Resolution of the European Parliament of 24 April 2007 with observations forming an integral part of the Decision on the discharge for implementation of the European Union general budget for the financial year 2005, Section I - European Parliament
Date: 2008-04-24
Institutions: European Parliament
Subjects: European Parliament, budgetary discharge, financial year, general budget (EU), implementation of the budget

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RESOLUTION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT

of 24 April 2007

with observations forming an integral part of the Decision on the discharge for implementation of
the European Union general budget for the financial year 2005, Section I — European Parliament

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT,

— having regard to the European Union general budget for the financial year 2005 (1),

— having regard to the final annual accounts of the European Communities for the financial year 2005 —

Volume I (SEC(2006) 0915 — C6-0465/2006) (2),

— having regard to the Report on budgetary and financial management for the financial year 2005, Sec-

tion I — European Parliament (3),

— having regard to the Internal Auditor's annual report for 2005,

— having regard to the Annual Report of the Court of Auditors on the implementation of the budget for

the financial year 2005, together with the institutions' replies (4),

— having regard to the statement of assurance as to the reliability of the accounts and the legality and
regularity of the underlying transactions provided by the Court of Auditors pursuant to Article 248 of
the EC Treaty (5),

— having regard to Articles 272(10) and 275 of the EC Treaty and Article 179a of the Euratom Treaty,

— having regard to Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 of 25 June 2002 on the Financial
the European Communities (6), and in particular

Regulation applicable to the general budget of
Articles 145, 146 and 147 thereof,

— having regard to Article 13 of the Internal Rules for the implementation of the European Parliament's

budget (7),

— having regard to Article 147(1) of the Financial Regulation, which requires each Community institution
to take all appropriate steps to act on the observations accompanying the European Parliament's
discharge Decision,

— having regard to Rules 71 and 74(3) of and Annex V to its Rules of Procedure,

— having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A6-0094/2007),

A. whereas the Court of Auditors' audit did not reveal any material errors (paragraph 10.4),

B.

whereas the Court of Auditors pointed to persisting weaknesses in supervisory and control systems
(paragraphs 10.5-10.10),

(1) OJ L 60, 8.3.2005.
(2) OJ C 264, 31.10.2006, p. 1.
(3) DV/614096EN.doc.
(4) OJ C 263, 31.10.2006, p. 1.
(5) OJ C 263, 31.10.2006, p. 10.
(6) OJ L 248, 16.9.2002, p. 1. Regulation as amended by Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1995/2006 (OJ L 390, 30.12.2006,

p. 1).

(7) PE 349.540/Bur/ann/def.

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C. whereas the Parliament in its replies outlined the measures taken to overcome the weaknesses observed

by the Court of Auditors,

D. whereas Parliament's Rules of Procedure were amended on 23 October 2002 to provide that discharge is

to be given to the President rather than to the Secretary-General,

E.

F.

whereas its Resolution of 26 September 2006 (8) on the discharge for the financial year 2004 should be
followed up and progress in implementing its recommendations assessed,

whereas the Statute for Members of the European Parliament of 28 September 2005 (9), following the
Council's agreement on 19 July 2005, will enter into force on the first day of the parliamentary term
commencing in 2009,

G. whereas the Codex for Parliamentary Assistants was adopted by the Bureau on 25 September 2006 (10),

1.

2.

3.

4.

The European Parliament's accounts, focusing in particular on property policy

Notes
that
EUR 117 409 824);

in 2005 Parliament

received revenue amounting to EUR 112 393 557 (2004:

Takes note of the figures with which Parliament's accounts for the financial year 2005 were closed,
namely:

Appropriations for the 2005 financial year

(in EUR)

Appropriations carried over
from the 2004 financial
year

Appropriations 2005

Appropriations from
assigned revenue

Article 9(1) and 9(4) of
Financial Regulation

31 412 881 (100 %)

281 461 344 (100 %)

—

29 679 028 (94,48 %)

259 853 230 (92,32 %)

1 264 024 722
(100 %)

1 249 096 468
(98,82 %)

941 932 832
(75,40 %)

307 163 636

200 000

Use of appropriations

Appropriations available

Commitments entered into

Payments made

Appropriations carried over to
2006

Article 9(1) and (2) of the Financial
Regulation

Article 9(1), 9(2)(a) and 9(5) of the
Financial Regulation

Cancelled appropriations

14 728 254

—

21 608 114 (7,68 %)

Balance sheet at 31 December 2005: 1 520 822 777

Notes that, in 2005, 98,82 % of the appropriations entered in Parliament's budget were committed with
a cancellation rate of 1,18 % and that, as in previous years, a very high level of budget implementation
was achieved;

Recalls, however, that this high level of implementation is partly attributable to the consistent practice
since 1992 of making ‘mopping-up’ transfers for the purposes of transferring any appropriations
available at year-end to the budget lines for buildings and, in particular, for advance capital payments to
the
reduce future interest payments;

in this context EUR 124 144 556 (approximately 10 % of

(8) OJ L 177, 6.7.2007, p. 3.
(9) OJ L 262, 7.10.2005, p. 1.
(10) PE 377.686/BUR.

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appropriations) were made available by means of a mopping-up transfer at the end of 2005; of this
amount:

— EUR 75,7 million were used to for the purchase of the Winston Churchill (WIC) and Salvador de

Madariaga (SDM) buildings in Strasbourg,

— EUR 46,2 million were transferred for an early disbursement against the annual lease payment due

for the D4 and D5 buildings in Brussels,

— and EUR 2,3 million were set aside for the Europe House in Valetta;

in addition, by means of normal transfers, the Parliament purchased — jointly with the Commission —
the Europe Houses in Copenhagen (EUR 10,6 million) and The Hague (EUR 7,4 million);

Reminds its competent bodies of its decision that ‘ ... repayment on buildings ... should be set as part of
the budgetary strategy’ (11); criticises therefore its competent bodies for continuously failing to budget
with sufficient clarity Parliament's property policy for future acquisitions (the budget line ‘acquisition of
immovable property’ only shows token entries for 2005, 2006 and 2007);

Restates its demand to amend Article 16 of the Internal Rules for the implementation of the European
Parliament's budget with a view to making building projects with significant financial implications for
Parliament's budget subject to the agreement of the Committee on Budgets;

Calls yet again on the budgetary authority to establish budget forecasts ensuring that the amounts
entered in the draft budget reflect real requirements in Parliament's various policies; asks the authorising
officers by delegation to state clearly in their annual activity reports the annual appropriations received,
commitments entered into, payments made and unused amounts; furthermore calls on authorising
officers by delegation to set out the reasons — as has already occurred to some extent — why budget
appropriations have not been fully utilised;

Is aware of the fact that the Court of Auditors will publish a special report on the buildings policies of
the Institutions in the near future; calls for its competent committee to draw up an own-initiative report
on the basis of this special report; is furthermore of the opinion that this committee should have the
right to draw up own-initiative reports without prior authorisation and outside the set quota for such
reports, on any special report of the Court of Auditors should the committee so decide;

Regrets that the budget line for the EP Information Offices remains undifferentiated and expresses its
wish for having a best practices review of all the Information Offices taking into account the cost-benefit
ratio;

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

Court of Auditors' comments on the financial year 2005

10. Welcomes that the Court's audit did not reveal any material errors (paragraph 10.4);

11. Notes the Court's observations with regard to the new computer application for the calculation of staff
remunerations and also the reply of the competent Parliament service underlining that systematic ex-
post controls have been in place since March 2006;

12. Acknowledges the Court's criticism with regard to the flat-rate payments for staff travels between the
three usual work-places; accepts, however, that it was the intention of Parliament's administration to
strike a balance between the requirements of the regulatory framework and the demands of the
institution's particular working environment; asks the Court to monitor the functioning of the flat-rate
system and alert the discharge authority if it finds any indication of misuse;

(11) See paragraph 7 of the above mentioned Resolution of 26 September 2006.

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13. Notes that the Court pointed to weaknesses in supervisory and control systems (paragraph 10.9) relating
to the payment of allowances of Members of the European Parliament; considers it worrying that by
mid-2006 only 54 % of the service providers, and only 29 % of the paying agents had submitted
invoices relating to the period July 2004 to June 2005; notes that the internal audit of Members'
parliamentary assistance allowance will be finalised in time for the 2006 discharge procedure;

The Internal Auditor's annual report

14. Notes that, in 2005, the Internal Audit Service finalised 7 reports: the Internal Auditor's annual report,
reports on the follow-up to its review of the Internal Control Framework of directorates-general, on the
procurement process, and on two of Parliament's Information Offices (it also adopted two reports on
the European Ombudsman);

15. Welcomes the fact that the Internal Auditor was not only prepared to assist Parliament's discharge
rapporteur, but also to present — for the first time in person — the findings of his 2005 annual report
officially to the Committee on Budgetary Control, thereby establishing that his report is not only an
internal management tool, but an important point of reference in the annual discharge;

16. Underlines that the audits have confirmed that the institution is still in a phase of transition between two
take more time for full

fundamentally different concepts of
implementation of the Internal Control Framework (ICF) in all departments;

internal control, and that

it will

17. Welcomes the fact that the Internal Auditor concentrated his work in 2005 on the procurement process
and on the follow-up to the agreed action plans resulting from the review of the ICF in 2003 and 2004;

18. Highlights in the area of procurement the following:

— reasonable assurance must be obtained that the tender will meet underlying needs, be regular, cost-

effective and transparent,

— clear and comprehensive tender documentation must be provided,

— adequate exclusion, selection and award criteria must be established,

— timeliness, equal treatment and transparency in contacts with tenderers must be ensured,

— transparent and consistent decisions by the opening committee must be guaranteed,

— the evaluation of tenders must be based on the announced criteria,

— a complete audit trail in the awarding of contracts must be kept,

— contractual provisions must comply with the tender specifications,

— achievement of these objectives implies adequate controls at the early critical stage of the

procurement process,

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— the effectiveness of the ex-ante verification of budgetary commitments for procurements must be

enhanced;

19. Asks the Court of Auditors to assess, at the latest in the financial year 2008, to what extent these targets

in the area of procurement have been achieved;

20. Reiterates that ICFs put in place by authorising officers by delegation have the following control
objectives: compliance with applicable legislation, rules and practices, the reliability of management
information and records, and the economy, effectiveness and efficiency of operations;

21. Recalling furthermore that authorising officers must comply with 22 minimum standards in order to
realise the control objectives; those standards can be grouped into five control categories: control
environment, performance and risk management, information and communication, control activities
and monitoring (audit and evaluation);

22. Underlines in the area of the ICF the following (the Internal Audit Service agreed 454 actions with
authorising departments in 2003/2004 and has carried out follow-up procedures to determine whether
these were properly implemented; so far, the status of 341 actions has been thus validated):

— of the 37 actions from the review of the computerised system used to manage budgetary
transactions, only 3 were not yet implemented by the end of 2005, and a further 9 were partly
implemented,

— of the 304 actions reviewing the degree of compliance with minimum standards of internal
control and control objectives 150 were fully implemented, 86 implemented in part and no action
had yet been taken by departments on the other 68,

— for all other actions that have not yet been fully implemented, the Internal Audit Service has agreed

a revised schedule with the authorising departments, which it will follow up in 2007;

23. Regrets that the audit of Members' parliamentary assistance allowances was not ready in time for the
2005 discharge procedure; calls on its competent committee to pay due attention to the findings of this
audit at a later stage;

The European Parliament's financial management

24. Notes that the analysis of financial management accompanying the 2005 accounts provides a useful

statement of the principal financial events of the year under review;

25.

Points out that a proportion of management activity in Parliament in 2005 was still geared to adjusting
to the new requirements of the Financial Regulation, setting up new control systems, methodologies and
working methods, devising training programmes and establishing new lines of responsibility;

26. Notes that initial experience with applying the terms of the new Financial Regulation in an institution
such as Parliament, with an administrative budget to manage, indicates in some cases that overly
complex systems and financial circuits have been set up;

27. Notes that some directorates-general continue to hold the view that certain provisions of the Financial
Regulation and its implementing rules lead to excessive bureaucratisation of the overall internal control
process and constitute an undue burden on management;

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28. Notes that in the former Directorate for Financial Control 18 staff members (out of a total staff
complement of 20) were engaged in control duties, whereas under the new structure, introduced by the
new Financial Regulation, 44 staff members are assigned to these tasks in the different directorates-
general; in addition to which there are 10 auditors (out of a total staff complement of 12) working in the
Internal Audit Service;

29. Reaffirms, yet again, the view expressed in its Resolutions of 26 September 2006, 12 April 2005 (12),
21 April 2004 (13) and 8 April 2003 (14) that ‘the scope of the discharge procedure should cover not
only the management activities of Parliament's Secretary-General and Administration, but also the
decisions taken by its governing bodies, i.e. its President, Bureau and Conference of Presidents’;

30.

Emphasises that Parliament grants discharge not to the Secretary-General, but, rather, to the President as
it is elected members, not officials, who are ultimately politically responsible for the preparation and
implementation of the budget; therefore invites the President and the Vice-President responsible for the
budget to participate in future meetings of the Committee on Budgetary Control as appropriate and to
agree with the Committee on an appropriate format to have a fruitful political dialogue during the
discharge procedure;

31. Welcomes that the Bureau has started discussions about its relations with the budgetary and discharge
authority with a view to clarifying the precise practical meaning of the political responsibility attaching
to the Members of Parliament's governing bodies as regards the exercise of powers and the taking of
decisions with significant financial consequences; calls on the newly-elected Bureau to resume this
discussion involving the committees concerned in this debate;

32. Welcomes the fact that the Secretary-General has drawn up a brief and easy-to-read document

explaining the budget of 2004 and 2005, which is also available on Parliament's website;

The activity reports of the directors-general

33.

Points out that Parliament's Secretary-General forwarded the 2005 activity reports of the directors-
general to the Committee on Budgetary Control on 10 April 2006; in that connection the Secretary-
General, in his capacity as authorising officer by delegation, declared that he had reasonable assurances
that Parliament's budget had been implemented in accordance with the principles of sound financial
management and that the control framework put in place afforded the requisite guarantees as to the
legality and regularity of the underlying transactions;

34. Welcomes the fact that all directors-general have issued an unqualified declaration of assurance for their

departments' financial transactions;

35. Appreciates the progress which has been made in harmonising the presentation and structure of the
annual activity reports; remains however of the opinion that further progress should be possible to
improve readability and comparability; asks its services to include a one-page executive summary stating
the appropriations received, commitments entered into, payments made and what use was made of
amounts not spent (i.e. carry-overs, transfers, mopping-up, etc.), as well as major events of the past
financial year;

36. Notes that the conclusions in the activity reports identify the following general challenges:

— putting the internal control framework into practice is more time-consuming than was originally

assumed,

— implementing the budget execution under the new Financial Regulation,

(12) OJ L 196, 27.7.2005, p. 28.
(13) OJ L 330, 4.11.2004, p. 160.
(14) OJ L 148, 16.6.2003, p. 62.

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— implementing political requests at short notice,

— recruiting and integrating new staff;

Procurement

37. Recalls that according to Articles 54 and 119 of the implementing rules for the Financial Regulation (15)
institutions forward reports to the budgetary authority on negotiated procedures and on contracts not
coming under public procurement directives; a list of contractors awarded contracts worth more than
EUR 50 000, but less than the threshold under the directives referred to, is published in the Official
Journal, and contracts worth between EUR 13 800 and EUR 50 000 are published on institutions'
websites; in addition, in 2003 Parliament called on its Secretary-General to report annually on contracts
concluded (16);

38. Notes that the annual report contains the following information on contracts of a value equal to or

greater than EUR 13 800 awarded in 2005:

Type of contract

Number
[2004 in ()]

Percentage
[2004 in ()]

Amount in EUR
[2004 in ()]

Percentage
[2004 in ()]

Services

Supplies

Works

Buildings

199 (229)

64 % (58 %)

53 (99)

17 % (25 %)

48 (60)

15 % (15 %)

12 (4)

4 % (2 %)

Total

312 (392)

100 %

89 551 639
(180 927 304)

29 036 604
(26 500 867)

13 763 856
(18 876 271)

73 149 658
(15 593 025)

205 501 756
(241 897 467)

44 % (75 %)

14 % (11 %)

7 % (8 %)

35 % (6 %)

100 %

Type of procedure

Number
[2004 in ()]

Percentage
[2004 in ()]

Amount in EUR
[2004 in ()]

Percentage
[2004 in ()]

Avge amount
[2004 in ()]

Open

64 (95)

21 % (24 %)

Restricted

112 (110)

37 % (28 %)

Negotiated

124 (183)

42 % (48 %)

Total

300 (388)

100 %

94 187 176
(157 909 034)

26 676 276
(39 897 441)

11 488 646
(28 497 967)

132 352 098
(226 304 442)

71 % (70 %)

20 % (18 %)

9 % (12 %)

100 %

1 471 675
(1 662 200)

238 181
(362 704)

92 650
(155 727)

441 174
(585 259)

39.

Points out that of the 312 contracts awarded 147 were worth at least EUR 50 000 whereas 165 were
worth between EUR 13 800 and EUR 50 000; asks its administration whether it considers the
procedures in place to award the latter kind of contracts under the revised Financial Regulation to be
sufficiently effective;

(15) Commission Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2342/2002 of 23 December 2002 laying down detailed rules for the
implementation of Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 on the Financial Regulation applicable to the
general budget of the European Communities (OJ L 357, 31.12.2002, p. 1).
(16) Paragraph 90 of its 2001 discharge Resolution (OJ L 148, 16.6.2003, p. 62).

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40. Recalls that the Internal Auditor has completed an institution-wide audit of the procurement process; his

recommendations can be found above;

41. Welcomes that — with regard to value — 91 % of the contracts were awarded under open (71 %) and

restricted (20 %) procedures;

42.

Takes note of the Secretary General's reply (17) setting out the measures taken to establish the contracts
database pursuant to Article 95 of the Financial Regulation; acknowledges at the same time that the
revised Financial Regulation now envisages a single central database for all institutions, managed by the
Commission;

Political groups (review of accounts and procedures — budget Item 3701)

43. Recalls that paragraph 2.7.3 of the Rules on the use of appropriations from budget Item 3701 (18)
requires the Bureau and the Committee on Budgetary Control to deal with the audited annual accounts
of the political groups in accordance with the powers conferred upon them by the Rules of Procedure;

44. Reiterates that the political groups are themselves responsible for the management and use of their
funds from Parliament's budget and that the remit of Parliament's Internal Audit Service does not extend
to the conditions under which use is made of the appropriations against budget Item 3701;

45. Welcomes the fact that the political groups have published their internal financial rules and accounts for

2005 on Parliament's website;

46. Records the following outturn figures for appropriations entered against budget item 3701 in 2005:

Total available in budget

Non-attached Members

Amount available for groups

(in thousands of EUR)

61 973

1 329

60 644

Group

Allocated
from
Parliament's
budget

Groups' own
resources and
carry-
forwards

Expenditure
in 2005

Utilisation
rate

Carry-
forward
ceiling (*)

Carried forward
to 2006

EPP-ED

PSE

ALDE

Verts/ALE

GUE/NGL

UEN

IND/DEM

NI

17 282

13 107

5 783

2 712

2 726

1 672

2 182

1 110

4 510

5 447

2 251

777

1 223

284

688

219

15 066

11 679

4 354

2 448

2 735

1 525

2 044

986

Total

46 575

15 399

40 837

(*) As per implementing provisions for budget Item 3701.

69 %

63 %

54 %

71 %

69 %

78 %

71 %

74 %

66 %

8 641

6 554

2 892

1 356

1 363

836

1 091

555

6 727

6 554

2 892

1 040

1 214

430

826

260

23 287

19 942

47. Notes the confirmations by the political groups' external auditors that the accounts complied with

current rules and international accounting standards;

(17) Letter to the chairman of the Committee on Budgetary Control of 11 January 2007 (300319).
(18) Bureau decision of 30 June 2003.

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48. Notes that, on 3 July 2006, the Bureau approved the groups' reports on budget implementation and the
respective auditors' reports; in this context the PSE Group refunded EUR 322 107 and the ALDE
refunded 788 845 of unused money to the Parliament's budget, as these amounts could not be carried
over;

49. Notes that the political groups only utilised — on average — 66 % of the appropriations available to

them (2004: 74 %);

Political parties at European level

50. Notes the following presentation of accounts for the closure of the 2005 budget year:

2005 budget execution under the agreement

Party (*)

own resources

total grant from EP

total revenue

PPE

PSE

ELDR

EFGP

AEN

PDE

GE

EFA

1 053 583,60

2 398 941,14

3 452 524,74

848 943,72

2 489 175,00

3 338 118,72

358 234,17

819 562,69

1 177 796,86

205 699,82

568 261,00

773 960,82

38 184,98

114 330,48

152 515,46

85 932,25

253 933,49

339 865,74

121 956,00

365 868,00

487 824,00

84 530,51

217 906,00

302 436,51

Total

2 797 065,05

7 117 977,80

10 025 042,85

(EUR)

grant as % of eligible
expend. (max. 75 %)

70,08 %

74,76 %

70,10 %

73,64 %

74,96 %

74,86 %

69,49 %

72,05 %

72,18 %

(*)

PPE: European People's Party; PSE: Party of European Socialists; ELDR: European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party; EFPG:
European Federation of Green Parties; AEN: Union for Europe of the Nations; PDE: European Democratic Party; GE: Party of the
European Left; EFA: European Free Alliance.

51. Underscores the fact that the parties' external auditors have confirmed that the accounts were in
conformity with the statutory provisions set out in Articles 6, 7, 8 and 10 of Regulation (EC) No 2004/
2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 4 November 2003 on the regulations governing
political parties at European level and the rules regarding their funding (19) and that the accounts
presented a true and faithful picture of the financial situation of the political parties at the close of the
2005 financial year;

52. Observes, however, that

— the Party of

the European Left (GE) exceeded its provisional budget and made a loss of
EUR 42 000, which is not entirely covered by existing capital; the party must therefore significantly
improve its internal control structures and immediately recapitalise the party in order to meet the
liabilities for 2005 and to guarantee a sufficient reserve for the future,

— the budget implementation of the Union for Europe of the Nations (AEN) and the European
Democratic Party (PDE) fell short of their provisional budgets, which led to a reduction of the grant
and the recovery of the excess paid (EUR 110 669,52 from the AEN and EUR 113 690,51 from
the PDE);

53. Highlights the fact that parties at European level have arrived at a high utilisation of the appropriations

available to them;

(19) OJ L 297, 15.11.2003, p. 1.

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54.

Emphasises again the relevance of its proposals for the further improvement of Regulation (EC)
No 2004/2003 as mapped out in its resolution of 23 March 2006 (20);

55.

Is pleased that the following improvements could be achieved with regard to the financing of political
parties at European level following a decision by the Bureau of 1 February 2006:

— eligible expenses under the current year's grant (n) can be paid in the year n + 1,

— the Bureau adopted an indicative multi-annual budget for the period 2007-2009;

56. Remains convinced that European political parties must be allowed to establish reserves to meet their
statutory obligations towards their employees and contractors should the party be disbanded; asks the
Commission no longer to default in honouring its undertaking given in the conciliation procedure of
21 November 2006 to submit a proposal for amending Regulation (EC) No 2004/2003 by introducing
appropriate provisions for exempting from the no-profit rule set up in Article 109 of the Financial
regulation the own resources, in particular contributions and membership fees, aggregated in the annual
operations of a political party at European level which exceed the 25 % of eligible cost to be borne by
the beneficiary according to Article 10(2) of Regulation (EC) No 2004/2003;

Parliament's property policy

57. Acknowledges that it is Parliament's established policy to become the owner of the premises it uses; as a
consequence it invested a total of EUR 1 400 million in immovable property from 1992 to 2005,
thereby saving, according to its own calculations, approximately EUR 700 million in rent and charges up
to the end of 2006;

58. Asks the Secretary-General to provide the relevant parliamentary committee with details of the costs of
maintaining Parliament's three places of work in total and by location, as the last update requested was
for the year 2000 when the Union had only 15 Member States, so that Parliament can get a better
insight into its cost structure and can identify areas where savings can be made;

Strasbourg

59. Reiterates that

the Committee on Budgetary Control has comprehensively reviewed the events
surrounding the purchase of the Winston Churchill (WIC), Salvador de Madariaga (SDM) and IPE III
buildings in preparation for the Parliament's 2004 discharge;

60. Underlines that since then Parliament has become the owner of the three buildings, following the
unanimous decision of its Bureau on 23 October 2006; the financial and legal provisions in the deed of
sale foresaw:

— a sale price of EUR 143 125 000, payable in cash at the time of signature, the two sites being

assigned for the symbolic price of EUR 1 each,

— Parliament would enjoy possession of the buildings with effect from the date of signature of the

deed,

— the programme of renovation work on the buildings, initially agreed with SCI-Erasme, would be

continued and completed under the responsibility of the City of Strasbourg,

— the City of Strasbourg would arrange for the financing and execution of work necessary in order
for the IPE III building to be classified as a ‘public-access building, first–category’ by 31 December
2007 at the latest;

(20) OJ C 292 E, 1.12.2006, p. 127.

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61. Notes that the Bureau, on that occasion, also authorised the payment of rent for the three buildings
covering the year 2006 until the signature of the framework agreement (28 September 2006), in
accordance with the opinion delivered by the Legal Service on 26 June 2006: EUR 7 352 644,14 for the
WIC and SDM buildings, and EUR 4 023 329,90 for the IPE III building;

62. Notes furthermore that the deed of sale provided that if Parliament assigned the whole building complex
— to a third party other than a European Union institution or body — ownership of the site(s) would
revert to the City of Strasbourg for the symbolic price of EUR 1; the price for the buildings would be
mutually agreed between Parliament and the City of Strasbourg or — failing that — be determined by an
expert assessment,

Luxembourg

63. Notes the elements of

the framework agreement between the Luxembourg authorities and the
Parliament concerning the extension of the Konrad-Adenauer-Building (KAD I and II); the framework
agreement covers the land, the Parliament's right to let all or part of the buildings and the terms for
granting a right in rem to any purchaser of the buildings;

64. Notes furthermore that costs for project management

further studies, project
management for KAD upgrading work and for work contracts were estimated at EUR 345 170 900
(value May 2005);

for carrying out

65. Highlights that it will be seeking environmental certification for the KAD extension, in line with its

adherence to the Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS);

Brussels

66. Recalls that on 10 October 2004 it signed the long lease with the developer conferring the right in rem
for the construction of the D4-D5 buildings with the option to purchase; the overall budget stands at
EUR 325,2 million; advance payments of EUR 192,6 million have been made;

67. Notes that the Bureau approved the setting-up of a cultural amenities area and of a European Visitors

Centre in the D4 building in July 2005;

68.

Emphasises that the Belgian Government, most recently in a letter from Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt
of 28 September 2004, guaranteed that the land and the land development costs would be reimbursed
to Parliament, and that this is the standard procedure also applying to the other European institutions;

69. Regrets, however, that the Belgian authorities have not — until now — honoured the agreement on the
land cost estimated at EUR 43 million and that they dispute the total amount to be reimbursed to
Parliament for the land development costs of the site for the D4-D5 buildings, estimated by Parliament's
services at EUR 30,8 million;

70. Considers the offer of EUR 15 million, made by the Belgian authorities, to be unacceptable; is of the
opinion that the costs for paving the roof covering the railway station, which is a public thoroughfare,
cannot — as a matter of principle — be funded from Parliament's budget;

71.

Expresses its support to the President and Bureau to solve the disputes that have arisen between the
Belgian authorities and Parliament while safeguarding the Parliaments' financial and institutional
concerns;

72. Calls therefore on the Belgian government to honour the aforementioned agreement;

73.

Is of the opinion that the construction of the new buildings of the Parliament and the subsequent
in construction around these buildings has had an effect on the surrounding
investments
neighbourhood in terms of housing, traffic and working and living conditions, and calls therefore on

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its Secretary-General to pursue a policy of regular consultations with representatives of the inhabitants
of the area and to report on the results achieved to limit the possible negative impact of Parliament's
presence in coordination with the local authorities in time for the next discharge;

Voluntary Pension Scheme

74. Recalls that the Court of Auditors has repeatedly pointed out in its Annual Reports, most recently in
2005 (Table 10.2), that a sufficient legal basis for Parliament's additional pension scheme must be
created; recalls that, in addition, according to the Court, clear rules must be established to cover the
eventuality of a deficit; notes however that the view of Parliament's legal services is that a sufficient legal
basis for the additional pension scheme already exists under the regulatory autonomy of the European
Parliament laid down in Article 199 of the EC Treaty (formerly Article 142 of the EEC Treaty) which
confers on the European Parliament the right to take whatever measures it requires for its internal
organisation and that furthermore, once the Members' Statute comes into force, Article 27 of that
Statute will constitute the legal basis for the Pension Fund;

75. Notes that in November 2005 the Voluntary Pension Fund had 475 members, who paid a monthly
contribution — directly deducted from the general expenditure allowance — of EUR 948, representing
one third; at the same time Parliament paid a monthly contribution of EUR 1 896 per member;

76. Calls on the members of the Voluntary Pension Fund to prove by end of November 2007 that their
contributions deducted from the general expenditure allowance have been repaid from a private source
of income; otherwise fund members remain exposed to allegations of generating hidden additional
income;

77. Calls on its administration to discontinue payments — as of January 2008 — for Members who did not
prove that their personal contribution to the Voluntary Pension Fund was refunded from a private
source of income;

78. Reminds the Bureau and its administration that they were supposed to propose measures, before
30 March 2007, ensuring that personal payments by Fund members to the pension scheme are made
through direct debit orders from a personal source of income (21);

79. Notes that the Voluntary Pension Fund managed to reduce its actuarial deficit, already existing for five
years, from EUR 43 756 745 in 2004 to EUR 28 875 471 in 2005, thereby improving the fund's
actuary funding position from 76,8 % in 2004 to 86,1 % in 2005; underlines that over the past years
the stock market has proved to be highly volatile and that there is therefore no certainty as to the
direction in which the Fund's actuarial deficit will develop;

80. Calls on the investment manager of the Fund to favour ‘low-risk’ investments and to observe the ethical

investment standards as expressed in Parliament's resolutions;

81. Notes that, as from January 2006, a member can draw a monthly pension of EUR 1 304 from age 60

onwards and after only five years of contributions;

82. Welcomes the fact that its Bureau has set up a working party to look into the financial situation of the
Voluntary Pension Fund on the basis of an independent actuarial study; asks that its Committee on
Budgetary Control be informed of the working party's findings on a regular basis;

83.

Takes the view that the relationship between Parliament and the Pension Fund must be placed on a
contractual footing once the Bureau working party has completed its task;

84.

Takes the view that once the Statute for Members of the European Parliament enters into force the
Voluntary Pension Fund should confine itself to honouring rights (acquired up to June 2009), meaning
that neither Members of the European Parliament nor members of the Fund can continue to pay into the
Fund; calls on the Bureau to take the necessary measures,

(21) See paragraph 88 of the above mentioned Resolution of 26 September 2006.

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Parliamentary Assistants in the European Parliament

85. Welcomes the decision of its Bureau of 25 September 2006 by which it adopted a Codex for
parliamentary assistants in the European Parliament; is of the opinion that each Member should be
issued a personal copy of the Codex in his or her language;

86. Notes, based on figures provide by the Secretary-General on 24 January 2007, that the total number of
assistants that are accredited is 1 416 at present, of which 433 are service providers (natural persons),
about 583 have a direct employment contract with the Member and the other 400 are employed via a
service provider; from those, approximately 138 have an employment contract under Belgian law (14 %
of the accredited assistants under employment contracts); in 2005 there were 4 060 contracts for
parliamentary assistants (including 1 673 employees and 2 387 service-providers — of which 1 687 are
natural persons and 700 legal persons) and 492 stagiaires were paid from the parliamentary assistance
allowance;

87. Underlines, in this context, the importance of the audit of the Members' parliamentary assistance
allowance, which will only be available later this year; asks, therefore, the Committee on Budgetary
Control to follow-up this audit report together with its earlier observations on Members' allowances (22)
during the 2006 discharge;

88.

Takes note that the development of a Statute for Assistants requires negotiations with the Commission
and the Council and that the Bureau also wishes to consult the Committee on Legal Affaires; calls
therefore on the newly-elected Bureau to press ahead with this subject with a view to regulating
recruitment and working conditions and also social security and taxation arrangements for assistants;

89. Holds the view that in light of the on-going debate on this issue the mandate of the parliamentary

working party on Members' assistants should be extended;

A Kyoto-plus Plan for the European Parliament

90. Recalls some of the key figures which reflect the enormous impact the European Parliament has on the

environment (figures for 2004):

— electricity expenditure

— heating and gas

— CO2 emissions

— paper/printshop

— water

— ordinary waste

— car parks

EUR 6,2 million

235 364 GJ/year

11 245 t/year

70 523 boxes of 2 500 sheets A4 (846,3 t)

167 830 m3 = EUR 258 836

2 098 t = EUR 347 387

5 156 spaces

91. Requests the Secretary-General to provide the relevant parliamentary committee with an analysis of the
environmental impact of the Parliament's three work places overall and by location, and of the related
travel requirements;

92. Welcomes the Bureau decision of 19 April 2004 establishing an Environmental Management System at
the European Parliament, in accordance with the Eco-Management and Audit Scheme Regulation (EMAS
Regulation), which offers an excellent tool for managing the environmental impact of Parliament's
activities;

93. Welcomes also other initiatives to reduce its impact on the environment, such as the reorganisation of
the print shop, the introduction of new and lighter containers for transport of documents, the
availability of bicycles in Brussels and Luxemburg, the organisation of videoconferences and the
recycling of ink cartridges;

(22) See paragraphs 73 to 79 of the above mentioned Resolution of 26 September 2006.

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94. Welcomes the EMAS registration as a very positive step; regrets however that the EMAS action plan sets
only very modest reduction targets (i.e. 5 % for heating and air conditioning), proposes late deadlines (i.
e. 2011 for reducing energy consumption for lighting), and establishes various study groups working on
single improvements;

95.

Points out that the European Union plays a leading role in the debate about climate change at
international level; considers therefore that Parliament should not only contribute actively to meeting
the EU commitments under the Kyoto-Protocol, but also to meeting the targets in its own resolutions on
climate change, in particular a reduction of CO2 emissions by 30 % by 2020;

96. Calls on its administration to elaborate a Kyoto-plus Plan setting out an action plan that is more
ambitious and comprehensive than the measures envisaged under the EMAS framework, with a view to
proving to the general public that it strives for attaining the targets which it asks others to attain;

97.

Is of the opinion that the actions for a Kyoto-plus Plan should comprise the following:

— guaranteeing that the extension to the KAD building in Luxembourg will set an example by using
best environmental practice (i.e. by installing a system for the recovery, storage and re-use of rain
water, by the use of eco-technology to reduce energy consumption, the use of modern technology
such as advanced thermal insulation, or air conditioning systems that facilitate heat recovery or free
cooling, the use of solar panels for water heating purposes and the possibility of a unit for the co-
generation of heat and electricity),

— establishing an integrated energy efficiency plan on the basis of an audit not only of energy
consumption, but also on the basis of a study on the main causes of energy losses; energy loss
could be visualised through thermo-graphic pictures of the buildings,

— considering a change of electricity provider or a renegotiation of the contract with the present
one(s) with a view to buying energy from companies which have the least negative impact on the
environment,

— reducing further the use of paper (standing at 846 tons in 2004),

— striving for a considerable reduction of water consumption (which seems not to be one of the

targets of the current EMAS action plan),

— reducing the emissions of its service cars to 130 gr/km CO2 by 2012,

— considering using hybrid vehicles as its service cars when possible,

— organising an information campaign in Parliament, during which — on the basis of transport
needs and preferences of officials and other agents already established in surveys — a Parliament
mobility plan is presented, which would highlight the advantages and encourage the use of
sustainable means of transport (i.e. walking, using bicycles, public means of transport, car sharing,
car pooling etc.),

— establishing contacts with local and regional public transport providers with a view to offering a
more efficient public transport network, thereby attracting more clients from the personnel of
Parliament and other institutions,

— asking the Bureau to establish a permanent and visible information point on mobility

management, which provides customers with information and help about sustainable mobility,

— encouraging the use of IT equipment and video conferences in order to reduce travel,

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— endeavouring to reduce the distance food sold in Parliament's canteens and restaurants travels

before it reaches the consumer;

Equal opportunities in the European Parliament

98. Considers that offering equal opportunity has to be an integral part of Parliament's staff policy;
welcomes therefore the comprehensive report presented by the Vice-President responsible for gender
equality, which the Bureau adopted 29 November 2006; expects that the conclusions will be fully
implemented;

99.

Points out that Parliament's equal opportunity policy should form an integral part of tender procedures
and should be duly taken into account when concluding contracts with companies providing services to
Parliament;

100. Agrees with the targets set by the Bureau for the appointment of women at management level; notes

with satisfaction that the targets for senior management have almost been reached;

101. Draws attention to the persistent imbalance at middle management level; welcomes the survey and the
measures taken by DG Personnel; calls however for an assessment of the pilot training programme for
women who may be appointed heads of unit;

102. Underlines that a better professional-life/private-life balance can promote equal opportunities; calls
therefore for concrete measures to introduce more flexible working arrangements for staff,
to
complement the existing statutory provisions;

103. Notes the efforts of DG Personnel to improve the administrative and budgetary procedures for the
replacement of staff on maternity or parental/family leave and working part-time; asks its Bureau and
the Committee on Budget to set aside the necessary budgetary means to ensure the systematic
replacement of these staff members;

104. Welcomes the efforts to improve the accessibility of Parliament for persons with disabilities, be it
Members, assistants, staff or citizens; welcomes the pilot programme adopted by the Bureau on
traineeships for persons with disabilities as a positive action measure, keeping in mind that the long-
term objective is to fully mainstream the disability aspect into all human resources processes;

105. Calls on the Secretary-General to take full account of its resolution on gender mainstreaming of
13 March 2003 (23) for Parliament's staff policy; recommends the introduction of gender budgeting in
the 2008 budget;

Parliament and the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF)

106. Welcomes that cooperation between Parliament and OLAF is generally considered satisfactory;

is,

however, worried about the long time span necessary to complete some investigations;

107. Asks the Committee on Budgetary Control to invite the Director of OLAF for a discussion of issues of

common interest before the end of July 2007;

108.

Is aware that Parliament and Council will discuss the revision of the Regulation (EC) No 1073/1999 of
the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 May 1999 concerning investigations conducted by
the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) (24) in the near future;

(23) OJ C 61 E, 10.3.2004, p. 384.
(24) OJ L 136, 31.5.1999, p. 1.

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‘Raising the Game'— reforming Parliament's administration

109. Points to the fact that the reorganisation of Parliament's secretariat with a view to creating even more
professionalism, high quality and synergy has almost been completed; notes that the following changes
have been introduced:

— dividing the former Directorate General for Committees and Delegations into two, creating a
Directorate General for Internal Policies and a Directorate General for External Policies, thereby
taking into account the increasing legislative burden and level of specialisation,

— improving relations between the European Parliament and the national Parliaments,

— disbanding the former Directorate General for Research and re-establishing it in the form of policy

departments working closely with parliamentary committees,

— endowing parliamentary committees with an expertise budget

for external

studies and

contributions from independent experts,

— developing the use of its library,

— setting up horizontal project teams on priority issues, and

— improving the quality of parliamentary texts;

110. Welcomes the progress achieved by implementing the reform;

111. Underlines, at the same time, that with regard to external studies the specifications of studies should be
clear, the financial envelope sufficient and the deadlines realistic for research institutes to deliver quality
advice;

Follow-up to last year's discharge Resolution

112. Takes note that its Bureau appointed two Vice-Presidents and two Questors on 30 November 2005 with
a view to preparing new rules governing the payment of expenses and allowances to Members under the
Members’ Statute which will enter into force in July 2009; asks that the Committee on Budgetary
Control be given a copy of the interim report, adopted on 13 December 2006, and other position
papers the working party might draft; underlines that the audit on the Members' parliamentary
allowance will be of high value for the working party;

113. Notes that its Bureau has currently no intention to modify the travel reimbursement rules for Members
with a view to reimbursing Members, who so desire, only for travel costs incurred; 27 Members
reimbursed Parliament for parts of their travel allowance (EUR 148 963,57) in 2005;

114. Notes that the authorising officers by delegation have systematically reviewed Parliament's long-standing
contracts and that this exercise did not reveal any situation prejudicial to Parliament's financial interests;
welcomes that this exercise will in future be conducted annually and that its results will be included in
the annual activity reports;

115. Notes that in the context of the 2004 enlargement 984 posts for officials have been created: 489 in
2003, 355 in 2004 and 150 in 2005; by the end of November 2006 518 officials and 336 temporary
agents had been recruited; in addition, 65 Bulgarian and 79 Romanian contractual agents had also been
recruited by the end of November 2006;

116. Takes note of the legal and organisational problems linked to the introduction of a system of electronic
signatures: from a legal viewpoint clarification would be required as to how to reconcile the project with
the provisions of the Rules of Procedure governing the tabling of amendments in plenary; from an
organisational viewpoint arrangements for tabling amendments and parliamentary questions would
have to be redefined;

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117. Asks how the Secretary-General

intends to implement the Interinstitutional Agreement on Better

Lawmaking;

118. Recalls that the Disciplinary Board has completed its work on allocating responsibility in connection
with the discrepancy of BEF 4 136 125 between the cash situation and the corresponding amounts in
1982; asks the Secretary-General to inform the Committee on Budgetary Control about the outcome of
the disciplinary proceedings and also whether the amount, including interests, was recovered.