2003 discharge: EC general budget, Committee of the Regions

PURPOSE : to present the revenue and expenditure account and the balance sheet concerning the activities of the budget for the financial year 2003 (Committee of the Regions).

CONTENT : this document sets out the amount of expenditure and the balance sheet for the Committee of the Regions (CoR). Its budget amounted to EUR 68 million in 2003. The report states that the CoR continued its consolidation process as an institution by strengthening the recognition of its institutional role.

The main issues of its activities in 2003 included the consolidation of its advisory role; the active participation in the work of Convention on the future of the Union; the implementation of additional actions aiming to improve the quality of opinions and their impact on the decision-making process.

Within the framework of its activities, the 4 political groups of the CoR (PES, EPP, ALDE, EA) play an essential role.  It is for this reason that its Rules of procedure seek to accommodate them in terms of organising meetings, carrying out their activities and publishing work as well as the work of the Secretariat. The financial report is thus accompanied by a very precise description of the activities of the political groups within the framework of the budgetary headings which relate to them.

Other points to be retained as regards the execution of the 2003 budget include the low level of committed appropriations as regards allowances to Members because certain working groups were cancelled at the beginning of 2003 and also fewer meetings were envisaged (Plenary sessions, Convention...); increasing appropriations in order to receive 95 observers from the 10 applicant countries within the framework of enlargement (via a credit transfer between lines); the decrease of mission expenses; the significant decrease of costs for freelance interpreters.

Most of the surplus amounts were used to make new advances to the Belliard building and for the preparation of enlargement.