ARCHIVESHISTORIQUES
DELACOMMISSION
COLLECTION RELIEEDES
DOCUMENTS "COM"
COM(81)493
Vol.1981/0147

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COMMISSION OFTHEEUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
GENERAL BUDGET FOR1981 .COM(81)493 final
Section III-Commission Brussels ,28August 1981
TRANSFER OFAPPROPRIATIONS No22/81
(non-compulsory expenditure )
C0M(81 )493 final

«ν'
GENERAL BUDGETFOR1981
SECTIONIII-COMMISSION
TRAtTSIER OPAPPROPRIATIONS No22/81
(non-compulsory expenditure )
ECU
FROMCHAPTER 100-PROVISIONAL APPROPRIATIONS .1400000
TOCHAPTER 25-EXPENDITURE ONFORMAL AND
OTHERMEETINGS
Article -250-Expenditure onformalmeetings
andmeetings ingénéral 1200000
Article 251-Committees 200000
TheFinancial Controller approvedthisproposal on17Julyinaccordance
withArtiole21(4)oftheFinancial Regulation andcertifiedthatthe
appropriations areavailable .

GROUNDS
1.TheworkoftheCommunities mgeneral andtheCommission inparticular
demandsfrequent meetings andconsultations withexperts andcivilservants
fromtheMemberStates,scientists andrepresentatives ofworkers' and
employers' organizations and"business .
Theexchange ofknowledge andideasisessential toacomplete understanding
ofwhatisinvolved inthesearchforsolutions andtheformulation of
proposals forcontinuing improvements inlivingandworkingconditions .
Theimplementation andoperation ofCommunity policies usuallyrequires the
assistance ofcommittees established "byCommunity decisions ;theseare
especially valuable asplaceswhereimportant information maybeexchangedo
Thegroundsforthistransfer areintended todemonstrate thenatureand
scopeofthemeetings heldandtheresultsofmeasures adoptedtocontain
expenditure .
2.Theappropriations inChapter25(Expenditure onformalandothermeetings )
aretheCommission 'sonlymeansofascertaining whatinterests havetobe
considered andwhatactionistechnically possible anddesirable .Management
andpolicyoptionsmust,afterall,'bebasedonthemostthorough knowledge
ofoftenextremely complexsituations .
Mostoftheconsultations takeplacewithincommittees setupby:
(a)theTreaties ;
(b)Decisions oftheRepresentatives oftheGovernments oftheMemberStates;
(c)Community secondarylegislation :
-CouncilandCommission regulations anddecisions ,
-Councildirectives ,resolutions andrecommendations ;
(d)agreements betweentheCommunities andnon-member countries .
Asrequested byParliament ,thefulllistofovertwohundredcommittees
appearsintheGeneralBudgetaftertheappropriations underSectionIII
(1981budget:page^608to6llofOfficialJournal NoL378of
31December 1980).Theexpenditure involvedischargedtoArticle251
(Committees ).
3.TheCommittees maybegroupedasfollowsaccording totheirfunction :
(a)specialized consultative bodies(e.g.Monetary Committee ,Committee of
theEuropean SocialFund);
(b)committees whichmustbeconsulted inthepreparation ofCommunity
legislatiipn .ThesearesetupbytheCounciltoadvisetheCommission .
Theiropinions may:
Ν
-havenolegallybindingeffect,whatevertheircontent,onsubsequent
stagesoftheprocedure (e.g.RegionalPolicyCommittee ,Advisory
Committee onRestrictive Practices andDominantPositions );
-leadtoaCouncildecision departing fromtheCommission 'sproposal
(e.g.Management Committee forCommonOrganizations ofAgricultural
Markets,EffflPCommittee ?CustomsValuation Committee ,Committees on
Adaptation toTechnical Progressofhealthandsafetyregulations );

2«•
(c)committees which donothave toheconsulted inthepreparation of
Community legislation hutwere setupto:.
–strengthen cooperation between theMember States andtheCommission
(e.g. Standing Committee onAgricultural Structures ,Advisory Committee
onCommon Rules forImports ); ^ ■
–advise theCommission (e.g. Technical Committee ontheFree Movement cf
Workers ,Transport Infrastructure Committee ).
■These committees consist ofCommission representatives plus representatives
either oftheMember States alone (e.g. Advisory Committee onValue Added Tax s
Pharmaceutical Committee )oroftheMember States andoftrade unions and
professional orbusiness organizations (e.g. Advisory Committee .on
Training in LIursing ); ' . .
(d)commixtees consisting solely ofrepresentatives ofprofessional orbusiness
organizations ,setupbytheCommission toadvise it(e.g. Advisory Committee
onIndustrial Research andDevelopment ,Advisory Committees onthe
Common Organisation ofAgricultural Markets );
(e)committees ofscientific experts (e.g. Scientific Committee forFood ,
Scientific Advisory Committee ontheToxicity andEcotoxicity of
Chemical Compounds ). -■-•_ '
4.The Commission 'swork extends v/ellbeyond the areas forwhich Community
legislation hasprovided alegal structure .Inmany cases the Commission
consults experts aijdspecialists ,either individually orin -working parties ,
when itisconsidering proposals forCommunity action innew fields .In
these cases consultations serve both tocollect information and toprepare
fortheimplementation ofnewpolicies orrules ..
Therange oftopics covered bysuch consultations is*virtually unlimited ;
come ofth6m arevery highly specialized .
Expenses arising from these consultations arecharged toArticle 250
(Expenditure onformal meetings andmeetings ingeneral ). « '
5.Thepresent system forrecording expenditure isdetermined bythestructure
ofthebudget andthecurrent financial regulations .Itprovides aneconomical
means ofensuring that commitments ,authorizations andpayments arerecorded
accurately ,thefunctions ofauthorizing officers andaccounting officers
being properly separated ,andenables Pin^Jicial Control tocarry outits
vresponsibilities .
Itdoes notprovide forexpenditure tobelisted bypurpose ,orforthe .
production 01summaries ofamounts paid toindividuals formore than one '
meeting ,or .forlists showing amounts paid tonationals ofthevarious
keraoer States inrespect ofmeetings .Butsince supporting documents for
\ndividual items ofexpenditure arefiled inchronological order andby
oudget heading ,anyanalysis required canbemade .

Th' requests forappropn ations contained inthe preliminary dvaft budget
are the result ofarigorous internal procedure for determining estimates
ofaxpenditure *The initial estimates aredravm upbyDirectorates-General
anddepartments dealing with matters submitted tocommittees orworking groups
endthen put totheDirectorate-General forBudgets during theFebruary
preceding ohefinancial year inquestion .After aninitial examination ,
they arethoroughly scrutinized athearings the following month between
the I'iiactoi --General for Budgets arid each oftheDirectors-General and
Heads ofPepnrtm^nt acting asanauthorizing officer . .Each amount must be
justified both initself and inrelation toexpenditure inthe three
preceding financial years oThese investigations endwith each Directorate-General
receiving anallocation ,asmall amount being held back tocope with any
duly substantiated adjustments which have tobemade during theyear .
Theresults ofthis preparatory phase arethen sent tothe Commission ,which
takes afinal decision ontherequests after they have been considered by
the Chefs decabinet .
The information gathered ,based inthe ca3e ofsome committees onprecise
schedules ,generally leads tohigher estimates than arerequired byevents ;
thi3 isbecause thefrequency ofmeetings varies cdnsiderably ,asdoes the
number ofparticipants atanyparticular meetingo This factor isextremely
variable :forexample ,each Member State isentitled tosend five
representatives totheagricultural Management Committees ,but itisvery rare
fordelegations tobefully represented .The appropriations requested in
thepreliminary draft budget aretherefore adjusted inthe light ofexperience .
6.Thetrend ofexpenditure since 1977 hasbeen asfollows :
ECU
1YearArticle 250 Article 251 Total Change
1977
1978
1979
19804119 121
4198 Ô31
4585 386
5249 0752830 487
2822 384
3D91 .318
3789 ,9446949 608
7021 015
7676 704
9039 019+1.0 %
+9.3 %
+17.7 %
During this period therate ofincrease hasaccelerated ,mainly because of
fare increases ,which averaged 14%over thetwelve months totheendof
May1931 .Thefollowing table illustrates this :
Return journeyMay1980 May 1981 Change
Athens -Brussels (air )
Copenhagen –Brussels (air)<
TheHague -Brussels (rail )
Ron:e -Brussels (air )
O-Ablin –Brasseis
Farie –Brussels (rail ) *
London -Brussel ;?(air)
L ....-29972 DRA
2.680 DKR
6460HFí
397 600 LIT
201 IRL
333 FF
113 DKL
ι -36006 DHA
3020 DKR
?460HFL .
büQ 000 LIT
•227 IRL
358 FF
121 UKL+20 1%
+127S.
+155%
+257%
+129%
+59%
:m 7.7χ
ifch?u.£es inthesterling exchange rate aretaken into account ,tr.aincrease
inECU 'i/c.'"tt8was22.3%'

-4-
Sincetravelexpensesaccountforabout10yooftheexpenditure charged
tothesetwoarticles ,theresulting increaseinexpenditure is10%.
7.Theaccession ofGreecehasfurtherincreased expenditure .Ifan
equalnumberofnationals fromeachMemberStatetravel.toBrussels
(wheretheva,fykmajorityofsuchmeetingsareheld),Greekaccessioninvolvesa34%increase comparedwith1980.
Thecalculation isasfollows :
Countryoforigin TravelexpensesSubsistence
expensesTotal
Belgium– – –
Denmark 34546 4441 38987
Gemmny 4935 4441 9376
Greece 49352 8883 58235
France 5922 4441 10363
Ireland 30228 4441-34669
Italy 34546 6662 41208
Luxembourg 3701 2220 5921
Netherlands 2961 2220 5181
UnitedKingdom 197;i 2220 21961
Total N 185932 'ν39969 225901
(a)Increaseintravelexpenses :
■_493.52 =36.1% ■, : "
1859.32-493.52 , .
(b)Increaseintravelandsubsistence expenses;
582.35 =34.7%
2259.01-582.35 .
8.Thetotalincreaseinexpenditure isthereforeexpectedtobeabout44%.
Theappropriations for,thetwoarticlesrequested bytheCommission inits
preliminary draftbudgetforI98Iamountedto11.6millionECU,whichisanincreaseofonly28%overI98O. .
Iftheappropriations enteredinChapter100areincluded,theI98Ibudget
estimateis11.2millionEOT,anincreaseof23»9%overthepreviousyear.
9»InJunetheCommiss'ion madenewforecastsbasedonactualexpenditureduringthefirstsixmonthsoftheyear.Asaresultofinstructions to•
departments tomakesavingsandstringentcontroloftheamountsallocated,theincreaseintotalexpenditure overallwaskeptbelowthepercentagesgivenabove.Asthefollowingtableshows,theincreaseoverthe1980
;figureof9039019ECUwas19.5%.

-5-
Forecast expenditure forI98I
Appropriations enteredArticle 25OArticle 251Total
6600000
54000004200000
400000010800000
9400000
Transfer requested1200000 200000 1400000
10.Theseforecasts are"based ,onasurveyofmeetings duringthefirsthalf
of1981,whichgavethefollowing results :
Article 25OArticle 251Articles 2^0and
251combined
Average numberofmeetings permonthI52 93 245
Average numberofparticipants
(including thosenottravelling ) 16 18 16.8
Averagecostpermeeting (inECU)36l840 370344 367349
Averagecostperparticipant
(excluding Communityofficials )
(inECU) 22615 20908 21866
11.Thebudgetary authority isaskedtoapprovethetransfer ofappropriations
fromChapter100(Provisional appropriations ).Thesituation inthisChapter
isasfollows :
Appropriations inChapter 100
ProposedtransferArticle 25OArticle 25I Total
1600000
1200000200000
2000001800000
1400000
Amountremainingt
400000 .- 1400000
1

APPROPRIATIONS INCHAPTER 100
AT23JUNE1981
ECU-
1.'Totalappropriations
2.Appropriations transferred .
3·Appropriations "being
-transferred .
tAppropriations
forcommitmentAppropriations
forpayment
407079000
'7586000
22480000•369019000
7286000
17920000
*-
4·Appropriations remaining
inChapter 100«
377013000 343813000