The European Parliament adopted the report by Valdis DOMBROVSKIS (EPP-ED, LV) on the guidelines for the administrative budgets of the institutions and bodies other than the Commission under the 2006 budgetary procedure. (Please refer to the document dated 21/02/2005).

As regards the individual institutions, the Parliament has made the following comments:

- European Parliament: Parliament stresses that in terms of the consolidation of the 2004 enlargement, it is important that posts should be filled and that sufficient numbers of qualified interpreters and translators should be made available for all official languages to enable all Members to participate actively in Parliament's work. Necessary preparations should be made for Romania's and Bulgaria's smooth entry into the European Union in 2007. Concerning the global level of Parliament's budget, it recalls that the absence of a single working place results in significant extra costs for Parliament's budget; points out that the cost of siting the European Parliament in three countries is put at more than EUR 200 million per year. Parliament stresses the importance of finding a balance between justified needs to improve the quality of working conditions for Members, political groups and the Administration, and budgetary rigour;

- Council: in the event of new initiatives being introduced, the Council is called upon to find resources firstly through reallocation and to apply the same rigour in establishing its own budget as it applies to the budgets of other institutions. It should provide sufficient resources to the Schengen and Customs Supervisory Authorities to allow them to conduct the necessary inspections. It should also present its estimates at the same time as the other institutions and to have them published as part of the preliminary draft budget;

- Court of Justice: Parliament invites the Court to submit a report to the European Parliament on the preparations for setting up the Civil Service Tribunal and its financial implications and to make more efficient use of its resources in order to speed up legal procedures;

- Court of Auditors: Parliament points out that the term of office of 8 Members of the Court of Auditors will come to an end in 2006, which will result in additional expenditure for its budget as a consequence of one-off allowances and pension payments. It also notes that the Court of Auditors will continue projects to modernise its main building to conform with health, safety and environmental regulations and to construct a second extension;

- European Economic and Social Committee and Committee of the Regions: Parliament invites the two committees to submit a report to the European Parliament on their building projects and needs for rented office space and on the functioning of the joint services. It asks the two institutions to provide reports on the situation as regards the occupation of posts in financial control;

- European Ombudsman : Parliament plans to evaluate the financial implications of the changes in the number of complaints;

- European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS): Parliament points out that 2006 will be the second year in which the EDPS has been fully operational.

The European Parliament adopted the report by Valdis DOMBROVSKIS (EPP-ED, LV) on the guidelines for the administrative budgets of the institutions and bodies other than the Commission under the 2006 budgetary procedure. (Please refer to the document dated 21/02/2005).

As regards the individual institutions, the Parliament has made the following comments:

- European Parliament: Parliament stresses that in terms of the consolidation of the 2004 enlargement, it is important that posts should be filled and that sufficient numbers of qualified interpreters and translators should be made available for all official languages to enable all Members to participate actively in Parliament's work. Necessary preparations should be made for Romania's and Bulgaria's smooth entry into the European Union in 2007. Concerning the global level of Parliament's budget, it recalls that the absence of a single working place results in significant extra costs for Parliament's budget; points out that the cost of siting the European Parliament in three countries is put at more than EUR 200 million per year. Parliament stresses the importance of finding a balance between justified needs to improve the quality of working conditions for Members, political groups and the Administration, and budgetary rigour;

- Council: in the event of new initiatives being introduced, the Council is called upon to find resources firstly through reallocation and to apply the same rigour in establishing its own budget as it applies to the budgets of other institutions. It should provide sufficient resources to the Schengen and Customs Supervisory Authorities to allow them to conduct the necessary inspections. It should also present its estimates at the same time as the other institutions and to have them published as part of the preliminary draft budget;

- Court of Justice: Parliament invites the Court to submit a report to the European Parliament on the preparations for setting up the Civil Service Tribunal and its financial implications and to make more efficient use of its resources in order to speed up legal procedures;

- Court of Auditors: Parliament points out that the term of office of 8 Members of the Court of Auditors will come to an end in 2006, which will result in additional expenditure for its budget as a consequence of one-off allowances and pension payments. It also notes that the Court of Auditors will continue projects to modernise its main building to conform with health, safety and environmental regulations and to construct a second extension;

- European Economic and Social Committee and Committee of the Regions: Parliament invites the two committees to submit a report to the European Parliament on their building projects and needs for rented office space and on the functioning of the joint services. It asks the two institutions to provide reports on the situation as regards the occupation of posts in financial control;

- European Ombudsman : Parliament plans to evaluate the financial implications of the changes in the number of complaints;

- European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS): Parliament points out that 2006 will be the second year in which the EDPS has been fully operational.

The committee adopted the report by Valdis DOMBROVSKIS (EPP-ED, LV ) on the guidelines for the administrative budgets of the institutions and bodies other than the Commission under the 2006 budgetary procedure.

In its general remarks on political priorities, the committee said that the key issues included the bedding down of the 2004 enlargement, the need to make a "dynamic start" on preparations for the 2007 enlargement and making the best use of available funds. It pointed out that the majority of the new staff from the 10 new Member States would be recruited by 2006 and that training would have to be organised for them. It also asked the other institutions to provide a budgetary impact assessment for the projected 2007 enlargement by 1 September 2005 at the latest.

Turning to the individual institutions, the committee first looked at the challenges facing Parliament and supported the requirement for "sufficient numbers of qualified interpreters and translators to be made available for all official languages to enable all Members to participate actively in Parliament's work". As information and communication policy had a key role to play in the crucial task of bringing Parliament closer to citizens, MEPs stressed the importance of audiovisual facilities and the need to improve webcasting and to make Parliament's website more user-friendly. The role of the external offices should also be further developed. The committee also felt that "significantly more resources" should be allocated to help Parliament cope with its increased responsibility in legislative decision-making. It added that "the absence of a single working place results in significant extra costs for Parliament's budget" to the tune of EUR 200 million per year. On the situation of MEPs' assistants, the report supported the creation of a single set of conditions, not least to improve financial transparency.

Among the points raised with regard to the other institutions: the Council was urged to apply the same rigour in establishing its own budget as it applied to the budgets of other institutions;

the Court of Justice was asked to use its resources more efficiently in order to speed up legal procedures; the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions were reminded of the importance of budgetary rigour and financial control; and the increase in activities by the Ombudsman's office was noted.