2000 discharge: EC general budget, Court of Auditors

Following a proposal from the EPP-ED, the Parliament decided, by a show of hands (and not by recorded vote), to send the report by Mrs Eluned MORGAN (PES, UK) back to the budgetary control committee. The committee should take into consideration the practical results of the Council's promises. The Council should provide information concerning the expenditure relating to foreign affairs and defence policy before the end of this week. In favour of this commitment by the Council, the rapporteur was ready to waive the discharge report to benefit from a more general proposal aiming to promote the examination, by the Council, and by the Parliament of their respective budgetary sections. The EPP-ED group did not, however, agree with the rapporteur's decision. Consequently, following speeches from Mr Jean-Louis BOURLANGES (EPP-ED, F) and Mrs Maria Antonio AVILES PEREA (EPP-ED, Sp), the plenary session preferred to send the report back to the committee in order to carefully examine this question. Following the votes, the President of the Parliament called on the COCUBU to present a revised report at the second April plenary session in Brussels. He added that the perspective of an interinstitutional battle was not a constructive idea.�