1996 budget: Parliament's estimates

In adopting the report by Mr Joaquim MIRANDA (United Left, P), Parliament adopted its budget estimates for the 1996 financial year with ECU 762 439 8000 for expenditure and ECU 51 857 000 for revenue. It also provided for a reemployment envelope of around ECU 1 701 000. During the debate, Mr Terry Wynn and Mr John Tomlinson (Labour, UK) again raised the problem of the costs resulting from the scattered work places of the EP. Maintaining the Secretariat in Luxembourg and holding the meetings in Strasbourg would account for around 20% of the 1996 budget. To this end, the EP called on the Secretary-General to submit a report before the first reading of the draft budget for 1996 assessing the method of operation and organisation of the services concerned, placing particular emphasis on supplies and maintenance control, the management of equipment and the maintenance of buildings together with the relevant financial implications, on a multiannual basis. Members also called for greater transparency in the running of the institution. Mr ANASTASSOPOULOS (PPE, G) stressed the need to bring Parliament closer to the people by improving the institution's information policy. Finally, the EP recalled in its resolution its position on parliamentary assistants employed in Brussels, pointing out that they should be covered by the Belgian social security and tax systems. This should include a mechanism offsetting the differential between Belgian tax and social security liability and the average tax and social security liability in the Member States of the Union for this type of job. �