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Doc. 8099

29 April 1998

Expenditure of the Assembly for the financial year 1999

Report

Committee on the Budget and the Intergovernmental Work Programme

Rapporteur: Mr Miguel Angel Martínez, Spain, Socialist Group

Summary

Each year, the Parliamentary Assembly submits an opinion to the Committee of Ministers on its operational expenditure.

The Assembly’s priorities for 1999 involve providing the Office of the Clerk with the means and structure to recruit, retain and motivate its high qualified and efficient staff, reinforcement of the secretariat resources of the political groups, a limited increase in the total appropriations of the budgetary package and a simularly modest increase in resources affected to its Cooperation Programme.

I.        Draft opinion

1.       In its Opinion No. 201 (1997), the Assembly put forward budgetary proposals for the 1998 financial year amounting to just over 6 MF, representing a real terms increase of some 7.5%. In the light of overall budget restrictions, the Committee of Ministers, on the proposal of the Secretary General, granted the Assembly an increase of 1 MF, of which 700 000 F was for the Assembly’s Co-operation Programme, and 300 000 F to finance the creation of a specific temporary administrator post to reinforce the secretariat of the Monitoring Committee. For the rest, the Assembly’s proposals remained unsatisfied, even though they stemmed directly from the enlargement of the Organisation, in particular the human and financial resources necessary for the Assembly to fulfil its increasingly important political role.

2.       In some senses, therefore, the Assembly’s proposals for 1999 need to take account of this accumulated backlog, but they need also to be tailored to the future, notably in terms of the goals set at the 2nd Summit, and of the direction that the Organisation is likely to take on the advice of the Committee of Wise Persons. The Assembly has constantly been a strong advocate of reform, including statutory reform, and the structure and working methods of the Assembly itself should not escape its own close scrutiny. The Assembly’s proposals for 1999 result from such close examination and form part of a longer-term strategy designed to achieve optimum rationalisation and use of existing resources, whilst ensuring that the Assembly has the appropriate capacity for it to function efficiently in the new architecture of the Organisation and for it to play a prominent role in the new millennium.

3.       In 1998, the Assembly created a new, fourteenth committee without there being provision for the necessary financial and staff resources. Such expansion of activity is the legitimate consequence of a political body such as the Assembly, and whilst there is a clear obligation to deploy to the full the existing resources of the Assembly, it is obvious that such expansion cannot continue whilst remaining within the existing budget.

4.       Certain minimum requirements have to be met, including, as a priority, providing the Office of the Clerk with the means to recruit, retain and motivate its highly qualified and efficient permanent staff. The Assembly’s proposals for 1999 form part of a strategic restructuring of the Office of the Clerk, designed, over a number of years, to create a more coherent and efficient structure. The Assembly’s priority for reinforcing its Secretariat also takes account of its wish to include nationals of all member states in its Secretariat and of its intention to pay closer attention to the potential of the mass and electronic media in supporting and furthering its activities. Provision is also necessary to enable greater recourse to temporary staff, on both secondment and fixed-term contract bases, as far as specific projects and activities are concerned.

5.       The Assembly’s political groups also need to be able to strengthen their secretariat resources, since their role in organising and preparing the deliberations of the Assembly is crucial now that membership of the Assembly is twice the size that it was a decade ago. Here, too, a staged increase is proposed to allow the political groups to become progressively more fully operational.

6. Within the budgetary package, there has also been an effort to re-deploy financial resources according to priorities and existing patterns of expenditure. It should however be borne in mind that the appropriations in the budgetary package have not been adjusted for the effect of price increases since 1993. Thus re-deployment cannot cover all needs and there remains a shortfall in appropriations for 1999.

7. Finally, as concerns the Cooperation Programme of the Assembly, for both 1997 and 1998, the Assembly requested that resources available be restored to their 1996 level. The requested increase of 300 000 F for 1999 represents a final instalment on the re-establishment of this level, and is designed in particular to allow the Assembly to extend its scope to recruit programme staff on limited duration contracts in connection with specific programmes.

Appended to this opinion are:

VOTE III of the ordinary budget – Expenditure of the Assembly

TITRE III du budget ordinaire – Dépenses relatives à l’Assemblée

Appropriations

for 1998

(after transfers)

Crédits ouverts

au budget de 1998

(après transferts)

FF

Changes in real terms proposed for 1999

Modifications en termes réels proposées pour 1999

FF

HEAD 3.1 – Staff

CHAPITRE 3.1 – Dépenses de personnel

Sub-heads/Articles

3101 – Salary, allowances and social charges of the Clerk of the Assembly

Rémunération, indemnités et charges sociales du Greffier……………...

3102 – Remuneration of staff recruited on established posts

Rémunération du personnel recruté sur le cadre des emplois

Permanents………………………………………………………………

3103 – Recruitment, arrival and departure expenses – Home leave

Frais de recrutement à l’arrivée et au depart – congé dans le pays

d’origine………………………………………………………………...

3104 – Overtime – statutory and other allowances

Heures supplémentaires – indemnités statutaires et autres…………...

3105 – Remuneration and accessory charges of temporary staff

Rémunération et charges accessoires du personnel temporaire…………

3106 – Provision for adjustment to remuneration

Provision pour ajustements de la rémunération…………………………

3107 – National parliamentary officials on secondment to the Assembly

Fonctionnaires de parlements nationaux mis à la disposition de

l’Assemblée…………………………………………………………….

TOTAL HEAD 3.1

TOTAL DU CHAPITRE 3.1…………………………………………..

1 115 000

39 452 000

400 000

140 000

21 580 000

994 000

400 000

64 081 000

2 925 000

900 000

200 000

+ 4 025 000

HEAD 3.2 – Allocation to the Assembly’s political groups

CHAPITRE 3.2 – Dotation des groupes politiques de l’Assemblée

3201 – Allocation to the Assembly’s political groups

Dotation des groupes politiques de l’Assemblée………………………..

TOTAL HEAD 3.2

TOTAL DU CHAPITRE 3.2…………………………………………

4 030 000

4 030 000

350 000

+ 350 000

HEAD 3.3 – Supplies, services and other operational expenditure

CHAPITRE 3.3 – Dépenses de matériel et autres dépenses de fonctionnement

Sub-heads/Articles

3301 – Publishing and printing

Publications et impressions……………………………………………….

3302 – Official expenses of the President of the Assembly

Frais de fonction du Président de l’Assemblée…………………………...

3303 – Expenditure pertaining to the Private Office of the President of the

Assembly

Dépenses du Cabinet du Président de l’Assemblée………………………

3304 – Representational expenditure, other official expenditure and travelling

expenses of members of the Assembly

Dépenses de représentation, frais de fonction et de déplacement des

membres de l’Assemblée…………………………………………………

3305 – Official journeys

Frais de missions………………………………………………………….

3306 – Expenses for inviting parliamentary delegations of non-member states

and other guests

Dépenses d’accueil des invites de l’Assemblée parlementaire…………...

3307 – Consultation of experts

Consultation d’experts…………………………………………………...

3308 – Organisation of ad hoc conferences

Organisation de conférences ad hoc……………………………………...

3309 – Grant to the International Institute for Democracy

Dotation à l’Institut International pour la Démocratie……………………

3310 – Other expenditure not specifically provided for in this vote

Autres dépenses non spécialement prévues au présent titre……………...

3311 – Modernisation of the Assembly’s equipment

Modernisation de l’équipement de l’Assemblée…………………………

3312 – European prizes

Prix européens…………………………………………………………….

TOTAL HEAD 3.3

TOTAL DU CHAPITRE 3.3…………………………………………….

HEAD 3.4 – Inter-parliamentary activities

CHAPITRE 3.4 – Activités interparlementaires

3401 –Co-operation programme of the Assembly

Programme de coopération de l’Assemblée……………………………...

TOTAL HEAD 3.4

TOTAL DU CHAPITRE 3.4…………………………………………...

TOTAL VOTE III

TOTAL DU TITRE III……...………………………………………….

3 700 000

535 000

500 000

1 300 000

1 700 000

1 404 000

500 000

900 000

250 000

330 000

p.m.

400 000

11 519 000

3 700 000

3 700 000

83 330 000

300 000

p.m.

100 000

+ 400 000

300 000

+ 300 000

+ 5 075 000

VOTE III —EXPENDITURE OF THE PARLIAMENTARY ASSEMBLY

HEAD 3.1 —       Staff

Sub-head 3101 —       Salary, allowances and social charges of the Clerk of the Assembly

The 1999 appropriations for this sub-head should be maintained at the same level in real terms as in 1998.

Sub-head 3102 —       Remuneration of staff recruited on established posts

This appropriation covers the basic salaries, allowances (both non-recurring and periodic) and social insurance of the staff of the Office of the Clerk, which comprises the following 74 posts:

The proposed staffing changes for 1999 form part of a longer term strategy designed to rationalise the structure of the Office of the Clerk, and to provide it with the means to maximise its efficiency. These staffing changes may be considered in relation to the various operating units of the Office of the Clerk, as follows.

a)       Executive Assistant of the Clerk

The Clerk of the Assembly, who is one of the three highest ranking officials of Secretariat, currently works without the support of a full-time executive assistant to assist him in his functions. The responsibilities of this post of Executive Assistant to the Clerk is correspondent to an A4 grade (Principal Administrator). The pressing nature of this need is reflected in the inclusion of this proposal for 1999.

b)       Table Office

The request for the upgrading of a B5 post to B6 appeared already in Opinion No. 201 (1997) for the 1998 budget. It is repeated for the 1999 budget.

The responsibilities and workload of the person in charge of the administrative and secretarial unit of the Table Office have multiplied considerably in recent years. This staff member supervises a team of secretaries and is responsible for the registration and publication of all Assembly documents, especially those on the agenda of the Assembly plenary sessions and of Standing Committee meetings, and for the material preparation of amendments. By way of example, the number of documents increased from 237 in 1995 to 262 in 1996 and to 260 in 1997, whereas the number of amendments went from 261 to 404 and to 407 over the same period. This staff member is also responsible for compiling and updating the biographies of Assembly members, the list of national delegations and of committee and sub-committee membership.

c)       Committee secretariats:

Such a widespread reform of the structure of the Office of the Clerk is, for a number of reasons, and not least that of budgetary feasibility, not to be achieved overnight. Accordingly, the Assembly proposes that these establishment changes be staggered over three financial years as follows:

Creation of Posts:

Year I       3 x B4       1 x A2/A3       1 x A4       1 x A5

Year II       2 x B4       1 X A2/A3       1 x A4       1 x A5

Year III       2 x B4       1 X A2/A3       1 x B2       1 x A5

For 1999, therefore, the proposals involve the creation of 1 A5 posts of Secretary to 65-member Committees, one A4 post of Executive Assistant to the Clerk, one A2/A3 post of co-secretary to a Committee and 3 B4 posts of Committee Assistant, together with the up-grading of one B5 post to B6.

The cost of these modifications to the establishment amounts to 2 925 000 F for the 1999 budget.

Following full implementation of these changes to the permanent establishment, the Assembly would propose a number of further changes, designed to produce a coherent hierarchical structure, and which would reduce the future charge to the budget.

Sub-head 3103 —       Recruitment, arrival and departure expenses — Home leave

Sub-head 3104 —       Overtime — Statutory and other allowances

Sub-head 3105 —       Remuneration and accessory charges of temporary staff

Sub-head 3106 —       Provision for adjustments to remuneration

Sub-head 3107 —       Placement of national parliamentary officials on secondment

HEAD 3.2

Sub-head 3201 —       Allocation to the Assembly's political groups

HEAD 3.3 —        Supplies, services and other operational expenditure

Sub-head 3301 —       Publishing and printing

Sub-head 3302 —       Official expenses of the President of the Assembly

Sub-head 3303 —       Expenditure pertaining to the Private Office of the President of the Assembly

Sub-head 3304 —       Representational expenditure, other official expenditure and travelling expenses of members of the Assembly

Sub-head 3305 —       Official journeys

Sub-head 3306 —       Expenses for inviting parliamentary delegations of non-member states and other guests

Sub-head 3307 —       Consultation of experts

Sub-head 3308 —       Organisation of ad hoc conferences

Sub-head 3309 —       Grant to the International Institute for Democracy

Sub-head 3310 —       Other expenditure not specifically provided for in this vote

Sub-head 3311 —       Modernisation of the Assembly's equipment - p.m.

Sub-head 3312 —       European Prizes

HEAD 3.4 —       Inter-parliamentary activities

Sub-head 3401 —       Co-operation programme of the Assembly

II.        Explanatory memorandum by Mr Martinez

1.       The Assembly is required each year to give its opinion on Vote III of the Council of Europe's ordinary budget, that is the part of the Organisation's budget relating to appropriations allocated to it to pay for expenditure on staff, for the allocation to the political groups, for supplies, services and other operational expenditure and for the costs stemming from the activities of its programme of inter-parliamentary co-operation. The common services of the Council of Europe from which the Assembly benefits are financed through appropriations made under Vote I of the budget, which is not the subject of this opinion.

2.       I therefore, in accordance with the budgetary procedure in force, restrict myself as rapporteur to putting forward, on the basis of the budget for the current year, a number of proposals as to the appropriations which should be included in the budget for next year. These proposals, once approved by the Assembly, will be transmitted in the form of an opinion to the Committee of Ministers, at the same time as the draft budget for 1999, which will be drawn up by the Secretary General. The texts governing the current budgetary procedure are in the appendix.

3.       To allow the Parliamentary Assembly to continue to cope with its new tasks and its growing role within the Organisation, it appears necessary to request increases in appropriations under the following sub-heads:

- Sub-head 3102 (Remuneration of staff recruited on established posts)

- Sub-head 3105 (Remuneration and accessory charges of temporary staff)

- Sub-head 3107 (Placement of national parliamentary officials on secondment to the Assembly)

The experience of having parliamentary officials seconded to the Office of the Clerk has proved very positive. I therefore consider it timely to expand this limited programme and to propose an increase of 200 000 F to permit the recruitment of three such officials in 1999.

- Sub-head 3201 (Allocation to the Assembly’s political groups)

The Assembly’s political groups play an increasingly important role, and one that has been crucial in enabling the Assembly to remain abreast of many of the consequences of its expansion. However, In my view, the political groups remain understaffed, both in terms of level and numbers. To this end, therefore, I propose a progressive increase over a number of financial years in the lump sum allocated to each group. At term, these increases should aim to allow each group to recruit at least one staff member at Administrator level, and one secretarial assistant. For 1999, I propose a modest increase of 70 000 F per group, 350 000 F in total, which should permit the payment of one half-time Administrator, albeit at a very junior level.

- Sub-head 3301 (Publishing and printing)

An increase of 300 000 F is necessary under this sub-head simply to cover the current level of expenditure, which in previous years has necessitated transfers from other sub-heads of the ‘package’. I consider this increase of 300 000 F the absolute minimum that I can recommend.

- Sub-head 3306 (Expenses for inviting parliamentary delegations of non-member states and other guests)

I include a pro memoriam entry under this sub-head. This is because 1999 will see the 50th Anniversary of the Organisation, and it will be necessary for the Assembly to mark this occasion in an appropriate way. However, at the time of preparation of this document, precise arrangements both as to the nature of the celebratory manifestations and to their financing are not clear. Accordingly, and given the exceptional nature of this item, I propose that it be assumed that the Council’s budgetary authorities will make an appropriate financial provision for the 50th Anniversary outside the framework of the Assembly’s normal budget.

- Sub-head 3312 (European Prizes)

In December 1997, the Assembly decided to sponsor the “Young Europe” category of the “Prix Europe for Television”. This new activity, financed by transferred appropriations in 1998, should be financed in its own right from 1999 at a cost of 75 000 F. In addition, a further increase of 25 000 F under this sub-head will enable the Assembly to improve the publicity arrangements concerning this and other prizes with which it is associated. I therefore recommend an increase of 100 000 F under this sub-head.

- Sub-head 3401 (Co-operation programme of the Assembly)

Both for 1997 and 1998, the Assembly requested that the resources available for its Co-operation Programme be restored to their 1996 level. In 1998, an increase of 700 000 F was approved, bringing the total appropriations to 3.7 MF, but still 300 000 F short of the 1996 level. I therefore propose an increase of this amount, 300 000 F, under this sub-head.

4.       In conclusion, the above requests as a whole represent an increase in real terms of some 5 075 000 F over the appropriations allocated to the Assembly for 1998. I consider such an increase to be well within the scope of the Organisation’s budgetary authorities, particularly given the undertakings made at the 2nd Summit and the priority afforded to our Assembly on this same occasion.

Reporting committee: Committee on the Budget and the Intergovernmental Work Programme.

Report giving an opinion on the expenditure of the Assembly for the financial year 1999.

Reference to committee: Standing mandate.

Draft opinion adopted by the committee on 23 April 1998.

Members of the committee: MM. Schreiner (Chairman), Theis, Goovaerts, Koulouris (Vice-Chairmen), Aleffi, Anusz, Atac, Begaj, Behrendt, Ms Bielikova, MM Bordas, Bulic, Ms Calner, MM Cangemi, Cherep, Fernandez Aguilar, Gill, Gregory, Jonsson, Kittis, Kriedner, Ms Luhtanen, MM. Luis, de Marco, Mautner Markhof, Muravschi, Ms Novakova, MM Oorzhak, Pantelejevs, Plattner, Lord Ponsonby, MM Popovski, Rise, Rupar, Soendergaard, Stanoiu, Stoyanova, Szalay, Valk, Zhirinovsky.

NB The names of members who took part in the meeting are printed in italics.

Secretary of the committee: T. Cartwright.