holding a four-part plenary session;
meetings of the Bureau and Standing Committee held between part-sessions of the Assembly;
meetings in Strasbourg or Paris, lasting one or more days outside the four part-sessions, of each of the 10 general committees, their sub-committees, ad hoc committees of the Assembly or the Bureau and specialised working groups;
committee and sub-committee meetings held elsewhere than in Strasbourg or Paris;
parliamentary conferences, colloquies, seminars and hearings;
activities under the Assembly’s interparliamentary co-operation programme;
observation of elections;
the work of the political groups.
methods of preparation and distribution of official reports of Assembly debates;
methods of document distribution to the Assembly’s members and to parliamentary delegations;
a possible reduction in the number of copies of documents printed during the Assembly’s part-sessions;
better co-ordination of committee meetings, for example by grouping and organising them more effectively. This might also help to produce savings for national parliaments.
Furthermore, the suppression of the fifth day (Friday) of part-sessions of the Assembly might also be considered.
6. The implementation of some of these measures requires prior analysis of their impact on the quality of the documents and services provided for members of the Assembly. Others require the committees’ full and unreserved co-operation. These questions are now being studied and no exact figures can be given at present for the savings which may be generated.
7. The Assembly is convinced that any measure other than those referred to above would lead not to efficiency savings but to a reduction in its activities or would require more radical changes in its modus operandi, calling for political decisions (for example, language policy). It considers such measures unacceptable.
8. Finally, the Assembly recalls its position of principle that any efficiency savings should be used to reinforce its structures, in particular the secretariat of the committees, and finance its own activities and particularly to develop its co-operation and assistance programmes which will, in 2006, be focusing on the parliaments of the South Caucasus, Ukraine and Moldova and the Palestinian Legislative Council. An additional €250 000 in 2006 would be needed to ensure the implementation of these programmes. The Assembly hopes that efficiency savings will allow their financing. For this reason, it is not asking for extra funding for the development of these programmes.
9. For all these reasons, the Assembly does not wish, at this juncture, to change the breakdown of its appropriations from 2005 to 2006.
10. The Assembly must continue to allocate the appropriate resources to developing its relations and co-operation with other parliamentary bodies, particularly the European Parliament and the national parliaments, which should be its chief partners. In the current phase of the European project, doing this is in the Council of Europe’s interest.
11. As the Council of Europe’s parliamentary body and political forum, the Assembly must bring its facilities into line with modern communication requirements. It accordingly asks the Committee of Ministers to include in the budget for 2006 the investment priorities which were not included in the 2005 budget. This applies to the installation of continuously functioning TV cameras, replacement of the vote display panels with two large-format video-walls and installation of a new and reliable voting system, since the present one is obsolete and increasingly expensive to maintain. The Assembly should also be able to develop its communication policy by making full use of new media technologies. This would make its activities, public documents and information material more accessible to the public, governments, parliaments and other institutions.
12. The Assembly appreciates the Committee of Ministers’ decision, in the last two years, to make an adjustment in the grants to its five political groups. It hopes that it will do the same in 2006.
13. The Assembly considers that the time has come to give it budgetary powers corresponding to its status as the Council of Europe’s parliamentary and political body. It considers its present subordinate position incompatible with the principles of a genuine parliamentary democracy.
14. The Assembly requests that it be given at least co-decision-making power to determine its operating budget, in accordance with its Recommendations 1155 (1991) and 1344 (1997). In particular, the Assembly, basing itself on Article 41.d of the Council of Europe’s Statute relating to amendments, which states that “amendments to Articles 23 to 35 [Assembly], 38 and 39 [Finance] which have been approved by the Committee and by the Assembly shall come into force on the date of the certificate of the Secretary General, transmitted to the governments of members, certifying that they have been so approved”, suggests that the Committee of Ministers add to Article 38 of the Statute, after paragraph c, a new paragraph, worded as follows:
“The Assembly shall determine the amount of its expenditure, the growth rate being agreed between the Committee of Ministers and the Assembly.”
15. In this connection, the Assembly points out that the simplified procedure provided for in Article 41.d was already used to supplement this article in 1951 and that the full procedure for amendment of the Statute is not required.
Appended to this opinion are:
i. a table of the requests for 2006 compared with the appropriations in 2005, presented according to the results-based budgeting method which has led the Secretariat of the Assembly to divide the budget into two activity sectors:
Expenditure in each sector is broken down into the same categories;
ii. a brief explanation of the various items of expenditure;
iii. a table setting out the Assembly’s work programme according to the results-based budgeting method.
| VOTE III of the ordinary budget – Expenditure of the Assembly | Appropriations for 2006 | Appropriations for 2005 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TITRE III du budget ordinaire – Dépenses relatives à l’Assemblée | Crédits ouverts au budget de 2006 | Crédits accordés au budget de 2005 | |||
| EUROS | EUROS | ||||
| HEAD 0310 – Sessions plénières | |||||
| CHAPITRE 0310 –Plenary Sessions | |||||
| Dépenses de personnel/Staff expenditure | |||||
| Sub-heads/Articles | |||||
| 0000001 - Remuneration of staff recruited on established posts / Rémunération du personnel recruté dans le cadre des emplois permanents | 1 269 100 | 1 269 100 | |||
| 0000003 - Remuneration and accessory charges of temporary staff / Rémunération et charges accessoires du personnel temporaire | 895 800 | 895 800 | |||
| 0000005 - Salary, allowances and social charges of the Secretary General of the Assembly / Rémunération, indemnités et charges sociales du Secrétaire Général de l’Assemblée | 55 100 | 55 100 | |||
| 0000007 - Overtime – statutory and other allowances / Heures supplémentaires – indemnités statutaires et autres | 21 300 | 21 300 | |||
| Supplies, services and other operational expenditure / Dépenses de matériel et autres dépenses de fonctionnement | |||||
| Sub-heads/Articles | |||||
| 0000080 - Official journeys / Frais de missions | p.m. | p.m. | |||
| 0000095 - Representational expenditure, other official expenditure and travelling / expenses of members of the Assembly / Dépenses de représentation, frais de fonction et de déplacement des Membres de l’Assemblée | 29 100 | 29 100 | |||
| 0000115 - Interpretation / Interprétation | 900 000 | 900 000 | |||
| 0000116 - Translation / Traduction | 382 300 | 382 300 | |||
| 0000124 - Publishing and printing / Publications et impressions | 610 500 | 610 500 | |||
| 0000125 – Outsourced production of documents / Production externalisée de documents | 35 700 | 35 700 | |||
| 0000129 - Consultation of experts / Consultation d’experts | 115 000 | 115 000 | |||
| 0000166 - Expenses for inviting guests of the Parliamentary Assembly / Dépenses d’accueil des invites de l’Assemblée parlementaire | 20 400 | 20 400 | |||
| 0000204 - Modernisation of the Assembly’s equipment / Modernisation de l’équipement de l’Assemblée | p.m. | p.m. | |||
| 0000206 - Operating and maintenance costs of the electronic voting system / Coûts de maintenance et d’exploitation du vote électronique | 41 100 | 41 100 | |||
| 0000250 - Co-operation and monitoring programme / Programme de coopération et du suivi des engagements | p.m. | p.m. | |||
| 0000392 - Other expenditure not specifically provided for in this vote / Autres dépenses non spécialement prévues au présent titre | 20 400 | 20 400 | |||
| TOTAL HEAD 0310 | 4 395 800 | 4 395 800 | |||
| TOTAL DU CHAPITRE 0310 | |||||
| HEAD 0311 – Functioning of the Assembly’s various bodies / CHAPITRE 0311 – Fonctionnement des diverses instances de l’Assemblée | |||||
| Dépenses de personnel/Staff expenditure | |||||
| Sub-heads/Articles | |||||
| 0000001 - Remuneration of staff recruited on established posts / Rémunération du personnel recruté dans le cadre des emplois permanents | 6 350 400 | 6 350 400 | |||
| 0000003 - Remuneration and accessory charges of temporary staff / Rémunération et charges accessoires du personnel temporaire | 302 100 | 302 100 | |||
| 0000005 - Salary, allowances and social charges of the Secretary General of the / Assembly / Rémunération, indemnités et charges sociales du Secrétaire Général de l’Assemblée | 128 600 | 128 600 | |||
| 0000013 - Secondment of national civil servants to the Assembly / Fonctionnaires nationaux mis à disposition de l’Assemblée | 61 000 | 61 000 | |||
| 0000016 - Recruitment, arrival and departure expenses – Home leave / Frais de recrutement à l’arrivée et au départ – congé dans le pays d’origine | 62 200 | 62 200 | |||
| Supplies, services and other operational expenditure / Dépenses de matériel et autres dépenses de fonctionnement | |||||
| Sub-heads/Articles | |||||
| 0000080 - Official journeys / Frais de missions | 408 000 | 408 000 | |||
| 0000095 - Representational expenditure, other official expenditure and travelling expenses of members of the Assembly / Dépenses de représentation, frais de fonction et de déplacement des Membres de l’Assemblée | 173 400 | 173 400 | |||
| 0000115 - Interpretation / Interprétation | 1 050 000 | 1 050 000 | |||
| 0000116 - Translation / Traduction | 119 300 | 119 300 | |||
| 0000124 - Publishing and printing / Publications et impressions | 132 400 | 132 400 | |||
| 0000125 – Outsourced production of documents / Production externalisée de documents | 15 300 | 15 300 | |||
| 0000129 - Consultation of experts / Consultation d’experts | 70 000 | 70 000 | |||
| 0000162 - Expenditure pertaining to the Private Office of the President of the Assembly / Dépenses du Cabinet du Président de l’Assemblée | 76 500 | 76 500 | |||
| 0000163 - Official expenses of the President of the Assembly / Frais de fonction du Président de l’Assemblée | 104 000 | 104 000 | |||
| 0000166 - Expenses for inviting guests of the Parliamentary Assembly / Dépenses d’accueil des invites de l’Assemblée parlementaire | p.m. | p.m. | |||
| 0000171 - Organisation of ad hoc conferences / Organisation de conférences ad hoc | 147 400 | 147 400 | |||
| 0000204 - Modernisation of the Assembly’s equipment / Modernisation de l’équipement de l’Assemblée | p.m. | p.m. | |||
| 0000205 - European prizes / Prix européens | 86 700 | 86 700 | |||
| 0000206 - Operating and maintenance costs of the electronic voting system / Coûts de maintenance et d’exploitation du vote électronique | p.m. | p.m. | |||
| 0000250 - Co-operation and monitoring programme / Programme de coopération et du suivi des engagements | 690 900 | 690 900 | |||
| 0000370 – Allocation to Assembly’s political groups / Dotation des groupes politiques de l’Assemblée | 670 700 | 670 700 | |||
| 0000392 - Other expenditure not specifically provided for in this vote / Autres dépenses non spécialement prévues au présent titre | 45 900 | 45 900 | |||
| TOTAL HEAD 0303 | 10 694 800 | 10 694 800 | |||
| TOTAL DU CHAPITRE 0303 | |||||
| TOTAL VOTE III | 15 090 600 | 15 090 600 | TOTAL DU TITRE III |
This appropriation covers the basic salaries, allowances (non-recurring and periodic) and social coverage of the permanent staff of the Secretariat of the Assembly (87 posts) as well as temporary staff. Contrary to the practice adopted in previous years, expenditure on staff has been broken down according to the Assembly’s two activity sectors, namely organisation of the plenary sessions and the functioning of the various Assembly bodies.
The Assembly currently has 10 committees: 9 of them have 83 members (with 83 alternates), and the remaining one has 51 members (with 51 alternates). The Secretariat comprises 87 posts, broken down as follows:
1 A7 - 2 B6 - 1 C4
2 A6 - 5 B5
11 A5 - 16 B4
10 A4 - 12 B3
19 A2/A3 - 8 B2
Experience in the last few years has shown that, to be fully operational, each of the nine 83-member committees needs four A-grade staff members (one A5 Head of Secretariat, one A4 Secretary and 2 A2/A3 co-secretaries), one B4 administrative assistant and one B2/B3. The 51-member committee needs 2 A-grade staff members (one A4 Secretary and one A2/A3 co-secretary), one B4 administrative assistant and one B2/B3.
However, the current establishment table does not allow the Secretary General of the Assembly to redeploy the Assembly’s permanent staff so as to achieve the desired structure. In fact, several committees have encountered difficulties in coping with the increased tasks and responsibilities resulting from their enlarged membership.
At present, the Secretariat of the Assembly is organised so that the 10 Assembly committees have 49 staff members (29 A-grade and 20 B-grade) working for them, with the remaining 38 working for the Bureau of the Assembly, the Private Office of the President of the Assembly, the Table Office and the interparliamentary co-operation, finance and administration, communication, information technology and research units. According to the structure set out above, the 10 parliamentary committees should have 58 staff members (38 A-grade and 20 B-grade) available to them. There is therefore a shortfall of 9 A-grade staff members at the level of committees.
Raising the Assembly’s profile as a whole, promoting its parliamentary assistance activities and electoral observation, broadening and stepping up its contact with national parliaments and other international and parliamentary organisations and implementing the decisions of the 3rd Summit would make it necessary to supplement the Communication Unit, the Institutional and Interparliamentary Relations Directorate as well as the Private Office of the President in the coming years.
The Assembly is aware of the constraints inherent in the present budget situation. Should the creation of new posts prove impossible, it hopes that the Secretary General of the Council of Europe will explore the possibility of redeploying additional A2/A3 posts within the Assembly Secretariat, beginning progressively in 2006.
The purpose of appropriations under the item “staff expenditure” in heads 0310 and 0311 can be described, for each sub-head, as follows:
Sub-head 0000001: remuneration of permanent staff (basic salary, allowances and social charges);
Sub-head 0000003: remuneration of temporary staff (basic salary, travel expenses, allowances for travelling time, social charges) engaged for Assembly sessions (around 150 persons for a global cost of €200 000, per session), meetings of Assembly bodies, ad hoc conferences and colloquies;
Sub-head 0000005: remuneration of the Secretary General of the Assembly (basic salary, allowances and social charges);
Sub-head 0000007: overtime payments to permanent staff of the Council of Europe entitled to such payment for work during the sessions of the Assembly (for example payments to drivers, messengers, etc.);
Sub-head 0000013: allowances and travel expenses paid to civil servants from national parliaments who are on secondment to the Assembly;
Sub-head 0000016: recruitment costs for staff members of the Assembly on arrival and departure and expenses in respect of paid home leave.
Since 1975, following a decision by the Committee of Ministers, the appropriations under these heads are voted in the form of a single appropriation, although it continues to be divided into sub-heads. If the Assembly wishes to change the relative amounts in the package at a later date, either because of an overall reduction or for any other reason dictated by the implementation of the budget, such a change will be effected by the Secretary General at the Assembly’s request and in accordance with Article 31 of the Financial Regulations. Since 2005 and the adoption for the entire Organisation of a results-based budget, which does not change the above-mentioned decision, all operational expenditure of the Assembly, namely co-operation and monitoring programmes, publications, interpretation, translation, official journeys, experts, conferences, European prizes, etc., has been set out under Heads 0310 and 0311, corresponding to the new sector-based presentation of the Parliamentary Assembly’s activities. The first activity sector comprises expenditure related to the four Assembly part-sessions while the second covers the operational expenditure of the various Assembly bodies. They include, by sub-head, the following expenditure:
Sub-head 0000080: official travel (missions) by the staff of the Secretariat of the Assembly required to attend meetings of the Assembly (bodies) and other organisations;
Sub-head 0000095: hospitality expenses incurred during visits by important personalities visiting the Assembly, travel expenses and subsistence allowances of members of the Assembly representing it at meetings of certain Council of Europe bodies (other than sessions of the Assembly and meetings of the Assembly committees), accident insurance premiums for official travelling;
Sub-head 0000115: interpretation costs from and into official and working languages of the Assembly (interpretation in the five official languages – French, English, German, Italian and Russian – for each plenary session and for the plenary meetings of committees, interpretation in two languages for the meetings of sub-committees). The cost of one week session is approximately €230 000;
Sub-head 0000116: translation costs into official and working languages as well as non-official languages. The appropriations cover the translation of 24 000 pages at €20.90 per page;
Sub-head 0000124: printing (23 000 000 pages per year) and mailing expenses;
Sub-head 0000125: cost of production of documents outside the Council of Europe;
Sub-head 0000129: fees, travel and subsistence expenses for experts asked to carry out technical work or called in for consultation by the Assembly bodies;
Sub-head 0000162: official journeys by Private Office staff or/and staff travelling at the President’s request, fees, travel and subsistence expenses of experts called by the President;
Sub-head 0000163: representational, travel and subsistence expenses incurred by the President in the exercise of his functions;
Sub-head 0000166: expenditure arising from the Assembly’s external relations (reception of guests, travel and subsistence expenses of invited delegations of non member states);
Sub-head 0000171: expenditure arising from the organisation of conferences, symposia or seminars (travel and subsistence expenses of participants, publishing, hospitality, etc.);
Sub-head 0000204: modernisation of the Assembly’s equipment;
Sub-head 0000205: European Prizes (Europe Prize: €7 600; Council of Europe Museum Prize: €5 000; “European Prize for Television” – category “Young Europe”: €6 000; expenditure incurred in connection with presentation of prizes, annual meeting of the Selection Committee of the Museum Prize);
Sub-head 0000206: operating and maintenance costs of the electronic voting system;
Sub-head 0000250: expenditure relating to the observation of elections and within the framework of the Assembly monitoring procedure, information seminars for parliamentarians and training for parliamentary staff, official journeys by staff, legislative, statutory and technical assistance to national parliaments;
Sub-head 0000392: expenditure in connection with the financial contribution of the Assembly to the activities of international, interparliamentary, intergovernmental and non-governmental organisations, hire of cars, purchase of medals, flags and representation gifts, sundry expenditure.
As mentioned above, the appropriations provided for in sub-head 0000250 are intended to cover expenditure under the Assembly’s co-operation and monitoring programme (including missions to observe elections in member states).
For 2006, a number of planned activities, apart from those of the committees and sub-committees, may already be mentioned at this stage:
The most important event is without a doubt the Conference of Speakers of European Parliamentary Assemblies, to be held at the end of May 2006 in Tallinn (Estonia).
Furthermore, in response to Resolution 1420 (2005) on prospects for peace in the Middle East, the Bureau of the Assembly, meeting on 18 March 2005, decided to organise a tripartite forum bringing together an equal number of representatives of the Knesset and the Palestinian Legislative Council, under the auspices of its Sub-Committee on the Middle East.
Finally, a parliamentary co-operation programme aimed at officials of the parliaments of the South Caucasus countries and Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Moldova, as well as the National Palestinian Council is being drawn up. The aim of the programme is to provide information through seminars on the Council of Europe activities in the field of human rights, social affairs, cultural co-operation and challenges to society. For 2006, the programme foresees a thematic seminar by groups of countries.
It is also planned to hold a conference jointly with the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe on sustainable development in the Black Sea region.
To conclude, it should also be noted that the Council of Europe Secretary General has negotiated a framework programme of co-operation with the European Agency for Reconstruction (EAR). In this context a new contract is being finalised to implement a programme to support the parliamentary institutions of Serbia and Montenegro. This programme will be financed by an EAR contribution of up to €1.5 million and a 10% contribution by the Council of Europe.
In its Opinion No. 249 (2004), the Assembly identified several investment priorities to be included in the future investment planning of the Council of Europe:
The Assembly notes that its first priority has been duly taken into account in the 2005-2009 investment plan and that funds have been set aside in the 2005 budget for the improvements needed to make the Assembly Chamber and public areas accessible to persons with disabilities. This work also includes renovation of the parliamentarians’ foyer. Where the second priority is concerned, the architecture of the Palais de l’Europe unfortunately does not allow separate direct access to the public gallery of the Assembly Chamber from outside the building. However, the Assembly notes that the 2005 budget includes a provision for complete renovation of the area reserved for the public on the ground floor.
On the other hand, returning to its third priority, it would like particular attention to be focused on the installation of a permanent system of television cameras controlled and managed by technicians from the booth located on the upper right-hand side of the Assembly Chamber. This new system would replace the current manual system which requires several camera operators to be present in the Assembly Chamber itself which obstructs the view of some members, preventing them from seeing the President’s table. It would also be advisable to provide for the replacement of the vote display boards located on either side of the rostrum, facing the Chamber, with two large screens of the “videowall” type which could be used to show the speaker or any high-profile guests and the results of votes. This system could also be used for PowerPoint presentations or as a video-conferencing aid. Both these proposals would, of course, benefit the Organisation as a whole as they would improve television coverage of all the events taking place in the Assembly Chamber and increase the possibilities for using that area. This investment should include complete refurbishment of the President’s table and the rostrum, which are old-fashioned and no longer suited to the Assembly’s needs. The need for a new and reliable voting system should also be borne in mind, since the present one is obsolete and increasingly expensive to maintain. The total investment would amount to approximately €900 000.
Sub-head 0000370 – Allocation to the Assembly’s political groups
The allocation to the political groups is calculated on the basis of a lump sum for secretarial assistance to each of the existing groups and an additional per capita allocation according to membership. The appropriation for 2005 was €670 700.
For 2006, the appropriation under this head should be maintained at the same level as in 2005 in real terms.
| Plenary Sessions | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Intervention Logic | Performance Indicators | Sources of Verification | Assumptions |
| Activity Area Objective The Assembly is able to fulfill its statutory tasks | |||
| Expected Result 1 The order of business for each part-session is prepared, docs to discuss are sent to MPs, the tabling of deadlines for amendments is fixed | The part-session order of business as well as the reports are sent out two weeks before the session. For each debate, the date and the time for the tabling of amendments are specified | Dispatch slip Part-session calendar Feedback from MPs | Administrative support of CoE central services. Administrative support from secretaries of national delegations and political groups |
| Expected Result 2 A time table is respected Amendments and adopted texts are quickly published, a majority of registered speakers may speak during a debate | Amendments are published in the two official languages within 4 hours after being deposited; adopted texts are published in the two official languages within the 4 hours after their adoption. A minimum of 50% of registered speakers have the floor | Part-session calendar Availability of texts and amendments in the Distribution room for each debate Reports of debates List of speakers Feedback from MPs | Administrative support of CoE central services. Administrative support from secretaries of national delegations and political groups |
| Expected Result 3 Adopted texts are transmitted to the Organs concerned | Proposals for the follow-up of adopted texts are ready and submitted to the Bureau of the Assembly for its meeting on the last day of the part-session | Minutes of the Bureau Transmission of letters to the Organs concerned |
| Functioning of the Assembly's various bodies | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Intervention Logic | Performance Indicators | Sources of Verification | Assumptions |
| Activity Area Objective The smooth functioning of the Assembly's various bodies is ensure. | |||
| Expected Result 1 Committee meetings, seminars and conferences are efficiently organised | |||
| Meeting agendas, relevant documents and reports are ready for distribution on time | |||
| Minutes of committee meetings Proceedings of seminars and conferences | |||
| Ongoing political support from members of relevant committees | |||
| Expected Result 2 Efficient and effective assistance to the President of the Assembly is provided | Level of satisfaction of the President of the Assembly | Feedback from the President of the Assembly | |
| Expected Result 3 Cooperation with national parliaments is further developed | Level of satisfaction of beneficiary national parliaments Quality of the cooperation offered | Annual report prepared by the Secretariat and submitted for endorsement to the Bureau of the Assembly | Satisfaction of basic political standards necessary for establishing cooperation |
| Expected Result 4 Financial resources to the Assembly’s five political groups are provided | Timely provision of financial resources | Annual report by the Committee on Economic Affairs and Development on the use of the appropriations by the Assembly's five political groups | Annual financial statements are submitted by the Assembly's five political groups |
| Expected Result 5 The Assembly’s external profile is raised | Media coverage of the Assembly’s activities Number of visitors to the Assembly’s website |