Amending budget 1/2003: section VII, Committee of the Regions

On 1 April 2003, the Commission forwarded to the Council preliminary draft amending budget 2/2003 concerning Section VII - Committee of the Regions. The proposal would add EUR 350 000 to the appropriations provided for in Article 251 (meetings expenses of representatives of the applicant countries) of the Committee of the Regions' budget, to be financed by transferring this amount from the balance left over from the financial year 2002. In its letter of 7 May 2003, the Council informed the European Parliament that it did not consider it possible to establish a draft amending budget in this case. Taking note of the European Parliament response in its letter of 28 May 2003 and in the interests of good interinstitutional cooperation and whilst reserving its legal position, the Council nevertheless established a draft amending budget 2/2003 clarifying the purpose of the appropriations entered under Article 251. The Council confirms that the Committee of the Regions may submit a request for a transfer of appropriations for the purpose of redeploying its appropriations, as already suggested by the Council in its letter of 7 May. Lastly, on 16 June 200, the Council established its draft amending budget No 2 for the financial 2003 which merely changes the heading of and remarks on Article 251 (Section VII-Committee of the Regions). It is made clear that under draft amending budget 2/2003, overall expenditure remains unchanged.�