# C_2018298EN.01029601.xml

| 23.8.2018 | EN | Official Journal of the European Union | C 298/296 |
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23.8.2018

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 298/296

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P8_TA(2017)0114

Estimates of revenue and expenditure for the financial year 2018 — Section I — European Parliament

European Parliament resolution of 5 April 2017 on Parliament’s estimates of revenue and expenditure for the financial year 2018 (2017/2022(BUD))

(2018/C 298/34)

The European Parliament,

| — | having regard to Article 314 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, |
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having regard to Article 314 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

| — | having regard to Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2012 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union and repealing Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 (1), and in particular Article 36 thereof, |
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having regard to Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2012 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union and repealing Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 (1), and in particular Article 36 thereof,

| — | having regard to Council Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 1311/2013 of 2 December 2013 laying down the multiannual financial framework for the years 2014-2020 (2), |
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having regard to Council Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 1311/2013 of 2 December 2013 laying down the multiannual financial framework for the years 2014-2020 (2),

| — | having regard to the Interinstitutional Agreement of 2 December 2013 between the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission on budgetary discipline, on cooperation in budgetary matters and on sound financial management (3) (IIA of 2 December 2013), |
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—

having regard to the Interinstitutional Agreement of 2 December 2013 between the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission on budgetary discipline, on cooperation in budgetary matters and on sound financial management (3) (IIA of 2 December 2013),

| — | having regard to Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 1023/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 October 2013 amending the Staff Regulations of Officials of the European Union and the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants of the European Union (4), |
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—

having regard to Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 1023/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 October 2013 amending the Staff Regulations of Officials of the European Union and the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants of the European Union (4),

| — | having regard to its resolution of 14 April 2016 on Parliament's estimates of revenue and expenditure for the financial year 2017 (5); |
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having regard to its resolution of 14 April 2016 on Parliament's estimates of revenue and expenditure for the financial year 2017 (5);

| — | having regard to its resolution of 26 October 2016 on the Council position on the draft general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2017 (6), |
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—

having regard to its resolution of 26 October 2016 on the Council position on the draft general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2017 (6),

| — | having regard to its resolution of 1 December 2016 on the joint text on the draft general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2017 approved by the Conciliation Committee under the budgetary procedure (7), |
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having regard to its resolution of 1 December 2016 on the joint text on the draft general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2017 approved by the Conciliation Committee under the budgetary procedure (7),

| — | having regard to the Secretary-General's report to the Bureau on drawing up Parliament's preliminary draft estimates for the financial year 2018, |
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having regard to the Secretary-General's report to the Bureau on drawing up Parliament's preliminary draft estimates for the financial year 2018,

| — | having regard to the preliminary draft estimates drawn up by the Bureau on 3 April 2017 pursuant to Rules 25(7) and 96(1) of Parliament's Rules of Procedure, |
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having regard to the preliminary draft estimates drawn up by the Bureau on 3 April 2017 pursuant to Rules 25(7) and 96(1) of Parliament's Rules of Procedure,

| — | having regard to the draft estimates drawn up by the Committee on Budgets pursuant to Rule 96(2) of Parliament's Rules of Procedure, |
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having regard to the draft estimates drawn up by the Committee on Budgets pursuant to Rule 96(2) of Parliament's Rules of Procedure,

| — | having regard to Rules 96 and 97 of its Rules of Procedure, |
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having regard to Rules 96 and 97 of its Rules of Procedure,

| — | having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgets (A8-0156/2017), |
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having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgets (A8-0156/2017),

| A. | whereas this procedure is the third full budgetary procedure conducted in the new legislature and the fifth year of the 2014-2020 multiannual financial framework; |
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A.

whereas this procedure is the third full budgetary procedure conducted in the new legislature and the fifth year of the 2014-2020 multiannual financial framework;

| B. | whereas the 2018 budget, as proposed in the Secretary-General’s report, is being prepared against the backdrop of an increase in the ceiling for heading V when compared to 2017, allowing more room for growth and investment as well as continuing to implement policies of achieving savings and seeking to improve efficiency; |
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B.

whereas the 2018 budget, as proposed in the Secretary-General’s report, is being prepared against the backdrop of an increase in the ceiling for heading V when compared to 2017, allowing more room for growth and investment as well as continuing to implement policies of achieving savings and seeking to improve efficiency;

| C. | whereas seven priority objectives have been proposed by the Secretary-General for the 2018 budget, namely: launching the communication campaign in preparation for the 2019 elections, consolidating the security measures taken, continuing the multiannual building projects, investing in the digitisation and computerisation of procedures, continuing to implement the measures needed to introduce Irish as a full official language, analysing the possible impact of Brexit and encouraging a green approach to transport; |
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C.

whereas seven priority objectives have been proposed by the Secretary-General for the 2018 budget, namely: launching the communication campaign in preparation for the 2019 elections, consolidating the security measures taken, continuing the multiannual building projects, investing in the digitisation and computerisation of procedures, continuing to implement the measures needed to introduce Irish as a full official language, analysing the possible impact of Brexit and encouraging a green approach to transport;

| D. | whereas a budget of EUR 1 971 883 373 has been proposed by the Secretary-General for Parliament's preliminary draft estimates for 2018, representing an overall increase of 3,26 % on the 2017 budget and 19,06 % of heading V of the 2014-2020 MFF; |
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D.

whereas a budget of EUR 1 971 883 373 has been proposed by the Secretary-General for Parliament's preliminary draft estimates for 2018, representing an overall increase of 3,26 % on the 2017 budget and 19,06 % of heading V of the 2014-2020 MFF;

| E. | whereas additional extraordinary investments of EUR 47,6 million have been proposed by the Secretary-General to reinforce security projects, provide lease payments to the ADENAUER building project and launch the communication campaign in preparation for the 2019 elections; |
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E.

whereas additional extraordinary investments of EUR 47,6 million have been proposed by the Secretary-General to reinforce security projects, provide lease payments to the ADENAUER building project and launch the communication campaign in preparation for the 2019 elections;

| F. | whereas almost 68 % of the budget is index-bound expenditure which relates mainly to remunerations and allowances for Members and staff, as well as to buildings, which is adjusted according to the Staff Regulations, to sector specific indexation or to the inflation rate; |
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F.

whereas almost 68 % of the budget is index-bound expenditure which relates mainly to remunerations and allowances for Members and staff, as well as to buildings, which is adjusted according to the Staff Regulations, to sector specific indexation or to the inflation rate;

| G. | whereas the Parliament report entitled ‘Women in the European Parliament’, issued on 8 March 2017 on the occasion of International Women's Day shows a gender imbalance in managerial posts in the Parliament, with 83,3 % of Parliament's Deputy Secretary-General and Directors-General positions being held by men and 16,7 % by women, 70,2 % of Parliament's Directors positions being held by men and 29,8 % by women, and 65,9 % Parliament's Heads of Unit positions being held by men and 34,1 % by women; |
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G.

whereas the Parliament report entitled ‘Women in the European Parliament’, issued on 8 March 2017 on the occasion of International Women's Day shows a gender imbalance in managerial posts in the Parliament, with 83,3 % of Parliament's Deputy Secretary-General and Directors-General positions being held by men and 16,7 % by women, 70,2 % of Parliament's Directors positions being held by men and 29,8 % by women, and 65,9 % Parliament's Heads of Unit positions being held by men and 34,1 % by women;

| H. | whereas the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union places an obligation on the Union to respect linguistic diversity and prohibits discrimination on grounds of language, thus giving the right to any Union citizen to use any of the 24 official Union languages when corresponding with Union institutions, which are obliged to reply in the same language; |
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H.

whereas the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union places an obligation on the Union to respect linguistic diversity and prohibits discrimination on grounds of language, thus giving the right to any Union citizen to use any of the 24 official Union languages when corresponding with Union institutions, which are obliged to reply in the same language;

| I. | whereas the Parliament already stressed in its resolution of 29 April 2015 on Parliament's estimates of revenue and expenditure for the financial year 2016 (8) that the 2016 budget should be set on a realistic basis and should be in line with the principles of budgetary discipline and sound financial management; |
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I.

whereas the Parliament already stressed in its resolution of 29 April 2015 on Parliament's estimates of revenue and expenditure for the financial year 2016 (8) that the 2016 budget should be set on a realistic basis and should be in line with the principles of budgetary discipline and sound financial management;

| J. | whereas the credibility of Parliament as one arm of the budgetary authority depends to a large extent on its ability to bring its own spending under control; |
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J.

whereas the credibility of Parliament as one arm of the budgetary authority depends to a large extent on its ability to bring its own spending under control;

| K. | whereas the credibility of the Parliament depends to a large extent on its ability to develop democracy at Union level; |
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K.

whereas the credibility of the Parliament depends to a large extent on its ability to develop democracy at Union level;

General framework

| 1. | Stresses that the share of Parliament’s budget in 2018 should be maintained under 20 % of heading V; notes that the level of estimates for 2018 corresponds to 18,88 %, which is lower than that achieved in 2017 (19,26 %) and the lowest part of heading V in the past fifteen years; |
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1.

| 2. | Pursuant to paragraph 15 of its resolutions of 14 April 2016 on Parliament's estimates of revenue and expenditure for the financial year 2017 and to paragraph 98 of its abovementioned resolution of 26 October 2016 on the Council position on the draft general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2017, requiring that the method of establishment of the budget of the Parliament on the basis of the current needs and not on the basis of a system of coefficients is used for the first time during the budgetary procedure for the financial year 2018, calls for the fulfilment of those requests; |
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2.

| 3. | Notes that the amount set aside for extraordinary investment and expenditure in 2018 is EUR 47,6 million, the same level as in 2017; considers that the 2019 communication campaign ought to be considered as extraordinary expenditure; |
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3.

| 4. | Observes the request for 75 % of the appropriations for the communication campaign in preparation for the 2019 elections have been included in the 2018 preliminary draft estimates because most of the contracts will be signed in 2018; |
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4.

| 5. | Emphasises that the largest part of Parliament's budget is fixed by statutory or contractual obligations and is subject to annual indexation; |
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5.

| 6. | Endorses the agreement of 28 March 2017 with the Bureau on the level of 2018 estimates; decreases the level of expenditure by EUR 18,4 million compared to the initial position of the Bureau; sets the overall level of its estimates for 2018 to EUR 1 953 483 373, corresponding to a total increase of 2,3 % compared to the 2017 budget; |
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6.

| 7. | Underlines the Parliament’s key functions are to legislate, represent citizens and scrutinise the work of other institutions; |
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7.

| 8. | Highlights Parliament's role in building European political awareness and promoting the Union values; |
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8.

| 9. | Stresses that savings compared to the proposal of the Secretary-General are required and all efforts to strive for a more efficient and transparent use of public money are strongly encouraged; |
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9.

Transparency and accessibility

| 10. | Welcomes the response to the request from the Committee on Budgets, in its resolution of 14 April 2016 on Parliament’s estimates of revenue and expenditure for the financial year 2017 (9), and repeated in its resolution on the Council’s position on the draft general budget of the Union for the financial year 2017 (10), concerning medium and long-term budgetary planning, including a clear distinction between investments and operational expenditure relating to the functioning of Parliament as well as its statutory obligations (including on rents and acquisitions); |
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10.

| 11. | Welcomes the creation of a working group on the procedures establishing the Parliament’s estimates of revenue and expenditure; notes that Parliament has called for consideration to be given to a further revision of the Rules regarding internal budgetary procedures (11); underlines the need for Members of the Bureau and the Committee on Budgets to receive relevant information relating to the estimates procedure in a timely and intelligible manner and with the necessary level of detail, in order to allow the Bureau and the Committee on Budgets to take decisions with a comprehensive picture of the state and needs of Parliament's budget; |
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11.

| 12. | Reiterates its call on the Secretary-General to make a proposal for presenting the budget to the general public in appropriate detail and in an intelligible and user-friendly manner on the website of the Parliament in order to enable all citizens to develop a better understanding of Parliament's activities, priorities and corresponding spending patterns; |
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12.

| 13. | Considers visitor groups to be one of the key instruments in increasing the awareness of citizens about Parliament's activities; welcomes the revised rules for visitor groups and considers that the risk of misappropriation of funds has decreased due to the implementation of the new and stricter rules; in this light, invites the Bureau, together with its Working Group on Information and Communication, to revise the appropriations for Member's visitor groups, taking into account inflation rates in recent years which have consequently increased the cost of such visits; considers that, although those amounts are not meant to cover all the costs incurred by visitor groups, but rather to be considered as a subsidy, the fact that the proportion of costs covered will diminish if the allowance is not adjusted according to inflation, cannot be ignored; asks the Bureau to take into account that this discrepancy disproportionately affects visitor groups from less affluent socio-economic backgrounds who have very limited financial means of their own; |
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13.

Security and cybersecurity

| 14. | Takes note of the ongoing measures to empower Parliament's security, relating to buildings, equipment and staff, cyber-security and communication security; requests the Secretary-General and the Bureau to carry on the Global Security Concept to continue to provide structural, operational and cultural improvements in Parliament's security; reiterates the need to improve the performance of IT services provided to the Parliament by investing in the training of staff, but also by better selecting contractors based on a stronger evaluation of their services and IT capacity; |
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14.

| 15. | Believes that recent events demonstrate the likelihood of cyber-attacks has increased dramatically, with the technology behind such attacks often outpacing the cybersecurity measures to combat them; considers that IT tools have become important instruments for Members and staff to carry out their work, but are nevertheless vulnerable to such attacks; welcomes therefore the embedding of cybersecurity in Parliament’s overall strategic management framework, and considers this will enable the institution to better protect its assets and information; |
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15.

| 16. | Regrets that despite the installation of SECure EMail system (SECEM) the Parliament is unable to receive restricted and non-classified briefings from other institutions; deplores that Parliament is not in a position to develop its own Classified Information System (CIS) alone and notes that negotiations are ongoing with other institutions on this matter; expects these negotiations will help to identify the best means of enabling Parliament to receive restricted and non-classified briefings; invites the Secretary-General to present to the Committee on Budgets more information regarding the latest developments of these negotiations, before the Parliament's reading of the budget in autumn 2017; |
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16.

| 17. | Welcomes the efforts to further digitise and computerise procedures; in this regard, encourages the introduction of more possibilities for the use of secure digital signature in administrative procedures in order to reduce the use of paper and save time; |
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17.

| 18. | Welcomes the signature of a Memorandum of Understanding between the Belgian Government and the European Parliament, the Council, the Commission, the European External Action Service, and other institutions based in Brussels, on security clearance checks verifications for all external contractors’ staff wishing to access the Union institutions; invites the Secretary-General to consider the advisability of extending the application of this Memorandum of Understanding to officials, parliamentary assistants and stagiaires in order to allow the necessary security verifications before their recruitment; |
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18.

Building policy

| 19. | Recalls that the last mid-term building strategy was adopted by the Bureau in 2010; questions why the Bureau has failed to present a long-term strategy for Parliament buildings during this legislature, despite the Parliament’s previous resolutions; invites the Secretary-General and Vice-Presidents to present to the Committee on Budgets the new mid-term strategy on buildings as soon as possible, before the Parliament's reading of the budget in autumn 2017; |
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19.

| 20. | Reiterates its call for a transparent decision-making process in the field of buildings policy, based on early information, having due regard to Article 203 of the Financial Regulation; calls in this regard for more information on the extension of the WAYENBERG crèche; |
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20.

| 21. | Calls for more information on the project to renovate the Paul Henri Spaak (PHS) building, specifically any opinions from independent external contractors on the possible options for the PHS, which has had a short lifespan of 25 years; calls for the Secretary-General to present the results of such a study to the Committee on Budgets as soon as possible; underlines that the existing building doesn't fulfil the static requirements of a public building for parliamentary functions which has higher security and needs to withstand external shocks without collapsing; criticises the fact that the PHS building doesn't fulfil even minimum standards of modern static requirements and notes that several actions have already had to be taken to guarantee its stability; urges therefore the Bureau and the administration of the Parliament to work on future solutions for the PHS building that secures life and healthy working conditions of the persons present; notes the level of appropriations proposed by the Secretary-General in 2018 concerning studies, preparatory projects and works, and the provision of assistance to the project management team; expresses concern at the possible confusion regarding the amounts to be spent on studies and removals; urges the Bureau and Secretary-General to inform the Committee on Budgets on all subsequent steps and provide a clear breakdown of costs as soon as possible and no later than July 2017; recalls that, in any case, there is a need to implement state-of-the art energy efficient architecture; calls for an assessment on how the renovation will impact the Visitors and Seminars Unit, the availability of the plenary chamber as well the other rooms and offices; |
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21.

| 22. | Considers 2018 to be a critical year for the Konrad Adenauer (KAD) building, as it will mark the end of the work on the East site and the start of work on the West site; notes with concern that the budget allocated to cover the management of this large-scale project has had to be revised in order to strengthen the teams which monitor the progress of the work; notes the on-going practice of using the year-end ‘mopping up transfer’ (ramassage) to contribute to current building projects; considers that while this may be a pragmatic solution to reduce interest rate payments, it nevertheless exists in tension with the transparency of building projects within the Parliament's budget and could even incentivise over-budgeting in certain areas; |
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22.

| 23. | Invites the Vice-Presidents responsible and the Secretary-General to present to the Committee on Budgets a progress report and estimates for finalising the works on the KAD building; |
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23.

EMAS

| 24. | Recalls that Parliament committed to a 30 % reduction per FTE in its CO2 emissions by 2020 compared to 2006; |
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24.

| 25. | Deems it of utmost importance, therefore, that Parliament sets itself new, more challenging, quantitative targets that should be regularly measured by the responsible services; |
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25.

| 26. | Recalls Parliament’s commitment in the context of Directive 2012/27/EU on energy efficiency, ‘without prejudice to applicable budgetary and procurement rules, undertake to apply the same requirements to the buildings they own and occupy as those applicable to the buildings of Member States' central government under Articles 5 and 6’ of that Directive, due to the high visibility of the buildings and the leading role it should play with regard to buildings' energy performance; underlines the urgency of compliance with this declaration, not at least for its own credibility in the currently ongoing revisions of the energy performance of buildings and the energy efficiency directives; |
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26.

| 27. | Welcomes the creation of a Mobility Working Group which should work inclusively and be clearly mandated; underlines that Parliament has to conform with all regional applicable laws at the places of work, including in that area; advocates the promotion of use of the established direct train connection between the Brussels Parliament site and the airport; invites the responsible services to re-evaluate the composition and size of its own vehicle fleet against this background; calls on the Bureau to establish without delay an incentive scheme for promoting the use of bicycles for home-work commuting; notes that such a scheme is already established in other institutions, notably the European Economic and Social Committee; |
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27.

Communication campaign for the 2019 European elections

| 28. | Welcomes the communication campaign as a helpful effort to explain the purpose of the Union and the Parliament to the citizens; underlines that this campaign should aim, among other things, at explaining the role of the European Union, the power of the Parliament, its functions, including the election of the President of the Commission, and its impact on the lives of citizens; |
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28.

| 29. | Notes that in advance of the forthcoming 2019 European elections, preparatory work on the communication campaign is already due to begin this year; welcomes a shorter two year pre-election period for the communication campaign compared to the three year pre-election period for the 2014 European elections; |
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29.

| 30. | Notes that the total amount of expenditure for the 2019 elections communication campaign is estimated at EUR 25 million in 2018 and EUR 8,33 million in 2019, with a higher amount of financial commitments required in 2018; highlights the importance of such communication campaigns, especially taking into consideration the current situation in the Union; |
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30.

| 31. | Believes the Directorate-General for Communication (DG COMM) should act on the recommendations from the evaluation of the 2014 European election campaign (12), and prioritise the collection of data for campaign projects, per unit, based on predefined key indicators in order to measure their impact, considering with care the root causes of the extremely low turnout in the 2014 elections; |
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31.

Member-related issues

| 32. | Welcomes the work of the Parliament’s Secretariat, the Secretariats of the political groups and the offices of Members aimed at empowering Members in their mandates; encourages the continued development of those services which enhance Members’ ability to scrutinise the work of the Commission and Council and represent citizens; |
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32.

| 33. | Acknowledges the advice and research provided to Members and committees through the European Parliamentary Research Service (EPRS) and the policy departments; recalls that a mid-term evaluation of the efficacy of the cooperation between the EPRS and the policy departments was provided for when the EPRS was created in 2013; recalls that a request to proceed to undertake such an evaluation and to present the results to the Committee on Budgets was adopted in the plenary vote of 14 April 2016 (13); once again requests the Secretary-General to proceed to undertake such an evaluation and present the results thereof to the Committee on Budgets before Parliament's reading of the budget in autumn 2017; recalls that such an evaluation should contain proposals as to how to ensure that the support provided by EPRS is better articulated with developments in the respective thematic committees and does not overlap with their activities nor encourage competition between services; furthermore, expects that the evaluation will include detailed information on the external expertise, external studies and external support for Parliament's research activities, including the number and the costs of studies and expertise provided by Parliament's internal services and external providers; takes note of the four specific projects being developed over the medium-term in the European Parliament library, namely the digital library, improved resources for research, comparative law sources and open library; considers those projects as a means to improve support to both Members and staff, as well as to facilitate access to the external research community and citizens; notes the importance of those projects and the need to integrate them in the legislative work done by Members and staff; |
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33.

| 34. | Recalls the decision taken by the Parliament with the 2017 EP budget procedure, which establishes the creation of a service for the interpretation, in International Sign language, of all plenary debates and calls upon the Administration to implement this decision with no further delay; |
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34.

| 35. | Notes that the recently revised Rules of Procedure (14) have limited Members to a maximum of three oral explanations of vote per part-session, but remains concerned about the additional costs required for interpretation as well as for the translation of the explanation transcripts that they generate; urges the Secretary-General to provide a detailed breakdown of the costs related to oral explanations of vote; indicates the availability of alternatives such as written explanations of vote as well as a wealth of public communications facilities within Parliament’s premises for Members to explain their voting positions; calls, as an interim measure, for oral explanation of votes to be placed at the end of business each day on the plenary agenda, after the one minute speeches and other points on the agenda; |
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35.

| 36. | Recalls the obligation on Members to inform the administration of any change in their declarations of interests; |
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36.

| 37. | Disagrees with the need to change the furniture in the offices of Members and their assistants in Brussels; considers that the majority of this furniture is in proper condition and that therefore there is no reason to change it; considers that furniture should only be changed when there is a justified reason; |
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37.

| 38. | In preparation for the ninth legislature, calls on the Secretary-General to submit to the Bureau a more precise list of expenses defrayable under the General Expenditure Allowance (GEA); recalls the principle of the independence of the mandate; underlines that it is possible for Members who wish to do so to publish their spending record of the GEA on their personal webpages; reiterates the appeal for greater transparency regarding the GEA, building on cases of best practice from national delegations in Parliament and Member States; believes that Members should also be able to provide links on Parliament’s website to places where they currently publish their spending records; reiterates that the improved transparency of the GEA should not require additional staff in Parliament's administration; |
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38.

| 39. | Emphasises that the current budget line for parliamentary assistance is adequate and should not be increased beyond the indexation of salaries; |
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39.

| 40. | Recalls the request, adopted by the plenary in its abovementioned resolution of 14 April 2016 on Parliament’s estimates for 2017, that the rules governing the reimbursement of mission expenses related to travel between Parliament's three working places and incurred by accredited parliamentary assistants (APAs) be revised in order to align them with the rules applicable to the rest of the staff, and regrets that, to date, no action has been taken in this regard; calls on the Bureau to address that issue without any further delay; meanwhile underlines that the current mission reimbursements ceilings for APAs (EUR 120/140/160) have not been adjusted since 2011 and that the discrepancy between APAs and other staff has further increased up to at least 40 % following the introduction of new ceilings approved by the Council on 9 September 2016 and so far only applied to staff officials as from 10 September 2016; calls therefore on the Bureau to take the necessary measures to remedy that inequality; |
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40.

| 41. | Underlines that the resolution of this discrepancy in mission expenses does not entail an increase in the budget line for parliamentary assistance; |
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41.

| 42. | Calls for a transparent and appropriate use of reimbursement of the Members' travel expenses and recommends incentivising the use of economy class both with regard to air transport and to rail transport; |
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42.

| 43. | Calls on the Conference of Presidents and the Bureau to reconsider the possibility for APAs, subject to certain conditions, to accompany Members on official Parliament Delegations and Missions, as already requested by several Members; is of the view that Members should decide whether their assistants should accompany them on official delegations, using their parliamentary assistance allowance envelope; |
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43.

Staff-related issues

| 44. | Pursuant to Point 27 of the IIA of 2 December 2013 on a progressive 5 % staff reduction applying to all institutions, bodies and agencies between 2013 and 2017, highlights that owing to specific needs arising in Parliament in 2014 and 2016, an agreement was reached with the Council on the draft general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2016 (15), in which Parliament's annual staff reduction measures are set to continue until 2019; |
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44.

| 45. | Notes that, while political groups have been exempted from these annual staff reduction measures since 2014 (16), the conciliation agreement on the 2017 budget has led to a decrease in posts from the establishment plan of Parliament's Secretariat because of the non-respect of the gentleman's agreement by the Council; |
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45.

| 46. | Recalls that the total level of staff in political groups is exempted from the 5 % staff reduction target in line with the decisions taken in respect of the financial years 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017; |
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46.

| 47. | Considers that the loss of 136 posts from Parliament’s Secretariat in 2016 may create difficulties for the provision of services by Parliament’s administration; calls on the Secretary-General to provide more information regarding staff reduction measures last year, and to evaluate the consequences of budgetary decisions on the functioning of the institution; |
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47.

| 48. | Welcomes, in light of the staff reduction measures, the proposal to convert 50 permanent AST posts into 50 permanent AD posts, which has a negligible budgetary impact; notes in addition, the proposal to convert three temporary AST posts into three temporary AD posts in the President's cabinet; |
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48.

| 49. | Calls on the Bureau to ensure that the social and pension rights of APAs are respected and that financial means are made available, in particular concerning those APAs that have been employed by Members without interruption for the last two legislative parliamentary terms; in this regard, invites the administration to put forward a proposal that takes into account the decision to have early election in 2014, as well as the time spent in the recruitment procedure when calculating the 10 years of service period set out in the Staff Regulations; |
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49.

| 50. | Calls on the Bureau to propose a dismissal procedure by mutual consent between Members and APAs; |
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50.

| 51. | Believes that, in a period in which the financial and personnel resources available to the Union institutions are likely to be increasingly constrained, it is important that the institutions themselves are able to recruit and retain the most able staff to meet the complex challenges ahead in a way consistent with the principles of performance based budgeting; |
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51.

| 52. | Considers that interpretation and translation are essential to the functioning of the House and acknowledges the quality and added value of services provided by the interpreters; re-iterates Parliament's position expressed in its abovementioned resolution of 14 April 2016 that the Secretary-General should make further rationalisation proposals, such as extending the use of translation and interpretation on demand, particularly for Intergroups of the European Parliament, as well as examining the potential efficiency gains from utilising latest language technologies as a helping tool for interpreters, and assessing the impact of the revised framework for staff interpreters in improving resource-efficiency and productivity; |
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52.

| 53. | Welcomes the continuation of measures taken by the Parliament to introduce Irish as a full official language by 1 January 2021; notes in this regard that no further posts will be required in 2018; nevertheless asks the Secretary-General to continue to consult Irish Members with a view to possible resource-efficiencies, without compromising the guaranteed rights of Members; |
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53.

| 54. | Urges the Secretary-General to build on the existing cooperation agreements between the Parliament, the Committee of the Regions and the European Economic and Social Committee, with a view to identifying other areas in which back office functions could be shared; calls in addition, for the Secretary-General to undertake a study on possible synergies in back office functions and services that can also be made between the Parliament, the Commission and the Council; |
| --- | --- |

54.

European political parties and political foundations

| 55. | Recalls that European political parties and foundations contribute to forming European political awareness and increasing citizens’ understanding of the connection between the political process at the national and European levels; |
| --- | --- |

55.

| 56. | Considers that recent controversies surrounding the funding of some European political parties and some political foundations have exposed weaknesses in existing management and control systems; |
| --- | --- |

56.

| 57. | Believes that the entry into force of Regulations (EU, Euratom) No 1141/2014 (17) and (EU, Euratom) No 1142/2014 (18) will provide additional control mechanisms, such as the requirement to register with the Authority for European political parties and political foundations; considers however that there is further room for improvement to these measures; notes that parties and foundations will begin to apply for funding under the new rules in the budgetary year 2018; |
| --- | --- |

57.

| 58. | Highlights that a number of issues have been identified with the current system of co-financing, in which contributions and grants from the Parliament’s budget for both parties and foundations cannot exceed 85 % of eligible expenditure, with the remaining 15 % to be covered by own resources; notes for instance that shortfalls in membership contributions and donations are often balanced by contributions-in-kind; |
| --- | --- |

58.

Other issues

| 59. | Notes the ongoing dialogue between the European Parliament and national parliaments; calls on this to be strengthened in order to develop a better understanding of the contribution of the European Parliament and the Union in Member States; |
| --- | --- |

59.

| 60. | Notes the request for external studies and opinions in order to support the work of committees and other political bodies in analysing the possible impact of Brexit, including the budgetary consequences for Parliament; questions the necessity to call for external studies and opinions instead of having recourse to the wealth of research services within the Parliament; emphasises that until the negotiations on the UK's exit from the Union are concluded the UK remains a full member of the Union and all the rights and obligations of membership remain in force; underlines therefore that the decision of the UK to withdraw from the Union is unlikely to have an impact on the Parliament's 2018 budget; |
| --- | --- |

60.

| 61. | Recalls its resolution of 20 November 2013 on the location of the seats of the European Union’s Institutions (19), which estimated the costs of the geographic dispersion of the Parliament to be between EUR 156 million and EUR 204 million and equivalent to 10 % of the Parliament's budget; emphasises the environmental impact of the geographic dispersion is estimated to be between 11,000 to 19,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions; underlines the negative public perception caused by this dispersion, and therefore reiterates its position in calling for a roadmap to a single seat; |
| --- | --- |

61.

| 62. | Recalls its abovementioned resolution of 14 April 2016 on Parliament's estimates of revenue and expenditure for the financial year 2017; asks the implementation of a cooperation with television stations, social media and further partners in order to establish a European media hub for training purposes for young journalists; |
| --- | --- |

62.

| 63. | Calls upon the Secretary-General and the Bureau to instil a culture of performance-based budgeting across Parliament's administration, in line with the lean management approach in order to enhance efficiency and quality in the institution's internal work; |
| --- | --- |

63.

o

o o

| 64. | Adopts the estimates for the financial year 2018; |
| --- | --- |

64.

| 65. | Instructs its President to forward this resolution and the estimates to the Council and the Commission. |
| --- | --- |

65.

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(1)  OJ L 298, 26.10.2012, p. 1.

(2)  OJ L 347, 20.12.2013, p. 884.

(3)  OJ C 373, 20.12.2013, p. 1.

(4)  OJ L 287, 29.10.2013, p. 15.

(5)  Texts adopted, P8_TA(2016)0132.

(6)  Texts adopted, P8_TA(2016)0411.

(7)  Texts adopted, P8_TA(2016)0475.

(8)  Texts adopted, P8_TA(2015)0172.

(9)  Texts adopted, P8_TA(2016)0132.

(10)  Texts adopted, P8_TA(2016)0411.

(11)  Texts adopted, P8_TA(2016)0484.

(12)  Deloitte, December 2015 study.

(13)  See paragraph 22 of its resolution of 14 April 2016 (P8_TA(2016)0132).

(14)  Texts adopted of 13 December 2016, P8_TA(2016)0484 — Rule 183(1).

(15)  Texts adopted, P8_TA(2015)0407.

(16)  Texts adopted, P7_TA(2013)0437; Texts adopted, P8_TA(2014)0036; Texts adopted, P8_TA(2015)0376; Texts adopted, P8_TA(2016)0411.

(17)  Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 1141/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 October 2014 on the statute and funding of European political parties and European political foundations (OJ L 317, 4.11.2014, p. 1).

(18)  Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 1142/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 October 2014 amending Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012 as regards the financing of European political parties (
  OJ L 317, 4.11.2014, p. 28).

(19)  Texts adopted, P7_TA(2013)0498.

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