A4-0308/98

Proposal for a Council Regulation (EC, ECSC, Euratom) amending the Financial Regulation of 21 December 1977 applicable to the general budget of the European Communities (COM(98)0206 - C4-0290/98 - 98/0130(CNS))

The proposal was approved with the following amendments:

(Amendment 1)

ARTICLE 1(-1) (new)

Article 1(1) 3rd indent a (new) (Financial Regulation)

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-1. After the third indent of Article 1(1) the following new indent is inserted:

'- the expenditure and revenue of the decentralized bodies.¨

(Amendment 2)

ARTICLE 1(1a) (new)

Article 7(3), 1st subparagraph (Financial Regulation)

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1a. The first subparagraph of Article 7(3) is replaced by the following:

"3. In the case of appropriations for which a decision to carry over may be taken in accordance with point 1(a), the Commission shall forward to the budgetary authority, not later than 15 February, the duly substantiated requests to carry over appropriations made by the European Parliament, the Council, the Court of Justice, the Court of Auditors, the Economic and Social Committee, the Committee of the Regions, the Ombudsman and the Commission itself;"

(Amendment 3)

ARTICLE 1(2a) (new)

Article 12, 1st paragraph (Financial Regulation)

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2a. The first paragraph of Article 12 is replaced by the following:

'The European Parliament, the Council, the Court of Justice, the Court of Auditors, the Economic and Social Committee, the Committee of the Regions and the Ombudsman shall, each year before 1 July, draw up an estimate of their revenue and expenditure for the following year."

(Amendment 4)

ARTICLE 1(2b) (new)

Article 12, 2nd paragraph (Financial Regulation)

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2b. The second paragraph of Article 12 is deleted.

(Amendment 5)

ARTICLE 1(2c) (new)

Article 13(3a) (new) (Financial Regulation)

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2c. In Article 13 the following new paragraph 3a is added:

"3a. Each of the institutions, within the meaning of Article 22(2) and (5), shall supplement the above-mentioned introduction by a statement, accompanied by analytical expenditure accounts, on the sectors concerned and on the measures taken in the field of interinstitutional cooperation.¨

(Amendment 6)

ARTICLE 1(2d) (new)

Article 14, 1st paragraph (Financial Regulation)

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2d. The first paragraph of Article 14 is replaced by the following:

"The Commission may, on its own initiative or if requested by the European Parliament, the Council, the Court of Justice, the Court of Auditors, the Economic and Social Committee, the Committee of the Regions or the Ombudsman, each in respect of its own section, present to the Council a letter of amendment to the preliminary draft budget necessitated by the receipt of new information which was not available at the time the preliminary draft was established.¨

(Amendment 7)

ARTICLE 1(2e) (new)

Article 15(4) (Financial Regulation)

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2e. Article 15(4) is replaced by the following:

"4. Requests for supplementary and/or amending budgets from the European Parliament, the Council, the Court of Justice, the Court of Auditors, the Economic and Social Committee, the Committee of the Regions, or the Ombudsman, shall be forwarded by the Commission to the budgetary authority. The Commission may attach a dissenting opinion."

(Amendment 8)

ARTICLE 1(2f) (new)

Article 15(6a) (new) (Financial Regulation)

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2f. In Article 15 the following new paragraph 6a is added:

"6a. Preliminary draft budgets shall also assess the potential impact of any supplementary and/or amending budgets adopted by the decentralized bodies in respect of the current financial year."

(Amendment 9)

ARTICLE 1(2g) (new)

Article 15a (new) (Financial Regulation)

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2g. After Article 15 the following new Article 15a is added:

"Article 15a

Whenever the decentralized bodies referred to in Article 20(3) adopt a supplementary and/or amending budget in accordance with the provisions laid down in their basic regulation, the Commission shall inform the budgetary authority thereof without delay."

(Amendment 10)

ARTICLE 1(3)(a)

Article 19(1) 1st subparagraph, 2nd indent (Financial Regulation)

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'- separate sections subdivided into statements of revenue and expenditure of the European Parliament, the Council, the Commission, the Court of Justice, the Court of Auditors, the Economic and Social Committee, the Committee of the Regions.¨

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'-

separate sections subdivided into statements of revenue and expenditure of the European Parliament, the Council, the Commission, the Court of Justice, the Court of Auditors, the Economic and Social Committee, the Committee of the Regions and the Ombudsman".

(Amendment 11)

ARTICLE 1(3)(aa) (new)

Article 19(1) 2nd subparagraph (Financial Regulation)

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(aa) the second subparagraph is deleted.

(Amendment 12)

ARTICLE 1(3)(ba) (new)

Article 19(1) 4th subparagraph, 2nd indent, 2nd paragraph (new) (Financial Regulation)

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(ba) in the fourth subparagraph, the following new paragraph is added to the second indent:

'The revenue of the decentralized bodies shall be the subject of estimates for each financial year and shall be entered in the general statement of revenue.¨

(Amendment 13)

ARTICLE 1(4a) (new)

Article 20(2)(b)(bb), 4th indent a (new) (Financial Regulation)

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4a. In Article 20(2)(b)(bb) the following new indent is added after the fourth indent:

"- the preassigned resources of the decentralized bodies in the form of estimates of revenue and expenditure for the financial year."

(Amendment 14)

ARTICLE 1(5)

Article 20(3), 1st indent (Financial Regulation)

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5. In the first indent of Article 20(3),'the staff of the Economic and Social Committee, the Committee of the Regions and their common organisational structure shall be shown separately in their specific section' is deleted.

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5.

In the first indent of Article 20(3), 'the staff of the Ombudsman shall be shown separately in Parliament's establishment plan. The staff of the Economic and Social Committee, the Committee of the Regions and their common organisational structure shall be shown separately in their specific section' is deleted.

(Amendment 15)

ARTICLE 1(5a) (new)

Article 20(3) 3rd indent (Financial Regulation)

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5a. The third indent of Article 20(3) is replaced by the following:

'- an establishment plan setting the number of posts for each grade in each category in:

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- the Office for Official Publications,

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- the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training,

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- the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions,

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- the Translation Centre for bodies of the Union,

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- the Community Plant Variety Office,

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- the European Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia,

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- the European Agency for Health and Safety at Work,

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- the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction,

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- the European Environment Agency,

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- the Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market,

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- the European Agency for the Evaluation of Medicinal Products,

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- the European Training Foundation."

(Amendment 16)

ARTICLE 1(6)(-a)(new)

Article 22(2), 1st subparagraph (Financial Regulation)

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(-a) in paragraph 2, the first subparagraph is replaced by the following:

"2. The Commission shall confer upon the European Parliament, the Council, the Court of Justice, the Court of Auditors, the Economic and Social Committee, the Committee of the Regions and the Ombudsman the requisite powers for the implementation of the sections of the budget relating to them.¨

(Amendment 17)

ARTICLE 1(6)(a)

Article 22(2), 2nd subparagraph (Financial Regulation)

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(a) in paragraph 2, the second subparagraph is deleted;

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(a)

in paragraph 2 the second subparagraph is replaced by the following:

"The institutions shall make every effort to give substance to the rationalization of administrative expenditure through interinstitutional cooperation evidencing cost-effectiveness."

(Amendment 18)

ARTICLE 1(6)(aa) (new)

Article 22(2) 2nd subparagraph a (new) (Financial Regulation)

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(aa) in paragraph 2, the following new subparagraph is added after the second subparagraph:

"The Commission's powers of inquiry into the implementation of these sections shall be exercised in accordance with procedures established by agreement with the institutions concerned."

(Amendment 19)

ARTICLE 1(9)

Article 26(2), 2nd subparagraph (Financial Regulation)

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9. In the second subparagraph of Article 26(2), ' - the two latter each with regard to the part which relates to it and by common agreement with regard to the common organisational structure -' is deleted,

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9.

In the second subparagraph of Article 26(2), ' - the two latter each with regard to the part which relates to it and by common agreement with regard to the common organisational structure -' is deleted, and the first sentence is replaced by the following: 'The Court of Justice, the Court of Auditors, the Economic and Social Committee, the Committee of the Regions and the Ombudsman may, within their own section of the budget, transfer appropriations from one article to another within each chapter.¨

(Amendment 20)

ARTICLE 1(9a) (new)

Article 26(4) 3rd subparagraph (Financial Regulation)

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9a. The third subparagraph of Article 26(4) is replaced by the following:

'Proposals made by the other institutions, the Economic and Social Committee, the Committee of the Regions and the Ombudsman for transfers from one chapter to another shall be automatically forwarded to the budgetary authority; the Commission may attach its own opinion to such proposals.¨

(Amendment 27)

ARTICLE 1(15a) (new)

Article 105(4a) (new) (Financial Regulation)

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15a. In Article 105, the following new paragraph 4a is added:

"4a. Aid granted to countries that have applied for accession to the European Union may be managed locally by those countries, provided the provisions of the Council Directives on coordination of the procedures for the award of public works, supply and service contracts are implemented in those countries.¨

(Amendment 21)

ARTICLE 1(17)

Article 126a(b) (Financial Regulation)

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(b) in parallel, and without prejudice to Article 28a, commitment and payment appropriations shall be entered in a heading in the statement of expenditure to match these amounts in the statement of revenue. These appropriations shall cover the repayments provided for in Article 16 of Council Regulation (EC) No 1467/97.

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(b)

in parallel, and without prejudice to Article 28a, commitment and payment appropriations shall be entered in a heading in the statement of expenditure to match these amounts in the statement of revenue. The appropriations entered by derogation from the provisions of Articles 16 and 17 shall cover the repayments provided for in Article 16 of Council Regulation (EC) No 1467/97.

(Amendment 22)

ARTICLE 2, 1st subparagraph

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This Regulation shall enter into force on 1 January 1999.

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This Regulation shall enter into force on 1 January 1999.

The provisions relating to Articles 7, 12, 14, 15, 19, 20, 22, 24, 25 and 26 shall enter into force on the first day after the entry into force of the Treaty of Amsterdam.

Legislative resolution embodying Parliament's opinion on the proposal for a Council Regulation (EC, ECSC, Euratom) amending the Financial Regulation of 21 December 1977 applicable to the general budget of the European Communities (COM(98)0206 - C4-0290/98 - 98/0130(CNS))(Consultation procedure)

The European Parliament,

- having regard to the Commission proposal to the Council COM(98)0206 - 98/0130(CNS) ((OJ C 149, 15.5.1998, p. 21.)),

- having been consulted by the Council pursuant to Article 209 of the EC Treaty, Article 78h of the ECSC Treaty and Article 183 of the Euratom Treaty (C4-0290/98),

- having regard to Rule 58 of its Rules of Procedure,

- having regard to the joint declaration of the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission of 4 March 1975 and in particular Articles 1 and 2 thereof,

- having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgets and the opinions of the Committee on Budgetary Control and the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs and Industrial Policy (A4-0308/98),

1. Approves the Commission proposal, subject to Parliament's amendments;

2. Calls on the Commission to alter its proposal accordingly, pursuant to Article 189a(2) of the EC Treaty and Article 119, second paragraph, of the Euratom Treaty;

3. Calls for the conciliation procedure to be opened should the Council intend to depart from the text approved by Parliament;

4. Instructs its President to forward this opinion to the Council and Commission.