Brussels, 25/01/2002 (Agence Europe) - The ambassadors of the fifteen Member States agreed on Thursday on funding from the Community budget for the operating costs of the Convention responsible for preparing the institutional reform, costs estimated at 4 million euro from March to December 2002 (see EUROPE of 24 January, p.10). Even though there are still uncertainties as to what the Convention will really cost as it will be its task, when being set up, to determine the way it will operate and how it will be organised, the Committee of Permanent Representatives (Coreper) has undertaken to find the money from the slender margin that remains under Heading 5 (administrative expenditure) of the budget for the functioning of the three institutions, and according to the following key-distribution (0.1% of the general budget for the functioning of these institutions); 2.6 million euro (Commission), 1 million euro (Parliament) and 400,000 euro (Council).
The question that still arises is what should be done were the operating costs of the Convention to be exceeded (travel allowance, accommodation, drawing up studies, hearings…). Member States should - at Monday's General Affairs Council which should reach a comprehensive agreement on the financing - undertake to cover all additional expenses from national contributions, on condition, however, of having explored all possible ways of funding from the Community budget.
In accordance with what was said on Wednesday by Michaele Schreyer's spokesperson, spending of a nature linked to the work of the Convention (cost of translations and interpretation, placing rooms at their disposal) were initially overestimated: these costs, which are to be covered by the budgets of the three institutions, were downwardly revised to 10.5 million euro, against thirty or so million according to the first idea.