Brussels, 05/06/2000 (Agence Europe) - During its last plenary session in Strasbourg, the EP approves the estimate of EUR 987.8 million for its own budget 2001 (report by Mr Ferber, elected CSU member). Although this figure, and the detail of receipts and expenses, can still be modified during the reading of the 2001 budget in October, the broad lines remain generally unchanged and the EP budget generally corresponds to this estimate. The increase in the EP budget would then be 2.37% compared to the 2000 budget (964.9 million).
The Ferber Report was only slightly amended in plenary. MEPs mainly approved the increase in real estate investment to continue the current policy of real estate acquisition according to the Parliament's needs, mainly with a view to enlargement, with payment in as short a lapse of time as possible in order to reduce interest payments to a minimum. They also approved the idea of including funds intended for political parties in a separate budgetary line (this "temporary" separation would be maintained until the statute of European political parties comes into force).
Contrary to the proposal made by its secretary general, the plenary followed its rapporteur in his proposal not to fill the 35 vacant posts from the "enlargement" reserve of translation and interpretation services. The EP, on the other hand, instructs its secretary general to present, before the first reading of the 2001 budget, a report on the measures to be taken to prepare the linguistic services of the institution for enlargement. Furthermore, the secretary general is called upon to distribute to all MEPs the report drafted last year on multilingualism, under the chairmanship at the time of Vice-President Jean-Pierre Cot, so that "questions of translation and interpreting may be largely discussed before any decision is taken concerning enlargement".
MEPs supported the increase of EUR 15 million proposed by the EP Bureau compared to the secretary general's proposal for "members' assistance". When the budgets committee had supported this idea by adopting the Ferber report in April, the rapporteur had specified that the increase was, in his view, "justified by the increase in work", and "had nothing to do with" the decision taken that same day by the Bureau to ensure stricter controls are carried out on the use of such secretariat allowances for paying assistants.