a The
Assembly notes the finding by the Board of Auditors to the effect
that the financial management during the year 1977 was sound and
economical on the whole, and expresses with satisfaction that the amount
of appropriations to be cancelled was lower than in the previous
financial year, a fact which reflects improved use of the financial
resources made available to the organisation;
b With regard to the 1979 budget, the Assembly welcomes
the establishment of four new A grade posts and the upgrading of
two further A grade posts, as well as the strengthening of certain
departments, including the Office of the Clerk of the Assembly,
and the Visitors' Service in the Directorate of the Press and Information
Services;
c The Assembly regrets that the part of the budget which
covers the Intergovernmental Work Programme does not show the substantial
increase which it had desired;
d The Assembly also regrets that the appropriations available
for the reception of visiting groups have not been increased as
it had wished;
e The Assembly welcomes the very substantial growth (+ 45.69%)
in the subsidiary budget for the European Youth Centre and the increase
in the Centre's staff, involving the creation of six posts and the upgrading
of two permanent posts;
f With regard to the prospects for the financial year 1980,
the Assembly asks the Committee of Ministers to increase appropriations
to the Directorate of the Press and Information Services, so that
it can extend its network of press correspondents and publish the
review Forum in a fifth language; it also requests an increase in
the appropriations for the reception of groups visiting the Council
of Europe headquarters; finally, it would like the Paris and Brussels
offices to play a more prominent role in the information field;
g The Assembly again recommends a substantial increase in
the resources intended for the implementation of operational programmes
at intergovernmental level, so that current activities can be completed
and new activities launched in sectors where the Council of Europe
has a special part to play; specifically, it emphasises the desirability
of strengthening the nature protection, environment and regional
planning sectors, particularly by increasing the budgetary allocation
to the Information and Documentation Centre;
h The Assembly calls on the Committee of Ministers to do
everything in its power to ensure that the European Youth Centre
can carry out its own specific task effectively;
i With regard to expenditure on staff, the Assembly recommends
that the Committee of Ministers should convert into permanent posts
a further group of temporary posts which have existed for some years
and which carry functions which are plainly permanent in character;
j Having noted that the translation and reproduction services
are no longer always able to perform their tasks with the desirable
speed and up to the requisite standards, the Assembly is of the
opinion that its work should keep its priority, but without detriment
to the principle of the Secretariat's unity, it expresses the wish
that its session documents, particularly those reports of its committees
that are available sufficiently far in advance of sessions, should
henceforth be reproduced in offset form, and it asks the Committee
of Ministers to make available to the Technical Services the necessary
funds for the purpose;
k The Assembly request that its opinions should henceforth
be referred to in the introductory clauses of Committee of Ministers'
resolutions adopting budgets, by which means suitable expression
would be given to the procedure in force since 1962.
