Strasbourg, 15/05/2002 (Agence Europe) - With the adoption, on Tuesday in Strasbourg, of the report by Per Stenmarck (EPP-ED, Sweden) on budgetary estimates for 2003, the European Parliament is tabling on a moderate budgetary increase (of 1.6% compared to 2002) for operational spending for next year. According to sources at the institution, this trend shows the effectiveness of the real estate policy conducted for several years now by the Parliament.
The Parliament foresees the sum of EUR 1.051 billion in 2003 (a little less than the usual 20% volume under Heading 5 covering administrative expenditure for all institutions), of which 32.3 million will be for spending linked to enlargement preparation and EUR 15 million for early repayment of loans in the context of its real estate policy.
The Parliament is concerned about the intensive use of temporary personnel (reinforcing "auxiliary staff") for purposes other than filling vacant posts or replacing full-time officials during their absence. It also recalls its determination to make MEPs and the staff of the political groups participate in the early retirement system, despite Council reticence.
By way of comparison, other institutions propose far larger increases for 2003: +13% for the Economic and Social Committee; +4.5% for the Committee of the Regions; +5.7% for the Court of Justice; and +11% for the Council, which should, however, soon be reviewing its forecast requirements downwards.