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Doc. 8673

20 March 2000

Opinion on the expenditure of the Assembly for the 2001 financial year

Report

Committee on the Budget

Rapporteur: Mr Bernard Schreiner, France, EDG

I.       Draft opinion

1. Considering that the principle of zero real growth has been a feature of the Council of Europe's budget in the last three years, the Assembly hopes that the human and material resources planned for the year 2001 will be sufficient to complete the Organisation's enlargement process, to carry out its expanded monitoring procedures and to pursue its important political efforts aimed at consolidating democratic and political institutions, respect for human rights and the rule of law in all member states without imposing excessive financial constraints.

2. While the Assembly welcomes the additional sum of some 167.700 euros granted by the Committee of Ministers for undertaking monitoring procedures in a larger number of member states, it deeply regrets that the Committee of Ministers met only one of its budgetary requests for the year 2000 which amounted to 820.000 euros, as set out in its Opinion No. 212 (1999). The Committee of Ministers decided in particular not to adopt any of the Assembly’s staffing proposals. The continuation of such a policy would undermine good industrial relations, demotivate very deserving staff members and lead to serious problems in the running of the Assembly in the medium term.

3. The Assembly is fully aware of the budgetary difficulties of several member states. Taking account of the principle of zero real budgetary growth, the Assembly has therefore decided to put forward only some very modest budgetary proposals, which are essential for maintaining its overall ability to function efficiently. The Assembly hopes that these financial constraints will not jeopardise the smooth functioning of the Organisation’s parliamentary organ, in particular when it comes to fostering parliamentary democracy, political pluralism and respect for human rights in certain member states. If the budgetary resources already allocated to the Assembly prove insufficient, the Assembly would be obliged to abandon some important political initiatives in order to cover the cost of its priorities. To obviate such a risk, the Assembly may well ask the Secretary General of the Council of Europe to present additional budgetary proposals to the Committee of Ministers in the course of 2001. This request would be in line with article 38d of the Council of Europe statute.

4. Over the years, the Assembly, being a strong advocate of reform, has continued to rationalise the use of its limited, over-stretched resources, as witnessed by the last Assembly Bureau efforts to propose a more focused, manageable and flexible Assembly structure. Hence, the Assembly’s proposals for the year 2001 form part of a longer-term strategy designed to rationalise its structure.

5. The enlargement process has also had important consequences for the Assembly's political groups. Their secretariat resources need to be enhanced in view of the growth in their memberships as well as their expanded role within the Assembly. A gradual increase in their financial resources is therefore necessary.

6. The 2001 Assembly budgetary requests as a whole represent an increase of some 85.600 euros (0,6%) in real terms over the appropriations allocated to the Assembly for 2000. The Assembly feels that such an increase, proposed in a spirit of realism, is well within the capacity of the Organisation’s budgetary authorities.

Appended to this opinion are:

i. a table of requested increases for 2001 compared with the appropriations for 2000;

ii. brief explanations for the changes.

VOTE III of the ordinary budget – Expenditure of the Assembly TITRE III du budget ordinaire – Dépenses relatives à l’Assemblée	Appropriations for 2000 Crédits ouverts au budget de 2000 EUROS	Changes in real terms proposed for 2001 Modifications en termes réels proposées pour 2001 EUROS
HEAD 3.1 – Staff CHAPITRE 3.1 – Dépenses de personnel Sub-heads/Articles 3101 – Salary, allowances and social charges of the Secretary General of the Assembly Rémunération, indemnités et charges sociales du Secrétaire Général de l'Assemblée 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 – Secondment of national civil servants to the Assembly Fonctionnaires nationaux mis à disposition de l’Assemblée…………… TOTAL HEAD 3.1 TOTAL DU CHAPITRE 3.1…………………………………………..	164 300 6 180 300 61 000 21 300 1 480 000 p.m. 61 000 7 967 900	14 100 18 000 32 100
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…………………………………………	614 400 614 400	53 500 53 500

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 – Interpretation Interprétation…..……………….………………………………………. 3303 – Translation Traduction………………..……………………………………………. 3304 – Official expenses of the President of the Assembly Frais de fonction du Président de l’Assemblée…………………………... 3305 – Expenditure pertaining to the Private Office of the President of the Assembly / Dépenses du Cabinet du Président de l’Assemblée………… 3306 – 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… 3307 – Official journeys Frais de missions…………………………………………………………. 3308 – Expenses for inviting guests of the Parliamentary Assembly Dépenses d’accueil des invites de l’Assemblée parlementaire…………... 3309 – Consultation of experts Consultation d’experts…………………………………………………... 3310 – Organisation of ad hoc conferences Organisation de conférences ad hoc……………………………………... 3311 – Grant to the International Institute for Democracy Dotation à l’Institut International pour la Démocratie…………………… 3312 – Other expenditure not specifically provided for in this vote Autres dépenses non spécialement prévues au présent titre……………... 3313 – Modernisation of the Assembly’s equipment Modernisation de l’équipement de l’Assemblée………………………… 3314 – European prizes Prix européens……………………………………………………………. 3315 – Operating and maintenance costs of the electronic voting system Coûts de maintenance et d’exploitation du vote électronique…………… 3316 – Co-operation and monitoring programme Programme de coopération et du suivi des engagements ……………….. TOTAL HEAD 3.3 TOTAL DU CHAPITRE 3.3……………………………………………. TOTAL VOTE III TOTAL DU TITRE III……...………………………………………….

971 600 1 764 300 983 000 81 600 76 200 198 200 259 200 183 500 76 200 137 200 38 100 50 300 p.m. 61 000 35 100 762 200 5 677 700 14 260 000

85 600

VOTE III — EXPENDITURE OF THE PARLIAMENTARY ASSEMBLY

HEAD 3.1 — STAFF

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

      The 2001 appropriations under this sub-head should be maintained at the same level in real terms as in 2000.

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 permanent staff of the Secretariat of the Assembly, which comprises the following 75 posts:

      —3        A6 posts,—

      —8        A5 posts,—

      —13       A4 posts,—

— 17 A2/A3 posts,

— 1 B6 post,

— 6 B5 posts,

— 10 B4 posts,

— 15 B3 posts,

      —2        B2 posts.Th

      The Assembly, fully aware of the budgetary situation of some member states, believes that the more comprehensive reform of its Secretariat structure, as proposed in its Opinions 206 (1998) and 212 (1999), should be further postponed in the hope that European economic growth will soon accelerate in the course of 2001 and that the modification of Assembly structures will be finalised and put into effect. It is in this spirit that the Assembly formulates its exceptionally modest requests, which include some upgradings of existing posts and no creation of new ones.

The proposed, limited staffing changes for 2001, which concern only B-grade staff, are in line with the Assembly’s enhanced structural requirements as described in previous Assembly’s Opinions and form part of a longer-term strategy designed to rationalise the structure of the Secretariat of the Assembly.

      At 2000 rates, the cost of these proposed modifications is 14.100 euros.

1 upgrading from B5 to B6        (2.900 euros)

3 upgradings from B3 to B4        (7.200 euros)

      2 upgradings from B2 to B3        (4.000 euros)

1 upgrading from B5 to B6        (2.900 euros)

The request for the upgrading of a B5 post to B6 appeared earlier in Assembly Opinions No. 201 (1997), No. 206 (1998) and No. 212 (1999).

The responsibilities and workload of the person in charge of the administrative and secretarial unit of the Table Office have increased considerably in recent years. This staff member supervises a team of secretaries and is responsible for the registration, preparation and publication of all Assembly documents as well as specific publications needed for plenary sessions (presence lists, voting lists, seating plan etc). She is also responsible for the preparation and publication of adopted texts as well as the publication of minutes of proceedings, official report of debates, etc. Her concerns further include the list of parliamentarians, committee memberships, the register of references to committees, the preparation of indexes for publication and the supervision of the mailing lists. By way of example, the number of documents in the last 4 years rose by at least 40%.

To emphasise even further the validity of this upgrading request, the Rapporteur wishes to describe the increasingly difficult working conditions of the Table Office during the Assembly's four part-time sessions. On average, the working hours of the Table Office team are from 8am to 10pm. Considering the length of a non-stop 14-hour shift and the continuous and high level of concentration necessary to accomplish a large number of tasks, including the registration, preparation and publication of all Assembly documents as well as specific publications needed for plenary sessions, the Rapporteur feels that a second team composed of temporary staff has become crucial to ensure the efficient and smooth running of this vital service (see sub-head 3105).

3 upgradings from B3 to B4        (7.200 euros)

2 upgradings from B2 to B3        (4.000 euros)

It should be noted that the responsibilities and workload of officials responsible for the administrative and secretarial back-up of committees have increased significantly in recent years. Indeed, with the introduction of new technologies in work processes and the decentralisation policy involving many departments within the Organisation, it is very often forgotten that assistants are being expected to take on more responsibilities and acquire new professional skills. This consideration also holds for those B-grade staff whose work is not directly related to committees, such as archivists and Table Office assistants, where scope for promotion does not exist at present.

In addition to their normal secretarial duties, B-grade staff working in the Secretariat of Assembly:

- are responsible for the co-ordination of A-grade administrative activities (official journeys/diary appointments/reports/ drafting/agenda);

- act as intermediaries between the committee chairpersons, their secretariats, other Parliamentary Assembly members and the committee secretariat as regards practical administrative matters in the absence of A-grades (i.e. when A-grade staff are on official journeys, leave, etc);

- are often called upon to act as repositories of basic information for their committee secretariat in respect of new A and B-grade staff, in view of their often sound and extensive committee experience;

- are responsible for the induction and training of other B-grade staff as regards their committee’s specific tasks;

- are often responsible for counselling trainees and study visitors;

- bear major responsibilities in the administrative and practical preparation of special events organised by their committees, often resulting in long working hours.

It can thus be seen that important gaps remain for B-grade staff members as regards their grades and duties. It is therefore urgent to start to upgrade two B2 posts to B3 and at least three B3 posts to B4 for those B-grade staff who have fully deserved this recognition through their hard work and genuine commitment.

The Bureau of the Assembly is currently considering the proposal for a more focused and flexible Assembly structure which would offer an opportunity to introduce a credible, far-sighted policy of career advancement for B-grade staff. For so many years, there has been a very myopic attitude towards the important work carried out by this category of staff. Statistically speaking, B-grade staff have to wait on average 12 years for promotion in the Secretariat of the Assembly, while for A-grade the period is around 5 years. There are some flagrant examples indicating that a large number of skilled and devoted B-grade staff have remained in the same grade for over 20 years. Furthermore, at least 50% of the B-grade staff are blocked in the same grade for over 10 years and in the case of grade B3 for more than 20 years.

Given this unsatisfactory situation and the unique opportunity afforded by the reorganisation of the Assembly structure, the Rapporteur recommends that an innovative long-term career-oriented structure, which can be easily spread over a period of three years, be introduced in the Secretariat of the Assembly. This would consist in offering promotion at regular intervals for those B-grade staff who, over the years, have demonstrated their professional skills through commitment and hard work. Such a proposal builds on the thorough, albeit progressive, reorganisation of the committee structure, as suggested by the Assembly in its Opinions No. 206 (1998) and No. 212 (1999) – a reform which has become absolutely necessary in order to cope with the increasingly demanding tasks entrusted to the Assembly's Secretariat, in particular to B-grade personnel.

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

Sub-head 3104 —       Overtime — Statutory and other allowances

The 2001 appropriations under sub-heads 3103 and 3104 should be kept at the same level in real terms as in 2000.

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

The Rapporteur has already described the working conditions of the Table Office during the Assembly’s four part-time sessions. Nevertheless, he wishes to emphasise that an additional temporary team has become vital to ensure the efficient and smooth running of this very important service.

The continuous flow of enquiries from Assembly members to the Table Office further exacerbates the already stressful working climate. Moreover, with the introduction of the electronic voting system, one staff member has to ensure a non-stop presence outside the Chamber in order to guarantee the validation of Assembly members' (representatives or substitutes) voting cards. This will place an additional strain on the limited and over-stretched human resources. In these nerve-racking conditions, it is hard to imagine how a staff member can learn to carry out another person's job. An additional problem resulting from the existence of only one Table Office team is that if one staff member fell ill during the session it would be absolutely impossible to replace him or her.

Given the technical knowledge necessary to perform the administrative and secretarial work involved and the limited number of staff working for the Assembly, there has been no scope for rotating staff members engaged in Table Office activities, particularly at B-grade level. Since some B-grade staff members forming part of the Table Office team are due to retire in the coming two or three years, it is only sensible to arrange for them to have new staff working with so that they can to pass on to them the unique experience they have acquired after so many years. It is against this background that the Rapporteur recommends that an additional team composed of temporary staff be created (4 B-grade temporary staff recruited for a period of 7 days four times a year). The total cost of this proposed additional recruitment would be 18.000 euros.

      Sub-head 3106 —       Provision for adjustments to remuneration - p.m.

      Sub-head 3107 —       Secondment of national civil servants to the Assembly

The 2001 appropriation under sub-head 3107 should be kept at the same level in real terms as in 2000.

HEAD 3.2 -       ALLOCATION TO THE ASSEMBLY’S POLITICAL GROUPS

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

The Assembly’s political groups play an increasingly important role in the activities of the Assembly. This role has been crucial in enabling the Assembly to maintain its operational capacity and organisational efficiency, as it has had to absorb the practical consequences of the enlargement of the Organisation. However, if the political groups are to play a full role, they need to be adequately staffed in terms of both level and numbers. In the medium term, a progressive increase over several financial years should be aimed at allowing each group to recruit one administrative officer and one secretarial assistant. Therefore it is imperative to increase the financial resources of the five political groups.

The allocation to the political groups is calculated on the basis of a lump sum for secretarial assistance to each of the existing groups and an additional per capita allocation according to the membership of each group. Appropriations for 1997, 1998, 1999 and 2000 amounted to 614.400 euros. Each group received a fixed allowance of some 27.440 euros and an additional per capita allowance (some 820 euros per member).

In its Opinions No. 206 (1998) and No. 212 (1999), the Assembly asked for a modest increase of some 10.700 euros per group (53.500 euros in all) to cover the cost of one half-time administrative officer. However, this request was not granted. For 2001, an increase of 10.700 euros in the fixed allowance of each group is once again requested. The total increase requested is, therefore, 53.500 euros (5 x 10.700 euros), with the intention that this lump-sum allocation for secretarial services should be gradually built up further in the coming years.

It should also be borne in mind for the future that, with the increase in membership of the Assembly, there has been a parallel increase in the number of members who are not affiliated to an existing political group. Proposals for the possible creation of new political groups cannot therefore be ruled out. It is obvious that the existing appropriations under this sub-head would need to be revised accordingly.

HEAD 3.3 —        SUPPLIES, SERVICES AND OTHER OPERATIONAL EXPENDITURE

Since 1975, the appropriations under this head have been voted as a lump sum (budgetary package). The various amounts in this package may subsequently be altered under Article 31 of the Financial Regulations.

The head 3.3. includes all operational expenditure of the Assembly i.e. co-operation and monitoring programmes, publications, interpretations, translations, official journeys, experts, conferences, European prizes, etc. In a context of zero real budgetary growth, the Assembly has decided to maintain the expenditure within this head in 2001 at the same level as in 2000. It is worth noting, however, that this prolonged budgetary position may force the Assembly to abandon some important political initiatives, thereby imperilling its overall functioning. To preserve such activities, the Assembly should ask the Secretary General of the Council of Europe to present additional budgetary proposals to the Committee of Ministers in the course of 2001. This request would be in line with article 38d of the Council of Europe statute

The 2001 appropriation under head 3.3 should be kept at the same level in real terms as in 2000.

II.        Explanatory memorandum by Mr Schreiner

1. The purpose of this report is to analyse Vote III of the Council of Europe’s ordinary budget, in particular the appropriations allocated to the Assembly to cover staff expenditure, the costs associated with the functioning of political groups, supplies, services and other operational outlays, as well as the financing of the Organisation's interparliamentary co-operation programme. This focussing inevitably means that all the other common services of the Council of Europe, which are integral part of the Assembly’s operations, will not be discussed in the report.

2. The Rapporteur will therefore concentrate on the proposals concerning the Assembly’s appropriations for the year 2001 in full compliance with the budgetary procedure in force. These requests, once approved by the Assembly, will be transmitted in the form of an opinion to the Committee of Ministers.

3.       The Rapporteur wishes to emphasise that, in formulating his requests, he gave careful consideration to the economic, social and budgetary situation in the large majority of the Council of Europe member states. Although it is true that several European countries are currently experiencing a period of austerity, it is nevertheless important to remember that the Assembly should be in a position to fulfil its new, ever growing tasks and responsibilities without excessive financial constraints.

4.       In order to reach a compromise between these two conflicting factors, the Rapporteur considers it necessary to identify the Assembly’s priorities, viz:

a. to consolidate and increase the resources the Assembly needs in order to contribute more effectively - through monitoring activities, dialogue, co-operation, training and legislative assistance - to fostering pluralist democracy, the rule of law and respect for human rights throughout its wide membership; and

b. to adjust the staffing and administrative structure of the Secretariat of the Assembly in order to meet the growing demands arising from the widening of the Organisation’s geographical coverage and the qualitative and quantitative increase in the Assembly’s responsibilities.

5.       The Assembly, being aware of the budgetary difficulties of several member states, has put forward budgetary proposals which are particularly modest in comparison with the Council of Europe's general budget. Nevertheless, these financial constraints should not jeopardise the smooth functioning of the Organisation’s parliamentary organ, in particular when it comes to fostering parliamentary democracy, political pluralism and respect for human rights in certain member states.

6.       The Assembly requests for the year 2001 represent a fairly small increase of some 85.600 euros (0,6%) in real terms over the appropriations allocated to the Assembly for the year 2000. The Rapporteur feels that such an increase is well within the capacity of the Organisation’s budgetary authorities. He drafted this opinion in a spirit of realism and in the hope that the Assembly’s point of view will be shared by the Committee of Ministers.

Reporting committee: Committee on the Budget.

Reference to committee: Standing mandate.

Draft opinion unanimously adopted by the committee on 9 March 2000.

Members of the committee: Mr Lotz (Chairman); MM Koulouris, Aleffi, Soendergaard (Vice-Chairmen); Mrs Angelovicova, MM Annemans, Anusz, Begaj, Bojars, Bordas, Bulic, Buwitt, Caceres, D’Aron, Debono Grech, Duivesteijn, von der Esch, Frey (Alternate: Mr Gross), Grass, Gregory, Ivanov, Mrs Jäger, MM Kittis, Lento, Mrs Luhtanen, MM Luis, Matvienko, Naydenov, Oorzhak, Lord Ponsonby (Alternate: Mrs Jones), Mrs Ragnarsdottir, MM Rise, Rupar, Schreiner, Mrs Stanoiu (Alternate: Mr Badulescu), MM Svoboda, Telek, Zhirinovsky.

N.B. The names of those members present at the meeting are printed in italics.

Secretary to the committee: Stefano Bertozzi.