RESTRICTED  WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  WT/BFA/87 
11 July 2006 
 (06-3345) 
Committee on Budget, Finance and Administration  
  
 
 
REPORT OF THE MEETING HELD ON 7 JUNE 2006 
  
1. The WTO Committee on Budget, Finance and Ad ministration met on 7 June 2006 under the 
chairmanship of Ambassador Juan Antonio March of  Spain.  The terms of reference and composition 
of the Committee are set out in document WT/L/44/Rev.1.  At the request of one Member, item D of the agenda was taken up at the beginning of the meeting.  The agenda contained in document 
WTO/AIR/2822 Rev.2 was adopted. 
I. ADMINISTRATIVE UP-DATES AND PR OGRESS REPORTS AS AT 31 MAY 2006 
A. 
CASH SITUATION AND STATEMENT OF OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTIONS  
B. CONTRIBUTIONS OF OBSERVER COUNTRIES TOWA RDS THE COST OF SERVICES PROVIDED BY 
THE SECRETARIAT – PROGRESS REPORT  
2. A member of the Secretariat presented the cash  situation, the statement of outstanding 
contributions from Members as at 31 May 2006, and a statement regarding the contributions of Observer countries towards the cost of services provide d by the Secretariat.  As at the reporting date, 
the total of funds available stood at CHF 82 milli on.  Contributions received from Members amounted 
to CHF 123 million for the current year and CHF 9 million for prior years, while those from Observers amounted to CHF 502,000 for the current y ear and 25,000 for prior years.  The Working 
Capital Fund stood at CHF 9.3 million at 31 May 2006.  The Secretariat pointed out that seven Members (Chad, the Democratic Republic of the C ongo, Djibouti, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Niger and 
the Royal Kingdom of Cambodia) had still outsta nding advances to the Working Capital Fund 
amounting to CHF 204,000 as at 31 May 2006.  Since the date of the report one Observer, Lebanon, made a payment. 
C. 
HUMAN RESOURCES MATTERS  
3. A member of the Secretariat introduced document CRP(06)14 and informed the Committee 
about the Management Training for which communica tion with all directors has been reinforced as 
well as about an agreement with the UN Staff Development and Learning Section concerning the 
participation of the WTO staff in UN courses, so that a broader programme of learning activities could be offered.  
4. With respect to the Special Recruitment Exer cise to fill the consolidated posts through a 
competitive process, all the posts have been classified  and advertised, 5 posts have been approved by 
the APB and the DG, 16 posts are still under consider ation and for 12 posts in terviews are still under 
way.  The process should be completed by end of June 2006. 
5. Furthermore, the member of the Secretariat expl ained that the 2006 salary survey with the two 
comparators, UN and the Coordinated Organisations  weighted at 70 and 30 per cent respectively, 
resulted in a grade-weighted average difference of 3.02 per cent.  The net salary scale as of 1 January WT/BFA/87 
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  2006 had therefore been adjusted as follows: grades 1 to 6 + 1.5 per cent , grade 7 + 1.8 per cent , 
grades 8 to 10 +4.5 per cent and grades 11 to DDG + 3.5 per cent in order to maintain the competitiveness of the WTO salaries, while at the same time keeping within the limits of the 
methodology.  It was also pointed out that pr ofessional salaries still remained significantly behind 
those in the Coordinated Organisations. 
6. With regard to the Performan ce Award System, the Committee was informed that 25.8 per 
cent of the eligible staff were awarded a bonus  in 2006 based on their performance in 2005. 
7. One Member requested that the Secretariat provide information on the percentage of each 
staff member by performance-category.  
D. 
WTO PENSION PLAN  
8. A progress report document CRP(06)15 was presented by a member of the Secretariat who 
informed the Members that the chairman of the Ma nagement Board had indicated her wish that the 
Board take a final decision on the issue of rec ognition of same-sex spouses at its next meeting. 
9. It was further explained that the second Europ ean real estate mandate was expected to be 
signed shortly and that an investment analyst/consul tant had been asked to submit a detailed proposal 
for the investment strategy over time. 
10. The Committee took note of the various reports. 
E. STATUS OF EXTRA -BUDGETARY ACTIVITIES : 
1. Technical Assistance Activity as at 18 May 2006 
2. Doha Development Age nda Global Trust Fund 
11. Another member of the Secretariat presen ted documents WT/BFA /SPEC/147 and CRP(06)16 
and informed the Committee that as at 18 May 2006 , resources to finance activities included in the 
2006 TA Plan amounted to 22.6 million Swiss Fr ancs, respectively 22.8 million Swiss Francs 
including a contribution received from Chinese Taipei si nce the date of the report.  The attention of 
the Members was drawn to the fact that additiona l contributions of 1.2 million Swiss Francs were 
urgently needed in addition to the payment of th e outstanding pledges of 4.9 million Swiss Francs in 
order to meet the target amount of 24 million Swiss Fr ancs received in the bank by the end of June.   
12. It was further pointed out that the guidelines of the Doha Development Global Trust Fund 
indicated "where contribution receipt targets are ma nifestly not met, the General Council shall meet 
on an urgent basis to discuss the problem." (WT/BFA/56, Annex B) and that the Secretariat hoped that contributions would be received by the end of June to preclude this step. 
13. Furthermore, it was pointed out that in order to  be able to implement technical activities for 
2007, a reserve of 25 per cent  of the target amount i.e. 6 million Swiss Francs were needed by the end 
of December 2006. 
14. The Secretariat urged Members to provide the necessary resources  in order to enable the 
continuation of the implementation of the Technical  Assistance Training Plan and to expedite the 
transfer of funds already pledged. 
15. The Committee took note of the report.  WT/BFA/87 
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  II. ORAL REPORT ON NEW WTO ANNEXE 
16. The Director General addressed the Budget Comm ittee on the issue of the new building.  He 
recalled that the Centre William Rappard, built 80 ye ars ago, had significant limitations in terms of 
infrastructure (old cabling, security, limits to ex tension, parking problem ) and needed to be 
refurbished.  Additionally, the building in rue Rothschild, where a part of the staff is housed, 
presented even greater problems especially with regard to physical security of staff.  He also recalled 
the project of WTO II to be built in Avenue de  France with a 60 million Swiss Francs loan from the 
host government. 
17. After a thorough analysis of the way the WTO ope rated, the Director General came to the 
conclusion that the most efficient way for the WT O to function was under one roof.  Two different 
sites not only pose constraints on delegations and st aff but also increase operating costs significantly 
(cafeteria, medical service, document distribution, printing). 
18. Therefore, different possibilities had been exam ined: an extension of the CWR in several 
configurations, densifying the CWR and a Greenfield i.e. a new site for the WTO in Geneva.  Initial 
estimates showed that the cost of WTO II, plus th e refurbishment of the CWR, plus the car park 
which had to be constructed if the WTO stayed in  the current building added up to almost the same 
amount of a new building.  However, the construc tion-time of a new building was estimated between 
8 to 10 years and therefore, an intermediary soluti on was needed which would, in the very short term, 
require that the serious problems in the rue Rothsch ild be addressed, and, in the medium term, could 
include the construction of the WTO II. 
19. Finally, the Director General pointed out that Members would be provided with further details 
on the necessary budgetary implicati ons and the breakdown of costs. 
20. A representative of the Host Country reiterate d his Government's support for International 
Organizations in Geneva and highlighted that it was attentive to the need for the WTO to have 
adequate infrastructure.  He indicated that WTO Members would have to decide on which approach 
they wished to pursue to meet the needs of the Organization. 
21. Several Members thanked the Director General a nd confirmed the benefits  in the long term of 
the WTO being under one roof if it implied no extra cost.  A number of Members expressed the point 
that their Governments were facing very strict fina ncial constraints, and that future infrastructure 
plans for the WTO would have to be seen in that  context.  A number of Members requested more 
information on costs and benefits of the different solutions proposed.  Some Members referred to the 
clear decision by the General Council on building WTO II and also pointed out that a quick solution 
with respect to WTO II had to be taken avoiding an additional delay with its associated financial 
risks.. Some other Members expressed the opinion that the WTO could also be placed in other 
locations (not in Geneva), and that this possibility should also be examined if the ideal solution were a 
new building. 
22. The Secretariat indicated that more detailed information would be prepared for the next 
meeting of the Committee in order to have a more complete picture of the options and their costs 
which would then allow for a more precise cost/ben efit analysis to be undertaken by Members. 
23. After a long and fruitful discussion, the Committee concluded that the Secretariat would 
continue to work on the issue on an urgent basi s with a view to preparing a business case for the 
various different options and keeping the Committee fully and constantly informed. WT/BFA/87 
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  III. 2006 ADJUSTMENT OF THE WTO DEPENDENCY ALLOWANCES 
24. A member of the Secretariat introduced document WT/BFA/W/144 and recalled that the 
dependency allowances had been recalculated followi ng the 2006 adjustment to the WTO salary scale 
and applied provisionally as of 1 Ja nuary 2006 pending on the approva l by the General Council  under 
Staff Regulation 13.2. 
25. Therefore,  the Committee, bearing in mind that the methodology for adjusting 
dependency allowances was approved by the Ge neral Council in December 2004 (WT/GC/M/90, 
paragraph 158), recommends that the revised  allowances as set out in document 
WT/BFA/W/144 be incorporated into the WTO Staff Rules with effect from 1 January 2006.  
IV. OTHER BUSINESS 
26. Some Members expressed their interest in taking pa rt in the consultations with regard to the 
JPO Scheme.  The Chairman took note of the co mments and explained that he had requested the 
Secretariat to contact possible donor Members with a view to assessing the degree of flexibility their 
Governments might have with rega rd to this question.  He added that, as soon as the scope of the 
programme was identified, delegations which had e xpressed an interest in the programme would be 
contacted.  He added that the topic would be  discussed at the next meeting on 20 July. 
 
POINT FOR DECISION:  Paragraph 25 
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