PURPOSE: Corrigendum to the definitive adoption of the European Union's general budget for the financial year 2010 ( initially published in the Official Journal of the European Union L 64 of 12 March 2010 ).

The corrigendum published on 24 March amends tables in which errors had appeared for a series of budget items or articles.

The European Parliament adopted a resolution on the other sections of the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2010 (all except the Commission).

On a general note , Parliament recalls that the EU institutions must establish their budgets in the context of the difficult economic and financial situation facing Europe. The budgets must reflect the efforts to achieve political objectives with as effective a use of resources as possible. It reiterates its conviction that budget requests must be fully cost-based and only reflect real needs to achieve the tasks entrusted to each institution, while making every effort to identify savings, including through better organisation of work, redeployment of existing resources toward priorities and less bureaucracy, in order to make the best possible use of scarce financial resources.

Parliament stresses that any expenditure related specifically to the potential entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon is not included in the proposals. It states that in the event of the treaty entering into force, existing budgetary instruments, such as an amending letter or amending budget, may have to be used if necessary. It recalls that there is still room for improvement and more effective use of budget resources in a number of areas, such as in the area of inter-institutional cooperation and in particular in the field of language services could provide some margin for savings. To this end, Parliament decides to introduce a cross-cutting reserve of 5% for external translation services and stresses that this amendment is targeted towards all institutions with their own translation departments. It also takes note of the fact that this reserve can thus be released when a concrete proposal for a system of internal translation resource sharing has been presented by the institutions and considered by the budgetary authority.

Parliament believes that the EU budget system must develop in a way that rewards resourcefulness and innovative solutions. It highlights, in this regard, and as an incentive, that efficiency gains and savings that are the result of such measures on the part of the institutions could be used for other priorities they might have. It stresses, however, that unused funds that result simply from slow implementation or unexpected events should as a general rule be returned to the taxpayer.

Section 1 - European Parliament : Parliament underlines the need for the Parliament, as is the case for all institutions, to provide as complete a preliminary budget proposal as possible in the spring and early summer. It points out that the overall level of its budget amounts to 19.87 % of the authorised expenditure under heading 5 (administrative appropriations) of the multi-annual financial framework, i.e. it has been maintained below the self-imposed limit of 20%. It reiterates, however, that this figure does not include any possible adaptations that might become necessary should the Treaty of Lisbon enter into force, particularly in the legislative area, and maintains its position that a considerable margin is essential. It acknowledges that, due to the current limited margin, further savings and redeployment will be required to enable additional requirements to be fulfilled. Parliament considers that a distinction between the Parliament's fixed and variable costs would facilitate decisions on the overall level of its budget and the appropriate follow-up for maintaining a sustainable budget. It also considers that this distinction, the long-term strategies on buildings, communication and information policies as well as a cost-benefit analysis of the various activities of Parliament will enable the construction of a zero-based budget in the coming years. It considers that this will allow the Parliament's budget to reflect only real needs and will increase its transparency, budget accuracy and efficiency.

Parliament also concentrated on the following issues:

New statute for Members' parliamentary assistants : 2010 is the first year of full application of the new Statute for Members and that this is having a significant impact on its budget. Parliament welcomes the agreement reached at the end of 2008 on the new statute for Members' parliamentary assistants and has included the budgetary provisions for the first full year of application in 2010. It also welcomes the establishment of the Temporary Evaluation Group to examine any practical problems arising from the introduction of the Members' and Assistants' Statutes and looks forward to receiving its conclusions as soon as possible, in any case no later than the Bureau's presentation of the 2011 Estimates. Parliament notes that the additional amounts included compared to 2009 (a year of partial application) can be estimated at some EUR 40 million and, compared to previous years, at some EUR 113 million. However, it c onsiders that these figures, however, should be differentiated into what are effectively unavoidable consequences of a legal and budgetary nature and those for which the actual implementation of the system can make a difference. From a budgetary point of view, Parliament therefore calls for a report on the application of the system for travel reimbursements, based on accurate and objective data, to be presented before 30 June 2010. Human resources : welcoming the agreement concerning staff resources for the 2010 budget, Parliament authorises the appropriations for 54 new posts (permanent and temporary) and to upgrade a number of administrative positions. Efforts are needed as regards the organisation of Parliament work and the structure of services in order to maximise the results and, from a budgetary point of view, reduce the cost impact. In this respect, it is crucial to optimally balance the distribution of human resources between core legislative activities, direct services to Members and administrative support functions. Parliament also supports the creation of 49 new posts over three years to this end. Legislative work and multilingualism : recalling that multilingualism has been a crucial feature of the 2010 budget, Parliament welcomes the targeted additional funding for this area. It believes that assuming Parliament's increased legislative responsibilities is an ongoing process and requires full assistance to Members to fulfil their legislative work. It reiterates that attention must now also be turned to the later stages of the legislative procedures and deems it essential that Members have access to correct texts in all official languages . It considers it essential that Parliament should examine and vote on final, correct texts in all languages. Parliament is willing to reconsider the system and accessibility of translations of plenary speeches, the so-called verbatim reports. Buildings policy : once again, Parliament requests that the Bureau should present a coherent and responsible long-term strategy in the area of property and buildings, which also takes into account the particular problem of increasing maintenance costs, renovation needs and security costs. Parliament considers the reply received following the 2009 budget resolution to be insufficient. It reiterates the importance it attaches to security issues, closely linked to its building policy, and considers that an effective and balanced approach is necessary in this area. It underlines in particular the specific character of a parliament and the need for openness and accessibility alongside security. Lastly, Parliament notes that the reason why the Bureau is contemplating acquiring a new building close to its current facilities in Brussels, while reckoning that it no longer needs another one of its buildings for parliamentary work. Communication and information policy : Parliament welcomes the agreement on financing of European political parties and foundations as well as the final decision by the Bureau on the management model for the new Visitor's Centre. It also takes note of the agreement reached between its Bureau and Committee on Budgets concerning the House of European History and makes available the requested EUR 1.5 million in order to carry out this project. Stressing the importance it attaches to an effective organisation of the many information sources, Parliament suggests the creation of a Directorate for Library and Document Management under its Presidency services.

As regards the other sections of the budget, Parliament sets out the following:

Section IV - Court of Justice : Parliament is not convinced that the Council's cuts on foreseen remunerations and abatement rates are correct given the actual rate of recruitment and staffing level. Therefore, it proposes re-reinstating the PDB on a number of lines. High building costs have also been noted. Section V - Court of Auditors : Parliament accepts 12 new auditor posts, as a result of increasing demands, particularly from the budget discharge authority. It notes the planned progression of the costs for the K3 building extension and reiterates that, compared to a lease-purchase option, the decision to finance this directly from the budget will keep this project at the lowest level possible for the tax-payer. Parliament proposes to increase a limited number of expenditure items relating to the Court's dissemination of reports. Section VI - European Economic and Social Committee : Parliament takes a compromise position between the Committee's original requests and the Council's draft budget. It decided to approve the creation of 6 additional posts. Furthermore, it asks the Committee to present a succinct explanation on how the travel reimbursements and allowances are calculated. Section VII - Committee of the Regions : Parliament regrets the Council's abolition of all 10 additional posts requested for the Committee and reinstates four of them as priority posts linked to its political work. It introduces a general abatement rate of 5% after hearing the Committee's arguments as regards recruitment levels and vacancy rates. Parliament also adopts a compromise position between the Committee's requests and the Council's reductions on various operational lines. Section VIII - European Ombudsman : Parliament partially reinstates the PDB for this institution and adopts a compromise position between the Ombudsman and the Council as concerns appropriations needed for salaries and allowances. Section IX - European Data Protection Supervisor : acknowledging that the Supervisor is increasingly being called on to give opinions on legislation (with an impact on data protection issues), Parliament suggests making some adjustments to the draft budget suggested by the Council. It proposes the creation of two additional posts as well as reinforcing some specific budget lines.

The Committee on Budgets adopted the report drawn up by Vladimír MAŇKA (S-D, SK) on the other sections of the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2010 (all except the Commission).

General Framework : MEPs recall that the EU institutions must establish their budgets in the context of the difficult economic and financial situation facing Europe. The budgets must reflect the efforts to achieve political objectives with as effective a use of resources as possible. MEPs reiterate their conviction that budget requests must be fully cost-based and only reflect real needs to achieve the tasks entrusted to each institution, while making every effort to identify savings, including through better organisation of work, redeployment of existing resources toward priorities and less bureaucracy, in order to make the best possible use of scarce financial resources.

MEPs stress that any expenditure related specifically to the potential entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon is not included in the proposals. They state that in the event of this treaty entering into force, existing budgetary instruments, such as an amending letter or amending budget, may have to be used if necessary. They recall that there is still room for improvement and more effective use of budget resources in a number of areas, such as in the area of inter-institutional cooperation . The report stipulates that increased cooperation in the field of language services could provide some margin for savings. To this end, MEPs decide to introduce a cross-cutting reserve of 5% for external translation services . MEPs stress their wish that the possibility of 'tele-working' for translators should be re-examined by the institutions.

Overall, MEPs believe that the EU budget system must develop in a way that rewards resourcefulness and innovative solutions. In this regard, they consider that efficiency gains and savings that are the result of such measures on the part of the institutions could be used for other priorities they might have. They stress, however, that unused funds that result simply from slow implementation or unexpected events should as a general rule be returned to the taxpayer.

Section 1 - European Parliament : MEPs welcome the good spirit and constructive nature of the budgetary conciliation meetings. They stress the need for the Parliament, as is the case for all institutions, to provide as complete a preliminary budget proposal as possible in the spring and early summer. They emphasise that the use of an amending letter should truly be limited to unforeseen events and technical updates. MEPs underline that the overall level of its budget amounts to 19% of the authorised expenditure under heading 5 of the multi-annual financial framework, i.e. it has been maintained below the self-imposed limit of 20% . This amount may be insufficient if the Lisbon Treaty enters into force. It is for this reason that they suggest maintaining their position that a considerable margin is essential. In addition, they consider that a distinction between the Parliament's fixed and variable costs would facilitate decisions on the overall level of its budget and the appropriate follow-up for maintaining a sustainable budget. They consider that this distinction, the long-term strategies on buildings, communication and information policies as well as a cost-benefit analysis of the various activities of Parliament will enable the construction of a zero-based budget in the coming years.

MEPs also concentrated on the following issues:

New statute for Members' parliamentary assistants : MEPs point out that 2010 is the first year of full application of the new Statute for Members and that this is having a significant impact on its budget. They call on the Parliament to introduce a reserve of 20% on the salary line for Parliament's staff while requesting a significant reduction in bureaucracy and improvement of the implementation of the assistant's statute.

Human resources : welcoming the agreement concerning staff resources for the 2010 budget, MEPs call on the Parliament to authorise the appropriations for 54 new posts (permanent and temporary) and to upgrade a number of administrative positions. They consider it right to adapt its organisation of work and structure of services to the political priorities in order to maximise the results and, from a budgetary point of view, reduce the cost impact. In this respect, MEPs recall their request from last year that it is crucial to optimally balance the distribution of human resources between core legislative activities, direct services to Members and administrative support functions. MEPs also support the creation of 49 new posts over three years to this end.

Legislative work and multilingualism : recalling that multilingualism has been a crucial feature of the 2010 budget, MEPs welcome the targeted additional funding for this area in the budget proposal and call on the Parliament to approve it. They believe that assuming Parliament's increased legislative responsibilities is an ongoing process and requires full assistance to Members to fulfil their legislative work. They consider that attention must now also be turned to the later stages of the legislative procedures and deems it essential that Members have access to correct texts in all official languages . The report recalls that Parliament regularly votes on agreed legislative acts in the form of early political compromises, whereas the Council adopts such acts only after they have been finalised. It considers it essential that Parliament should examine and vote on final, correct texts in all languages. MEPs are willing to reconsider the system and accessibility of translations of plenary speeches, the so-called verbatim reports.

Buildings policy : once again, MEPs request that the Bureau should present a coherent and responsible long-term strategy in the area of property and buildings, which also takes into account the particular problem of increasing maintenance costs, renovation needs and security costs. Parliament considers the reply received following the 2009 budget resolution to be insufficient. It reiterates the importance it attaches to security issues, closely linked to its building policy, and considers that an effective and balanced approach is necessary in this area. It underlines in particular the specific character of a parliament and the need for openness and accessibility alongside security. Lastly, MEPs note that the reason why the Bureau is contemplating acquiring a new building close to its current facilities in Brussels, while reckoning that it no longer needs another one of its buildings for parliamentary work, remains to be clearly explained.

Communication and information policy : MEPs welcome the agreement on financing of European political parties and foundations as well as the final decision by the Bureau on the management model for the new Visitor's Centre. They also take note of the agreement reached between its Bureau and Committee on Budgets concerning the House of European History and they call on the European Parliament to make available the requested EUR 1.5 million in order to carry out this project. They stress the importance it attaches to an effective organisation of the many information sources and services available to Members and staff within the Parliament. In this respect, they suggest the creation of a Directorate for Library and Document Management under its Presidency services.

As regards the other sections of the budget:

Section IV - Court of Justice : MEPs are not convinced that the Council's cuts on foreseen remunerations and abatement rates are correct given the actual rate of recruitment and staffing level. Therefore, they propose re-reinstating the PDB on a number of lines. They also note the high building costs. Section V - Court of Auditors : MEPs call on the Parliament to accept 12 new auditor posts, as a result of increasing demands, particularly from the budget discharge authority. They note the planned progression of the costs for the K3 building extension and reiterate that, compared to a lease-purchase option, the decision to finance this directly from the budget will keep this project at the lowest level possible for the tax-payer. MEPs propose to increase a limited number of expenditure items relating to the Court's dissemination of reports. Section VI - European Economic and Social Committee : MEPs decide to take a compromise position between the Committee's original requests and the Council's draft budget. They decided to approve the creation of 6 additional posts. Furthermore, they ask the Committee to present a succinct explanation on how the travel reimbursements and allowances are calculated. Section VII - Committee of the Regions : MEPs do not agree with the Council's abolition of all ten additional posts requested for the Committee and decides to reinstate four of them as priority posts linked to its political work and, particularly, the regional assembly. They call on the Parliament to introduce a general abatement rate of 5% after hearing the Committee's arguments as regards recruitment levels and vacancy rates. The committee also takes a compromise position between the Committee's requests and the Council's reductions on various operational lines. Section VIII - European Ombudsman : MEPs call on the Parliament to partially reinstate the PDB for this institution. They also suggest the adoption of a compromise position between the Ombudsman and the Council as concerns needed appropriations for salaries and allowances. Section IX - European Data Protection Supervisor : acknowledging that the Supervisor is increasingly being called on to give opinions on legislation (with an impact on data protection issues), MEPs suggest making some adjustments to the draft budget suggested by the Council. They propose the creation of two additional posts as well as reinforcing some specific budget lines.

This document is to be annexed to the draft budget for 2010, in accordance with the agreements on the budgetary procedure.

As in previous years, this document sets out:

implementation of the EDFs (8th to 10th) at 31 December 2008; financial implementation forecasts for the current year; expenditure forecasts for 2010.

As regards the financing of the EDFs, the Member States contribute funds directly to the European Investment Bank for the instruments

which it manages under the 9th and 10th EDFs (the Investment Facility and interest-rate subsidies). Contributions for other instruments, including contributions for the old instruments managed by the EIB (risk capital and interest-rate subsidies), go to the Commission.

The Commission and the EIB have updated their commitment and payment forecasts for 2009 and 2010 for each of the ACP countries and the OCTs.

The payment forecasts in particular have been compiled with great care with the aim of helping the Member States to assess as accurately as possible the amounts they need to earmark in their national budgets while ensuring that sufficient financial resources are available for the EDF to avoid liquidity problems.

In accordance with Article 7 of the Internal Agreement on the 10th EDF, estimates will be revised in the October 2009 communication.

Overall, the document shows the structural upward trend in payments since 2000 .

In addition, the documents presents the state of implementation of the EDFs at 31 December 2008 compared with the forecasts made in October 2008 in terms of commitments and payments as well as the financial situation recorded in 2008 and the projections made for 2009 and 2010.

The new forecasts for the 2009 contributions confirm the Commission's needs at EUR 3 300 million and the EIB's at EUR 165 million. Note that these amounts are the same as those decided by the Council in November 2008.

Contributions for 2010 are forecast at EUR 3 500 million for the Commission and EUR 240 million for the EIB.

It should be stressed that these figures are just a preliminary forecast and must be treated with caution, notably in the light of COM(2009) 160 on "Supporting developing countries cope with the crisis". The Commission and the EIB will make more reliable forecasts after the summer. They will be presented in the October 2009 communication.

The Council unanimously established the draft budget of the other institutions for 2010 at 1st reading. The Council used the preliminary draft budget of the other institutions as its basis.

The main issues are as follows:

A. Generally : in establishing the draft budget for 2010, the Council followed a number of guidelines:

establishing the global increase of the EU administrative expenditure at a level near the inflation rate; setting the administrative budget of each institution at the appropriate level, taking into account their specificities and real and justified needs; carrying out targeted reductions under certain budget lines for all the institutions, taking into account the 2008 budget outturn and real needs; increasing the standard flat rate abatement on salaries for most of the institutions, taking into account their current vacancy rate; insisting on the need to fill all vacant posts (a joint declaration on recruitment in relation with the 2004 and 2007 enlargement was approved by the Council on 10 July 2009); not accepting any new post requested by the institutions for new activities; accepting requested conversions, transformations and upgradings; excluding expenditure related to the implementation of the Treaty of Lisbon.

When examining the administrative budgets, the Council also focused on administrative expenditure linked to operational programmes and on administrative expenditure of the executive agencies. In this respect, it was decided to carry out targeted reductions, in particular on the basis of the 2008 budget outturn. This approach has resulted in a margin of EUR 276.15 million available under the ceiling of heading 5 of the financial framework, which is deemed sufficient to respect the requirements of the IIA and in the interest of sound financial management.

Building policy of EU institutions and bodies : a thorough examination of the building policy of the institutions was also done. In this context, a unilateral declaration on building policy of EU Institutions and bodies was also approved by the Council which may be summarised as follows:

Acknowledging that building costs represent a significant part of the overall administrative expenditure of the EU Institutions, the Council considers that a sound financial management of building expenses is essential. It reiterates the importance of a strong interinstitutional cooperation in this field. It underlines the need for the Institutions to cooperate to the highest possible extent and to join their forces, both for the rental or purchase of buildings and for connected current expenses. It invites the Institutions to share facilities whenever appropriate in order to limit building expenses to the necessary minimum. The Council asks the Institutions to look into the potential for further interinstitutional cooperation which could include sharing of premises, joint management of premises and the scope for a possible interinstitutional buildings office . The Council calls on the Institutions to establish long-term building strategies, based on realistic estimates of future staff numbers and ensuring the necessary flexibility by means of an equilibrium between owned and rented buildings, in order to avoid as far as possible any ad-hoc decisions on buildings. The Council attaches great importance to receive the information required by the relevant provisions of the Financial Regulation as soon as possible. The information should include thorough need assessments and comprehensive cost-benefit analyses, the various alternatives, outlining the options to rent or buy as well as the alternative financing possibilities, and taking all financing costs into account. Well before decisions need to be taken, the information should be made available to both arms of the budgetary authority, so that they can establish their position without time pressure. The Council asks the Institutions to pursue their work towards harmonising this information through common definitions and indicators to allow comparisons of building space and building costs between the different Institutions, including the common understanding of the method for calculating annual costs of own property spread over the entire period of their utilisation.

It should be noted that the European Parliament expressed its willingness to seek for a common approach on this issue and indicated its readiness to continue working on a joint declaration that could be agreed at a later stage.

B. Amounts allocated by the Council for each institution (except for the Commission):

European Parliament - Section I : u nder the "gentlemen's agreement", the Council included the European Parliament estimate in the draft general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2010 without any changes; the estimate represents an increase of EUR 60 041 796 (+3.92%) over the 2009 budget. Council - Section II : EUR 610 052 000, representing an increase of EUR 7 200 000 (+1.19%) over the 2009 budget. The standard flat rate abatement on salaries has been maintained at 7% as proposed in the PDB, taking into account the current vacancy rate. Targeted reductions were retained by applying a specific decrease to appropriations related to outside assistance for the operation and development of computer systems, cleaning and maintenance, publications in the Official Journal, purchase and replacement of technical equipment and installations, mission expenses and allowances of national experts seconded in connection with the ESDP/CFSP, as well as to the remuneration of other staff (contract agents). With regard to staff levels, the Council approved the transformations for career development. It accepted the appropriations requested to employ 38 new external contract staff. The Council also accepted the conversion of 15 AST posts into 15 AD posts proposed in the context of the adjustment of structure and grades. Court of Justice - Section IV : EUR 322 869 003, representing an increase of EUR 7 914 570 (+2.51%) over the 2009 budget. The standard flat rate abatement on salaries was maintained at 2.5% as proposed in the PDB, taking into account the current vacancy rate. Appropriations requested for officials and temporary staff and for other staff and external staff were decreased by 3%, given the under-implementation in previous years. Targeted reductions were retained by applying a specific decrease to appropriations related to expenditure on information technology. With regard to staff levels, the Council approved the transformations for career development. The Council also accepted the conversion of 4 AST posts into appropriations and the conversion of 6 AST posts into 6 AD posts. Court of Auditors - Section V : EUR 146 292 216, representing a decrease of EUR 41 352 080 (-22.04%) in comparison with the 2009 budget, which included a significant amount of extraordinary expenditure. The standard flat rate abatement on salaries was fixed at 6.3%, taking into account the current vacancy rate. Appropriations related to the renewal of the members' mandates were adjusted in accordance with the latest available information. Proposed additional appropriations related to studies for audits were accepted for a part while the increases in appropriations requested for training and missions, meetings and conferences, new furniture, IT tools, as well as publications including the Official Journal were not accepted. With regard to staff levels, the Council approved the transformations for career development. The Council also accepted the conversion of 3 temporary AST posts into appropriations and the transformation of one AST8 post into an AD8 post resulting from the application of Article 47(1) of the Financial Regulation. On the other hand, it rejected the request for 20 new permanent non-enlargement AD7 posts for auditors for 4 months. Economic and Social Committee - Section VI : EUR 122 284 695, representing an increase of EUR 1 573 886 (+1.30%) over the 2009 budget. The standard flat rate abatement on salaries was fixed at 5.5%, taking into account the recruitment difficulties encountered. Appropriations requested for other staff and outside services, building maintenance and renovation projects, as well as for data processing, equipment and furniture were reduced, since they were deemed to have been overestimated. A minor targeted reduction was retained by applying a specific decrease to appropriations for other expenditure relating to persons working with the institution, given the under-implementation in the last two years. With regard to staff levels, the Council approved the transformations for career development. The Council also accepted the other changes (9 reclassifications) to the establishment plan. On the other hand, it rejected the request for 10 additional permanent non-enlargement posts (6 AD5, 3 AST3 and 1 AST1). Committee of the Regions - Section VII : EUR 77 986 675, which represents an increase of EUR 1 534 955 (+2.01 %) over the 2009 budget. The standard flat rate abatement on salaries was fixed at 6%, taking into account the current vacancy rate. The amount requested for appropriations related to members was reduced since travel expenses and subsistence allowances were deemed to have been overestimated. Appropriations requested for other staff and outside services, other expenditure relating to persons working with the institution, data processing, equipment and furniture, as well as for meetings and conferences and expertise and information, were deemed to have been overestimated and were reduced accordingly. Targeted reductions were also retained by applying a specific decrease to appropriations related to building maintenance and renovation projects, as well as by rejecting the creation of a new item intended for an interinstitutional mobility project. With regard to staff levels, the Council approved the transformations for career development. On the other hand, the Council rejected the request for 10 additional non-enlargement posts (5 AD5, 3 AST3 and 2 AD5T). European Ombudsman – Section VIII : EUR 8 907 275, which nearly corresponds to the 2009 budget. Appropriations requested for officials and temporary staff were decreased by 5%, given the under-implementation in previous years. Targeted reductions were retained by applying a specific decrease to appropriations relating to expenditure on training. The requests for a potential change of Ombudsman were not accepted, as they were already financed in the 2009 budget. With regard to staff levels, the Council approved the transformations for career development. European Data Protection Supervisor – Section IX : EUR 6 684 351 (+0.32% compared to 2009). The amount intended for salaries was reduced by not accepting the increase requested with respect to the 2009 budget, taking into account the under-implementation in the last two years. The amounts of the increases requested by the institution for appropriations relating to traineeships and staff exchanges, services and work to be contracted out, mission expenses, travel expenses and other ancillary expenditure, further training, as well as translation and interpretation costs were reduced accordingly, taking into account the under-implementation in the last two years. With regard to staff levels, the Council approved the transformations for career development under Article 6 of the Staff Regulations and Articles 6, 9 and 10 of Annex XIII thereto. On the other hand, the Council rejected the request for 4 additional permanent non-enlargement posts (2 AD5, 1 AST2 and 1 AST4).

The Council unanimously established the draft budget of the other institutions for 2010 at 1st reading. The Council used the preliminary draft budget of the other institutions as its basis.

The main issues are as follows:

A. Generally : in establishing the draft budget for 2010, the Council followed a number of guidelines:

establishing the global increase of the EU administrative expenditure at a level near the inflation rate; setting the administrative budget of each institution at the appropriate level, taking into account their specificities and real and justified needs; carrying out targeted reductions under certain budget lines for all the institutions, taking into account the 2008 budget outturn and real needs; increasing the standard flat rate abatement on salaries for most of the institutions, taking into account their current vacancy rate; insisting on the need to fill all vacant posts (a joint declaration on recruitment in relation with the 2004 and 2007 enlargement was approved by the Council on 10 July 2009); not accepting any new post requested by the institutions for new activities; accepting requested conversions, transformations and upgradings; excluding expenditure related to the implementation of the Treaty of Lisbon.

When examining the administrative budgets, the Council also focused on administrative expenditure linked to operational programmes and on administrative expenditure of the executive agencies. In this respect, it was decided to carry out targeted reductions, in particular on the basis of the 2008 budget outturn. This approach has resulted in a margin of EUR 276.15 million available under the ceiling of heading 5 of the financial framework, which is deemed sufficient to respect the requirements of the IIA and in the interest of sound financial management.

Building policy of EU institutions and bodies : a thorough examination of the building policy of the institutions was also done. In this context, a unilateral declaration on building policy of EU Institutions and bodies was also approved by the Council which may be summarised as follows:

Acknowledging that building costs represent a significant part of the overall administrative expenditure of the EU Institutions, the Council considers that a sound financial management of building expenses is essential. It reiterates the importance of a strong interinstitutional cooperation in this field. It underlines the need for the Institutions to cooperate to the highest possible extent and to join their forces, both for the rental or purchase of buildings and for connected current expenses. It invites the Institutions to share facilities whenever appropriate in order to limit building expenses to the necessary minimum. The Council asks the Institutions to look into the potential for further interinstitutional cooperation which could include sharing of premises, joint management of premises and the scope for a possible interinstitutional buildings office . The Council calls on the Institutions to establish long-term building strategies, based on realistic estimates of future staff numbers and ensuring the necessary flexibility by means of an equilibrium between owned and rented buildings, in order to avoid as far as possible any ad-hoc decisions on buildings. The Council attaches great importance to receive the information required by the relevant provisions of the Financial Regulation as soon as possible. The information should include thorough need assessments and comprehensive cost-benefit analyses, the various alternatives, outlining the options to rent or buy as well as the alternative financing possibilities, and taking all financing costs into account. Well before decisions need to be taken, the information should be made available to both arms of the budgetary authority, so that they can establish their position without time pressure. The Council asks the Institutions to pursue their work towards harmonising this information through common definitions and indicators to allow comparisons of building space and building costs between the different Institutions, including the common understanding of the method for calculating annual costs of own property spread over the entire period of their utilisation.

It should be noted that the European Parliament expressed its willingness to seek for a common approach on this issue and indicated its readiness to continue working on a joint declaration that could be agreed at a later stage.

B. Amounts allocated by the Council for each institution (except for the Commission):

European Parliament - Section I : u nder the "gentlemen's agreement", the Council included the European Parliament estimate in the draft general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2010 without any changes; the estimate represents an increase of EUR 60 041 796 (+3.92%) over the 2009 budget. Council - Section II : EUR 610 052 000, representing an increase of EUR 7 200 000 (+1.19%) over the 2009 budget. The standard flat rate abatement on salaries has been maintained at 7% as proposed in the PDB, taking into account the current vacancy rate. Targeted reductions were retained by applying a specific decrease to appropriations related to outside assistance for the operation and development of computer systems, cleaning and maintenance, publications in the Official Journal, purchase and replacement of technical equipment and installations, mission expenses and allowances of national experts seconded in connection with the ESDP/CFSP, as well as to the remuneration of other staff (contract agents). With regard to staff levels, the Council approved the transformations for career development. It accepted the appropriations requested to employ 38 new external contract staff. The Council also accepted the conversion of 15 AST posts into 15 AD posts proposed in the context of the adjustment of structure and grades. Court of Justice - Section IV : EUR 322 869 003, representing an increase of EUR 7 914 570 (+2.51%) over the 2009 budget. The standard flat rate abatement on salaries was maintained at 2.5% as proposed in the PDB, taking into account the current vacancy rate. Appropriations requested for officials and temporary staff and for other staff and external staff were decreased by 3%, given the under-implementation in previous years. Targeted reductions were retained by applying a specific decrease to appropriations related to expenditure on information technology. With regard to staff levels, the Council approved the transformations for career development. The Council also accepted the conversion of 4 AST posts into appropriations and the conversion of 6 AST posts into 6 AD posts. Court of Auditors - Section V : EUR 146 292 216, representing a decrease of EUR 41 352 080 (-22.04%) in comparison with the 2009 budget, which included a significant amount of extraordinary expenditure. The standard flat rate abatement on salaries was fixed at 6.3%, taking into account the current vacancy rate. Appropriations related to the renewal of the members' mandates were adjusted in accordance with the latest available information. Proposed additional appropriations related to studies for audits were accepted for a part while the increases in appropriations requested for training and missions, meetings and conferences, new furniture, IT tools, as well as publications including the Official Journal were not accepted. With regard to staff levels, the Council approved the transformations for career development. The Council also accepted the conversion of 3 temporary AST posts into appropriations and the transformation of one AST8 post into an AD8 post resulting from the application of Article 47(1) of the Financial Regulation. On the other hand, it rejected the request for 20 new permanent non-enlargement AD7 posts for auditors for 4 months. Economic and Social Committee - Section VI : EUR 122 284 695, representing an increase of EUR 1 573 886 (+1.30%) over the 2009 budget. The standard flat rate abatement on salaries was fixed at 5.5%, taking into account the recruitment difficulties encountered. Appropriations requested for other staff and outside services, building maintenance and renovation projects, as well as for data processing, equipment and furniture were reduced, since they were deemed to have been overestimated. A minor targeted reduction was retained by applying a specific decrease to appropriations for other expenditure relating to persons working with the institution, given the under-implementation in the last two years. With regard to staff levels, the Council approved the transformations for career development. The Council also accepted the other changes (9 reclassifications) to the establishment plan. On the other hand, it rejected the request for 10 additional permanent non-enlargement posts (6 AD5, 3 AST3 and 1 AST1). Committee of the Regions - Section VII : EUR 77 986 675, which represents an increase of EUR 1 534 955 (+2.01 %) over the 2009 budget. The standard flat rate abatement on salaries was fixed at 6%, taking into account the current vacancy rate. The amount requested for appropriations related to members was reduced since travel expenses and subsistence allowances were deemed to have been overestimated. Appropriations requested for other staff and outside services, other expenditure relating to persons working with the institution, data processing, equipment and furniture, as well as for meetings and conferences and expertise and information, were deemed to have been overestimated and were reduced accordingly. Targeted reductions were also retained by applying a specific decrease to appropriations related to building maintenance and renovation projects, as well as by rejecting the creation of a new item intended for an interinstitutional mobility project. With regard to staff levels, the Council approved the transformations for career development. On the other hand, the Council rejected the request for 10 additional non-enlargement posts (5 AD5, 3 AST3 and 2 AD5T). European Ombudsman – Section VIII : EUR 8 907 275, which nearly corresponds to the 2009 budget. Appropriations requested for officials and temporary staff were decreased by 5%, given the under-implementation in previous years. Targeted reductions were retained by applying a specific decrease to appropriations relating to expenditure on training. The requests for a potential change of Ombudsman were not accepted, as they were already financed in the 2009 budget. With regard to staff levels, the Council approved the transformations for career development. European Data Protection Supervisor – Section IX : EUR 6 684 351 (+0.32% compared to 2009). The amount intended for salaries was reduced by not accepting the increase requested with respect to the 2009 budget, taking into account the under-implementation in the last two years. The amounts of the increases requested by the institution for appropriations relating to traineeships and staff exchanges, services and work to be contracted out, mission expenses, travel expenses and other ancillary expenditure, further training, as well as translation and interpretation costs were reduced accordingly, taking into account the under-implementation in the last two years. With regard to staff levels, the Council approved the transformations for career development under Article 6 of the Staff Regulations and Articles 6, 9 and 10 of Annex XIII thereto. On the other hand, the Council rejected the request for 4 additional permanent non-enlargement posts (2 AD5, 1 AST2 and 1 AST4).

The Council took note of the presentation by the Commission of its preliminary draft for the EU's general budget for 2010. It asked the Permanent Representatives Committee to examine the draft with a view to enabling the Council, at its meeting on 10 July, to establish a draft budget at first reading.

On 10 March, the Council set out principles for preparation of the 2010 budget (see Council doc. 6767/09 ).

In its preliminary draft budget, the Commission proposes a total of EUR 138.6 billion in commitment appropriations (+1.5% compared with 2009) and EUR 122.3 billion in payment appropriations (+5.3% compared with 2009).

Commitment appropriations represent 1.18% of EU gross national income, and payment appropriations amount to 1.04%.

The Commission places economic recovery at the heart of spending in 2010, channelling the biggest share of funds (45%) into growth and employment measures to help restore competitiveness throughout the EU. It also proposes to increase fundings for major programmes linked to research and energy policy by more than 12%, and to increase amounts allocated to economic and social cohesion.

PURPOSE: to present the preliminary draft budget (PDB) 2010 for the other institutions (budget “other sections”).

CONTENT: the Commission has presented its 2010 preliminary draft budget which takes account of the forecasts of the other institutions of the European Union (except Section III: Commission).

The document includes the following budget provisions: EUR 3.595 billion to cover the Commission’s administrative expenditure and EUR 2.916 billion for the other institutions (an increase of 2.1% compared to 2009).

For the whole of Heading 5, total expenditure amounts to EUR 7.858 billion (including pensions of all the institutions and expenditure for European schools), an increase of EUR 162.7 million compared to 2009.

A margin of EUR 230.2 million is left in the Commission’s PDB.

The breakdown of Heading 5 of the PDB 2010 is as follows:

Commission (excluding pensions): EUR 3.595 billion (45.7%); Other institutions: EUR 2.916 billion (37.1%) for the European Parliament, the Council, the Court of Justice, the Court of Auditors, the Economic and Social Committee, the Committee of the Regions, the European Ombudsman and the European Data Protection Supervisor; Pensions (all institutions): EUR 1.193 billion (15.2%); European schools: EUR 154.2 million (2%).

Total: EUR 7.858 billion for heading 5.

Note that, in 2010, the Commission requests no new posts .

PURPOSE: to present the preliminary draft budget (PDB) 2010 for the other institutions (budget “other sections”).

CONTENT: the Commission has presented its 2010 preliminary draft budget which takes account of the forecasts of the other institutions of the European Union (except Section III: Commission).

The document includes the following budget provisions: EUR 3.595 billion to cover the Commission’s administrative expenditure and EUR 2.916 billion for the other institutions (an increase of 2.1% compared to 2009).

For the whole of Heading 5, total expenditure amounts to EUR 7.858 billion (including pensions of all the institutions and expenditure for European schools), an increase of EUR 162.7 million compared to 2009.

A margin of EUR 230.2 million is left in the Commission’s PDB.

The breakdown of Heading 5 of the PDB 2010 is as follows:

Commission (excluding pensions): EUR 3.595 billion (45.7%); Other institutions: EUR 2.916 billion (37.1%) for the European Parliament, the Council, the Court of Justice, the Court of Auditors, the Economic and Social Committee, the Committee of the Regions, the European Ombudsman and the European Data Protection Supervisor; Pensions (all institutions): EUR 1.193 billion (15.2%); European schools: EUR 154.2 million (2%).

Total: EUR 7.858 billion for heading 5.

Note that, in 2010, the Commission requests no new posts .