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2012 budget: estimates of revenue and expenditure - section I, Parliament

2011/2018(BUD)

The Committee on Budgets adopted the report drafted by José Manuel FERNANDES (EPP, PT) on the estimates of revenue and expenditure of Parliament for the financial year 2012 - Section I – Parliament.

It notes that the level of the Preliminary Draft Estimates for the 2012 budget (after its pre-conciliation with the EP’s Committee on Budgets) is set at EUR 1 724 575 043, representing 19.7% of heading 5 of the MFF. It notes that the rate of increase suggested is 2.3% over the 2011 budget.

General framework and overall budget: Members call for a long-term review of the European Parliament's budget. They ask for future potential savings to be identified in order to reduce costs and create resources for the long-term running of the Parliament as part of a legislative authority.

The committee reaffirms that in the light of the difficult economic and budgetary conditions in the Member States, the Parliament should show its budgetary responsibility and self-restraint by staying under the current inflation rate. They also reaffirm the needs for the 18 new MEPs following the Lisbon Treaty will be also integrated by a letter of amendment or an amending budget.

Recalling that the ceiling for heading 5 of the MFF for the EU’s budget in 2012 is EUR 8 754 million, Members call on the European Parliament and the other institutions should show budgetary responsibility and self-restraint in the context of economic crisis and the heavy burden of public debt and restraint in times of ongoing national budgetary consolidation efforts without undermining the goal of legislative excellence. They are therefore, ready to accept a revision of the ceiling of heading 5 of the MFF under the form of compensation: this revision should be an offsetting with a reduction of the ceiling of heading 5 (administration) by EUR 100 million and a corresponding increase of other headings in favour of youth.

Specific issues: Members encourage the Bureau to apply a stringent human resources management approach prior to the establishment of new posts within the European Parliament. They consider that the ongoing efforts to modernise and rationalise the administration and the proposals for 2012 should contribute to a reduction in the external provision of services and expects significant savings to be made here so as to achieve a level of expenditure comparable at least to that of 2010.

Other issues dealt with in the report concern the need to :

  • continue to implement Parliament's environmental policy;
  • start-up an information campaign;
  • provide support for the multi-annual ICT strategy;
  • continue to modernise and rationalise the administration;
  • modernise and rationalise the security of the parliament (the committee requests a reserve of EUR 3 million, which would be lifted upon presentation of a viable concept for improvements and costs-plan);
  • modernise the software application systems including the digital strategy with regard to the Web 2.0 tools and social networks, cloud computing system and Wifi, information and communication policy, the knowledge management system, translation and interpretation, environmental policy and EMAS and active non-discrimination policies.

At this stage, Members consider that in the implementation of the 2012 budget further savings should be achieved by reducing the consumption of namely water, electricity and paper and that an effort should be made to reduce transportation costs related to official missions and travel.

Buildings in construction: Members recall its position that early payment, with a view to reducing financing costs, remains one of the key priorities for the future. They ask in this context for optimal use of the

budget resources at year end, providing additional resources for long term building projects though transfer of unused appropriations. As regards the continuation of the realisation of the House of European History, Members ask the Bureau to reduce the estimated running costs. The report requests - in order to maintain a transparent and fruitful dialogue with the parties involved - to be presented with a business plan setting out the long-term business strategy of the House of European History and proposes a reserve of EUR 2 million until receipt of said business plan. Members do not support the creation of a new budget line at this stage specifically for the House of European History and therefore requests that the EUR 1 million which has been allocated to the new item "3247" (House of European History) be transferred to item 101 (contingency reserve). Members consider however that any creation of such a line should be part of a transparent procedure and approved by the budgetary authority.