| VOTE III of the ordinary budget – Expenditure of the Assembly | Appropriations for 1998 (after transfers) | Changes in real terms proposed for 1999 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| HEAD 3.1 – Staff | FF | FF | Sub-heads | 3101 – Salary, allowances and social charges of the Clerk of the Assembly | 1 115 000 | 3102 – Remuneration of staff recruited on established posts | 39 452 000 | + 2 925 000 | 3103 – Recruitment, arrival and departure expenses – Home leave | 400 000 | 3104 – Overtime – statutory and other allowances | 140 000 | 3105 – Remuneration and accessory charges of temporary staff | 21 580 000 | + 900 000 | 3106 – Provision for adjustment to remuneration | 994 000 | 3107 – National parliamentary officials on secondment to the Assembly | 400 000 | + 200 000 | TOTAL HEAD 3.1 | 64 081 000 | + 4 025 000 | HEAD 3.2 – Allocation to the Assembly’s political groups | 3201 – Allocation to the Assembly’s political groups | 4 030 000 | + 350 000 | TOTAL HEAD 3.2 | 4 030 000 | + 350 000 | HEAD 3.3 – Supplies, services and other operational | Sub-heads | 3301 – Publishing and printing | 3 700 000 | + 300 000 | 3302 – Official expenses of the President of the Assembly | 535 000 | 3303 – Expenditure pertaining to the Private Office of the President of the Assembly | 500 000 | 3304 – Representational expenditure, other official expenditure and travelling expenses of members of the Assembly | 1 300 000 | 3305 – Official journeys | 1 700 000 | 3306 – Expenses for inviting guests of the Parliamentary Assembly | 1 404 000 | p.m. | 3307 – Consultation of experts | 500 000 | 3308 – Organisation of ad hoc conferences | 900 000 | 3309 – Grant to the International Institute for Democracy | 250 000 | 3310 – Other expenditure not specifically provided for in this vote | 330 000 | 3311 – Modernisation of the Assembly’s equipment | p.m. | 3312 – European prizes | 3312 – European prizes | 3312 – European prizes | 400 000 | + 100 000 | TOTAL HEAD 3.3 | 11 519 000 | + 400 000 | HEAD 3.4 – Inter-parliamentary activities | 3401 –Co-operation programme of the Assembly | 3 700 000 | + 300 000 | TOTAL HEAD 3.4 | 3 700 000 | + 300 000 | TOTAL VOTE III | 83 330 000 | + 5 075 000 |
The 1999 appropriations for this sub-head should be maintained at the same level in real terms as in 1998.
This appropriation covers the basic salaries, allowances (both non-recurring and periodic) and social insurance of the staff of the Office of the Clerk, which comprises the following 74 posts:
| 3 A6 posts | 1 B6 post | 8 A5 posts | 6 B5 posts | 12 A4 posts | 10 B4 posts | A2/A3 posts | 15 B3 posts | 2 B2 posts |
The proposed staffing changes for 1999 form part of a longer term strategy designed to rationalise the structure of the Office of the Clerk, and to provide it with the means to maximise its efficiency. These staffing changes may be considered in relation to the various operating units of the Office of the Clerk, as follows.
The request for the upgrading of a B5 post to B6 appeared already in Opinion No. 201 (1997) for the 1998 budget. It is repeated for the 1999 budget.
The responsibilities and workload of the person in charge of the administrative and secretarial unit of the Table Office have multiplied considerably in recent years. This staff member supervises a team of secretaries and is responsible for the registration and publication of all Assembly documents, especially those on the agenda of the Assembly plenary sessions and of Standing Committee meetings, and for the material preparation of amendments. By way of example, the number of documents increased from 237 in 1995 to 262 in 1996 and to 260 in 1997, whereas the number of amendments went from 261 to 404 and to 407 over the same period. This staff member is also responsible for compiling and updating the biographies of Assembly members, the list of national delegations and of committee and sub-committee membership.
| 3 x A5 post | 3 x A2/A3 posts | 7 x B4 posts | 1 x B2 post |
The communication Unit of the Assembly, which currently comprises 2 A2/A3 and 1 B5 posts, and which is responsible for the Assembly’s Press, Media and communication activities, including Internet, is expected to continue to develop over the coming years. The creation of an A4 post to head this Unit and to direct the communication policy of the Assembly should be foreseen at an appropriate time in the development and expansion of the activities.
Such a widespread reform of the structure of the Office of the Clerk is, for a number of reasons, and not least that of budgetary feasibility, not to be achieved overnight. Accordingly, the Assembly proposes that these establishment changes be staggered over three financial years as follows:
| Year I | 3 x B4 | 1 x A2/A3 | 1 x A4 | 1 x A5 | Year II | 2 x B4 | 1 x A2/A3 | 1 x A4 | 1 x A5 | Year III | 2 x B4 | 1 x A2/A3 | 1 x B2 | 1 x A5 |
For 1999, therefore, the proposals involve the creation of 1 A5 posts of Secretary to 65-member Committees, one A4 post of Executive Assistant to the Clerk, one A2/A3 post of co-secretary to a Committee and 3 B4 posts of Committee Assistant, together with the up-grading of one B5 post to B6.
The cost of these modifications to the establishment amounts to 2 925 000 F for the 1999 budget.
Following full implementation of these changes to the permanent establishment, the Assembly would propose a number of further changes, designed to produce a coherent hierarchical structure, and which would reduce the future charge to the budget.
Sub-head 3103 — Recruitment, arrival and departure expenses — Home leave
Sub-head 3104 — Overtime — Statutory and other allowances
The 1999 appropriations for sub-heads 3103 and 3104 should be maintained at the same level in real terms as in 1998.
Sub-head 3105 — Remuneration and accessory charges of temporary staff
Sub-head 3105 — Remuneration and accessory charges of temporary staff :
Additionally, but as yet without budgetary provision since no decision has been taken by the Assembly, there is the need to bear in mind the financial consequences of various initiatives to have Assembly texts available in working languages ahead of their adoption by the Assembly. Such a proposal would of course facilitate comprehension of documentation by members of several delegations, but would greatly increase the administrative charge of the secretariat and increase the Assembly’s translation costs.
Sub-head 3106 — Provision for adjustments to remuneration
The 1999 appropriation for sub-head 3106 should be maintained at the same level in real terms as in 1998.
Sub-head 3107 — Placement of national parliamentary officials on secondment to the Assembly
In 1997 the Assembly established new links with the national parliaments by inviting them to place their officials on secondment to the Assembly. This practice, which is continued in 1998, is proving to be very useful and successful. The seconded officials have contributed substantially to the work of Table Office and committee secretariats. The appropriation for 1998 assumed invitation of only two parliamentary officials. Taking into account present and future needs of the Assembly, this number should be increased to three in 1999, and to four in the following year. An increase of 200 000 F for 1999 is therefore requested for this purpose.
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, and one which 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, for the political groups to play a full role, they need to be adequately staffed both in terms of level and numbers. In the medium term, a progressive increase over a number of financial years should aim to allow each group to recruit one staff member at Administrator level, and one secretarial assistant.
The allocation to Political Groups is calculated on the basis of a lump sum for secretariat assistance to each of the existing groups and additional per capita allocation according to the membership of each of the groups. Appropriations for 1997 and 1998 amounted to 4 030 000 F. Each group received a fixed allowance of 135 000 F and additional per capita allowance (some 6 000 F per member).
For 1999, an increase of 70 000 F in the fixed allowance of each group is requested in order to permit each group to remunerate the equivalent of one half-time Administrator post. The total increase requested is therefore 350 000 F (5 x 70 000 F), with the intention that this lump sum allocation for secretarial services will be gradually built up further in the years to come.
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 therefore cannot be rules out. It is obvious that the existing appropriations under this sub-head would need to be revised accordingly.
Since 1975, the appropriations under the following sub-heads have been voted in a lump sum (budgetary package). The various amounts in this package may subsequently be altered under Article 31 of the Financial Regulations.
The total requests of the Assembly for the 1999 budgetary package amount to an increase of 400 000 F. However, the Assembly wishes to stress that since 1993, despite its request for inflation indexing of these appropriations, no such increase has been granted. Even with the relatively low annual rate of inflation during this period, the non-indexing of these appropriations has led to a loss in purchasing power of an amount that might conservatively be estimated at 1 MF for the budgetary package as a whole. The Assembly’s 1999 requests in respect of the package should therefore be seen in this light, and it should be borne in mind that even with the proposed increase for 1999, the appropriations of the package would remain some 600 000 F lower, in purchasing power terms, than they were in 1993.
Sub-head 3301 — Publishing and printing
The cost of publishing and printing in 1996 and in 1997 amounted to 4 MF. Estimates for 1998 are similar. Since 1997 the Office of the Clerk has regularly prepared and published – in electronic and paper form – the newsletter "The Europeans". Additionally, in January 1998, a new publication "Info-Session" began to be distributed to all the members of the Assembly. With the constantly increasing number of Assembly documents to be printed, and with new publications of the Assembly coming on-stream, it is almost impossible to reduce the global cost of printing. Therefore an increase of 300 000 F under this sub-head is required.
Sub-head 3302 — Official expenses of the President of the Assembly
The 1999 appropriation for sub-head 3302 should be maintained at the same level in real terms as in 1998.
Sub-head 3303 — Expenditure pertaining to the Private Office of the President of the Assembly
The 1999 appropriation for sub-head 3303 should be maintained at the same level in real terms as in 1998.
Sub-head 3304 — Representational expenditure, other official expenditure and travelling expenses of members of the Assembly
The 1999 appropriation for sub-head 3304 should be maintained at the same level in real terms as in 1998.
Sub-head 3305 — Official journeys
The 1999 appropriation for sub-head 3305 should be maintained at the same level in real terms as in 1998.
Sub-head 3306 — Expenses for inviting parliamentary delegations of non-member states and other guests
The 1999 appropriation for sub-head 3306 should be maintained at the same level in real terms as in 1998.
The Assembly assumes that a separate, non-recurrent budgetary provision will be made to permit the Assembly to participate in an appropriate manner in celebrations in connection with the organisation’s 50th anniversary.
Sub-head 3307 — Consultation of experts
The 1999 appropriation for sub-head 3307 should be maintained at the same level in real terms as in 1998.
Sub-head 3308 — Organisation of ad hoc conferences
The 1999 appropriation for sub-head 3308 should be maintained at the same level in real terms as in 1998.
Sub-head 3309 — Grant to the International Institute for Democracy
The 1999 appropriation for sub-head 3309 should be maintained at the same level in real terms as in 1998.
Sub-head 3310 — Other expenditure not specifically provided for in this vote
The 1999 appropriation for sub-head 3310 should be maintained at the same level in real terms as in 1998.
Sub-head 3311 — Modernisation of the Assembly's equipment - p.m.
Sub-head 3312 — European Prizes .
In December 1997, the Assembly decided to sponsor the "Young Europe" category of the "Prix Europe for Television". The cost of this prize amounts to 75 000 F annually. Additionally an increase of 25 000 F would enable the activities of the Council of Europe and the Assembly to be publicised more effectively at the presentation ceremonies for these prizes and the flags or plaques of honour. Therefore a total increase of 100 000 F is necessary under this sub-head.
HEAD 3.4 — Interparliamentary activities
Sub-head 3401 — Co-operation programme of the Assembly
The Parliamentary Assembly's activities have grown considerably in the field of monitoring of commitments and co-operation with national parliaments (training of civil servants, parliamentarians, co-operation in the legislative field, assistance or observation missions, etc). This programme has made a major contribution to the consolidation of democratic institutions in the member states. In order to allow parliamentarians from all member states to participate without discrimination, and to ensure adequate secretariat input to these activities, an increase in the order of 300 000 F would be necessary. This increase would restore the Assembly’s budget for the co-operation programme to its 1996 level, (the budget being reduced in the years 1997-98).