PRELIMINARY DRAFT AMENDING BUDGET No 8 TO THE BUDGET FOR 2003 - GENERAL STATEMENT OF REVENUE - STATEMENT OF REVENUE AND EXPENDITURE BY SECTION - Section III - Commission

(presented by the Commission)

Having regard to:

- the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 272 thereof;

- the Treaty establishing the European Atomic Energy Community, and in particular Article 177 thereof;

- the Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 of 25 June 2002 on the Financial Regulation applicable to the general budget of the European Communities [1], and in particular Article 37 thereof;

[1] OJ L 248, 16.9.2002, p. 1.

The European Commission hereby presents to the budgetary authority the preliminary draft amending budget No 8 to the 2003 budget for the reasons set out in the explanatory memorandum.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM

SUMMARY TABLE PER HEADING OF THE FINANCIAL PERSPECTIVE

GENERAL STATEMENT OF REVENUE

The general statement of revenue will be forwarded separately.

STATEMENT OF REVENUE AND EXPENDITURE BY SECTION

SECTION III - COMMISSION

EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM

The PDB 2004 has been prepared on the basis of a 2% increase in salaries and pensions in 2004 compared to 2003.

In the meantime, two events, which are for the moment discussed in the Council, will have a considerable impact on the budgetary needs for salaries and remunerations in 2004:

* An important difference with the French government's statistics on the evolution of the basic pay for the French civil servants has been assessed by Eurostat. Consequently, the Commission has adopted on October 6, 2003 a proposal for a Council decision [2] to correct this difference by increasing the remunerations by 1% as from July 2002. This decision should have an impact of 32,7 MEUR on the budget 2004 for all Institutions.

[2] COM(2003) 580

* The final calculation of the salary adjustment for January 2004 shows an increase for the salary adjustment of 3,4%. This is 1,4% higher than the PDB 2004 estimate. The proposal of the Commission [3] is based on this new information. The amount needed to cover this increase is 44,2 MEUR on the budget 2004 for all Institutions.

[3] COM(2003) 612

The margin under the ceiling of Heading 5 after the first reading of Draft Budget 2004 by the Parliament (86,8 MEUR) can be used to cover these needs, thus reducing the margin to around 10 MEUR. However, the Commission believes that a higher margin in 2004 would be advisable in order to cover, if necessary, unexpected needs related to enlargement. For this reason, the Commission proposes to transfer the margin left in Budget 2003 to Budget 2004 through a frontloading approach similar to the one used in building Budget 2003. The PDAB would transfer the 2003 margin to the budget of the Commission on the budget line financing the rent and ground rent. The Commission would pay the rent and ground rent of the first months of 2004 (which have to be paid before January 1, 2004) on budget 2003 instead of budget 2004. The appropriations for the rent and ground rent in budget 2004 could be reduced in the second reading by the amount frontloaded, increasing the margin of 2004 by the amount of the margin of 2003 (21,9 MEUR).

The Parliament could then adjust the amount of the remuneration and the pensions for 2004 in its second reading, leaving a margin between 25 MEUR and 30 MEUR in heading 5 in order to cope with unforeseen requirements which might arise in 2004, a decisive year for enlargement.

SUMMARY TABLE PER HEADING OF THE FINANCIAL PERSPECTIVE

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STATEMENT OF REVENUE AND EXPENDITURE BY SECTION

SECTION III - COMMISSION

EXPENDITURE

ArticleA-2 0 0--Rent and ground rent

Figures

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Remarks

This appropriation is intended to cover the payment of rent and ground rent relating to occupied buildings or parts of buildings, and the hire of conference rooms, storerooms, garages and parking facilities.

For certain buildings, this appropriation also covers expenditure on rents and ground rents for the first quarter or half of 2004 which fall due on 1 January and which have to be paid before 31 December 2003.

It covers expenditure incurred within the territory of the Community, excluding:

- Joint Research Centre sites, for which expenditure is entered in subsection B6,

- property situated outside the Community, for which expenditure is entered in Title A-6,

- offices in the Community, for which expenditure is entered in Chapter A-4 2.

The amount of assigned revenue under Article 18(1)(e) to (j) of the Financial Regulation is estimated at EUR 1 300 000.

Revenue from the contribution to administrative expenditure under the decision by the representatives of the Governments of the Member States, meeting within the Council, of 27 February 2002 on the financial consequences of the expiry of the ECSC Treaty and on the research fund for coal and steel, entered in Item 6 1 1 2 of the general statement of revenue, may give rise to the provision of additional appropriations in accordance with Article 18 of the Financial Regulation.