Supplementary and amending budget 1/1997: section III Commission, section V Court of auditors

OBJECTIVE: submission by the Commission of a preliminary draft supplementary and amending budget (No 1/97) in order to make provision, inter alia, for the expenditure involved in the establishment of a new consumer health policy and in particular in the reorganization of the Commission's departments with regard to scientific opinions (scientific committees). A supplementary and amending budget has also been submitted for the Court of Auditors. SUBSTANCE: - Commission: the preliminary draft supplementary and amending budget contains requests for resources intended for the implementation of the new consumer health policy the needs of which have been put forward by the inquiry into 'mad cow' disease (BSE). The needs identified for the implementation of this new policy (in particular reorganization of the work of seven scientific committees responsible for health matters under the authority of a new directorate in DG XXIV 'Directorate for Scientific Opinions concerning Health') translate into new posts (109 posts of which 97 for new staff and 12 auxiliary staff) and redeployment of existing posts (153 posts, of which 96 internal transfers from 1997 onwards). In total the additional expenditure amounts to ECU 4 388 000 for staff and operating costs and data processing costs. The Commission would also like to undertake various measures to improve consumer health (Article B5-103), with appropriations totalling ECU 500 000. These are measures to improve the Community's scientific knowledge of products offered to consumers in the food sector and to increase health education. Total of the preliminary draft supplementary and amending budget No 1/97: ECU 4 888 000. - Court of Auditors: the Court considers it essential to improve its audit structures by setting up three new divisions which will allow a more rational implementation of its audits in the sectors relating to the statement of assurance in connection with the EAGGF Guarantee section, the coordination of intersectoral tasks as regards technical assistance contracts, the environment, analyses of risk areas and the annual audit of fifteen agencies and satellite bodies set up by the European Union. The Court also requests two posts to strength its administrative departments. The financial impact of these posts (including the new divisions, i.e. 23 posts in total) would be limited to ECU 450 000 for the last three months of 1997 and could be covered by the Court budget as adopted in December 1996. �