A4-0360/98

Resolution on the draft general budget of the European Union for the financial year 1999 - Section III - Commission (C4-0300/98)

The European Parliament,

- having regard to Article 203 of the EC Treaty, Article 177 of the EAEC Treaty and Article 78 of the ECSC Treaty,

- having regard to the Interinstitutional Agreement of 29 October 1993 on budgetary discipline and improvement of the budgetary procedure and the financial perspective attached thereto ((OJ C 331, 7.12.1993, p. 1.)),

- having regard to the Council decision of 31 October 1994 on the system of own resources of the European Communities ((OJ L 293, 12.11.1994, p. 9)),

- having regard to the decision of the Edinburgh European Council and the other commitments of the Member States and the institutions concerning the level of financing of structural actions and the Cohesion Fund of the Union,

- having regard to the Commission proposals of 18 March 1998 for the negotiations for new agreements for a financial perspective and interinstitutional financial and budgetary arrangements,

- having regard to the preliminary draft budget drawn up by the Commission on 30 April 1998,

- having regard to the draft budget established by the Council on 17 July 1998 (C4-0300/98),

- having regard to its resolution of 2 April 1998 on the guidelines for the 1999 budget - Section III - Commission ((OJ C 138, 4.5.1998, p. 149.)),

- having regard to its resolution of 28 March 1996 on the allocation of the reserve for Community initiatives ((OJ C 117, 22.4.1996, p. 70.)),

- having regard to its resolution of 2 April 1998 on the proposal for a European Parliament and Council Decision on the adjustment of the financial perspective to take account of the conditions of implementation (submitted by the Commission pursuant to paragraph 10 of the Interinstitutional Agreement of 29 October 1993) (SEC(98)0307 - C4-0192/98) ((OJ C 138, 4.5.1998, p. 155.)),

- having regard to its resolution of 17 July 1997 on the ad hoc procedure for the 1998 budget, as provided for in Annex II on interinstitutional collaboration in the budgetary sector to the Interinstitutional Agreement of 29 October 1993 on budgetary discipline and improvement of the budgetary procedure ((OJ C 286, 22.9.1997, p. 189.)), and the conciliation procedure concerning financing international fisheries agreements, as outlined in the joint statement of 12 December 1996 on improving the provision of information to the budgetary authority on fisheries agreements ((OJ C 20, 20.1.1997, p. 109.)),

- having regard to the Interinstitutional Agreement of 16 July 1997 between the European Parliament, the Council and the European Commission on provisions regarding financing of the Common Foreign and Security Policy ((OJ C 286, 22.9.1997, p. 80.)),

- having regard to the Interinstitutional Agreement on legal bases and the implementation of the budget ((Minutes of 16.9.1998, Part II, Item 16. )),

- having regard to its resolutions of 4 December 1997 on the communication from the Commission 'Agenda 2000 - for a stronger and wider Union' (COM(97)2000 - C4-0371/97 ((OJ C 388, 22.12.1997, p. 17.)) and 18 June 1998 on the Commission communication on Agenda 2000 - For a stronger and wider Union, Part 1, Chapter II: Economic and Social Cohesion (COM(97)2000 - C4-0523/97) ((Minutes of that sitting, Part II, Item 2.)) and on the reform of the common agricultural policy (Agenda 2000 - Part One, Chapter III) (COM(97)2000 - C4-0522/97) ((Minutes of that sitting, Part II, Item 1.)), and in particular those aspects concerning future financing of the European Union,

- having regard to the results of the trialogues of 23 February, 31 March, 23 June, 14 July, and 13 October 1998, and in particular the agreement to introduce a letter of amendment as late as possible in the procedure to allow the most recent forecasts to be included in the agricultural budget through the ad hoc procedure,

- having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgets and the opinions of the other committees concerned (A4-0360/98),

A. whereas a budget should be adopted that can lay the foundations for a satisfactory financial structure for the coming years, that will permit true budgetary codecision for Parliament, real flexibility in the allocation of funding each year, and reasonable estimates of annual needs not only for the current Member States but also for the applicant countries as future members of the Union,

B. whereas the 1999 budget is the last under the current financial perspective, and although another has been proposed, an agreement, if there is to be one, is not expected before March 1999; whereas this budget may form a bridge between the current and future financial arrangements, and in the event of the application of Article 203 of the EC Treaty in 2000 will form the basis of the estimates for the 2000 preliminary draft budget,

C. whereas less than 1.10% of Community GNP is needed to finance the Council's draft budget, some 0.17% of Community GNP below the ceiling of 1.27%; whereas non-compulsory expenditure nevertheless grows by over 11.5% in commitment appropriations and over 5.9% in payment appropriations, according to Council estimates,

D. whereas it has committed itself to adopting a budget at about the same rate of increase of the budgets of Member States, provided that key conditions are met,

E. whereas such conditions have not yet been fulfilled,

A rigorous but rebalancing budget

1. Confirms that its budget guidelines will be respected once the conditions are fulfilled;

2. Notes that its decisions respect the terms of the agreement on legal bases that it had sought for many years, and that it has decided to initiate pilot projects: to connect innovation across cultural, educational, research and training programmes in a new concept of the Europe of Knowledge - the CONNECT programme; to enhance multicultural integration; to continue projects for innovative approaches in the labour market; to provide support for the Transatlantic Agenda; to promote preparatory actions to aid the disabled and to combat violence against, and ill-treatment of, women and children;

3. Welcomes its budgetary decisions that increase payment appropriations at its first reading roughly in line with the expected growth in national budgets, and points out that the European Union budget is of consequence in the evaluation of the convergence criteria for European Economic and Monetary Union;

4. Has decided to ensure adequate funding for Community programmes that have merit and public support, have been run efficiently, and benefit the citizens of the European Union, provide institutional and structural support for neighbouring countries and supply development aid for the poorer states of the world;

5. Observes that the budget decisions have respected the political priorities laid down by Parliament, in particular by supporting education and training, and environment protection programmes, by fostering Europe's cultural heritage, and by promoting employment opportunities, especially among SMEs;

6. Considers that the efforts to adopt a rigorous budget should be shared across the whole budget - including agriculture - and calls on the Council to assume its responsibilities towards this end;

Agriculture

7. Reiterates its regrets that this year the Council has not had any serious discussion during the agriculture ad hoc procedure, before its first reading, postponing the crucial parts of the debate to the moment when the Commission's letter of amendment is presented after Parliament's first reading; nevertheless confirms its attachment to this procedure - by way of derogation from Article 14 of the Financial Regulation - that should take into account the most recent forecasts and Parliament's requests, irrespective of the classification of the expenditure;

8. Is disappointed at the course of the ad hoc procedure so far, given the Council's unwillingness to examine in detail the major elements Parliament has proposed in that procedure; is therefore obliged to repeat its requests presented at the Council's first reading at its own first reading;

9. Notes that expenditure under the accompanying measures (particularly concerning Regulation (EEC) 2078/92 on agricultural methods compatible with the requirements of the protection of the environment and the maintenance of the countryside) is being critically evaluated, is sceptical of the reasons given by some Member States for not taking up the Community funding of such measures where clear needs exist; reaffirms that such measures should encourage sustainable agriculture and maintain a biologically diverse countryside; considers that other agriculture measures deserve critical evaluation;

Structural Funds

10. Takes note of the requests by the Commission in letter of amendment No 2/98 to supplementary and amending budget No 1/98 and in the Notenboom procedure to increase payment appropriations by EUR 871 m; considers that the budgetary decision to reduce the payments is compatible with the forecast of needs for 1999 according to realistic implementation levels; demands that the commitment appropriations be entered in a special reserve (EUR 1 500 m) preallocated solely to Member States that have an implementation rate below average and on condition that those appropriations can be carried over, if not used, for the same beneficiaries;

11. Rejects the Commission approach of making a linear reduction in the Community Initiatives in order to finance in 1999 a supplementary amount of EUR 100m in favour of the PEACE initiative; confirms its support for the supplementary allocation of EUR 100m for PEACE proposed by the Commission; decides, in consequence, to neutralise the Commission linear reduction in the Community Initiatives and to reallocate the appropriations available after the recent replanning to the priorities it decided on previously: RECHAR, RESIDER and REGIS II; calls on the Commission and the Member States concerned to make greater efforts to ensure that these appropriations are fully utilised;

12. Insists on the monitoring of the environmental dimension of the programmes and projects undertaken within the Structural Funds in order to learn from the mistakes made in the past and avoid making them again in the future;

Human face of the Union¨s internal policy

13. Supports the continuing efforts to ease employment blockages through Union-wide initiatives to encourage the growth of small and medium-sized enterprises, by funding innovative actions in a wide variety of areas including tourism;

14. Considers that, even within a strict budgetary regime, activities funded should show the citizens of Europe the attention that the Union pays to their priorities as consumers, as workers and as members of a larger community, such as control of food quality, consumer protection and concern for natural heritage;

15. Notes that the Commission has submitted a proposal to extend the Kaleidoscope and Ariane programmes by one year; agrees to leave the appropriate budget structure in place to allow for this extension; is prepared to look favourably on a transfer request for funding for this extension, after the adoption of the legal basis; decides nevertheless to support an action to prepare for the framework programme that is to begin in 2000;

16. Welcomes the budgetary decision to increase funding on measures where the Union dimension is clear, such as improving information to consumers, promoting transport safety on the major thoroughfares throughout the Union, and encouraging a more environmentally conscious attitude to the countryside and to forests;

17. In view of the forthcoming European elections, requests the Commission to make new efforts to decentralise information and communication activities in order to involve citizens in building Europe together; asks the Commission to reserve part of the appropriations allocated to the Prince programme for actions related to Agenda 2000;

Research

18. Underlines that research and technological development is a special priority of internal policies; regrets therefore the Council's reluctance in the conciliation procedure on the Fifth Framework Programme concerning the overall amount for the programme and requests it to reach a satisfactory compromise with Parliament which will allow the implementation of the programme from the beginning of 1999; points out that the budgetary authority decides in the annual budget procedure the appropriations for each specific programme and for each action; notes the endeavours to improve the JRC's contribution to EU research and technological development through increased flexibility and rejuvenation of its scientific and technical expertise;

Third pillar

19. In view of the forthcoming entry into force of the Amsterdam Treaty (Article 73k), emphasises the common interest to the Member States of the European Union asylum policy as well as the conditions of residence of third country nationals in the Union; hereby creates a European Refugee Fund on the basis of the existing preparatory measures in this field; considers the decision timely so that the Union will be able to provide refugees with shelter and support and the opportunity to return to their countries of origin after the reasons behind their displacement have ceased to exist;

20. Calls on the Commission to create, in accordance with Parliament's resolution of 7 October 1998 on the independence, role and status of the Unit for the Coordination of Fraud Prevention (UCLAF) ((Minutes of that sitting, Part II, Item 11.)), an agency (OLAF) whose legal position and structure could be modelled on the Statistical Office (Eurostat) and which guarantees that, for the purposes of internal investigations, responsibility would lie with a Director reporting to a Board of Directors made up of representatives of all institutions;

External actions of the Union

21. Is not convinced of the immediate capacity of the receiving countries to absorb the extra funding voted by the Council for the PHARE programme and wishes to fix realistic spending targets for EU funding in the applicant countries; consequently, realising that the regulations to date have been ponderous, bureaucratic and inefficient, expects them to be reworked with a view to becoming a genuine tool to establish democratic market economy structures; acknowledging that reductions in one year have no impact on implementation of the overall programme, proposes to reallocate, in 1999, EUR 200m of the PHARE funding voted by the Council to all chapters on external actions;

22. Enters the previous year's amount against B7-502, pending a coordinated regulation (between PHARE/CBC and INTERREG) to improve and speed up cross-border projects at the frontiers between the EU and Central and Eastern European countries, and points out that it must be consulted before its adoption;

23. Regrets that, in the framework of PHARE and TACIS, the Commission limits subsidies to special organisations, universities and others to 3 years; insists that in justified cases these subsidies should be continued;

24. Decides to strengthen sectors that have been cut back by Council, simply because of ill-founded and over-optimistic forecasts proposed at European Council meetings; approves the decision to extend financing for rehabilitation activities, and to make such actions more transparent, for actions concerning democracy and human rights, for tropical forests, and for non-governmental organisations working in developing countries;

25. Has recognised that there is a particular need for action concerning the environmental dimension of its development policy and has therefore decided inter alia to step up assistance for renewable energies;

26. Agrees with the decision to place EUR 30m in the reserve for B7-541 (Measures for reconstruction of the republics formerly part of Yugoslavia), to be released once the Commission has come forward with a new consolidated draft regulation for this action for the period after 2000;

27. Considers that the budgetary decision to place a significant part of the TACIS funding in the reserve should encourage the Commission to present to Parliament a global strategy to tackle the acute financial and government crisis in Russia; calls for the process of economic reforms, which is an essential prerequisite for EU support, to be speeded up;

28. Notes that the appropriations regarding mines clearance are split between different budget lines, no clear information existing on the amounts allocated in the EU budget and used every year for this purpose; requests the Commission to examine the possibility of entering all the appropriations regarding mines clearance in a single budget line in the budget for the year 2000, in order to increase budget transparency and to improve visibility of the EU intervention for this action;

29. Requests that the regulation concerning banana producers in the ACP and developing countries that is currently being considered by the legislative authority should also be financed through the EDF, and not exclusively through the Union¨s budget under legislative acts adopted pursuant to Article 43 of the EC Treaty;

30. Underlines its readiness to cooperate with the other arm of the budget authority to deliver special emergency aid to Russia and other countries of the former Soviet Union should the situation in these countries require such action;

Subsidies

31. Is willing to pursue the process of budgetary transparency and accountability of the beneficiaries of Community subsidies, as well as to continue with the objective of promoting a European civil society, through the extension of cofinancing, at a rate of 15%, applying to all the subsidies; has incorporated some activities, considered priorities, into Chapter A-30, while observing the global allocation and the terms of the abovementioned Interinstitutional Agreement on legal bases of 17 July 1998;

Agencies

32. Notes that the budgets of some decentralised agencies have increased at significantly above the average rate of the budget; stresses that this is an exception not to be repeated in coming years; invites the boards of the decentralised agencies to subscribe to the code of conduct increasing transparency on financial and budgetary matters in those bodies, and approves the decision to place 10% of the agencies' funding in the reserve, pending their agreement; insists that the Council adopt modifications to the legal bases of the agencies, in conformity with its declaration of 17 July 1998, before Parliament's second reading;

Staffing and administrative expenditure

Technical assistance offices33. Approves the budgetary decision cutting 'mini-budgets¨ in Part B and agrees that the essential needs will be accommodated in Part A unless exceptions are agreed by the budgetary authority; requests the Commission to present the list of requirements, and a proposal for its financing, before Parliament's second reading;

34. Regrets that the Commission has reversed the argument used to support the major programme of converting appropriations into posts (around 2000 in total) on grounds of facility and economy in using external staff; reaffirms its firmest attachment to compliance with the Financial Regulation, which separates expenditure between Part B (operational) and Part A (administrative) unless the budgetary authority specifically authorises the use of appropriations from Part B to improve the management of programmes;

35. Agrees, nevertheless, to consider a radical revision of the structure of the budget with a view to focussing more on an objective-based budget rather than one distinguishing between types of expenditure; awaits provision, by the Commission, of the full details for the new presentation of the tables annexed to Chapters 11 and 70;

36. Considers that the current form of pensions funding for officials is not ideal; notes that until 1997 the Member States only partly paid, and indeed before 1982 did not pay at all, the employer's share of the premium for the staff's pension scheme; proposes therefore a budget structure for a fully fledged fund for the retirement pensions of the staff (and other servants) of the institutions and bodies of the Union, in order to secure the future pension rights of the present staff and in order to control the budgetary impact of present and future retirement pension payments;

37. Requests the Commission to present by 31 March 1999 a proposal for a pension fund (retirement pensions) for the staff (and other servants) of the institutions and bodies of the Union and to present, before that date, a proposal for the amendments to the Regulations and Rules applicable to officials and other servants of the European Communities ('Staff Regulations¨) which might be needed to establish such a fund;

38. Has decided to top up appropriations for graduate trainees in the institutions in order to extend the programme to young graduates from the PHARE, TACIS and MEDA countries;

39. Supports the independence of Commission staff and stresses the need to maintain the autonomy of the institution; asks the Commission to present, before the second reading, a report indicating:

- the number of management posts (up to A3) awarded to Commission 'cabinet' members since 1 January 1995,

- the number of posts (A3, A2 and A1) that are currently vacant,

- the number of middle-management and senior posts (A5 and above) occupied by persons who have either passed no official competition for Community officials or only an internal Commission competition;

- clear and transparent criteria when opening up high-level posts for the benefit of 'cabinet' staff in the institutions;

40. Recalls that, when adopting the 1998 budget, it drew the attention of the institutions to the tariff advantages that liberalisation of the telecommunications market could provide; invited the Commission to organise an interinstitutional call for tenders that took account of the interests of all the institutions; invites the Commission, in cooperation with the other institutions, to present a report before the second reading of the 1999 draft budget on the progress made, commitments undertaken and initiatives which should be taken at interinstitutional level;

41. Points out that the Europa Internet site of the European institutions was developed to foster access by European citizens to information without, however, allowing them to enter into a dialogue with the institutions; calls therefore for the Europa Internet site to be made more interactive so as to establish a dialogue between institutions and citizens as soon as possible;

42. Instructs its President to forward these budgetary decisions to the Council, the Commission and the institutions and advisory bodies concerned.