Reply to Opinion No. 187 (1995) on the programme-budget for the operational expenditure of the Assembly in 1996 and Opinion No. 192 (1995) on the budgets of the Council of Europe for the financial years 1995 and 1996

Reply to Opinion No. 187 (1995) on the programme-budget for the operational expenditure of the Assembly in 1996 and Opinion No. 192 (1995) on the budgets of the Council of Europe for the financial years 1995 and 1996

Doc. 7565
24 May 1996

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMITTEE OF MINISTERS

adopted by the Committee of Ministers on 15 May 1996 at the 566th meeting of the Ministers' Deputies)

1.         The Committee of Ministers has taken note of the Assembly's comments in its Opinions Nos. 187 and 192, whose content it finds highly constructive and helpful to its future discussions. It is gratified by the Assembly's support regarding, inter alia, the new method for calculating rates of contributions, but wishes to impress on the Assembly certain elements which have guided its budgetary procedure and still do.

2.         Aware that the Council is going through a phase of expansion, but also mindful of the budgetary restrictions affecting most member states, the Committee of Ministers at its 541st meeting (July 1995) set the ceiling for the Ordinary Budget at 830 million FF on the basis of 36 member states. This increase of 30 million FF over the 800 million FF decided in 1995 for a 32 member organisation represented a 3.75% rise, exceeding the inflation rate of the host country.

3.         Owing to the access of Ukraine and "the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia", this ceiling was raised to 843 million FF to allow for the contributions of these states, ie a growth of 5.4%.

4.         Furthermore, over and above the Ordinary Budget, the Committee of Ministers at its 551st meeting released to the Council an ad hoc supplement to the Ordinary Budget totalling 21,935,607 FF, financed from the 1994 Ordinary Budget surplus. Within the ad hoc supplement the Committee of Ministers, sharing the Assembly's concern for the continuation of the programme "Assistance with the Development and Consolidation of Democratic Security" and following the recommendation of the Rapporteur Group for Relations with the Countries of Central and Eastern Europe (GREL), decided inter alia to maintain the overall level of resources under Vote IX at the 1995 level.

5.         After the Russian Federation acceded in February 1996, the Committee of Ministers decided at its 562nd meeting (April 1996) to authorise the addition to the Ordinary Budget of expenditure and receipts for an amount equivalent to the contribution of this state, ie 31,758,057 FF, thereby demonstrating its determination to adapt the Council's resources to the needs created by enlargement. This brought the Ordinary Budget total to 875 million FF (an increase of 9.4% over the 1995 Ordinary Budget).

6.         At its 562nd meeting the Committee of Ministers allocated the above amounts, plus those not allocated during the budgetary debate in December 1995 (551st meeting), representing a total of 15,026,000 FF; its choices were prompted both by the shape of the organisation's policy and by such considerations as the additional costs arising from enlargement (eg volume of printing and the number of governmental experts invited to meetings provided for in the Intergovernmental Programme of Activities).

7.         Correspondingly, the Assembly's budget was settled in two stages:

          - when the initial budget was adopted in December, the Assembly was allocated 71,649,000 FF and, having regard to the scale of its co-operation programme, 1,000,000 FF were added as part of the ad hoc supplement mentioned above.

            The Committee of Ministers, aware that a constantly increasing standard of technical specialisation is required of staff in the Office of the Clerk, during this initial budgetary debate agreed to a number of upgradings requested by the Office of the Clerk, viz. 2 A4 posts upgraded to A5, 1 B5 post upgraded to B6, and 4 B3 posts upgraded to B4.

            Moreover,

          - when the supplementary budget for 1996 was approved, it was decided to create two posts (1 A2/A3; 1 B4).

8.         The Committee of Ministers points out that these creations of posts are the outcome of duly reasoned arbitrage within the limits of a given budgetary package stipulated for the entire Organisation. This package may indeed appear rather modest in the light of the Council's ambitious objectives, but the Committee of Ministers would again draw attention to the difficult budgetary context which applies in most member states.

            It agrees with the Assembly as to the importance of staff redeployment in order to meet the need, also mentioned by the Assembly, to strengthen the organisation's priority sectors in terms of human resources without incurring extra costs.

9.         The Committee of Ministers also fully concurs with the Assembly as to the provision of computer equipment for the Office of the Clerk, but feels that these investments should be suitably planned both over time and within the Organisation's various fields of action, a process begun in 1995 and continuing in 1996.

10.        The Committee of Ministers takes note of the other points raised in Opinions Nos. 187 and 192 (1995).