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 the functioning of the Assembly and on the Budget as a whole ;
Having regard to the Budget of the Council of Europe for the Financial Year 1964 adopted by the Committee of Ministers and the General Accounts for the Financial Year 1962, 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 :
1. Vote III of the Budget for 1965 should be formulated in the following terms :
Estimate...................F. 530,000
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 understanding that this figure does not prejudice the Assembly's rights under the Statute.
Estimate.................. F. 145,000
Travel expenses and allowances for travelling time for temporary staff recruited outside Strasbourg.
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 51.
Estimate................... F. 45,000
Refund to various national administrations of the salaries of staff seconded to the Council of Europe for special services during Assembly Sessions : travel 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.
Estimate.................. F. 251,000
F.
1. Assembly official documents ........ 207,500
2. Report of the Joint Meeting ............. 8,500
3. Booklets on special subjects ........... 25,000
4. Distribution to national Parliaments of certain texts adopted and related documents .......................................... 10,000
251,000
Estimate...................F. 4,000
Hire of cars for the requirements of the Assembly and its organs.
Estimate...................F. 41,000
Representational, travel and subsistence expenses incurred by the President of the Consultative Assembly in the course of his duties :
F.
- Fixed amount for representational expenses .. 24,000
- Travel and subsistence expenses .................... 17,000
41,000
Estimate ................... F. 27,600
F.
- Special duties allowance ....................... 4,800
- Remuneration of one shorthand-typist ..10,800
- Official journeys of staff ....................... 12,000
- Sundry secretariat expenses ................ token entry
27,600
Estimate ................... F. 71,500
F.
- Entertainment and similar expenses incurred by the Vice-Presidents of the Assembly and by Committee Chairmen and Rapporteurs ..... 10,000
- Travel 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, etc.), or undertaking official missions for the Assembly..... 30,000
- Sundry expenses incurred by members of the Assembly in the discharge of specific duties for the Council of Europe, such as secretarial assistance, documentation and travel expenses (Resolution (58) 4 of 27th March 1958) ........ 30,000
- Accident insurance premiums for members of the Assembly travelling officially at the Council of Europe's expense (Decision of the Ministers' Deputies at their 108th meeting in March 1962) ........... 1,50
71,500
Estimate .................. F. 100,000
Official journeys by Staff of the Office of the Clerk of the Assembly and Secretariat staff whose presence is required at meetings of Assembly bodies away from Strasbourg, or at meetings of consultant experts.
Estimate .................. F. 35,000
Estimate .................. F. 8,500
Estimate ................. F. 5,000
F.
(a) Europe Prize ..... 2,500
(b) Provision for the cost of awarding the Prize (travel expenses of the mayor 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 1965.
Because of the increase in the number and complexity of the duties of this Office, and in order to consolidate its structure, it appears essential to reinforce its staff as follows :
- One A2/A3 post to strengthen the secretariat of the Permanent Working Party on Parliamentary and Public Relations. The activities of the Working Party have increased, due, first, to the fact that its terms of reference have recently been extended to cover public relations and, secondly, to the need to develop relations between the Assembly and national Parliaments. The activities of the Working Party have often been encouraged by the Committee of Ministers and, as a result of its work since 1957, the annual number of occasions on which Council of Europe affairs had been brought up in national Parliaments has increased fivefold.
- One A2/A3 post to strengthen the secretariat of the European Conference of Local Authorities, which has become a permanent organ of the Council of Europe under Article 17 of the Statute. Its five committees do not meet only during sessions of the Conference.
- Two B2 posts in view of the constant increase in the number and volume of documents drafted by the Office.
- Transformation of a B2 post to B3 to provide a Head of Division with a private secretary.
- One A5 post to strengthen the organisation of the Office. The object is to increase to three the number of Heads of Division, whose main task is to co-ordinate the activities of A4 and A2/A3 staff who normally act as secretaries to the fifteen committees and other organs of the Assembly, and to enable the Deputy Clerk to give more effective support to the Clerk in his responsibility for the work of the Assembly secretariat as a whole, including provision of the necessary liaison with other directorates and departments in the Secretariat.
The Assembly again draws attention to the fact that in its Opinions Nos. 28, 31, 33, 35, 36 and 38 on the Budgets for the years 1959 to 1964, it asked the Committee of Ministers to establish speedily the pensions scheme provided for in the Staff Regulations of the Council of Europe.
It has been informed that the Committee of Ministers had under consideration a draft pensions scheme submitted by the Secretary-General. While all member Governments were in agreement on the principle of instituting a pensions scheme for Council of Europe staff, they had not yet expressed their views on the details of the scheme proposed.
The Assembly considers that the Council of Europe should, in the first place, give its own staff the social benefits and security of employment which it recommends that member countries should grant to their own workers.
It therefore asks the Committee of Ministers to give its views as soon as possible on the scheme proposed by the Secretary-General, and to take a quick decision so that the staff of the Council of Europe may, at last, have a pensions scheme.
In its Opinion No. 40 of 20th September 1963, the Assembly proposed a programme of teaching and research in the field of Human Rights and recommended that the Committee of Ministers should include in the Budget for 1964 the appropriations necessary to give effect to its proposals.
Since the Committee of Ministers has not been able to agree to these proposals in the Budget for 1964, the Assembly requests that the appropriations necessary to implement them should be included in the 1965 Budget.