Brussels, 04/04/2002 (Agence Europe) - At a proposal by Ms Schreyer, the European Commission should adopt, on 30 April, the preliminary draft budget (PDB) for 2003 the leading line of which will be preparation of the institutions for enlargement. The Commission will above all propose using the flexibility instrument (which allows a maximum amount of EUR 200 million to be allocated in a budget heading whose margins are exhausted) in order to be able to finance the creation of 500 temporary posts that it considers necessary to prepare its services for the arrival of new Member States in 2004. A proposal that is far from winning unanimity within the budgetary authority (Parliament and Council). The Fifteen during the debate at the General Affairs Council on 11 March on the annual policy strategy for 2003 and the Parliament during the debate on 12 March in plenary on budgetary guidelines 2003 challenged the principle of using the flexibility instrument under heading 5 (administrative spending). The Council insists that they must remain below the ceiling of this heading by compressing costs to a maximum, and the rapporteur for the budget of the institutions, Per Stenmark (EPP, Sweden) had declared it would be difficult to ask taxpayers for more funds to pay for more bureaucrats in Brussels.
We point out that the Commission estimated the cost of recruiting these 500 non-permanent agents and the publication of the acquis communautaire in the new languages at EUR 35 million (without counting the needs of the other institutions that should be made known early May when the secretaries general of the institutions have evaluated their forecasts).
Furthermore, the Commission is expected to meet the Council's request not to reduce spending under CFSP and to foresee the necessary funds for setting up an EU police mission in Bosnia.
The PDB will be presented for the first time according to the different sectors of activity (according to the policies of the Directorates General), in addition to the traditional heading by heading presentation of the financial perspectives.