Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/1999-10-26-Speech-2-012"
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"en.19991026.2.2-012"2
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"Mr President, the ‘EU budget for the year 2000 – other sections’, which we are considering, follows the rigorous policy of recent years.
The budget for institutions other than the Commission and the Council for the year 2000 will be EUR 1.286 billion. The increase is EUR 44 million, or 3.5%. The margin for manoeuvre calculated from Category 5, as referred to in the Financial Perspective, is EUR 135 million.
This draft budget focuses mainly on rental arrangements and renovation solutions for the places of work of the institutions. The intention is for the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions to move into Belliard buildings I and II once they have been vacated by Parliament and renovated. The joint organisational structure for these committees will be accommodated in the Bertha von Suttner Building, the former Montoyer building. The rented premises that have been in use until now will be given up. For these solutions to be successful, seamless cooperation is required on all sides.
The budget provides for new posts to be created at both Parliament and the Economic and Social Committee to render the administration of the buildings more efficient. One condition of adequate administration, however, is that the division of labour and of responsibility of both Parliament and the Economic and Social Committee be clarified both interinstitutionally and with regard to the individuals involved. This division of responsibility must be considered a pre-condition of the project’s success. There are two reserves attached to the buildings, which are still in the budget. A reserve of EUR 7.4 million has been entered in Parliament’s expenditure for the rental of the Belliard buildings, as the rental agreement between the owner and the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions is still under discussion. If the rental agreement is finalised before the end of the year, the amount mentioned will be deducted from Parliament’s budget, as the European Parliament budget is, at present, 20.11% of Category 5, whereas Parliament has itself declared a ceiling of 20%.
There are two reasons why this ceiling has been exceeded. The first is the double budgeting relating to rents, as explained above. The other reason is the reserve related to the Statute for Members. In the spring a reserve of EUR 60 million was included in the parliamentary budget for remuneration related to the Statute for Members. Parliament has demanded that Members’ remuneration be paid from parliamentary funds, and the Council has supported this initiative. Because at present it is the Member States that pay the salaries of MEPs, this will mean that the payments are transferred from the Member States to the European Union. It is quite natural to suppose that a new expenditure item of this kind, which at the same time would diminish Member States’ costs, cannot be included under the ceiling for formerly approved expenditure. If we take these two expenditure items into account, Parliament’s share of Category 5 would be 18.97%, which is in line with the principles of budgetary discipline.
Another priority of this draft budget is increasing the resources of the Court of Justice of the European Union, especially their translation resources. According to the Council’s proposal, the Committee on Budgets has recommended that altogether thirty new translator’s posts be established, and that a substantial appropriation be earmarked for paying freelance translators. As appropriations have been proposed for improvements to the electronic office, the Court of Justice can expect a clear increase in resources. After this, we expect that the Court of Justice will be able to cope better with its workload, reduce the number of documents left untranslated, and serve Member States, citizens and businesses better in the interpretation and application of European law. Parliament has both the right and the obligation to demand clear results.
Discussion of this year’s budget made it clearer than ever that there is a need to move towards activity based budgeting. The institutions have an abundance of staff, and it is to the benefit of all that they be used efficiently. The present administrative model, however, gives cause for criticism. The institutions seem extremely interested in inventing new requirements and job descriptions, so as to be able to justify their ever-growing need for staff. It is very difficult for Parliament, as a decision-making authority, to scrutinise the chart of its own four thousand strong organisation and draw conclusions as to what new posts are needed for what jobs.
Every Member State, however, has had to radically reorganise personnel structures. Jobs have been reallocated, as have posts and staff. That is why in many cases the establishment of new posts is no longer the responsibility of the budgetary authorities. The budgetary authorities only allocate appropriations to the institutions. There are two advantages to this. Firstly, the overall work of an institution is seen clearly, which means that there is less danger of getting swamped in details. The work of the institutions can be assessed more clearly, on the basis of results, and can be better managed. On the other hand, comprehensive budgeting also makes it possible to clarify and increase personal responsibility. This encourages better and more efficient work, as everyone can find a way to work more effectively and use resources sparingly where the need is greatest. It is high time the European Union switched to activity based budgeting, result-oriented management, delegated power and responsibility downwards, and clarified personal responsibilities. We must require managers and heads of department to bear the responsibility for their own areas of revenue, and for their development and improvement.
Finally, I would like to thank all those who helped me to prepare this report. I would especially like to thank the Chairman of the Committee on Budgets, Terence Wynn, who has given me his support in so many ways, both in practical negotiations and at meetings of the Committee on Budgets, and in personal discussions. At the same time I wish to thank the main rapporteur, Jean-Louis Bourlanges, with whom I have enjoyed seamless and smooth cooperation. I would also like to thank all the coordinators, especially Reimer Böge of the European People’s Party and Ralf Walter of the Party of European Socialists for their constructive and pertinent cooperation. Finally, I wish to thank my own group for their unreserved support in every respect, as well as the secretaries and employees who were involved in the project."@en1
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