Reply to Opinion No. 179 (1994) on the Council of Europe general accounts and budgets for the years 1992, 1994 and 1995 and to Opinion No. 180 (1994) on the programme-budget for the operational expenditure of the Assembly in 1995

13 February 1995

Doc. 7247

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMITTEE OF MINISTERS

Reply to Opinion No. 179 (1994) on the Council of Europe general accounts and budgets for the years 1992, 1994 and 1995 and to Opinion No. 180 (1994) on the programme-budget for the operational expenditure of the Assembly in 1995

(adopted by the Committee of Ministers on 26 January 1995 at the 526th meeting of the Ministers' Deputies)

1. In accordance with the wish expressed by the Parliamentary Assembly in its Opinion No. 179 (1994) and conscious of its responsibilities as the decision-making body of the Council of Europe, the Committee of Ministers has held an in-depth consideration of all the questions related to the enlargement of the Council of Europe, including its budgetary consequences. In this respect, it recalls the interim reply adopted at the 522nd meeting of the Ministers' Deputies (5 December 1994) to Parliamentary Assembly Recommendation 1250 (1994) on the enlargement of the Council of Europe and budgetary prospects, in which it informed the Assembly of the adoption of Resolution (94) 31 on the revision of the method of calculating the scales of member States' contributions to budgets of the Council of Europe. It should also be recalled that, at their 521st meeting (November 1994) the Deputies decided that their Working Party on Budgetary Procedure would look into possibilities for financing certain Council of Europe activities from alternative sources.

2. In the light of the acknowledged budgetary constraints facing the majority of member governments, the Committee of Ministers can make no advance commitment as to future budgetary levels. The Council of Europe's budget should be set at the level necessary to ensure its efficient functioning in accordance with its statutory mandate, its contribution to democratic security, and the priorities fixed at the October 1993 Vienna Summit.

Having regard to these considerations the Committee of Ministers fixed the budgetary ceiling for 1995 at 800 million FF, a sum which represents a nominal increase of 2 %, ie, higher than the rate of inflation in the host country.

Moreover, the actual available resources were increased, notably as a result of the decision taken by the Ministers' Deputies at their 523rd (budget) meeting (December 1994) to allocate to the Organisation approximately 35 million FF, the said sum being the credit balance drawn from the 1993 financial year.

These extra resources will assist the Organisation in implementing the priority tasks referred to by the Assembly in Opinion No. 179. Thus, a total of 7.9 million FF (including 0.5 million FF for activities to be undertaken by the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of Europe) has been allocated to the European Youth Campaign against Racism, Xenophobia, Anti-semitism and Intolerance.

Moreover, a total of 51 million FF was allocated to Vote IX - Assistance for developing and consolidating democratic security (ADACS) - for 1995. Finally, the countries of Central and Eastern Europe with which the Organisation has co-operation and assistance programmes will also benefit from their involvement in conventional and other activities under Vote II - Expenditure pertaining to the Intergovernmental Programme of Activities -, which itself has been allocated 78 million FF.

3. With regard to Parliamentary Assembly expenditure, the resources allocated by the Committee of Ministers amount to 71 636 000 FF, which represents an increase for 1995 of 3 196 000 FF (4.67%) by comparison with 1994. It may also be noted that this is a net increase, discounting the transfer of 3.5 million FF allocated to the Assembly's co-operation programmes which, in line with the Assembly's wishes and as of the 1995 financial year, will no longer be contained within Vote IX, but within Vote III.

The Committee of Ministers regrets that the Assembly, despite the increase in resources greater than the overall increase and that accorded to other activities, was unable to reorder its priorities in a way which would have permitted the financing of the requests for additional staff in its Opinion No. 180. Indeed, in the ordinary budget, only 7 new posts were created (of which 6 are technical posts required by the full bringing into service of the new Human Rights Building).

4. As far as other aspects of the Assembly's Opinions are concerned, the Committee of Ministers attaches all the necessary importance both to the development of the Organisation's computer resources and to the improvement of working conditions for all who use Council of Europe premises in Strasbourg and in Paris. To these ends, at their 523rd meeting, the Deputies authorised the Secretary General to open a special account "investment programme 1995/6" into which has been placed, in the first instance, 11 million FF.

5. The Committee of Ministers took note of the other points made by the Parliamentary Assembly in its Opinions Nos. 179 and 180 (1994).