1999 discharge: EC general budget, Parliament

The committee adopted the report by Christos FOLIAS (EPP-ED, GR) recommending that the European Parliament's Secretary-General be granted discharge for the implementation of the 1999 budget. The committee welcomed the improvements in the implementation of Parliament's budget although it stressed the need for increased professional training of authorising officers. As regards the awarding of contracts, the committee strongly supported the principle of competitive tendering. It reiterated its position that future decisions concerning buildings policy must be based on the principles of "functionality" and the optimum use of financial resources. It added that it was unacceptable that the final cost of the Louise Weiss Building in Strasbourg had not yet been determined, and urged the competent authorities to call the contracting parties to account. Regarding information policy, the committee called for a report on the recording and evaluation of primary information gathered from visitors' groups on EU issues of interest. At the same time, it called for the establishment of a high-level task force to examine the effectiveness of Parliament's spending on information policy, especially within the Member States.�