilities for electronic voting, reinforcement of committee secretariats, financial resources to obtain specialised expertise for parliamentary committees, etc.);

21.  Considers it important to improve Members' working conditions; encourages examination of ways of developing the use of new technologies as a means of improving efficiency; recollects the call made in its resolution of 26 February 2004(4) for an examination to be conducted as to whether work could be made easier by making use of videoconferences and similar methods; however, notes with concern the substantial amounts that are allocated to IT; is concerned with the lack of improvement in the IT service to Members; instructs its Secretary-General to present a report by 1 July 2005 with proposals for improving the IT service to Members;

22.  Calls for an enhanced support service to Members from library staff to provide factual and non-political information on matters of interest raised by EU citizens, making them available to all Members in an indexed form;

23.  Underscores the importance of personal assistants for Members' work; is looking forward to the forthcoming reports by the Bureau working group on Members" Assistants; and, on financial transparency grounds too, supports the introduction of a Statute for Assistants;

24.  Considers it crucial to guarantee sufficient assistance and expertise to ensure the quality of Parliament's legislative work; is looking forward to an updated evaluation report on "Raising the Game" - the reform of Parliament's services;

25.  Urges that linguistic support for parliamentary work be improved; calls for translation capacity to be expanded in order to make it possible for Members to work on documents in their own languages; calls for greater availability of interpreters for political groups and their working parties, and calls on the Administration to take the necessary measures with regard to rooms and staffing; proposes a coordinated approach involving the other institutions so that, where appropriate, synergetic effects can be exploited;

26.  States that personnel management is of crucial importance for the efficiency of the institution's work; is concerned about the length of recruitment procedures, in particular in the context of enlargement; therefore asks the Secretary-General to review recruitment procedures and to submit proposals for faster procedures; at the same time asks the Secretary-General to submit a progress report on the promotion system, setting out whether the system provides for sufficient differentiation of merit;

27.  Underlines that provision should be made for sufficient expenditure in areas where political decisions require greater financial engagement, in order to cover expenditure relating to the participation of Parliament's delegations in meetings outside its places of work; instructs the Bureau to present realistic estimates for expenditure relating to the organisation of the Parliamentary Conference of the WTO and the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly based on the meetings planned;

Global level of Parliament's budget

28.  Recalls that the absence of a single working place results in significant extra costs for Parliament's budget; points out that the cost of siting the European Parliament in three countries is put at more than EUR 200 million per year;

29.  Stresses the importance of finding a balance between justified needs to improve the quality of working conditions for Members, political groups and the Administration, and budgetary rigour;

30.  Considers that the final decision on the global level of Parliament's budget for 2006 can only be taken once needs have been clearly identified; calls on the Bureau to present a report on more effective budgeting before the estimates are presented, in order to eradicate the possibility of large amounts of 'ramassage'; underlines the fact that those needs will determine the level of the budget; points out that new initiatives should be undertaken only after careful consideration of the long-term financial implications;

Council

31.  Calls on the Council, should it introduce new initiatives, to find resources firstly through reallocation; requests the Council to apply the same rigour in establishing its own budget as it applies to the budgets of other institutions;

32.  Invites the Council to provide sufficient resources to the Schengen and Customs Supervisory Authorities to allow them to conduct the necessary inspections;

33.  Calls on the Council to present its estimates at the same time as the other institutions and to have them published as part of the preliminary draft budget;

Court of Justice

34.  Recalls that the Court of Justice has made early payments for its buildings, which reduced the budgetary cost for 2005; notes that the annual payments for the "Annex" buildings are scheduled to be resumed in 2006;

35.  Calls on the Court of Justice to submit a report to the European Parliament on the preparations for setting up the Civil Service Tribunal and its financial implications;

36.  Requests the Court of Justice to make more efficient use of its resources in order to speed up legal procedures (increased recourse to smaller chambers; reallocation of staff);

Court of Auditors

37.  Points out that the term of office of eight Members of the Court of Auditors will come to an end in 2006, which will result in additional expenditure for its budget as a consequence of one-off allowances and pension payments;

38.  Notes that the Court of Auditors will continue projects to modernise its main building to conform with health, safety and environmental regulations and to construct a second extension;

European Economic and Social Committee and Committee of the Regions

39.  Stresses the importance of budgetary rigour, especially in relation to property projects; invites the two committees 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; asks the two institutions to provide reports on the situation as regards the occupation of posts in financial control;

European Ombudsman

40.  Notes the increase in activities by the European Ombudsman's office; plans to evaluate the financial implications of the changes in the number of complaints;

European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS)

41.  Points out that 2006 will be the second year in which the EDPS has been fully operational;

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42.  Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Court of Justice, the Court of Auditors, the European Economic and Social Committee, the Committee of the Regions, the European Ombudsman and the European Data Protection Supervisor.

(1) OJ C 172, 18.6.1999, p. 1. Agreement as amended by Decision 2003/429/EC (OJ L 147, 14.6.2003, p. 25). (2) 2 OJ L 60, 8.3.2005. (3) 3 OJ C 293 30.11.2004, p. 1. (4) OJ C 98 E, 23.4.2004, p. 171.