WRITTEN QUESTION E-1706/99

by Raffaele Costa (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(29 September 1999)

Subject: Draft budget 2000 Staff and administrative expenditure in European Community delegations and decentralised expenditure on support staff and administration

In 1998, total expenditure on staff and administration in EC delegations and decentralised expenditure on support staff and administration was ECU 394 million (equivalent to ITL 763 billion).

Can the Commission explain why expenditure of EUR 433 million is envisaged for 2000, representing an increase of some EUR 40 million (ITL 77 billion)?

Supplementary joint answer to Written Questions E-1702/99, E-1703/99 and E-1706/99 given by Ms Schreyer on behalf of the Commission

(20 January 2000)

The increase in appropriations, compared with the 1998 level of implementation, requested by the Commission for Heading A-1 (Expenditure relating to persons working within the institution) in the 2000 preliminary draft budget is due to the following:

- an increase of 101 million in appropriations for the pensions of former officials of all the institutions (Chapter A-19) because of an increase in the number of retired former officials, an increase in the average cost of pensions as a result of the newly retired having completed a longer period of service and an adjustment of the weightings in line with increases in the cost of living in the various Member States;

- the effect of the salary adjustment adopted in December 1998, and those to be adopted in December 1999 and December 2000, by the Council (in total + 5,3 %);

- a 1,1 % increase in expenditure in Belgian francs compared with the 1999 budget, as a result of the fixed exchange rate between the euro and the Belgian franc;

- the impact of the net increase in the number of officials and temporary staff employed in 1998 (+270) and 1999 (+103), with the effect of a full year (appropriations for six months the first year).

The appropriations under Title A-3 (expenditure resulting from special functions carried out by the institution) requested by the Commission in the 2000 preliminary draft budget are up by 8,4 % ( 20,7 million) compared with the level of budget implementation in 1998 as a result of the following:

- the 27,3 % increase in appropriations under Article A-327 for the European Schools ( 26,6 million), including an increase of about 20 % over 1999 due to the application of the regulations for seconded staff, resulting in the payment of a severance grant for all teachers with nine years' service at 1 September 2000, and the impact, over a full year, of the opening of the Brussels III School in September 1999;

- the 4 % reduction in the appropriations requested for the other headings under Title A-3 ( 5,9 million) compared with the 1998 implementation.

The growth in expenditure under Title A-6 (Staff and administrative expenditure of European Community delegations) is basically due to the restructuring of the external service, i.e. the expansion of the network of delegations to meet current policy priorities, which is being continued over 1999 and 2000 in accordance with the guidelines set by the budgetary authority, endorsed by the Commission.

Compared with the 1998 budget implementation, the level of appropriations requested by the Commission in the 2000 preliminary draft budget is up by 10,2 % ( 21,2 million) because of the following:

- a rise in the number of people employed in the delegations from 644 to 693 (+ 7,6 %) reflecting the redeployments from headquarters intended to improve the management of Community programmes of external actions;

- higher expenditure on immovable property due to rents being fixed in US dollars and to the multiannual programme for the security and renovation of buildings;

- costs related to the rotation of officials in delegations;

- new staff training measures;

- the information technology programme to ensure that tools in delegations are compatible with those at headquarters.

The level of appropriations under Title A-7 (Decentralised expenditure on support staff and administration) requested by the Commission in the 2000 preliminary draft budget broadly matches the 1999 level.

The 12,4 % increase ( 23,2 million) increase as compared with the 1998 implementation is due to the following:

- the 1999 adjustment (last revision in 1991) of daily subsistence allowances for officials and subsistence allowances for national experts seconded to the Commission (impact over a full year: 6,7 million);

- the transfer, within the 1999 budget, of ancillary expenditure relating to conferences and congresses from Part B to Part A (Title A-7) ( 17 million), decided by Parliament.