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11 June 1992
Doc. 6630
1403-11/6/92-3-E
Report
expressing an opinion on the Council of Europe general accounts
and budgets for 1990, 1992 and 1993
(Rapporteur: Mr PARISI, Italy, Christian Democrat)
Summary
Every year the Assembly is required to present an opinion to the Committee of Ministers assessing the political aspects of the Council of Europe's budget as a whole. The Assembly makes general recommendations on the Council's functioning on the basis of:
i. the most recent accounts approved by the Board of Auditors (1990 financial year);
ii. the budget adopted for the current year (1992);
iii. the budget forecasts for the following year (1993).
The Assembly's main finding regarding the 1990 accounts was that the Council's financial management had been conducted with a commendable sense of economy, as stated by the Board of Auditors.
With regard to the 1992 budget the Assembly takes the view that the increase in real terms granted by the Committee of Ministers has made it possible to step up co-operation with Central and Eastern Europe.
With regard to the 1993 budget the Assembly's view is that a sizeable increase in real terms will be essential to meet the new challenges resulting from the Council's likely expansion. At the same time additional financial resources and manpower will be needed to strengthen the Secretariat and rationalise its management.
I. DRAFT OPINION
1. The Council of Europe's 1993 budget is being prepared in a political context profoundly changed by the appearance on the international scene of new states emerging from the break-up of the USSR and the SFR of Yugoslavia.
2. At its 90th session held on 7 May 1992, the Committee of Ministers forcefully reaffirmed the Council of Europe's role as a first reception structure for new democracies wishing to co-operate with it at both intergovernmental and interparliamentary level and gradually become a member of it.
3. In particular, the Committee of Ministers "recognised the necessity to provide the organisation with the necessary resources and capacity to act to this end".
4. The Assembly accordingly adopts the following opinion:
i. With regard to the Council of Europe's general accounts for 1990, the Assembly notes with satisfaction the finding of the Board of Auditors that budgetary expenditure was allocated in accordance with the purposes and amounts of the appropriations appearing in the amended budget and that financial management was conducted with a commendable sense of economy.
ii. The Assembly welcomes in particular the initiatives in the computer audit field and hopes that further progress will be made in this area.
iii. The Assembly reiterates its concern that all member states should pay their contributions within the time limits laid down in the Statute and the Financial Regulations.
iv. With regard to the 1992 budget, the Assembly notes that although the increase in real terms granted by the Committee of Ministers (+ 9,57%) was less than in 1991, it has nevertheless made it possible to consolidate recent gains and step up the programmes of assistance to countries of Central and Eastern Europe.
v. With regard to its own funds, the Assembly notes:
a. that the increase in real terms in Vote III (5,35%) is considerably less than the increase for the ordinary budget as a whole;
b. that the increase in real terms in Assembly appropriations under Vote IX is out of all proportion to the effort made by the Committee of Ministers in the intergovernmental field.
vi. With regard to the prospects for the 1993 budget, the Assembly draws attention to the following requirements:
a. a sustained increase in real terms will prove necessary to satisfy the new partners' needs;
b. legislative and institutional assistance must be maintained in respect of the new members of the organisation which request such assistance;
c. the organisation's geographical extension calls for new efforts on behalf of the Secretariat: investment, increased human resources, modernisation and rationalisation of management.
vii. The Council of Europe's role vis-à-vis the CSCE, especially as regards the human dimension, should be expanded in the interests of both institutions.
viii.The Council of Europe's convention activities, and principally those coming under the European Convention on Human Rights, must be strengthened so that they are able to operate fully and efficiently even with an increasing number of States Parties.
ix. The Assembly continues to take a special interest in the introduction of a dynamic information policy backed by the necessary financial resources.
x. The Assembly reiterates the hope that some projects aimed at the countries of Central and Eastern Europe will be partly or wholly financed by other international institutions, such as the EEC or the EBRD.
xi. The Assembly draws attention to the recent adoption of its Order No. 476 (1992) on the European civil service and hopes that progress will be made, particularly as regards the granting of a right of negotiation to the staff of the co-ordinated organisations.
II. EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM
by Mr Parisi
CONTENTS
A. INTRODUCTION 5
B. 1990 ACCOUNTS 5
C. 1992 BUDGET 8
D. 1993 BUDGET 10
E. CONCLUSIONS 13
A. INTRODUCTION
Every year the Assembly has to present two opinions to the Committee of Ministers1:
a. one makes reasoned proposals on the estimates for the Assembly's operational expenditure for the following year;
b. the other appraises the political implications of the whole Council of Europe budget.
In this second opinion (which is the subject of this memorandum), the Assembly makes general recommendations on the functioning of the organisation, which are based on:
1. the most recent accounts approved by the Board of Auditors (1990 financial year);
2. the budget for the current year (1992);
3. budget forecasts for the following year (1993).
B. 1990 ACCOUNTS
a. General observations
As required by the Financial Regulations, the Secretary General submitted the Council of Europe general accounts for 1990 to the Board of Auditors, which noted that budgetary expenditure had been allocated in accordance with the purposes and amounts of the appropriations appearing in the organisation's amended budget and that the financial management had, on the whole, been conducted with a commendable sense of economy. The Board certified that the various Council of Europe budgets (ordinary and extraordinary budget, subsidiary budget of the European Youth Centre, pensions budget and the special accounts and budgets of the Partial Agreements) were correct and in order and recommended that the Committee of Ministers discharge the Secretary General from her financial responsibility. In its Resolutions (91) 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31 and 32, the Committee of Ministers approved these accounts, the organisation's balance sheet and the management and cash accounts giving the total and the balance of individual accounts, and gave the Secretary General a discharge.
Expenditure under the 1990 ordinary budget came to 482 837 000 FF. This amount exactly balances the amended authorisations. Indeed, as a result of the inadequacy of the estimates included in the 1990 budget to cover the salary adjustment with effect from 1 July 1990, a sum of 1 363 083,42 FF had to be charged to the 1991 budget provisions.
The subsidiary budget of the European Youth Centre forms part of the general budget. The Centre is financed both by an appropriation under the general budget and by its own resources. The sum deducted from this appropriation is limited to the amount required to balance the expenditure actually incurred under the subsidiary budget of the Centre less its own resources actually collected. Consequently, the budget is automatically balanced at the end of the financial year and does not produce any financial result to be apportioned.
The subsidiary budget totalled 18 102 000 FF.
As from 1990, the extraordinary budget covers only the financing of the construction of the new human rights building. It should be pointed out that receipts from the European Parliament for rent of the premises came to 2 840 000 FF. The cash surplus to be divided out among member states was 38 650 FF.
The pensions budget amounted to 56 081 000 FF. As in 1988 and 1989, implementation of the 1990 budget did not necessitate any supplementary appropriations.
The Partial Agreements listed below, which involve only some of the member states, are implemented under the Council of Europe's auspices:
a. Partial Agreement in the Social and Public Health Field (budget 6 218 000 FF);
b. European Pharmacopoeia (budget 14 949 000 FF);
c. Social Development Fund (Resettlement Fund) (budget 4 512 000 FF);
d. Co-operation Group to Combat Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking in Drugs (Pompidou Group) (budget 3 449 000 FF);
e. Co-operation Group for the Prevention of, Protection against, and Organisation of Relief in Major Natural and Technological Disasters (budget 7 082 414 FF).
Lastly, mention should be made of a special account relating to the human rights building and of 22 special "operational accounts", including in particular:
- the special account for North-South Interdependence, established in May 1986, which had a credit balance of 220 641,29 FF at 31 December 1990;
- the special account for the Strasbourg Conference, established in February 1987, which had a credit balance of 1 551,69 FF at 31 December 1990.
b. Report of the Board of Auditors and the Secretary General's comments on the report
The report of the Board of Auditors and the Secretary General's comments thereon highlight a number of problems relating inter alia to the organisation's financial management. I would single out the following fields:
i. Data processing
For the financial year 1990, the Board of Auditors undertook a general review of computer security. It concluded that security arrangements had been improved and that the computer division fully realises the importance of adequate security and discipline in the data processing field. The Board points out at the same time that further improvements are necessary and, to this end, draws attention to the need to implement a series of measures2.
In her comments on the Board of Auditors' report on the Council of Europe accounts for the financial year 1990, the Secretary General stated that she "intends to act on the Board's recommendations, especially with regard to the appointment of a security officer".
Furthermore, the Board of Auditors considers that the efforts to introduce analytical accounting should be accelerated. Such efforts will make it possible to modernise the financial administration and make it more efficient as a result of greater delegation of responsibilities to the directorates.
Lastly, the Board of Auditors reviews the results of the computer audit - entrusted to an external consultant - which was concerned with improving the effectiveness of staff management. The Board considers that the study submitted by the consultant contains many valuable observations and recommendations and it notes that some of the measures recommended in the study are already being implemented (for example, the restructuring of the Establishment Division and the identification of tasks which it would be better to decentralise). The Board "endorses the initiatives taken for this section, which obviously needs modernisation".
ii. Internal control
As required by the Financial Regulations, the Financial Controller provided good support to the Board of Auditors during the audit. Nevertheless, the Board complains that his recommendation concerning the recruitment into the office of the Financial Controller of an internal auditor with special qualifications in auditing computer systems has not yet been put into practical effect, despite an approval of principle.
iii. Contributions by member states
The Board's report reveals that in 1990 eight member states had not paid at least one third of their contributions by the end of February as required by Article 12 of the Financial Regulations.
Moreover, not all member states complied with the terms of Article 39 of the Statute of the Council of Europe.3 The Board of Auditors has consistently drawn attention to the negative impact of such delays in payment on the accounts. In its report on the accounts for the financial year 1990, it "continues to emphasise the importance of the payment by member states of contributions when they are due, so that the Secretariat is in a position to manage its financial affairs as intended in the rules".
While suggesting that the Assembly should support this recommendation by the Board of Auditors, your Rapporteur would point out that, in its Opinion No. 151 (1990) para 4.a, the Assembly had asked to "regularly receive all pertinent information in this respect" in the future. In its reply to Assembly Opinions Nos. 151 and 152, the Committee of Ministers decided not to meet the Assembly's request that it be kept constantly informed about such delays. At the same time, the Committee of Ministers minimised the problem to some extent and made the following point in its reply: "The Committee of Ministers would point out that in recent years, on average, over 95% of contributions have been paid within the period prescribed by Article 39 of the Statute and virtually all sums outstanding at the end of that period have been paid by the end of the financial year".
In her comments on the report of the Board of Auditors, the Secretary General - like the Assembly - expresses her deep concern on this subject.
C. 1992 BUDGET
Appropriations in the 1992 ordinary budget adopted by the Committee of Ministers (Resolution (91) 36) totalled 665 920 000 FF, a nominal increase of 14,64 %. Taking into account the effects over a full year of the decisions taken in 1991, unavoidable adjustments of a contractual nature or arising from the Statute, pay-scale revision, inflation in 1992 and the budgetary impact of the accession of Hungary, the Czech and Slovak Federal Republic and Poland, the net increase in real terms amounts to 9,57%.
This increase is lower than the one for 1991 (11,45%), but the figures for these two years are out of proportion to those for previous years (for example, 0,57% in 1989 and 1,34% in 1988).
The following comparative tables are appended to this report:
- Appendix I - Table 1 - budget figures for the last five financial years showing trends in appropriations;
- Appendix II - Table 2 - details of appropriations and increases in real terms compared with 1991, broken down by vote of the ordinary budget;
- Appendix III - Table 3 - field-by-field comparison of intergovernmental activity programmes for the last three years.
Member states' total contributions to the 1992 budget are set at 640 520 000 FF as against a total expenditure budget of 665 920 000 FF. The difference will be covered by other receipts such as bank interest and recoveries, including the fixed contribution from the Partial Agreements and refunds from the European Parliament of expenditure relating to the buildings.
The budget totals for the Partial Agreements are as follows:4
- Social and Public Health Field 7 189 000 FF (+0,14%)
- European Pharmacopoeia 30 641 000 FF (+48,13%)
- Council of Europe Social 6 743 000 FF (+17,71%)
Development Fund (Resettlement
Fund)
- Co-operation Group to Combat Drug 4 778 000 FF (+2,99%)
Abuse and Illicit Trafficking
in Drugs (Pompidou Group)
- Co-operation Group for the 9 557 000 FF (+9,97%)
Prevention of, Protection against
and Organisation of Relief in Major
Natural and Technological Disasters
- European Support Fund for the 5 125 000 FF5
Co-production and Distribution of Creative
Cinematographic and Audiovisual Works -
"Eurimages"
- European Commission for 2 249 000 FF (+27,20%)
Democracy through Law
- Lisbon Centre for Global 4 700 000 (+9,88%)
Interdependence and Solidarity
A closer look at the increases under the different votes of the ordinary budget shows, interestingly, that the appropriations under Vote IX (Co-operation with the countries of Central and Eastern Europe) registered an increase of roughly 98% in real terms. These figures reflect more eloquently than words the political determination of the Committee of Ministers to focus the bulk of the organisation's efforts on this sector.
A substantial increase in real terms must also be noted in the fields relating to the implementation of conventions, such as the Social Charter (+25,46%), the European Court of Human Rights (+21,64%) and the European Commission of Human Rights (+9,47%).
The fact that the appropriation for staff training has risen from 945 000 FF to 1 523 000 FF should also be welcomed.
The sectors subjected to cutbacks include investment and communications expenditure. However, despite some efforts in the realm of information policy, it should be recalled that the majority view expressed in the Assembly - to which I shall return in the conclusions attached to this opinion - is that the Council of Europe has urgent requirements in respect of communication policy.
As far as Assembly appropriations are concerned, it should be pointed out at the outset that the 5,35% growth in real terms for Vote III (Expenditure of the Parliamentary Assembly) is considerably lower than the real-term increase in the ordinary budget as a whole. This reality must not be forgotten at a time when the Assembly is preparing to put forward its requests for appropriations in 1993.
More specifically, as regards staffing demands, the Committee of Ministers has accepted the Assembly's requests for the establishment of a B5 post and the upgrading of an A4 post to A5, but has created an A4 post for the Head of the future Central Division (instead of the A5 post requested). Nor has the Committee of Ministers agreed to the Assembly's request for the upgrading of an A2/A3 post to A4, which was based on considerations of fairness. Indeed, the Assembly wishes to see the secretaries of its thirteen committees placed on an equal footing. Nevertheless, the possible fulfillment of this objective during the current year is not excluded, given the establishment of A4 posts during the last financial year.
As regards temporary conference staff, the Committee of Ministers increased the appropriations by 361 000 FF in real terms, mainly to cover the costs of the European Conference of Presidents of European Parliamentary Assemblies, held in Strasbourg from 20 to 22 February 1992 at the invitation of the President of the Parliamentary Assembly.
With regard to the budgetary package, the Committee of Ministers this year voted Assembly appropriations in the form of an overall package not divided into sub-heads. The increase of 1 250 000 FF in real terms is lower than the amount requested by the Assembly, which was 1 850 000 FF in real terms. As for Assembly appropriations under Vote IX (Sub-head 9201 - programme of interparliamentary co-operation), the real-term increase of 395 000 FF is out of all proportion to the effort made by the Committee of Ministers in the intergovernmental field.
In my next memorandum, I shall put forward suggestions for budgetary guidelines in 1993, and I shall outline a number of conclusions summarising our committee's thinking about the organisation's budget.
D. 1993 BUDGET
The 1993 budget is being prepared in a new political context strongly influenced by the disintegration of the USSR and Yugoslavia. Enlargement of the Council of Europe is on the agenda both of the Committee of Ministers and the relevant Assembly bodies. After Bulgaria's recent admission to the Council, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania are likely to complete their membership procedure this year. In the medium-term they will be followed by Romania, Albania and the former Yugoslav republics (Slovenia has special-guest status and has applied for membership of the Council; Croatia has had special-guest status since 4 May 1992; Macedonia has likewise applied for special-guest status; and it is not impossible that further republics will apply for membership after a transitional special-guest stage). Then there is Russia, which has just applied for membership and will probably be followed by other European republics of the former USSR (Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova). And the question of what type of relations it would be appropriate to have with, individually, the Caucasian republics on the one hand and former Soviet republics in Asia on the other will also have to be addressed with a view to deciding.
What is certain, however, is that there are going to be more and more contacts with new partners in 1993. These new partners will have requirements in terms of both intergovernmental and interparliamentary co-operation.
Intergovernmental co-operation activities need to be reviewed in order to ensure that they are able to satisfy the new partners' requirements.
Furthermore, the new accessions will result in ratifications of the European Convention on Human Rights and, hence, in the extension of the individual petition system to new countries, which will place further pressure on the convention organs.
Faced with this situation, the organisation cannot be content with a budget designed merely to consolidate, as in 1992. A further effort is needed to enable the organisation to adapt to the new dimension which it will acquire in the pan-European context.
The final communiqué of the 90th session of the Committee of Ministers, held in Strasbourg on 7 May 1992, shows a perfect harmony between the views of the Assembly and the political will of the Committee of Ministers. Attention should be drawn in this connection to paragraph 14 of the final communiqué, which reads as follows: "The Ministers considered that the Council of Europe's assistance and co-operation programmes with the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, particularly the DEMOSTHENES programme, have been an important and timely contribution. The Ministers noted a twofold development over recent months in respect of these programmes. On the one hand, they noted a considerable increase in the number of partners, while on the other hand, they were facing demands for assistance in new fields, such as the training of officials responsible for running the new democratic institutions. In consequence, the Minsters considered launching supplementary assistance programmes in support of the democratic reforms in the states situated on the territory of the former Soviet Union, as well as the possibility to set in motion the specific plans proposed by the Secretary General for the benefit of all the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, namely the THEMIS plan for the development of law and the LODE plan for local democracy. They drew the attention of the donor and beneficiary countries to the importance of these programmes and to the need for wide international financial and moral support".
Regarding the situation on the territory of the former SFR of Yugoslavia, paragraph 15 contains the following passage: "The Minsters reaffirmed the readiness of the Council of Europe to give any necessary assistance in the fields in which it had experience, such as human rights and the protection of minorities, with a view to seeking a lasting solution in conjunction with the Twelve, the CSCE and the United Nations. Ministers fully supported the conclusions and demands adopted on 15 April and 1 May 1992 by the CSCE in order to restore peace in the area".
Lastly, paragraph 20 begins with a general statement which is fully in line with the Assembly's concerns and policies: "The Ministers recalled that, in the new Europe which was taking shape, stability was indispensable, and the Council of Europe had an essential contribution to make to this stability. They recognised the necessity to provide the organisation with the necessary resources and capacity to act this end".
As it has not yet received any proposals from the Secretary General or any guidelines from the Committee of Ministers regarding the rate of growth of the budget, the Assembly wishes merely to state the principle that the 1993 budget should represent a considerable increase in real terms in relation to the 1992 budget.
What purposes should this increase serve? The first priority is increased co-operation with the countries of Central and Eastern Europe. Legislative and institutional assistance to the new democracies and new states does not cease once they have acceded to the Council of Europe. The transition from the previous regime to a fully democratic regime calls for far-reaching reforms, which must be tailored to their specific requirements. Some of the resources could come from special funds or from other international organisations, such as the EEC and the EBRD. Insofar as such efforts help to realise the organisation's aims, they are to be welcomed.
Proposals for activities in 1993 should continue to be based on the three main lines laid down by the Committee of Ministers in the texts adopted on 5 May 1989, namely:
a. human rights and true democracy;
b European cultural identity;
c. a common response to problems confronting society.
The activities selected should be calculated to bring out the Council of Europe's identity and irreplaceable role. Moreover, the role which our organisation is called upon to play in the CSCE process - in ways that need to be more clearly defined - should not be forgotten. The political will of the Ministers for Foreign Affairs was recently expressed in the following terms: "The Ministers reaffirmed their support for the strengthening of an effective link with the CSCE, with a view to making the best possible use of the Council of Europe's experience and abilities in the pursuit of the objectives of the human dimension of the CSCE". Among other things, the standard setting work on the protection of minorities which is currently in progress at the Council of Europe is likely to be of great interest to the CSCE and all its members.
The strengthening of the resources available to the organs of the European Convention on Human Rights is an essential requirement which the Committee of Ministers cannot overlook. The protection system established by the convention will remain exemplary provided no effort is spared to ensure that the activities of the convention organs remain efficient. The human resources allocated to the convention organs should therefore be increased.
The same applies to other convention activities, such as the Convention for the Prevention of Torture and the Social Charter.
The impact of the organisation's geographical extension on the Secretariat will be considerable. Efforts will therefore be required in terms of investment, increased human resources and more modern and more rational management.
Where the Assembly is concerned, I should like to take up the main ideas put forward in a separate opinion by Mr Oehler: quantitative and qualitative increase in co-operation with the countries of Central and Eastern Europe; reinforcement of the staff and rationalisation of the structure of the Office of the Clerk of the Assembly.
E. CONCLUSIONS
In the preceding section I have set out fairly clearly the main principles we should apply to ensure that the 1993 budget confirms and reinforces the Council of Europe's new role. In these conclusions, therefore, I can add a few remarks on questions of interest to us and of which the Committee of Ministers should perhaps be reminded.
The opinion on the Assembly's budget brought out the widespread frustration among parliamentarians at the fact that events at the Council of Europe have little impact in the mass media in the member states. The organisation's information policy is in need of a review. A dynamic information policy equal to the Council of Europe's new tasks should be a priority for our organisation.
The staff represents a valuable asset for the organisation. Like my predecessor, Mr Eicher, I should like to emphasise the importance which the Assembly continues to attach - and which is reaffirmed in particular in Order No. 476 (1992) - to the achievement of a real European civil service. This means that a real right of negotiation should at last be granted to the staff of the Council of Europe, indeed to the staff of all the co-ordinated organisations, and that their legal protection should be improved.
In other words, and more generally, progress towards a new dimension and an expanded role on the pan-European scene means making up for the ground lost in the years of zero growth.
A P P E N D I X I - T A B L E 1
|
Heads |
1988 initial appropriations FF |
1989 initial appropriations FF |
1990 initial appropriations FF |
1991 initial appropriations FF |
1992 initial appropriations FF |
|
GENERAL BUDGET I. Common expenditure (staff, supplies, publications, information, etc.)..................................... II. Intergovernmental activities (Work Programme) III. Parliamentary Assembly: a. Staff .............................................. b. Political groups ................................... c. Overall appropriations (budgetary package) ......... Total............................................... IV. Court and Commission of Human Rights and Tribunal in matters of state immunity ............................ V. Standing Conference of Local and Regional Authorities of Europe ................................................ VI. Sundry institutional expenditure (Social Charter and European Convention for the prevention of torture and inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment) ......... VII. European Youth Foundation ............................. VIII. Investment expenditure (exceptional expenditure until 1987).................................................. IX. Contact and co-operation with Central and East European countries ............................................. |
270.497.500 56.549.900 ( 30.184.000) ( 1.261.000) ( 4.523.500)
35.968.500 40.565.000 4.543.000 1.156.000 2.237.500 3.773.500 / 415.290.900 |
281.779.900 57.535.100 ( 31.114.500) ( 1.461.000) ( 4.690.100) 37.265.600 43.083.000 4.729.100 1.173.500 2.280.200 5.000.000 / 432.846.400 |
299.557.000 59.204.000 ( 33.635.000) ( 1.619.000) ( 5.334.000) 40.588.000 55.679.000 5.027.000 4.481.000 2.393.000 6.000.000 4.350.000 477.279.000 |
336.688.000 69.063.000 ( 38.960.000) ( 2.167.000) ( 6.469.000) 47.596.000 66.590.000 5.872.000 7.286.000 2.490.000 20.580.000 16.329.000 572.494.000 |
372.449.000 84.653.000 ( 42.226.000) ( 2.221.000) ( 8.000.000) 52.447.000 82.752.000 7.587.000 8.571.0006 2.654.000 20.000.0007 34.807.000 665.920.000 |
Reporting Committee: Committee on the Budget and the Intergovernmental Work Programme.
Budgetary implications for the Assembly: The report makes general recommendations on the 1993 budget but without specifying the desired growth rate. The committee's proposals on the programme budget for the Assembly's 1993 operational expenditure are in a separate opinion.
Reference: Standing mandate.
Draft opinion: Unanimously adopted by the committee on 4 June 1992.
Members of the committee: MM. Speed (Chairman), Cox (Vice-Chairman) (Alternate: Parry), Attard Montalto, Bender, Biefnot, Mrs Err,
Mrs Gjørv, Ms Guirado, Mr Gunnarsson, Mrs Hacklin, Mrs Hjelm-Wallén, MM. Jürgens, Maass, Manzolini, Martins, Nolan, Oehler, Mrs Özver (Alternate: Mr Güner), MM. Parisi, Schiesser, Steiner (Alternate: Antretter), Strimitzer, Taliadouros (Alternate: Stamatis), Ternak, Thoft, Thyraud.
N.B. The names of members who took part in the vote are underlined.
Secretary to the committee: Mr Palmieri.
1 1 See "Texts on Budgetary and Financial Matters" (1985), pages 95-129.
2 2 "- a qualified member of the staff in the Computer Division should be appointed as a security officer with the responsibility for ensuring that computer systems are currently operated according to existing rules and to consider if supplementary security procedures are needed. The Board recommended the appointment of such a security officer in its report for the financial year 1986;
- the segregation of duties and responsibilities in the Computer Division should be reconsidered. Normally, there is reasonable segregation, but the principle might be endangered in cases where staff members are absent. The Board understands that the Computer Division is considering a new structure and trusts that this question will be taken into consideration at the same time;
- the back-up files should be stored in a room other than the computer room, but with the same physical protection as the computer room;
- in all computer systems an automatic procedure should in force to make users change their password periodically, in order to improve access control."
3 3 Article 39: "The Secretary General shall each year notify the government of each Member of the amount of its contribution, and each Member shall pay to the Secretary General the amount of its contribution, which shall be deemed to be due on the date of its notification, not later than six months after that date."
4 4 The figures in brackets give the increase in real terms over the appropriations in the 1991 budget.
5 5 Operational expenditure exclusively. The 1992 total for this budget will depend on the contributions of the "Eurimages" member states, which have not yet been notified.
6 1 Expenditure on the Social Charter (2 391 000 FF) and the European Convention for the prevention of torture and inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment (6 180 000 FF).
7 2 Investment expenditure concerning buildings (9 660 000 FF); computerisation and communications systems (8 210 000 FF) repayment of the advance for computerisation of the telephone system (1 600 000 FF); investment expenditure concerning audiovisual resources managment (530 000 FF).