The Assembly,
Having regard to the preliminary draft of Vote I I of the Budget for 1960 (Expenditure of the Consultative Assembly), transmitted to the Assembly by the Secretary- General of t h e Council of Europe ;
Having regard to the Budget of the Council of Europe for the Financial Year 1959, as adopted by the Committee of Ministers, together with the General Accounts for t he Financial Year 1957, this being the latest period for which final accounts are available;
Having regard to Resolution (53) 38 of the Committee of Ministers;
Having regard to the decision of the Committee of Ministers concerning the discussion of t h e Budget of the Council of Europe by the Consultative Assembly, which was transmitted by letter of the Secretary-General to the President of the Consultative Assembly on 19th March 1955,
Adopts the following Opinion :
The Assembly approves the Secretary-General's proposals for the following Sub-heads
RRemuneration of temporary staff 44,000,000
Travel expenses and allowances for travel time 10,900,000
Technical staff seconded by national administrations 6,000,000
Maintenance of radio-electrical equipment . . 800,000
Hire of cars . . . 400,000
Representation, travel and subsistence expenses of the President 3,700,000
Expenditure for the President's private office. . 2,600,000
Official journeys of staff of the Secretariat . . . 10,100,000
Experts' travelling expenses, subsistence allowances and f e e s . . . . . . . . 2,350,000
DMiscellaneous expenditure and contingencies 1,100,000
European Prize 500,000
Third Conference of Local Authorities 10,000,000
For other items, the following estimates are suggested :
Sickness and accident insurance 500,000
Stationery and miscellaneous supplies . . . . 13,500,000
Publications . . .18,600,000
Representational and other official expenses incurred by members of the Assembly 6,300,000
The staff provided for under Vote I, Head 1, should be augmented by the addition of a post of Administrative Officer to act as secretary to the European Conference of Local Authorities.
The Assembly also trusts that the Secretary-General will take into account the requests put forward in its Opinions Nos. 22 (1957) and 28 (1958), especially with regard to the appointment of Assistants to ensure the satisfactory functioning of the office of the Clerk of the Assembly.
The Assembly, which made a number of proposals in this connection in its Opinion No. 28, has noted with interest the work done by the Committee of Experts on Pay and Allowances and by the Governmental Co-ordination Committee of Budgetary Experts, set up by the Council of Europe, 0. E. E. C, N. A. T. 0., and W. E. U.
It wishes, however, that the arrangement applicable to Grade A staff whereby salaries are to be reviewed every nine months and adjusted according to the cost-of-living index, should also be applied to staff in Grades B and C.
The Assembly notes t h a t the Committee of Ministers has not granted the Assembly's wish, expressed in its Opinion No. 28, that there should be no reduction of the percentage and exchange value of the pay and allowances which non-French staff are authorised to transfer to their country of origin. It regrets that a fresh reduction has taken place in this respect, entailing considerable losses to t h e staff members concerned.
The Assembly asks that this question be re-examined with a view to finding a fair solution, whereby non-French staff will be allowed to transfer a fixed part of their pay and allowances, the purchasing power of which should remain constant, to their country of origin.
The Assembly has noted the work done in this field by the Working Party on the European Civil Service. Recalling the views on this matter in its Opinion No. 28, the Assembly again urges t h a t this question, which is one of great political as well as social importance, be settled as soon as possible.
The Assembly which, in its Opinion No. 28 proposed estimates concerning guided tours for visitors to the House of Europe, wishes to re-emphasise the importance it attaches to an improvement of this service and requests once more that adequate appropriations be included for this purpose in the Budget.
The Assembly, which is required to express an opinion on t h e Budget of t h e Council of Europe for the Financial Year 1960 has, in accordance with the procedure agreed upon between the President of the Assembly and the Secretary-General, received from the latter the following documentsNote:
The Committee on the Budget has carefully scrutinised these documents in a spirit of strict economy in respect of all articles for which this was practicable. It agreed unanimously, however, that adequate appropriations must be made in every instance involving an expansion of the activities of the Council of Europe. The Committee feels itself in duty bound to see to it, in pursuance of the aims of the Statutes of the Council of Europe, t h a t the Council's activities are not impeded by purely financial considerations.
Concerning each of these documents,the Assembly makes the following comments :
in remuneration of temporary staff,
in travelling expenses and,
the cost of stationery, miscellaneous supplies and printing. These increases are due primarily to the devaluation of the French franc.
Sub-head (a) Remuneration of temporary staff
The estimate for remuneration of temporary staff contains a provision for adjustment on the lines of what has been done for the permanent staff.
However, it has seemed advisable to assume a lower number of working days for temporary staff as a whole, the experience of 1 9 5 8 having shown that this item was slightly over-estimated.
Sub-head (c) Sickness and accident insurance
The Committee learnt that the Secretary- General was making arrangements to conclude, for the same rate of contribution as in 1 9 5 8 , new insurance contracts on terms more favourable to the staff. The Committee therefore proposes that the estimate be the same as that for 1 9 5 8 , i.e. 5 0 0 , 0 0 0 francs.
Sub-head (f) Stationery and miscellaneous supplies
The Committee considers that the system of distribution of Council of Europe documents might be reviewed, with the aim of reducing paper consumption. It therefore felt that an appropriation of 1 3 , 5 0 0 , 0 0 0 frs. should be sufficient to cover expenditure under this Sub-head.
Sub-head (g) Printing and publishing
In the preliminary draft, the Secretary- General submitted an estimate of 1 6 , 6 0 0 , 0 0 0 frs. The Committee on the Budget, having examined a request by the Cultural Committee, considers t h at this estimate should be increased to 1 8 , 6 0 0 , 0 0 0 frs. This is to make i t possible to distribute a number of publications designed to secure private moral and financial support for the Council of Europe Cultural Fund through the Representatives to the Consultative Assembly. These publications should comprise :
Sub-head (k) Representational and other official expenses incurred by members of the Assembly
In the preliminary draft, the Secretary- General submitted an estimate of 4,300,000 frs. The Committee on the Budget, having examined a request by the Cultural Committee, considers that this appropriation should be increased by 2 million francs, bringing it to 6,300,000 frs. This increase is to enable the Chairman and members of the Cultural Committee to carry out the plan for securing private moral and financial support for the Council of Europe Cultural Fund, as advocated by the Assembly in Resolution 163.
The expenses concerned would include those incurred by the Chairman and members of the Cultural Committee, in connection with postal and, delivery charges, receptions for the setting up of national committees, the hire of premises, journeys to meet distinguished persons interested in the Fund, and possibly the remuneration of a secretary.
Sub-head (o) European Prize
As in previous years, the Committee on Local Authorities considers that the sum awarded to prize-winners should be 1,000,000 frs. The non-restrictive appropriation to cover sundry expenses entailed by the reception of prize-winners at Strasbourg should be increased from the previous 100,000 frs. to a figure more nearly approaching the actual cost in recent years.
The Committee on the Budget notes t h a t despite the repeated requests of the Assembly for an appropriation of 1,250,000 frs., the Committee of Ministers has never granted more than 350,000 (250,000 for the Prize and 100,000 (non-restrictive) for sundry costs). Hence the Committee on the Budget considers t h a t the Secretary-General's proposal for an appropriation of 500,000 frs (250,000 for the Prize and, in the light of experience, 250,000 for sundry costs) may be recommended for approval.
Sub-head (p) Third Session of the European Conference on Local Authorities
The Committee on the Budget would point out t h a t the Committee on Local Authorities requested an appropriation of 14 million frs. to cover the holding of the Conference. It is nevertheless grateful to the Committee of Ministers for having voted a sum of 10 million frs. which, while considered inadequate by the Assembly, is still a real improvement on the appropriations for previous years. The Committee has considered a request from the Committee on Local Authorities that this appropriation be increased to cover the cost of the meetings of certain organs of the Conference between Sessions. It considers that a supplementary estimate might possibly be submitted in due course.
In its Opinions No. 22 (1957) and No. 28 (1958) the Assembly prepared a chart of the minimum needs of the Office of the Clerk. The number of staff placed entirely at the disposal of the Assembly as at 31st December 1958 is shown in the Appendix to this Report
In view of the increase in the work of the Office of the Clerk since 1956, t he Committee on the Budget proposes to draw the Secretary-General's attention to this situation, with particular reference to the inadequate number of assistants.
Furthermore, the Assembly considers i t necessary to increase the strength of the Clerk's Office by one post of administrative officer for the Secretariat of the European Conference on Local Authorities.
The Committee, in the Explanatory Memorandum (Doc. 819) to Opinion No. 28 considered that now, more than ever, efforts should be made to promote the idea of European unification and that one of the best ways of doing this was to make European institutoins known to young people. The Committee therefore felt t h a t the Council of Europe should give a warm welcome to those who visit it, suitable explanatory talks being given to foster their interest in the European idea.
In order to improve the existing facilities, t h e Committee made a number of practical suggestions and the Assembly requested appropriations to cover the employment of guides, the publication of pamphlets and folders intended for visitors to Europe House and the setting up there of an historical exhibition with exhibits from the Council of Europe Pavilion in Brussels, as well as t h e installation of a projection theatre where films might be shown to visitors, in particular to students.
The Committee requests that an adequate appropriation for improving arrangements for the reception of visitors be made for the Financial Year 1960.
The Committee has no special comments to make on the remaining items in the Budget.
| 1 | Clerk of the Assembly having the rank of Deputy Secretary- General | 1 Assistant |
| 1 | Deputy Clerk of the Assembly having the rank of Head of Department | 1 Assistant |
| 1 | Counsellor | 1 Assistant |
| 1 | First Secretary (Head of Private Office of the President) | 1 Assistant |
| 1 | First Secretary (Bureau of the Assembly, Standing Committee and Committee on Rules of Procedure) | 1 Assistant |
| 1 | First Secretary (Political Committee, Joint Committee | 2 Assistants |
| 1 | Secretary (Economic Committee | 1 Assistant |
| 1 | Secretary (Social Committee) | 1 Assistant |
| 1 | Secretary (Legal Committee, Committee on Non-Represented Nations) | 1 Assistant |
| 1 | Secretary (Committee on Agriculture) | 1 Assistant |
| 1 | Secrétaire (commission de l'Agriculture) | 1 Assistant |
| 1 | Secretary (Committee on the Budget, Working Party on Relations with National Parliaments) | |
| 1 | Secretary (Committee on Population and Refugees) | |
| 1 | Secretary (Sittings, documents,Yearbook) | |
| 1 | Supervisor (Committee on Local Authorities) | 1 Assistant |
| 13 Assistants | ||
| 1 | Clerk of the Assembly having the rank of Deputy Secretary-General | |
| 1 | Deputy Clerk of the Assembly having the rank of Head of Department | |
| 1 | Counsellor | |
| 3 | First Secretaries | |
| 8 | Secretaries (Second and transitional Secretaries) | |
| 1 | Supervisor |