A4-0062/96

Resolution on the closure of Parliament's accounts for the 1995 financial year (administrative expenditure)

The European Parliament,

- having regard to Article 79 of the Financial Regulation,

- having regard to Rule 166(3) of its Rules of Procedure,

- having regard to Articles 8 and 9 of the internal rules for the implementation of the European Parliament's budget,

- having regard to the Administration's report on the implementation of the European Parliament's budget for 1995 (PE 216.630),

- having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A4- 0062/96),

A. whereas, according to the Administration's report, the breakdown of available appropriations is as follows:

- Appropriations for the

1995 financial year, including SAB 1/95 ECU 843 321 000.00

- Appropriations carried over from 1994

- automatically

(Article 7(1)(b) of the Financial Regulation) ECU 57 074 787.04

- by request

(Article 7(1)(a) of the Financial Regulation) ECU 0

B. whereas the available appropriations were utilized as follows:

1995 appropriations

(a) commitments for the 1995 financial year ECU 832 109 823.19

(b) payments for the 1995 financial year ECU 774 547 627.94

- automatic carry-overs to 1996 financial year

(Article 7(1)(b) of the Financial Regulation) ECU 57 562 195.25

Appropriations carried over from 1994

- payments in respect of appropriations

carried over automatically from 1994 ECU 57 074 787.04

- payments in respect of appropriations

carried over by request from 1994 ECU 0

C. whereas the provisions of the Financial Regulation require the following cancellations:

- cancellations of 1995 appropriations

which were not committed ECU 11 211 176.81

(including appropriations from the

reserves in Chapters 100 and 101) ECU O

- cancellations of appropriations

automatically carried over from 1994

and not disbursed ECU 7 789 295.11

- cancellations of appropriations

carried over from 1994 by request and

not disbursed ECU O

1. Confirms the results set out in the accounts for the 1995 financial year which, in accordance with Article 79 of the Financial Regulation, must be submitted to the Commission to enable it to draw up the consolidated revenue and expenditure account and balance sheet, following the check carried out by the Committee on Budgetary Control on the basis of Articles 8 and 9 of the internal rules;

2. Notes that

(a) ECU 18 558 000, which would otherwise have been cancelled, was the subject of the 'mopping-up transfers' procedure in order to top up Item 2000/3; those transfers were as follows:

- No. C9 (Committee on Budgets): ECU 903 000

- No. C10 (Committee on Budgetary Control): ECU 15 631 000

- No. P23 (within Chapter 20): ECU 2 024 000;

(b) the cancellation rate for appropriations carried over from 1994 in accordance with the automatic carry-over procedure (Article 7(1)(b) of the Financial Regulation) is 13.65% (cancellation rate for appropriations carried over from 1993 to 1994: 14.20%, or ECU 8 383 750.92); there has therefore been no more than a very limited reduction in the cancellation rate for appropriations carried over from 1994 to 1995 by comparison with that for the previous financial year;

(c) commitments remaining to be disbursed at the end of the financial year and automatically carried over to 1996 represent 6.92% of total appropriations committed (corresponding rate for 1994/1995: 8.74% of appropriations committed);

3. Notes that the rate of utilization of appropriations in the following chapters was appreciably lower than in the previous financial year: Chapter 25 - Expenditure on formal and other meetings: 78.03% (1994: 85.11%; 1993: 88.67%) and Chapter 27 - Expenditure on publishing and information: 94.57% (1994: 97.45%);

4. Notes that, over the last four financial years (1992, 1993, 1994 and 1995) during which 'mopping-up' transfers have been made, balances remaining on a number of lines have been used for such transfers, namely:

- Items 1005 and 1006/1 and Articles 106 and 109 (total for Chapter 10 for the four financial years concerned: ECU 8 104 500);

- Item 1191: Provisional appropriation (total: ECU 21 014 350);

- Item 1640: Expenses not refunded by the Joint Sickness Insurance Scheme and other specific expenditure (total: ECU 417 000);

- Item 2231: Replacement of vehicles (total: ECU 504 000);

- Item 2351: Uniforms and working clothes, work tools (total: ECU 69 000);

Instructs therefore its Committee on Budgets to pay particular attention to the endowment of these lines when Parliament's 1997 budget is drawn up, taking the explanations provided by the Administration into consideration;

5. Notes that, once again, budget headings which were topped up during the financial year by transfers of appropriations (between chapters or within chapters) are among the headings from which fairly substantial sums were drawn under the 'mopping-up transfers' procedure (for example: Items 1004/2, 1005 and 1006/1, Article 106, Items 1801, 2020/3 and 2030/3, Article 206, Items 2722, 2990 and 2991, etc.);

Instructs therefore its Secretary-General to provide the Committee on Budgetary Control with an account by 31 May 1996, in connection with the preparatory work for the 1995 discharge, of the management of the headings concerned;

6. Instructs its Secretary-General to provide an account in respect of all items with a cancellation rate of at least 3% of final appropriations, representing an amount of at least ECU 50 000, both for appropriations for the financial year 1995 and for automatic carry-overs from 1994; that information must be received by the Committee on Budgetary Control by 31 May 1996 in connection with the preparatory work for the 1995 discharge;

7. Requests that, from the 1996 financial year, the draft revenue and expenditure account and the balance sheet of the Institution should contain a table summarizing 'P' transfers (within chapters) carried out during the financial year;

8. Notes that the Court of Auditors has not yet submitted its conclusions on the audit concerning Parliament's data-processing policy and calls on it to submit them as soon as possible;

9. Recalls its resolution of 26 October 1995 on the draft general budget of the European Union for the financial year 1996: Section I - European Parliament - Annex Ombudsman; Section II - Council; Section IV - Court of Justice; Section V - Court of Auditors; Section VI - Economic and Social Committee and Committee of the Regions ((OJ C 308, 20.11.1995, p. 122.)), paragraph 24(b) of which noted the need for an audit on the origin of the deficit established against Item 1033, Optional pension scheme for Members, and for an independent check on the actuarial calculations for that fund;

10. Notes with concern the substantial and unilateral increase in the cost of hospital services in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg from 1 January 1995, which constitutes a flagrant case of discrimination against the Joint Sickness Insurance Scheme of the Union's institutions; therefore instructs Parliament's administration to take firm action to safeguard the legitimate interests of the institutions;

11. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission and the Court of Auditors.