A4-0080/97

Resolution on the guidelines for the 1998 budgetary procedure - Section III - Commission

The European Parliament,

- having regard to the current financial perspective adopted as part of the Interinstitutional Agreement of 29 October 1993 on budgetary discipline and improving the budgetary procedure and the decision adapting it ((OJ C 395, 31.12.1994, p. 1.)),

- having regard to the ceiling on EU own resources fixed at the Edinburgh European Council of December 1992,

- having regard to the Court of Auditors' Annual Report concerning the financial year 1995 ((OJ C 340, 12.11.1996.)),

- having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgets and the opinions of the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs, the Committee on Research, Technological Development and Energy and the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Consumer Protection (A4-0080/97),

A. whereas all institutions are duty-bound to make effective, efficient and transparent use of Community funding,

B. whereas information policy measures must be adequately funded and efficiently implemented by Commission and Parliament departments jointly,

C. whereas the 1998 budget must be viewed in the context of the outcome of the Intergovernmental Conference in June 1997 in Amsterdam; whereas provision must therefore be made for adequate margins under the individual headings,

General comments

1. Reaffirms its intention of adopting a budget for 1998 which is more commensurate with citizens' requirements, stressing their paramount need for increasing employment in conditions of financial and monetary stability, and of continuing to support the Member States in their efforts to meet the convergence criteria laid down in the Treaty of Maastricht for completion of economic and monetary union and for the achievement of economic and social cohesion;

2. Calls for multiplier projects which have a real EU-added value to be maintained; awaits the Commission's proposal to revise or delete certain actions in order to avoid duplications and to stress Union priorities; considers that this approach, aided by a thorough political and financial analysis of programmes and activities requiring Community funding, should allow European policies to be developed;

3. Considers the Council's alleged position on the size of the 1998 budget as unrealistic but could agree with the Council on an overall rate of increase of the budget, on condition that the Council:

(a) is prepared to resolve outstanding issues concerning relations between Parliament and the Council, such as:

- a reserve under the agricultural guideline

- the problem of the legal basis

- institutional aspects of budget headings for the second and third pillars

- the classification of expenditure

in a manner acceptable to Parliament;

(b) within the IGC, comes to an acceptable solution with regard to Parliament's requests for modifications to the Treaties' budgetary provisions without reducing Parliament's existing budgetary powers;

(c) maintains the commitments made in Article 12 of the Framework Regulation on the Structural Funds;

4. Expects the Council now to open a genuine dialogue with Parliament, of a kind that failed to materialize during the 1997 budget procedure, and calls on the Ecofin Council in particular to examine the financial guidelines for 1998 and to play a greater role in future budget procedures;

5. Takes the view that the 1998 budget, which must enhance budgetary transparency and administrative efficiency (SEM 2000), must take into account the following priorities in particular:

(a) combating unemployment and strengthening the social dimension and cohesion,

(b) exploiting the potential of SMEs in order to create viable jobs,

(c) initiating of the process of preparing for enlargement,

(d) encouraging youth, education and cultural programmes;

6. Points out to the Commission that the recommendations of the European Parliament's committees of inquiry into BSE and the Community transit system must be reflected in financial terms in the 1998 budget;

7. Stresses that an agreement on legal bases is essential if measures which have no legal basis at present or are pending approval in the Council are to continue to receive funding and significant new measures are to be undertaken with the consent of the two arms of the budgetary authority;

8. Following the decision of the Court of Justice (Case No 41/95) and the agreement of 21 December 1995, recalls that Parliament and Council still have to find a workable agreement on the classification issue each year; is convinced that the ad hoc procedure is the appropriate framework in which to come to such an agreement, but believes that a genuine solution to classification problems will not be possible until the Treaties have been comprehensively revised, involving a fresh institutional balance and more active involvement of Parliament in the legislative process;

9. Calls on the Commission to submit a report summarizing the action taken in both operational and staff terms on the greening of the budget provided for in the 1996 and 1997 budgets;

Heading 1 - Agriculture

10. Calls, with regard to the ad hoc procedure, both for improved cooperation with the Council and Commission and for enhanced cooperation within the European Parliament, with the objective of adopting a budget in December based on the most up-to-date forecasts so as to reduce changes during the financial year to a minimum;

11. Considers it essential to maintain income support in accordance with the terms of the 1992 CAP reform, otherwise the credibility of what is a policy designed to ensure a viable countryside might be seriously called into question;

12. Considers it essential that, if the Council wishes to have a rigorous budget again for 1998, the savings come not only from an improvement in the forecasts, but also from modification to regulations, thus controlling expenditure more effectively; points out that the agricultural price package and income aid has important budgetary consequences; reminds the Commission and the Council of the need to respect the appropriations as voted in the budget and calls upon the Commission to take the appropriate measures pursuant to Council Decision 94/729/EC of 31 October 1994 on budgetary discipline ((OJ L 293, 12.11.1994, p. 14.));

13. Calls on the Commission, with a view to the greening of agriculture, to provide for greater incorporation of environmental requirements into the CAP;

Heading 2 - Structural actions

14. Notes that the financial perspective for heading 2 provides for a binding increase in commitments of just under 8% for 1998; considers that the Structural Funds contribute significantly to strengthening the economy of beneficiary regions and that the Cohesion Fund helps the beneficiary Member States to meet the Maastricht criteria;

15. Affirms the need to continue the structural policy as indicated at the Edinburgh European Council, but expresses its concern at the percentage of payments made in comparison to commitments available under this heading and asks the Commission, with regard to the review of the Structural Fund regulations due to take place before 31 December 1999, to carry out an in- depth study and submit proposals aimed at rationalizing and improving the effectiveness of the funds;

16. Calls on the Commission to involve the EAGGF Guidance Section (B2-180) in this process to an even greater extent, respecting European environmental standards, and to make expenditure conditional on environmental impact;

Heading 3 - Internal policies

17. Calls on the Commission and Council to promote cultural programmes and educational and vocational training activities at a European level; recognizes a need to develop measures for young people, particularly by means of attractive programmes adopted under the codecision procedure; welcomes the recent proposal introduced by the Commission for a European voluntary service after the two-year pilot phase initiated during the 1996 budgetary procedure;

18. Takes the view that the new information policy requested by Parliament has begun to develop through the work of the steering committees; calls on the Commission to pursue this form of interinstitutional cooperation not only for the information campaigns but also for the general information actions; nevertheless considers that progress should be made through interinstitutional cooperation, in order to achieve the objective of a single coherent information policy of the European Institutions in all Member States;

19. Continues to reject the Council's negative approach on social policy; is determined to finance preparatory actions or pilot projects with respect to social exclusion, the elderly, the disabled and the family and to encourage the chances for reintegration into civil society; urges that a solution be found to safeguard the activities and networks of NGOs organized at European level;

20. Points out that the appropriations for social measures, including those for implementing equal opportunities, have not in previous financial years been sufficiently consistent with the Union statements committing itself to the fight against unemployment; therefore asks the Commission to develop the pilot project for the promotion of employment through the 'third system¨ that was adopted in the 1997 budget;

21. Stresses the importance that the European budget respond to the new needs of European citizens and of its practical promotion of job creation, both directly and through support to SMEs; considers, in particular, that European SME policy needs to be better coordinated, within the Commission services, in order to increase effectiveness;

22. Calls on the Commission to verify that all the Agencies have taken the necessary measures to introduce the changes required in the report presented on the harmonization of the financial regulations, in line with the requirements of Article 142 of the Financial Regulation, and urges the Commission to present modification proposals accordingly; stresses the urgency of presenting the report promised by Commissioner Bangemann on the status of the fees collected by some Agencies and their relation to the general revenues of the Union; reminds the Commission of the budgetary authority's determination that the funding regulations of all new or additional agencies should be in line with the Union model, of which CEDEFOP and the Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions may be considered examples;

23. Takes the view that financing of the trans-European networks is necessary and that, apart from the essential transport links, it is expedient increasingly to focus on high-tech satellite networks, with their considerable potential for creating jobs on the one hand and, on the other, for not losing touch with the global leading players;

24. Notes that thanks to the pressure exerted by Parliament during the 1997 budget procedure the Commission and the Council are finally presenting and adopting multiannual programmes in the field of justice and internal affairs as recommended by the European Parliament; regrets, however, that it was not consulted by the Council on the programmes already adopted and expects the Council to change this procedure and to consult it before further programmes are adopted;

25. Expresses its willingness to contribute actively to the initiation, at a wholly European level, of a comprehensive policy to fight organized crime in all its forms, in particular through a harmonized policy to combat money laundering and international fraud and a coordinated policy to combat sexual exploitation of children, as well as through better cooperation between the police and judicial authorities; points out that this comprehensive approach at European level will provide the general framework for the Community's campaign to protect its financial interests using the instruments provided by the first pillar of the TEU;

26. Expresses its regrets about the Commission's timid proposal and the Council's negative approach concerning the 4th framework programme of EC research, technological development and demonstration; reminds them of the genuine need for such financing and considers that an amount of ECU 200 m (ECU 100 m in the 1997 budget, ECU 100 m in the 1998 budget) is necessary for covering the minimum needs;

27. Considers Community promotion of research and technological development as a priority in order to contribute to the competitiveness of European industry and to the creation of employment, growth and sustainable development; considers adequately financed Community actions to be necessary in the field of energy, especially with regard to energy efficiency and renewable energies, in order to help fulfil the political obligations undertaken by the Community in Rio in 1992 and in Berlin in 1994;

Heading 4 - External action

28. Emphasizes that the efforts made to assist countries close to the Union must not lead to any further reductions, in real terms, of appropriations to the least developed countries; recalls, in this context, Parliament's long- standing commitment to partnership with developing countries both through the instruments of the ACP-EU Convention and through cooperation policies actually financed through the EU budget; emphasizes that it will remain vigilant concerning the quality of the EU aid effort, and as regards the efficiency of aid management;

29. Recalls its decision in paragraph 33 of its resolution of 26 October 1995 ((()OJ C 308, 20.11.1995, p. 116.)) to submit the three major programmes PHARE, TACIS and MEDA to an interim evaluation by 30 June 1997 in order to decide on appropriations after 1997; considers that the objectives as regards PHARE and TACIS should be reassessed in the light of Parliament's criticisms and the disappointing results so far obtained, bearing in mind the need to pay particular attention to the social consequences of structural adjustment which are currently neglected, and reserves the right to make more specific proposals in this respect; expresses its great concern at the growing volume of commitments awaiting contracts, which already account for more than ECU 3 bn, in the PHARE and TACIS programmes; asks the Commission to present detailed information on all financing available to PHARE, TACIS and MEDA countries or to organizations there in the rest of the budget, outside heading 4;

30. Underlines the need for a pre-accession instrument which, for the applicant countries, whilst complying with the Financial Perspective and the Interinstitutional Agreement in force, should:

- be based on the findings of the interim evaluation requested;

- take account of the different needs of the applicant countries;

- be concentrated on clearly defined projects;

- avoid duplication with other Community funding;

- guarantee the requisite conditions for implementing and monitoring expenditure;

31. Recalls the decision of the budgetary authority to create the facility to recruit external staff with operating appropriations, with the aim of improving the implementation and monitoring of the programmes; as indicated in the remarks accompanying the 1997 budget lines, instructs the Commission to present detailed information on the use of such resources, in order to evaluate the appropriateness of continuing this approach;

32. Recalls the terms of its resolution of 16 January 1997 on the Commission communication to Parliament and Council on 'The European Union and Latin America - the present situation and prospects for closer partnership 1996- 2000" ((Minutes of that sitting, Part II, Item 11.)) and recognizes the need to increase the appropriations devoted to this area;

33. With regard to the former Yugoslavia, calls on the Commission and the local authorities to enable all citizens to help to rebuild the country and finally to step up measures such as mine clearance and housing construction, thereby creating the necessary conditions for the voluntary return of war refugees; invites the Commission to provide the budgetary authority with all appropriate information about the financial situation of the Donors' Conference for Bosnia-Herzegovina, the Union currently being the major contributor, so that an accurate account can be provided systematically concerning the use of European citizens' contributions;

34. Recognizes the significant and independent contribution made by NGOs in development policy and external actions; looks forward to receiving the assessment report on Community NGO participation by May 1997; considers that there is a need for an evaluation of the effectiveness of Community food aid and humanitarian aid policy;

35. Believes that European cooperation under the Common Foreign and Security Policy should be strengthened; considers it essential that all joint decisions be funded adequately, so as to create the conditions for the actions to succeed; nevertheless invites the Council and the Commission to agree on minimum requirements for the presentation of a financial statement with each draft decision in order to speed up the appropriate budgetary authority decisions;

Heading 5

36. Notes that, in 1998, there will probably be ECU 4 541 m available for this heading, voices its concern at the trend in the pensions and early retirement measures to be financed from the budget and reiterates its call on the Commission to submit by the middle of the year proposals to reorganize the pension scheme on a funded basis;

37. Welcomes the Commission's intention to take positive measures for staff redeployment; calls for a re-evaluation, once it receives the expected report on the matter, of the need to complete the conversion of appropriations into posts (TCE) policy on the basis of the 1992 screening;

38. Points out that before the first reading of the 1998 draft budget the European Schools are to submit a report on a new funding and development structure covering, in particular, the following aspects: the Union's financial contribution taking account of the overall trend in heading 5; a cost/benefit analysis of expanding the schools with a view to future enlargements; the joint financial liability of the Member States in relation to national rules on the assignment of teaching staff and other employees;

39. During the course of the 1998 procedure, expects the Commission to present a report on the progress made on restructuring the delegations service, in accordance with the principles of a stronger presence in areas where the financial commitments of the EU are higher, of concentration and regionalization of delegations, and of presentation of a plan for the establishment of a genuine European Foreign Service;

40. To make administrative management more transparent, calls on the Commission to:

- indicate in its PDB the practical measures taken to prevent a recurrence in the future of a particularly high concentration of commitment operations at the end of the financial year in the case of cooperation with non-member countries, a situation that is not conducive to sound management as pointed out in the SEM 2000 document;

- provide the departmental restructuring information as called for when the 1997 budget was adopted, in particular with regard to the UCLAF;

- provide a statement of its reasons for its request for appropriations for mission expenses broken down by sector of activity, including research, and the cost of professional training;

- indicate the steps which have been taken to ensure that the buildings occupied by the institutions of the Union in the Member States are exempt from all property taxes, further to the conclusions of the report of the Court of Auditors;

- illustrate the measures taken with regard to physical inventory, including offices opened in the Member States, arrangements for the management of property-related contracts, and buildings forming part of its accommodation stock;

41. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council and Commission and the other institutions and satellite bodies of the Union.