European Parliament legislative resolution on the guidelines for the 2007 budget procedure - Sections II, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII (A) and VIII (B) and on the European Parliament's preliminary draft estimates (Section I) for the 2007 budget procedure (2006/2021(BUD))
Date: 2006-03-15
Institutions: Committee on Budgets, European Parliament
Subjects: Community budget, administration of the Institutions, administrative expenditure (EU), budget policy, budgetary discipline (EU), budgetary procedure, implementation of the budget

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61. Calls on the Council and Commission to open negotiations with Parliament on an inter-institutional
agreement setting out the rules for selecting the areas of policy to which the open method of coordination
is to be applied, and providing for a coherent application of the method with the unrestricted and equal
participation of Parliament;

62.
Stresses that such an inter-institutional agreement must contain rules for the participation of Parlia-
ment in the setting of objectives and indicators and in access to documents, participation in meetings, obser-
vation and supervision of progress, information on reports and best practices, and a procedure enabling the
open method of coordination to evolve into a Community method;

*

*

*

Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Social Protection
63.
Committee, the governments and parliaments of the Member States, the accession countries and the candi-
date countries.

P6_TA(2006)0090

Guidelines for the 2007 budget procedure — Sections II, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII (A)
and VIII (B)

European Parliament legislative resolution on the guidelines for the 2007 budget procedure —
Sections II, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII (A) and VIII (B) and on the European Parliament's preliminary draft
estimates (Section I) for the 2007 budget procedure (2006/2021(BUD))

The European Parliament,

— having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 272 thereof,

— having regard to Council Decision 2000/597/EC, Euratom of 29 September 2000 on the system of the

European Communities' own resources (1),

— having regard to Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 of 25 June 2002 on the Financial

Regulation applicable to the general budget of the European Communities (2),

— having regard to the Interinstitutional Agreement of 6 May 1999 between the European Parliament, the
Council and the Commission on budgetary discipline and improvement of the budgetary procedure (3),
and in particular point 26 thereof,

— having regard to the fourth report by the Secretaries-General of the Institutions of May 2005 on the

evolution of heading 5,

— having regard to the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2006,

— having regard to the annual report of the Court of Auditors for the 2004 financial year on the imple-

mentation of the budget, together with the institutions' replies (4),

— having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgets (A6-0058/2006),

A. whereas the 2007 budget marks the first year of the new financial framework and the negotiations to
the new Financial Perspective 2007-2013 and the Interinstitutional Agreement have not, as yet, been
concluded,

(1) OJ L 253, 7.10.2000, p. 42.
(2) OJ L 248, 16.9.2002, p. 1.
(3) OJ C 172, 18.6.1999, p. 1. Agreement as last amended by Decision 2005/708/EC of the European Parliament and of

the Council (OJ L 269, 14.10.2005, p. 24).

(4) OJ C 301, 30.11.2005, p. 1.

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B. whereas the 2004 enlargement has to be consolidated and preparations for the next enlargement

continued to ensure that everything is in place by 1 January 2007,

C. whereas, at this stage of the annual procedure the budgetary authority is awaiting the other institutions'

draft estimates concerning their administrative needs,

General Framework

1.
Notes that, in the absence of an agreement on a new Interinstitutional Agreement amongst the Euro-
pean Parliament, the Council and the Commission for the period 2007-2013, point 26 of the current IIA
would in principle apply; in the event that any of the Institutions denounce the current IIA, the provisions
of the EU Treaty (Art. 272) applies;

Expects a detailed report on the developments in heading 5 by the Secretaries-General in March 2006,

2.
which should serve as a basis for consideration of the preliminary draft 2007 budget;

Underlines that the 2007 draft budget will have to take into account the accession of Romania and

3.
Bulgaria as of 1 January 2007;

4.
Notes the implementation of Accrual Based Accounting in all institutions commencing with the finan-
cial statements for the financial year 2005; considers that this process will ensure a more streamlined and
harmonised approach for comparison purposes;

5. Welcomes the implementation by the Council, the European Parliament and the Ombudsman of the
new nomenclature; urges all other institutions to adopt, for purposes of clarity and comparability, the same
nomenclature; invites the other institutions to indicate whether they consider that any changes or adapta-
tions should be made to the new nomenclature in order to take into account their specific administrative
constraints;

Regrets the delays in the full recruitment of staff from the 10 new Member States and expects any

6.
outstanding recruitment to be finalised at the earliest possible date, and not later than December 2006;

7.
Notes that, over the years, staff complements of the various institutions have been increased through
the creation of several additional posts; considers that a consolidation of the establishment plans, together
with a redeployment exercise, is essential prior to the submission of any request for recruitment not directly
linked to the enlargement process; calls on all institutions to harmonise their recruitment policies;

8.
Calls on all institutions to submit realistic requests which would have to be based on justified needs
taking into account the tight financial situation; encourages the institutions to operate at the lowest cost
base possible without compromising standards;

Considers that in the smaller institutions substantial savings could be achieved by a rational pooling of

9.
administrative and human resources;

10.
Reaffirms that the policy of purchasing buildings is one to be pursued by all institutions; invites all
institutions to submit medium-term plans for building policy taking into consideration all financial aspects,
as well as statutory regulations, bearing in mind the future requirements of the smaller institutions and the
eventual potential pooling of services and resources;

Requests that, whenever possible, the institutions should present more comprehensive multi-annual

11.
plans reflecting future political, human resources and infrastructural needs;

12.
Notes that over the years European institutions have failed to convince European citizens that they
truly represent their interests and aspirations; insufficient knowledge coupled with a poor perception makes
understanding of EU policies difficult; takes the view that the existing information services have to be
improved and that an effective strategy, accessible to all European citizens, should be implemented as a
matter of priority for all institutions;

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13.
Invites all European institutions to study the feasibility of setting up a Centre of European Houses in
Brussels, utilising existing resources without incurring any significant additional expenditure; in this ‘Euro-
pean Heart’, EU citizens would be able to participate freely in various areas, including cultural and technical
events, training seminars and exhibitions on specific topics; in such a scenario a wider segment of European
citizens can identify themselves with the intellectual and cultural diversity of all European Member States;

Wednesday, 15 March 2006

European Parliament

Affirms Parliament's commitment to deliver on promises to the EU citizens in an efficient, tangible

14.
and accountable manner and in so doing strengthen the image and credibility of the European Institutions;

Commits itself to fulfil its responsibilities as the only democratically elected representation of the

15.
people of the EU;

16.
Considers that, in view of the financial constraints being experienced at the moment, Parliament
should reserve its position regarding the self-imposed limit of 20 % of the expenditure under heading 5;
reiterates that its estimates should reflect the real financial requirements in order to ensure an appropriate
and efficient functioning of the institutions;

Budgetary rigour and added value

17.
Urges the Administration to make better and more efficient use of resources and avoid duplication of
functions and reduce activities which do not add value to the overall objectives; expects more internal
control on expenditure;

18.
Regrets the unnecessary and exorbitant costs due to the dispersion and duplication of activities in
three different workplaces, which contribute to a highly inefficient cost structure; considers that this should
be re-addressed in an effort to minimise costs and invites the Administration to present specific proposals
by 30 June 2006;

19.
Invites the Administration to compare contracts with standards used in major private companies, in
order to ensure the highest cost/benefit ratio for users, with particular reference to telecom providers,
computer services, hardware and software providers, catering, sports facilities, car services and travel
services;

20.
Expects a report on the progress registered in the area of interinstitutional cooperation and asks the
Secretary-General to make recommendations on the possibilities and limits for further tangible interinstitu-
tional cooperation;

21.
Contends that appropriations should relate to specific activities thus avoiding the cancellation of
appropriations at the end of the year; recommends that sufficient funding should be allocated in areas
where political decisions necessitate greater financial engagement, as in the case of the WTO; stresses that,
wherever possible, amending budgets and transfers should be avoided;

22.
Stresses, once again, the importance of applying the principles of sound financial management and
underlines the importance of the full implementation of Activity Based Budgeting which should result in
having more effective, transparent, rational and analytical estimates;

23.
Recalls its decision to make the budget more comprehensive; notes the introduction of the revised
nomenclature and requests the Administration to provide its relevant committee for the 2007 budget with a
presentation which makes the comparison between the 2006 and 2007 budgets possible;

24.
Requests the Administration to identify activities which do not add value to its operations and to
increase efficiency by rationalising working methods, thereby ensuring value for money for the European
taxpayer;

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Enlargement

25.
Reiterates that enlargement remains a key political priority and stresses its commitment to make
enlargement a real success; acknowledges the efforts made by the Institutions in the last enlargement and
calls on them to continue with their efforts to resolve any outstanding administrative issues by the end of
2006;

Notes that an amount of 23 526 000 euro was allocated in the 2006 budget for the pre-enlargement
26.
preparations for Romania and Bulgaria; invites the Administration to be prepared to offer adequate training
programmes for staff coming from Romania and Bulgaria;

Information

Agrees with the Secretary-General that the European Parliament requires a strong and effective infor-
27.
mation strategy that addresses Parliament's objective of bringing Europe closer to its citizens; information
tools and strategies which are not delivering the expected results should be discontinued; considers that
spending more does not necessarily translate into better results; recommends that all Members, political
groups and Administration should be involved and assume responsibility for their respective roles in the
fields of information;

Considers it extremely urgent that, in tandem with discussions on an enhanced media presence, the

28.
structure of debates be examined;

29. Welcomes the new format of the Europarl website, which is more user-friendly, especially for non-
professionals; nonetheless, a more powerful and structured presentation for internal use should be developed
to facilitate the daily work of MEPs and their staff;

30.
Points out that a significant percentage of EU citizens do not have access to the Internet and do not
necessarily use it to gather information about EU policies, and that therefore the role of Information Offices
should be adequately defined and their management coherent when considering Parliament's information
tools; attention should be given to ways of avoiding the duplication of information from various institu-
tions;

31.
Emphasises that particular attention should be given to any information project, not only for its cost
structure, but also for the value of its contents; recommends that all major publications and information-
related projects be prepared and constantly monitored by regular meetings with the participation and coop-
eration of political groups in order to create balanced programmes respecting the pluralism of opinions; the
level of success of any project will have to be measured in terms of its positive impact on EU citizens;

Visitors

Considers that Parliament's visitors' service is of utmost importance to MEPs; visitors groups are the
32.
only efficient way for Members to bring opinion-makers from their constituencies to the workplaces of the
Parliament; regrets, therefore, the high number of complaints concerning the visitors' programme, particu-
larly as regards the non-availability of time-slots and the difference between grants and real costs; stresses
that an attractive and high value visitors' programme is one of the top priorities for the year 2007;

33.
Regrets that improvements in the visitors' programme are long overdue and considers that they
should not be delayed any further; recalls that in 2006 budget 5 million euro were allocated to increase the
number of visitors and to reimburse expenses covering the actual cost of travel expenditure;

34.
Calls for a better reception service for visitors in the various places of Parliament plenary sittings and
for appropriate and adequately equipped meeting areas to be provided; recalls that the visitors' programme
is one of the most effective ways in which citizens can participate actively in Parliament's work thereby
enhancing citizens' perception of the Parliament;

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Considers that direct contact with European citizens through an improved visitors' service will have a

35.
multiplier effect that will enhance the perception of the Parliament in the eyes of the citizens;

Wednesday, 15 March 2006

Assistance to Members — Raising the Game

Acknowledges that the necessary structures for the implementation of the objectives of ‘Raising the

36.
Game’ exercise are now in place;

37. Welcomes the proposals by the Secretary-General to consolidate the ‘Raising the Game’ reform of
Parliament's Administration so as to improve services to Members;

Notes that to date only a limited number of the objectives have been achieved and that Parliament

38.
has not yet experienced the full impact of this exercise;

39.
Expects that by 2007 the targets of the exercise will have been fully met and the necessary reform
implemented, providing Members with a practical and efficient service, especially in legislative matters,
research and language facilities;

Supports the Secretary-General's intention to undertake an evaluation of the state of implementation

40.
of the project;

Stresses that it is imperative to give more assistance to Members when it comes to responding to

41.
requests from concerned citizens regarding day-to-day issues;

Recommends further promotion of the ‘Correspondence with Citizens Unit’ so that Members can

42.
make better use of this service;

43.
Takes the view that Parliament's increased responsibilities in legislative decision-making require more
resources to be allocated in support of this core activity, especially in the areas of research, library and
specific expertise;

44.
Encourages the Administration to conduct a quality survey on the service and assistance being given
to Members and to make the findings of the survey available to all Members by the first reading of the
2007 budget; asks the Secretary General to involve all Members in the survey in order to avoid any
misleading results; expects immediate proposals for improvements in response to any major deficiency
detected by the survey;

45.
Requests that a feasibility study be carried out as regards the possibilities for using free and open
sources software and the staff and professional training needed for maintenance and security of such soft-
ware;

Member's Assistant Statute

46.
Underlines the importance of personal assistants for Members' work and reiterates its position in
support of the adoption of a real and meaningful statute for Members' assistants; regrets that very little
progress has been achieved on the matter; urges the Council to take a decision on the EC Staff Regulation:
EP Members' assistant statute (COM(1998)0312), which should come into force as soon as possible;

Training and development

47.
Notes the lack of immediate availability of training offered to assistants and staff on their arrival in
the European Parliament; considers that a more holistic approach to training development and induction
should be initiated in order to enable assistants and staff to fulfil their duties in a professional manner and
achieve high standards of work, and to develop further the scope of the European Administration School;

48.
Suggests that a traineeship programme in favour of persons with disabilities be formulated in order
to better facilitate their integration in the European working environment; invites the other institutions to
formulate a similar programme;

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Property

49.
Points out that the policy on the purchasing of properties and buildings has yielded positive and
tangible results providing Parliament with a strong asset base as well as generating savings, which in turn
allowed it to use these funds for other projects;

Calls on the Bureau to ensure that all Parliament's buildings are environmentally friendly as well as

50.
user-friendly, especially for persons with disabilities;

51.
Urges the Bureau to ensure that a call for offers widely published in local media is an integral part of
the acquisition procedure for the purchasing of European Houses and that all offers received are included in
the dossier presented to the relevant committee before a final decision is taken;

52.
Considering the envisaged financial constraints in the coming years, calls on the Bureau to consider a
multiannual property investment plan instead of an annual plan and to continue with the policy of acceler-
ated payments;

Employment

Invites the Administration to ensure that human resources costs are in line with operational require-
53.
ments and with the financial situation of the institution and effectively to examine the possibility of rede-
ploying existing staff instead of relying on contract agents;

Considers that the long-term quality of legislative work of the House has to be carried out by staff

54.
with a long-term commitment to Parliament rather than by utilising contract agents;

55.
Instructs the Administration to address the problem of staff shortages in a number of European
Houses, including a press officer for each office; an identical request was made by the previous rapporteur
but has not been fully implemented;

Requests the Administration to identify all anomalous situations related to employment and to take

56.
the necessary action to resolve them as quickly as possible;

57.
Notes that problems are likely because of staff ageing and the resulting increasing number of indivi-
duals leaving the service (with some 180 staff members leaving the service each year from 2009 onwards);
asks the Administration to make appropriation preparations for the likely increase in funding requirements;

58.
Recalls that the new Streamline software should be in place by the last quarter of 2006; this should
result in a decrease in the number of posts in the coming years; maintains that, with the exception of enlar-
gement and an extremely limited recruitment of specialised staff, no new employment should take place,
which should result in real savings in the future;

Stocktaking

Takes note that in 2007 there will be no new major projects being undertaken by Parliament; there-
59.
fore considers that now is the opportune time to examine, evaluate and carry out a meaningful stocktaking
exercise; encourages the Secretary-General to implement the necessary changes resulting from this exercise;

Reports and information requested before the first reading of Parliament's budget

Invites the Secretary-General to provide the following information by the end of June 2006 in order

60.
to allow an effective decision-making process:

— A report on ‘more effective budgeting’, which was requested following the 2006 Budget Guidelines and

which has not as yet been presented;

— A study of the financial impact of the introduction of the Irish language as the twenty-first working

language of the European Parliament;

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— A report on the state of preparation for the enlargement to Romania and Bulgaria on a regular basis,
and at least in May and September on the evolution of recruitment of staff from Romania and Bulgaria;

— An updated report followed by reports on a regular basis, at least in May and September, on the recruit-
ment situation in relation to the 2004 enlargement, with particular reference to the linguistic sector
giving a breakdown between officials, temporary and contractual staff;

— Proposals on how to connect Parliament with those EU citizens who are not Internet users or who do

not have access to it;

— A comprehensive report on the current situation as regards training and development in the Institution;

— An updated report on the acquisition of property by Parliament in the last two years accompanied by
the relevant financial information and the needs in office space in relation to the 2004 and the forth-
coming enlargement;

— An updated report on the allocation of running costs between the Commission and Parliament,

reflecting the actual expenditure incurred by the two bodies;

— An inventory identifying short and medium term investment needs related to EMAS in order to obtain

the best possible results in the long term;

61.

Requests by 1 September 2006:

— A report on a mid-term budgetary review on the state of implementation of the current year; this would

place Parliament in a better position to properly assess the estimates presented for 2007;

— A presentation of the proposed information projects together with their related costs, benefits and staff

needs, as well as any relevant information;

— A report on the stocktaking exercise and in particular:

— on activities which do not add value to its operations and on increasing efficiency by rationalising

working methods, thereby ensuring value for money for the European taxpayer,

— on the progress registered on the EP Rome report and a comprehensive evaluation, focussing on the real
progress registered over the years in the ‘Raising the Game’ exercise including the conclusion of the
survey;

— on interinstitutional cooperation and on the possibilities for further tangible interinstitutional coopera-
tion such as in the field of information where a more holistic approach by the institutions could avoid
duplication, while having due regard for the institutions' independence;

Other Institutions

Council

Recalls that the gentlemen's agreement only applies to administrative expenditure; consequently,
62.
considers that budgetary rigour should also apply to the appropriation allocated to cover expenditure on
CFSP;

Court of Justice

63.
Recalls that, in December 2005, the budgetary authority authorised Amending Budget No 6/2005 in
order to establish the Civil Service Tribunal; it is expected that a significant decrease in the Court's workload
will result from this restructuring;

Court of Auditors

64. Welcomes the efforts made by the Court of Auditors to improve the services provided as well as the
adoption of Accrual Based Accounting, developed jointly with the Council and the Court of Justice;

65.
Considers that an increase in the establishment plan should only be considered in a medium-term
perspective and only after ensuring that all possibilities for redeployment of existing staff have been
explored;

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Committee of the Regions

66.
Acknowledging the fact that the Committee of Regions had to face a difficult situation in the
linguistic service; recommends that the Committee seek a better balance in the staff available between
support and political functions;

67.
Recognises the efforts made by the Committee of the Regions in the field of information and its
cooperation with the Commission, in particular DG PRESS and DG REGIO, as well as with existing regional
networks such as Circom Regional; invites the Committee of the Regions to share its experience in the
communication field with other institutions;

European Economic and Social Committee

Takes note of the renewal of the cooperation agreement between the Committee and the Commis-
68.
in qualitative terms, the opinions it
sion; welcomes the initiative taken by the Committee to evaluate,
provides for the Commission; suggests that the Committee explore the possibility of reaching a similar coop-
eration agreement with Parliament;

Synergy between the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions

69.
Considers that the creation of the joint service has been beneficial for both Committees; Considers
this joint service as an effective and dynamic way of avoiding duplication, reducing costs and developing
team spirit without reducing the quality and efficiency of the service provided; invites the two Committees
to assess which other services could be shared in the same manner; expects both parties to submit a detailed
joint report on this matter before the first reading of the 2007 budget, incorporating specific recommenda-
tions;

70.
Takes note of the needs both Institutions are facing during their plenary meetings; invites the two
Committees to evaluate their medium-term requirements for large meeting facilities with the aim of a better
utilisation of Parliament's facilities; these requirements shall be presented to Parliament for its consideration
at the earliest;

European Ombudsman

Notes that the recruitment of additional staff was approved in the 2006 budget; expects therefore
71.
that no further requests for additional recruitment will be made and that a consolidation exercise of its
establishment plan will be submitted for the 2007 budget;

Invites the European Ombudsman to present its medium-term priorities, together with their financial

72.
implications, in order to enable Parliament to take them into consideration in the estimates for 2007;

European Data Protection Supervisor

73.
Notes that the administrative agreement for cooperation between the Secretaries-General of the Euro-
pean Parliament and the Commission, the Deputy Secretary-General of the Council and the Data Protection
Supervisor will expire on 16 January 2007; considers that this administrative support is particularly to be
welcomed in a situation of budgetary rigour; points out that this cooperation could be further strengthened
in particular by facilitating access to computer facilities hosted in different buildings; invites the institutions
involved to set up before the end of the year the framework for the next agreement which should be for a
longer period;

74.
Invites the European Data Protection Supervisor to present to Parliament its medium-term priorities,
including all the financial implications, in order to enable Parliament to evaluate these priorities, especially if
they happen to be in areas where support is needed in terms of buildings and logistics;

*

*

*

75.
Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Court of Justice,
the Court of Auditors, the European Economic and Social Committee, the Committee of the Regions, the
European Ombudsman and the European Data Protection Supervisor.