Supplementary and amending budget 3/2001

By adopting the reports by Mrs Jutta HAUG (PES, D) and Mr Markus FERBER (EPP-ED, D), the European Parliament approved at first reading the two Draft Supplementary and Amending Budgets in a single procedure in order to avoid needless administrative costs and to speed up implementation of the proposed changes. It adopts, in accordance with the results on the budget amendments, a single budgetary act, which includes Draft Supplementary and Amending Budgets No 3/2001 and No 4/2001. DSAB 3/2001 deals essentially with amendments to staffing in the institutions. For the Commission, it anticipates the creation of posts in research and development and also in the anti-fraud office (OLAF). Moreover, it agrees to set up 27 new posts for shared-cost RTD projects but decides that the 15 posts dedicated for administrative purposes should be placed in the lower levels of the corresponding categories. Furthermore, the Parliament welcomes the approval of the budgetary amendment tothe OLAF establishment plan modifying the breakdown between permanent and temporary posts and restoring the 3 posts deleted by the Council and enters EUR 3.8 billion in reserve until a redeployment of 10 A officials from OLAF to the Commission services is achieved and until a favourable opinion is given by OLAF Supervisory Committee. With regard to the DSAB 4/2001, it deals with savings in the budget for 2000, which amount to some EUR 11.6 billion. The House supports proposal to use some of these savings to go towards extra aid for the reconstruction for the Western Balkans this year. Parliament proposed that Council's figures of EUR 350 million should be increased to EUR 450 million. During the debate, the Commissioner Michaele SCHREYER declared that the Commission accepted this amendment.