The Assembly,
Having regard to paragraph 1 of Resolution (53) 38 of the Committee of Ministers, which stipulates :
"When drawing up the draft Budget for the Council of Europe, the Secretary-General shall consult the Assembly on that part of the draft Budget which comprises the relevant operational appropriations. Such consultation shall take place in accordance with a procedure to be laid down by agreement between the President of the Assembly and the Secretary-General" ;
Having regard to the letter from the Secretary-General dated 15th March 1962, laying down the procedure for such consultation on that part of the Budget which contains the appropriations for its functioning and on the Budget as a whole;
Having regard to the Budget of the Council of Europe for the Financial Year 1963 adopted by the Committee of Ministers and the General Accounts for the Financial Year 1961, being the last completed and approved period;
Having regard to the wish frequently expressed by the Committee of Ministers concerning the appropriations for the functioning of the Assembly that the Budget should not be appreciably higher than that for the preceding year,
Adopts the following Opinion :
Part 1
Draft Vote III of the Budget for 1964 (Expenditure of the Consultative Assembly)
1. Vote III of the Budget for 1963 should be formulated in the following terms :
Sub-head 49 - Remuneration of temporary staff
Estimate F. 455,000
Remuneration for days worked by temporary staff recruited for sessions of the Assembly and meetings of its organs between Sessions.
Article 32 of the Statute entitles the Assembly to meet for 30 days each year. Experience has shown, however, that the estimate can be based on 20 days' meetings, on the unders standing that this figure does not prejudice the Assembly's rights under the Statute.
Sub-head 50 - Travelling expenses and allowance for travelling time
Estimate F. 115,000
Travelling expenses and allowances for travelling time for temporary staff recruited out-side Strasbourg.
Sub-head 51 - Sickness and accident insurance
Estimate F. 5,000
Council of Europe contribution (60%) to premiums for sickness and accident insurance in respect of temporary staff remunerated under Sub-head 49.
Sub-head 52 -Technical staff seconded by national administrations
Estimate F. 40,000
Refund to various national administrations of the salaries of staff seconded to the Council of Europe for special services during Assembly Sessions; travelling expenses, subsistence allowances and insurance for such staff.
Gratuities for special work performed by lower-grade staff of national administrations in connection with meetings of Assembly bodies outside Strasbourg :
| F. | |
|---|---|
| -Radio-technicians | 22,000 |
| - P. & T. technicians | 6,000 |
| - Police | 8,000 |
| - Firemen | 3,000 |
| -Sundry gratuities outside Strasbourg | 1,000 |
| 40,000 |
Sub-head 53 - Publishing and printing
Estimate - F. 230,000
- Official documents :
| F. | |
|---|---|
| Official Reports | 82,000 |
| Working Papers | 132,000 |
| Index, Orders of the Day | |
| Minutes of Proceedings token Texts adopted | token entry |
- Booklets on special subjects
Drafting, editing, publishing - 6,000
- Distributing to national parliaments of certain texts adopted and related documents
| Translation, printing | 10,000 |
| 230,000 |
Sub-head 54 - Hire of cars
Estimate - F. 4,000
Hire of cars for the requirements of the Assembly and its organs.
Sub-head 55 -Representational travelling and subsistence expenses of the President of the Assembly
Estimate - F. 39,000
Representational, travelling and subsistence expenses incurred by the President of the Consultative Assembly in the course of his duties :
| F. | |
|---|---|
| - Fixed amount for represents national expenses | 22,000 |
| - Travelling and subsistence expenses | 17,000 |
| 39,000 |
Sub-head 56 - Expenditure for the Private Office of the President of the Assembly
Estimate - F. 27,600
| F. | |
|---|---|
| -Special duties allowance | 4,800 |
| - Remuneration of one shorthand, typist | 10,800 |
| -Official journeys of staff | 12,000 |
| -Sundry secretarial expenses | token entry |
| 27,600 |
Sub-head 57 - Representational and other official expenditure incurred by members of the Consultative Assembly
Estimate - F. 61,500
| F. | |
|---|---|
| -Entertainment and similar expenses incurred by the Vice-Presidents of the Assembly and by Committee Chairmen and Rapporteurs | 10,000 |
| - Travelling expenses and subsistence allowances of members of the Assembly attending on behalf of the Council of Europe meetings of certain Council bodies held between Sessions of the Assembly and Assembly Committee meetings (Bureau of the Assembly, Joint Committee, Joint Cultural Committee, etc.) or undertaking official missions for the Assembly | 35,000 |
| - Sundry expenses incurred by members of the Assembly in the discharge of specific duties for the Council, such as secretarial assistance, documentation and travelling expenses (Resolution (58) 4 of 27th March 1958) | 15,000 |
| -Accident insurance premiums for members of the Assembly travelling officially at the Council's expense (Decision of the Ministers' Deputies at their 108th meeting, from 28th to 30th March 1962) | 1,500 |
| 61,500 |
Sub-head 58 - Official journeys
Estimate - F. 100,000
Official journeys of staff of the Office of the Clerk of the Assembly and other staff of the Secretariat whose presence is required at meetings of Assembly bodies away from Strasbourg,
Sub-head 59 - Consultation of experts and organisation of ad hoc conferences by the Consultative Assembly
Estimate - F. 50,000
| F. | |
|---|---|
| (a) Travelling expenses, subsistence allowances and fees of experts called in for consultation by Assembly bodies | 30,000 |
| (b) Organisation of ad hoc conferences by the Consultative Assembly | 20,000 |
| 50,000 |
Sub-head 60 - Expenditure not otherwise provided for under this Vote
Estimate - F. 9,500
| F. | |
|---|---|
| -Light refreshment for officials on night duty | 3,000 |
| -Hire of loudspeakers for calling cars | 500 |
| - Night watchmen | 1,500 |
| - Reception and information service | 1,000 |
| -Miscellaneous and unforeseen expenses | 1,500 |
| 9,500 |
Sub-head 61 - European Prize
Estimate - F. 5,000
| F. | |
|---|---|
| (a) Europe Prize | 2,500 |
| (b) Provision for the cost of awarding the Prize (travelling expenses of the prize-winning municipality; diplomas and medal) | 2,500 |
| 5,000 |
2. The Assembly wishes to point out again that the Committee of Ministers has still taken no decision on the appropriations needed to implement its Resolution 188, adopted on 29th September 1960, on the official languages of the Council of Europe.
This Resolution was adopted pursuant to Article 12 of the Statute of the Council of Europe, under which the Assembly is entitled to "determine in what circumstances and under what conditions other languages" than the official ones "may be used".
The necessary appropriation to implement Resolution 188 should therefore be added to those appearing in Vote III of the Budget for 1964.
Part 2
Budget of the Council of Europe (Votes other than Vote III)
1. (a) Staff of the Office of the Clerk of the Assembly
In its Opinion No. 36 on the 1963 Budget, the Assembly stated its belief that several new permanent posts should be created. It wishes to thank the Committee of Ministers for agreeing to create a new A5 post and a new B3 post.
Because of the duties which now fall or will fall to the Office of the Clerk of the Assembly in 1964, it appears essential to create a new A-2/A-3 post. These new duties consist mainly in preparing and organising a number of conferences as a result of initiatives by the Assembly, as well as special work resulting from the participation of the Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the Legal Committee in the ad hoc Committee on Legal Co-operation set up by Resolution (62) 41 of the Committee of Ministers and from the participation of the Chairman and Vice-Chairmen of the Cultural and Scientific Committee in the Council of Cultural Cooperation.
(b) Staff Regulations for members of the Secretariat
The Assembly had hoped that it would be possible to institute in 1963 Staff Regulations of the European Civil Service which would have been applied to officials of the Council of Europe Secretariat. Having been informed that this problem is still under consideration, the Assembly is of the opinion that such Staff Regulations should be drawn up at latest by the year 1964.
2. Establishment of a Pensions Scheme for members of the Secretariat
The Assembly recalls that in its Opinions Nos. 28, 31, 33, 35 and 36 on the Budgets for the years 1959 to 1963, it requested the speedy establishment of a pensions scheme for officials of the Council of Europe.
It has been informed that a Working Party of the Council of Europe and OECD has drawn up an interim report, accompanied by a draft Pensions Scheme, to the Secretaries-General of the two organisations.
The Assembly wishes to urge the need for the staff of the Council of Europe to be provided with a Pensions Scheme. It considers that this should be done even if the scheme has to be confined to the Council of Europe. It would be wrong for misgivings on the part of other organisations due to working conditions peculiar to themselves to delay indefinitely the institution of a pensions scheme - as expressly provided under Article 23 of the Administrative Regulations and Staff Rules of the Council of Europe, which were approved in August 1949-for reasons which have become even more cogent over the years.
3. Educating young people In the European Idea
The Assembly is of the opinion that member States should make provision in their national budgets for appropriations to enable groups of young people to visit the Council of Europe at Strasbourg. In addition, the Council budget should, like that of other European organisations, make provision for receiving young people and providing them with information on the Council of Europe.