Brussels, 19/02/2002 (Agence Europe) - The Commission, the Parliament and the Council agreed on Monday evening during an informal budgetary trilogue to create a special fund of EUR 4 million to cover the operating costs (liquid expenditure) of the Convention on the Future of Europe. Under the terms of a new interinstitutional agreement, the fund, to be created outside the Community budget, will nonetheless be managed by the three institutions (each will be responsible for the payment of funds and discharge procedure). Furthermore, the Parliament reserves itself the right to take a negative decision concerning this budget.
The Commission should present a draft supplementary and amending budget (SAB) to the Budget 2002 to create the legal base allowing this fund to be financed according to the following key for breakdown: Commission: EUR 2.6 million; - Parliament: EUR 1 million; - Council EUR 0.4 million. The amounts made available under the SAB will be directly transferred to the fund. The SAB, as well as the new interinstitutional agreement allowing the fund to be created, should be approved by Parliament (and signed by the institutions on the basis of a report by MEP Carlos Costa Neves, on 28 February, the day of the first Convention meeting. According to Commissioner Michaele Schreyer, the agreement provides all necessary guarantees regarding transparency and budgetary control.