29.6.2013   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 188/1

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H.1.

H.2.

II.

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III.

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A.1.

A.2.

A.3.

A.4.

A.5.

B.

B.1.

B.2.

B.3.

B.4.

C.

C.1.

C.2.

D.

D.1.

D.2.

D.3.

D.4.

D.5.

D.6.

D.7.

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E.2.

E.3.

E.4.

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ANNEXE I —

ANNEXE II —

ANNEXE III —

1.

This report analyses the European Parliament’s budgetary and financial management during the financial year 2012. It outlines the use made of financial resources and the events which had a significant influence on activities during the year (in Parts I and II) and gives a overview of the results achieved as against the objectives set for 2012 (in Part III).

2.

The report has been drawn up in accordance with Article 142 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2012 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union and repealing Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 (1), hereinafter referred to as ‘the Financial Regulation’, and with Article 227 of Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No 1268/2012 of 29 October 2012 on the rules of application of Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union (2). The analysis is based on the provisional accounts, as established by the Accounting Officer.

3.

Parliament’s final appropriations totalled EUR 1 717 868 121, i.e. 19,62 % of heading V of the Multiannual Financial Framework (3). Table 1 below provides an overview of the implementation of Parliament’s budget in the financial year 2012.

Table 1

Use of appropriations

4.

Total revenue entered in the accounts as at 31 December 2012 amounted to EUR 175 541 860 (2011: EUR 173 293 432), including EUR 22 274 843 in assigned revenue (2011: EUR 23 815 077).

5.

Total appropriations in Parliament’s final budget for 2012 amounted to EUR 1 717 868 121, a 1,9 % increase over the 2011 budget (EUR 1 685 829 393).

6.

Commitments totalled EUR 1 693 038 015, or 99 % of final appropriations (2011: 93 %). Payments totalled EUR 1 387 580 140, or 82 % of commitments entered into (2011: 86 %).

7.

Automatic carry-overs to the financial year 2013 totalled EUR 305 457 875, or 18 % of appropriations committed (2011: 14 %). There were no non-automatic carry-overs to the financial year 2013.

8.

Automatic carry-overs to 2012 totalled EUR 222 900 384 (2011: EUR 231 028 630). Payments against those carry-overs stood at EUR 197 991 076, or 89 % (2011: 90 %). Appropriations cancelled thus totalled EUR 24 909 308, 6 % more than in 2011 (EUR 23 590 299). The bulk of the cancellations was made against: Article 200 (Buildings), Article 202 (Expenditure on buildings), Article 140 (Other staff and externals) and Article 324 (Production and dissemination). Cancellations against those four articles accounted for 79 % of the total amount cancelled.

9.

The amounts cancelled and the main reasons for cancellations are set out in Table 2.

Table 2

Main reasons for cancellations of automatic carry-overs from 2011 to 2012

10.

Non-automatic carry-overs to 2012 in accordance with Article 9(2a) of the Financial Regulation (6) totalled EUR 21 700 000 and concerned items 2003 (Acquisition of immovable property) (EUR 15 000 000), 2001 (Lease payments) (EUR 6 200 000) and 2005 (Construction of buildings) (EUR 500 000).

11.

Payments totalling EUR 15 649 030 (72 %) were made against non-automatic carry-overs to 2012. They mainly covered the acquisition of immovable property (initial EUR 15 000 000 payment for the TREBEL building when the pre-sale agreement was signed). In addition, payments of EUR 456 180 and EUR 192 850 were made in connection with the construction of buildings and lease payments respectively.

12.

No payments were made in 2011 from the appropriations carried over non-automatically to 2011 (EUR 9 240 000 against item 2003) to cover the purchase and fitting-out of the Europe House in Sofia as a result of problems involving poor workmanship and the non-conformity of fitting-out work with building regulations. Proceedings for preservation of evidence have been brought before the courts in Sofia. The specific fitting-out work on the building should be completed in the first half of 2013. The contract provides for payment in full only after completion and acceptance of the works.

13.

Assigned revenue made available in 2012 totalled EUR 22 274 843 (2011: EUR 23 815 077). Commitments totalled EUR 18 028 503, or a rate of commitment of 81 %, which is significantly up on previous years (2011: 52 %; 2010: 13 %). Payments totalled EUR 11 216 674, accounting for 62 % of the commitments entered into (2011: 82 %).

14.

The source of the appropriations from 2012 assigned revenue is analysed in the figure below.

Figure 1

Appropriations from 2012 assigned revenue by chapter

15.

Assigned revenue carried over to 2012 totalled EUR 107 592 247 (2011: EUR 110 017 852). The bulk (90 %) of the appropriations from assigned revenue carried over to 2012 came from Chapter 20. This is mainly accounted for by the Belgian Government’s payment of EUR 85 897 000, on 27 January 2010, by way of defrayal of the cost of the land forming the site for the D4 and D5 buildings and of the development costs for the roof over Brussels-Luxembourg Station.

16.

Commitments against assigned revenue carried over totalled EUR 105 482 187 (2011: EUR 20 580 678). Payments in 2012 represented 10 % of commitments entered into, which is significantly down on the previous year (2011: 74 %). The bulk of 2012 commitments related to the purchase of the TREBEL building, in accordance with the Bureau decision of 30 November 2011, in respect of which payments will be made as from 2013 (see paragraph 19 below).

17.

EUR 106 795 839 was transferred to financial year 2013: EUR 10 051 047 from appropriations from assigned revenue (EUR 1 007 122 cancelled) and EUR 96 744 792 from appropriations from assigned revenue carried over (cancelled: EUR 111 496). The EUR 85 897 000 paid by the Belgian Government in January 2010 (see paragraph 15) is external assigned revenue within the meaning of Article 21(2) of the Financial Regulation. Appropriations from internal assigned revenue carried over total EUR 20 898 839.

18.

EUR 24 830 106 (2011: EUR 93 651 335), representing 1,4 % of final appropriations (2011: 5,6 %), was cancelled. The main reasons for the cancellations are set out in the table below:

Table 3

Main reasons for cancellations from current appropriations in 2012

19.

Over the course of the financial year, 10 C transfers (including the ‘mopping-up’ transfer) were approved under Articles 24 and 43 of the Financial Regulation (7). They totalled EUR 80 462 015, accounting for 4,7 % of final appropriations (in 2011: nine transfers accounting for 3,7 % of final appropriations). The President authorised eight P transfers under Article 22(1) of the Financial Regulation (8), totalling EUR 10 379 775, or 0,6 % final appropriations (2011: nine transfers representing 0,7 % of final appropriations). The President also authorised — for the TREBEL project — the transfer of EUR 88 924 943 in appropriations from assigned revenue carried over. That exceptional transfer is more of a technical adjustment which does not change the purpose of the appropriations (9), since the TREBEL building will be purchased outright rather than acquired via a long lease conferring a right in rem.

20.

In all, 18 C and P transfers were authorised in 2012, involving a total of EUR 90 841 790, or 5,3 % of final appropriations (2011: 18 transfers involving a total of EUR 73 903 546, or 4,4 % of final appropriations), plus one technical P transfer of EUR 88 924 943 in appropriations from assigned revenue carried over.

Table 4

Transfers by legal basis

Table 5

Analysis of C transfers by receiving budget line

Table 6

Analysis of C transfers by expenditure category and purpose

21.

This section looks at the use of appropriations from Chapter 10 0 (Provisional appropriations) and Chapter 10 1 (Contingency reserve). Appropriations entered against these chapters, included in Title 10 (Other expenditure), are hereinafter referred to as ‘provisional appropriations’. Excluding the ‘mopping-up’ transfer, Title 10 (Other expenditure) was the main source of appropriations transferred, accounting for 73 % of the total (EUR 25 902 015 out of a total of EUR 35 462 015).

22.

Of that amount, EUR 10 192 015 was for expenditure on Members, EUR 9 985 000 on IT, EUR 3 200 000 on multilingualism, and EUR 2 000 000 on buildings policy. The purpose of the transfers from provisional appropriations is set out below.

Table 7

Purpose of transfers from provisional appropriations

23.

This section looks at the transfers from sources other than Title 10 (Other expenditure). A total of EUR 54 560 000 was transferred from other titles, including EUR 45 000 000 in the ‘mopping-up’ transfer. Buildings policy accounted for the bulk (86 %) of these transfers, followed by IT (11 %) and expenditure relating to Members (3 %). Tables 8a and 8b give details of those transfers.

Table 8a

Sources of C transfers other than provisional appropriations (excluding ‘mopping-up’ transfer)

Table 8b

Breakdown of Transfer C10 (‘mopping-up’)

24.

The transfer was proposed by the Bureau and Committee on Budgets working group on Parliament’s budget and made it possible to marshal the necessary funding for advance payments for the purchase of the TREBEL building and for construction of the new KAD building, as a result of which an estimated EUR 10,4 million in financing charges will be saved over the construction period and loan amortisation period.

25.

An overview of the P transfers is given in Table 9.

Table 9

Purpose of P transfers

26.

This section looks at the use of appropriations by budget chapter, their share of the overall budget and changes in the use of appropriations over the previous financial year. Four chapters accounted for 70 % of total commitments. Those chapters were Chapter 10 (Members of the institution), Chapter 12 (Officials and temporary staff), Chapter 20 (Buildings and associated costs) and Chapter 42 (Expenditure relating to parliamentary assistance).

27.

Table 10 provides a breakdown by chapter of the appropriations committed in 2012 as against those committed in 2011. Figures 2 and 3 depict the changes between 2011 and 2012.

Table 10

Appropriations committed in 2012 as against those committed in 2011

28.

Expenditure on Members amounted to EUR 204 267 112 in 2012, or 12 % of total commitments for the year. That figure is EUR 8,9 million, or 5 %, more than in 2011. Alongside the increase in commitments, there was a 5 % reduction in final appropriations over the previous year. Consequently, the appropriation cancellation rate was virtually zero, whereas it was 9 % in 2011.

29.

Commitments against item 1000 (Salaries) and item 1006 (General expenditure allowance), which is intended to cover the cost of Members’ parliamentary activities, amounted to EUR 108 108 469, or 53 % of total commitments for the chapter. They were 3 % up on commitments for 2011. Members’ gross monthly salary is EUR 7 957; the general expenditure allowance is EUR 4 299.

30.

Commitments against items 1004 (Ordinary travel expenses) and 1005 (Other travel expenses) amounted to EUR 78 882 170, or 39 % of total commitments for Chapter 10. Half of the increase in commitments for the chapter stems from the increase against these two items (EUR 4 541 265). Item 1005, which covers travel and subsistence expenses in connection with travelling to and from the places of work and other duty travel, increased by 48 % over 2011. Payments in connection with a significant proportion of Members’ reimbursement applications for the financial year 2011 were not made until 2012; that is in line with the rules, which allow reimbursement requests for a given year to be submitted until 31 October the following year.

31.

In 2012 (10), Members (11) made 18 314 journeys to attend part-sessions in Strasbourg and Brussels, 35 314 journeys to committee meetings in Brussels and 2 653 journeys to political group meetings in Brussels (12). As regards travel outside Parliament’s usual places of work, 1 290 journeys were made to committee meetings and 1 946 to political group meetings, while 1 706 journeys were made in connection with parliamentary delegation meetings.

32.

Commitments against item 1010 (Accident and sickness insurance and other social security charges) stood at EUR 2 399 615, or 1 % of total commitments for the chapter. They increased by 92 % over 2011 because of the increase in the number of Members making use of the medical expenses refund scheme. There has been an uninterrupted increase since the scheme was introduced in 2009; and that is likely to continue until the projected maximum take-up level is reached.

33.

Expenditure on officials and temporary staff amounted to EUR 560 700 762 in 2012, making it the largest spending category (accounting for 33 % of total commitments for 2012). That figure is EUR 20,25 million, or 4 %, more than in the previous financial year. The growth against the chapter stems largely from the increase against item 1200 (Remuneration and allowances), which accounts for 99 % of the appropriations.

34.

Commitments against item 1200 (Remuneration and allowances) amounted to EUR 555 375 070. Item 1200 showed a surplus in 2012 and was the main source for the ‘mopping-up’ transfer, providing EUR 13 million (3 % of initial appropriations and 29 % of the amount transferred — see Table 8b). The main reason for the surplus is that, when the 2012 budget was drawn up, the 2011 and 2012 annual pay adjustments — not yet made — were factored in.

35.

In 2012, 324 officials and temporary staff members were recruited to the Secretariat, 58 temporary staff were recruited to political groups and 399 people were recruited as accredited parliamentary assistants. A total of 5 941 officials and temporary staff were employed within Parliament as at 31 December 2012 — 5 187 in the Secretariat and 754 in the political groups — and there were 1 705 accredited parliamentary assistants.

36.

As regards the gender breakdown, women accounted for 26 % of heads of unit, 33 % of directors and 33 % of directors-general as at 31 December 2012. The figure below gives a gender breakdown of staff by function group.

Figure 4

Secretariat staff by gender

37.

Expenditure on other staff and external services amounted to EUR 102 483 098 in 2012, or 6 % of commitments. The chapter contains three main spending items: item 1402 (Conference interpreters) accounted for 45 % of commitments, item 1400 (Other staff) (13) 34 %, and item 1420 (External services) (14) 6 %.

38.

Commitments for the chapter were some EUR 16,3 million, or 14 %, down on 2011. That change is largely accounted for by the reduction in commitments — 42 % and 19 % respectively — against item 1420 (External services) and item 1402 (Conference interpreters) as a result of structural savings made by Parliament in 2012. Appropriations for the chapter also fell by some EUR 8 million during the year (7 % of the initial amount), providing 18 % of the ‘mopping-up’ transfer (see Table 8b).

39.

Commitments against item 1402 (Conference interpreters) totalled EUR 46 000 000 and covered, as part of interinstitutional cooperation and other arrangements, the fees, social security contributions, travel expenses and subsistence allowances of auxiliary conference interpreters used by Parliament to service meetings organised by Parliament. Commitments for the chapter were EUR 10 964 283, or 19 %, down on 2011. The reduction stems from the fact that the measures for structural savings adopted by the Bureau with regard to multilingualism in December 2011 came fully into effect on 1 April 2012.

40.

Parliament interpreters and auxiliary conference interpreters worked 97 791 interpreter days in 2012 (2011: 109 707 days (15)) for Parliament and other institutions (16) for which Parliament provided interpretation services (11 % down on 2011). Parliament interpreters worked 51 109 days (3 % down on 2011), and auxiliary conference interpreters 46 682 days (18 % down on 2011).

41.

Commitments against Item 1420 (External services) totalled EUR 14 587 633 (EUR 10 399 823, or 42 %, down on 2011). The variation is largely accounted for by the radical reduction in the cost of translating the verbatim report of proceedings, which, in 2012, was one tenth of the 2011 amount. That reflects the Bureau’s September 2011 decision to end systematic translation of the verbatim report of proceedings and written questions into 11 official languages, while allowing any Member to request translation of extracts of proceedings and/or questions into the language of his or her choice.

42.

Commitments against item 1400 (Other staff) totalled EUR 34 790 888 (14 % up on 2011). That item mainly covers the remuneration, including allowances, of other staff, including contract and local staff and special advisers, employer’s contributions to the various social security schemes and the impact of salary weightings applicable to the remuneration of these staff, as well as the employment of temporary agency staff. As at 31 December 2012, Parliament employed 675 contract staff. A breakdown of contract staff by function group (17) and gender is given in Figure 5.

Figure 5

Contract staff by function group and gender in 2012

43.

Chapter 16 expenditure stood at EUR 16 699 823, or 1 % of total commitments for the financial year 2012. That is EUR 2 210 199, or 15 %, more than in 2011.

44.

35 % of the chapter’s commitments were made against item 1654 (Early childhood centre and approved day nurseries), 25 % against item 1612 (Further training) and 24 % against item 1652 (Current operating expenditure for restaurants and canteens).

45.

Outside management of Parliament’s day nursery and family room in Brussels and ancillary expenditure accounted for the bulk of spending against item 1654. Commitments against this item totalled EUR 5 840 796 — 9 % up on 2011 — and covered Parliament’s contribution to the overall costs of the early childhood centre and outside crèches with which an agreement has been concluded (18).

46.

Commitments against Item 1612 (Further training) stood at EUR 4 177 428 — 7 % up on 2011 — and covered expenditure on training to improve staff skills and the performance and efficiency of the institution. In 2012, 5 089 persons attended language courses, 1 538 attended IT courses, and 1 126 attended financial training courses. A total of 6 963 persons attended in-house general training courses and 320 attended outside courses (19).

47.

Commitments against item 1652 (Current operating expenditure for restaurants and canteens) stood at EUR 3 960 000 (52 % up on 2011). The reason for this is that assigned revenue appropriations are being utilised more quickly than in the past, because of the growing gap between prices and cost increases (pay and ingredients), thus increasing the operating loss borne by the budget. Revised prices came into effect on 1 January 2013. In 2012, the bars, restaurants and canteens served some 3 103 000 customers, and the staff shop 153 000.

48.

Chapter 20 commitments stood at EUR 248 864 928, or 15 % of total commitments for 2012. Commitments increased by EUR 53 335 037, or 27 %, over 2011. Appropriations for the chapter rose by close to EUR 42 million during the year — 20 % of initial appropriations — chiefly because of the ‘mopping-up’ transfer (see Table 8b).

49.

The variation in commitments stems largely from Item 2001 (Lease payments) — up by some EUR 30 million, and accounting for 56 % of the variation — but also from Items 2007 (Fitting-out of premises) and 2003 (Acquisition of immovable property), which were up by 48 % and 23 % respectively and accounted for, respectively, 21 % and 14 % of the variation.

50.

A breakdown of Chapter 20 appropriations by expenditure type is given in Figure 6 below.

Figure 6

Breakdown of Chapter 20 commitments by item

51.

The commitments entered into against item 2022 (Building maintenance, upkeep, operation and cleaning) stood at EUR 48 638 644 (20 % of the chapter) and covered the cost of maintaining premises, lifts, heating and air-conditioning systems and fire doors, as well as repainting and repair work, etc. Commitments increased by 11 % over 2011 (up by EUR 4 823 612). This stems from implementation of the new, enhanced maintenance policy (when the building stock is ageing). The allocation for the item was topped up by EUR 2 million during the year (4 % of initial appropriations).

52.

EUR 38 753 000 was entered against item 2003 (Acquisition of immovable property), which initially bore a token entry, by means of transfers P8 and C10 (see Tables 8b and 9). As a result of transfer P8, taking funds from item 2000 (Rent), the item’s initial allocation was reduced by 11 %. The full amount has been committed (TREBEL building and the Sofia Europe House), representing 16 % of the chapter’s commitments.

53.

Commitments against item 2001 (Lease payments) — 14 % of the chapter — totalled EUR 33 910 000, or almost eight times more than in 2011. The item’s allocation was topped up by EUR 8 million during the year — 31 % of initial appropriations — chiefly because of the ‘mopping-up’ transfer (see Tables 8a and 8b). The full amount has been committed, the bulk going on the project to extend the KAD Building in Luxembourg.

54.

Commitments against item 2007 (Fitting-out of premises) — 14 % of the chapter — stood at EUR 34 811 824 (48 % up on 2011, and a 51 % increase in initial appropriations). Fitting-out and alteration work in Brussels forms the bulk of the item (65 % of commitments) and accounts for most of the increase in appropriations and commitments. In 2012, a large volume of work was started and completed on buildings and projects at the Brussels site. The most significant work was the project to renovate the Eastman Building (House of European History), for which EUR 12,8 million was committed in 2012. (At its meeting on 15 November 2012, the Committee on Budgets approved the release of EUR 2 million from the reserve for the House of European History (see Table 7).) Work was also carried out on occupied buildings.

55.

Commitments against item 2026 (Security and surveillance of buildings) — 14 % of the chapter — totalled EUR 35 023 714 (3 % down on 2011). They essentially covered the costs of caretaking and surveillance in respect of buildings occupied by Parliament at its three habitual places of work and the information offices.

56.

Chapter 2 1 commitments stood at EUR 142 804 433, or 8 % of total commitments for 2012. EUR 25 513 660, or 22 %, more was committed than in 2011. Appropriations for the chapter increased by EUR 14 915 000 during the year, or 11 % of initial appropriations, chiefly in two transfers — C5, releasing funding from the reserve, approved on 12 October 2012; and C9 approved on 5 December 2012; see Tables 7 and 8a) — to fund extension of Wi-Fi coverage on European Parliament premises and the replacement of part of the network infrastructure and individual machines.

57.

Items 2100 (Equipment and software for information and innovation technologies) and 2102 (Outside assistance for information and innovation technologies) accounted for 81 % of expenditure against the chapter and 88 % of the variation in commitments between 2011 and 2012.

58.

A breakdown of Chapter 21 expenditure is given in the figure below.

Figure 7

Breakdown of Chapter 21 expenditure

59.

Item 2100 (Equipment and software for information and innovation technologies) accounted for 31 % of Chapter 2 1 commitments, totalling EUR 44 585 309, which was 38 % up on 2011. Appropriations increased by EUR 7 528 700 during the year (20 % of initial appropriations). The item covered expenditure on the purchase, hire, servicing and maintenance of equipment and software for the institution, and related work. This equipment and software relates mainly to systems at the computer and telecommunications centre, computing at departmental level and in the political groups and the electronic voting system.

60.

Item 2102 (Outside assistance for information and innovation technologies) accounted for 50 % of Chapter 21 commitments, totalling EUR 70 511 060, which was 17 % up on 2011 (in line with the increase in appropriations allocated). Appropriations increased by EUR 8 286 300 during the year (13 % of initial appropriations). The appropriations principally covered the cost of outside assistance from service bureaux and data-processing consultants in connection with the operation of the computer centre and the network, the production and maintenance of applications, support for users, including Members and political groups, the carrying out of studies, and the drawing up and input of technical documentation.

61.

This chapter accounted for 1 % of 2012 commitments, totalling EUR 9 476 760. Commitments were slightly down — by 2 % — over 2011.

62.

Commitments against this chapter broke down as follows: 47 % against Article 235 (Telecommunications), 21 % against Article 230 (Stationery, office supplies and miscellaneous consumables) and 15 % against Article 232 (Legal costs and damages). The remaining 17 % is accounted for by Articles 231 (Financial charges), 236 (Postage on correspondence and delivery charges), 237 (Removals), 238 (Other administrative expenditure) and 239 (European Parliament carbon offsetting scheme).

63.

With the exception of item 2320 (Legal costs and damages), which received funding released from the reserve (transfer C3; see Table 7), all items in the chapter provided funding for transfers C9 and C10 (see Tables 8a and 8b). Overall, as a result of those transfers, initial appropriations were reduced by 29 %, which illustrates the effort made to control current administrative expenditure.

64.

Appropriations against Article 239 (European Parliament carbon offsetting scheme), initially EUR 950 000, were reduced by 91 % as a result of the ‘mopping-up’ transfer because of delays in completing a tender procedure and a large reduction in the price of a tonne of CO2.

65.

This chapter accounted for 2 % of 2012 commitments, totalling EUR 32 624 325 (which is stable in relation to 2011). Commitments against this chapter broke down as follows: 79 % against Article 300 (Expenses for staff missions and duty travel between the three places of work), 18 % against Article 304 (Miscellaneous expenditure on meetings), and 3 % against Article 302 (Entertainment and representation expenses).

66.

Initial appropriations for 2012 were 4 % down on 2011 and were reduced by 10 % as a result of the ‘mopping-up’ transfer (EUR 3 666 387 transferred). EUR 3 000 000 in savings came from Article 300 as a result of the efforts of all directorates-general to bring transport costs more under control.

67.

In 2012, there were 33 616 missions (2011: 34 827) representing a total of 99 377 mission days (2011: 104 436). Most of the missions involved travel between Parliament’s three places of work (Brussels — 5 652 missions; Strasbourg — 19 846; and Luxembourg — 2 433).

68.

Commitments against this chapter accounted for 6 % of 2012 expenditure, totalling EUR 105 967 314 (15 % up on 2011). Final appropriations increased by 5 % over the previous year; the rate of utilisation against the chapter improved and was 97 %. Some 26 % of the appropriations against this chapter were utilised for item 3244 (Organisation and reception of groups of visitors, Euroscola programme and invitations to opinion multipliers from third countries), 21 % for item 3242 (Expenditure on publication, information and participation in public events) and 13 % for item 3248 (Expenditure on audiovisual information).

69.

A breakdown of commitments is given in Figure 8 below.

Figure 8

Breakdown of Chapter 32 commitments

70.

Commitments against item 3244 (Organisation and reception of groups of visitors, Euroscola programme and invitations to opinion multipliers from third countries) totalled EUR 27 985 491, which was slightly up (+ 3 %) on 2011. They covered the subsidies granted for group visits and associated supervision and infrastructure costs, the running costs of the Euroscola programme, and the financing of traineeships for opinion multipliers from third countries

71.

Commitments against item 3242 (Expenditure on publication, information and participation in public events) amounted to EUR 22 124 435 and covered, in particular, expenditure on information publications, including electronic publications, information activities, public relations, participation in public events, trade fairs and exhibitions in the Member States and the accession countries, and updating of the Legislative Observatory (OEIL). Commitments were 25 % up on 2011. This development stems from more frequent budget monitoring and from a strategy of budget optimisation, resulting in a marked increase in the utilisation rate (2012: 98 %; 2011: 90 %).

72.

Commitments entered into against item 3248 (Expenditure on audiovisual information) totalled EUR 13 369 011 and covered expenditure relating to:

Commitments were 20 % up on 2011.

73.

With regard to audiovisual information, 1 293 events, including 890 half-day committee meetings, were web-streamed. As regards Europe by Satellite, production was as follows: 905 news items about Parliament, 879 of which were rebroadcast by 148 channels, 57 info clips on legislative issues, 69 plenary days, 269 live broadcasts, 295 topical features produced for Eurovision (for relaying to its member organisations), and 19 events relayed by Eurovision from the European Parliament in Brussels and Strasbourg.

74.

It should also be noted that commitments against item 3243 (Parlamentarium — the European Parliament Visitors’ Centre), EUR 3 462 168, increased by 40 % over the previous year (in line with the increase in appropriations allocated). In 2012, 250 000 people visited the Parlamentarium — 4,5 times more than in 2011 — which is among Brussels’ five most visited tourist attractions.

75.

This chapter accounted for 5 % of 2012 commitments, totalling EUR 87 917 639 (6 % up on 2011). Article 400 (Current administrative expenditure and expenditure relating to the political and information activities of the political groups and non-attached Members) accounted for 65 % of Chapter 40 appropriations (2011: 66 %). Commitments against that article totalled EUR 57 062 367 and were intended to cover the following in respect of the political groups and the non-attached Members:

76.

Article 402 (Funding of European political parties) accounted for 21 % (2011: 21 %) of Chapter 40 commitments. Article 403 (Funding of European political parties) accounted for 14 % (2011: 13 %) of Chapter 40 commitments.

Figure 9

Breakdown of Chapter 40 commitments

77.

This chapter accounted for 11 % of 2012 commitments, totalling EUR 180 871 822 (6 % up on 2011). Final appropriations for the chapter were 2 % down on the previous year; the utilisation rate improved.

78.

Appropriations were reduced by EUR 6 million (3 % of initial appropriations) during the year (see Table 8b). Appropriations for parliamentary assistance were reduced by EUR 6,8 million, while the allocation for exchange losses increased by EUR 0,8 million.

79.

A breakdown of commitments for the chapter is given in the figure below.

Figure 10

Breakdown of Chapter 42 commitments

80.

Commitments for local assistants stood at EUR 80 720 519 (2 % up on 2011).

81.

Commitments for accredited parliamentary assistants stood at EUR 99 033 150 (8 % up on 2011). This covers salaries and mission expenses for the staff concerned, together with the cost of outside courses. Average monthly remuneration paid was EUR 7,5 million (EUR 6,9 million on average in 2011).

82.

On 31 December 2012 there were 1 705 accredited parliamentary assistants working at Parliament and 2 498 local assistants had an employment contract with a Member (including 146 via groupings of Members). On average, each Member employed 2,26 accredited assistants and 3,31 local assistants (20). The number of local assistants employed per Member varied greatly — between 0 and 47 — in 2012. While 14 Members employed no local assistants, 63 Members recruited more than 10 employees in their Member States during 2012. 29 Members employed only local assistants in 2012.

83.

Parliamentary assistance payments in 2012 were made on the basis of a rate of exchange between the euro and other currencies which was set for the entire year (December 2011 rate). The euro’s significant loss of value in 2012 in relation to the other European currencies gave rise, in connection with paying local assistants’ salaries and fees, to exchange losses which were higher than projected.

84.

The chapters in this title contain provisional appropriations that may be committed only once they have been transferred to an operational line. Transfers of provisional appropriations (EUR 25 902 015) are dealt with in Section I of this report. Initial appropriations against this title stood at EUR 29 542 652 —2011: EUR 40 749 026 — some 1,7 % of the total budget for 2012.

85.

At year-end, the unutilised balance against this title stood at EUR 3 640 638: EUR 1 926 466 in Chapter 10 0 (Provisional appropriations), EUR 1 664 172 in Chapter 10 1 (Contingency reserve) and EUR 50 000 in Chapter 10 8 (EMAS reserve).

86.

The financial year 2012 was chiefly marked by action to bring about new structural improvements in order to give Parliament all the resources it needs to play its role in the legislative process to the full and enable it to capitalise to the full on the enhanced powers conferred on it by the Treaty of Lisbon.

87.

Parliament also fully accommodated the 18 additional Members provided for by the Treaty of Lisbon, continued preparations for the accession of Croatia, made major changes in the area of information and communication policy with a view to the 2014 elections, and continued to implement multiannual programmes to rationalise and modernise key sectors of its Administration.

88.

The objectives pursued and outcomes achieved in 2012, which are set out below, stem from the priorities and decisions adopted by the Bureau in 2012, the guidelines adopted by Parliament in its budget resolutions, and the goals and achievements of the 2012-2014 Administrative Work Programme.

89.

On 16 January 2012 the Bureau approved a plan to introduce the new concept for the Library (21) and on 7 November 2012 reviewed the progress made in the area. The new concept focuses on value for Members — an aim that has three essential and interlinked elements:

90.

In this line, in 2012 efforts were made in the field of the library’s information and analytical services in order to offer Members quick and easy updates with customised selection/synthesis on almost any topic of parliamentary interest. A new system of electronic alerts on mobile devices for material added to the Library website and catalogue has been established to offer subscription to ready-made alerts on key topics or the possibility to define personalised alerts including material from news agencies. A ‘Hotline’ procedure ensuring faster and more personal responses to Member requests has also been developed. In addition, Plenary Briefings are produced before each plenary part-session, with translation to ES/DE/EN/FR/IT/PL when feasible.

91.

Furthermore, in order to help Members to better reach citizens, the Library services have been developed as follows:

92.

During 2012 the support for Members' assistants was also developed and includes:

93.

Legislative own-initiative reports are a valuable tool for Parliament in agenda-setting. Under Article 225 TFEU, also known as ‘Parliament’s right to initiate legislation’, the Parliament may request the Commission to submit a legislative proposal on any matter on which it considers an action of the Union is needed.

94.

With this aim, since 2012, the newly created Directorate on Impact Assessments assists Committees that work on legislative own-initiative reports by providing detailed European added value assessments and cost-of-non-Europe reports.

95.

On the impact assessment side, this directorate routinely screens the road-maps accompanying the Commission’s Work Programme, to check which legislative proposals are expected to be subject to impact assessment by the Commission, and undertakes an initial appraisal on their arrival in the Parliament, to check that certain criteria are met and to establish any clear strengths and weaknesses in the texts.

96.

On the European added value side, it analyses the potential benefit of future action by the Union, providing any or all of the following services to EP committees, again drawing on outside expertise if necessary:

97.

Another adaptation made necessary by the introduction of the Lisbon Treaty lies in the field of external policy. All trade agreements are now subject to the EP’s consent, while the implementation measures of the Common Commercial Policy (CCP) are subject to the Ordinary Legislative Procedure. In this context, the International Trade committee adopted 40 legislative reports, amongst which can be highlighted the Anti Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), General System of Preferences (GSP), Bilateral Investment Agreements, the Omnibus I and Omnibus II (aligning the Union trade legislation to the Lisbon Treaty).

98.

In the area of plenary sitting activities, the applications used for parliamentary questions and written declarations were overhauled, internal procedures for verifying their admissibility were revised, and the application for the verbatim report of proceedings was overhauled.

99.

The legislative drafting service was improved as a result of the introduction of a legislative drafting support tool and the establishment of pre-adoption procedures for first-reading agreements under the ordinary legislative procedure.

100.

On 19 November 2012 the Bureau decided on amendments to the EP rules for hearings that are needed to ensure that the Parliament can play its role in relation to successful European Citizens Initiatives (22).

101.

At its meeting of 2 July 2012 the Bureau adopted policy guidelines for the institutional information and communication campaign with a view to the 2014 elections, which will be built around three central themes: EP politics, EP policies and EP values. The objective of the campaign is to raise awareness of:

102.

Throughout 2012 the Parliament has focussed its efforts on preparations for the institutional information campaign for the 2014 elections. In addition to an intensification of information activities across the board — increased number of seminars for journalists both in Brussels and in the Member States, increased number of regional discussion fora in the Member States — a number of major projects have been completed or revised and new ones launched as described below.

103.

Steps have already been taken to intensify media monitoring activities, with a pilot project concerning the quantitative and, for the first time, qualitative coverage of the plenary sessions running for the last four months of 2012.

104.

Progress has also been made in the development of an integrated strategy for visitors, with the introduction of the new web-based booking system (VISEP) and the new information kit (visitor kit) for distribution to visitors. As far as visitor groups are concerned, working methods have been adapted to conform to the revised rules on the field adopted by the Bureau at the end of 2011. The Parlamentarium completed its inaugural year in October 2012, having welcomed a total of 253 000 visitors, thus making it one of the five most visited tourist attractions in Brussels.

105.

As part of the efforts to increase Parliament’s visibility in the run-up to the 2014 elections, the existing annual grants programme was reformed and instead a multiannual grants programme for framework partners was launched, targeted at raising awareness of the European Parliament, primarily about its role and political nature, as well as disseminating information about the activities it carries out. Grants were awarded in the areas of television, radio, web-based projects or specific events, to organisations with sufficient financial and operational capacity.

106.

In addition, the overhaul of the Europarl web site has been completed in 2012, with a number of new services being made available to visitors, including the Newshub, a new platform which shows the debate within the institution by integrating the social networks managed by the Members.

107.

During the year, the work has focussed on the creation of communication platforms for political discussion between MEPs, citizens and stakeholders aimed at reaching out specifically to regions where a legislative topic under discussion in the EP is of particular relevance to the citizens of that region. With that aim, 30 regional discussion fora and 2 cross-border fora took place in 2012.

108.

In 2012, the EP Information Offices have continued to enlarge a well-built network with stakeholders in the Member States as well as the target group of young people. As a result of their activities, they established a solid network, in particular with schools in their respective countries.

109.

Up to this point the total number of schools reached amounts to more than 55 000, representing more than 21 million students. The number of stakeholders, in particular those related to legislation, is also continuously increasing. These networks (‘Friends of Europe’) are growing constantly and should be further build on as privileged and specific communication channels for Parliament and its Members.

110.

Since 2012, all Information Offices have Facebook profiles. Some offices use other social media tools such as Flickr and YouTube and organise specific activities addressed to bloggers. Social media is proven to be an excellent mean to extend debate, building up the networking effect, connecting citizens directly with MEPs and the work of the Parliament. For example, a single event organized by one Information Office in the summer 2012 was able to reach 140 000 twitter accounts and generated 928 000 impressions. A network of ‘social media correspondents’ has been created including all Information Offices.

111.

The EP and Commission are currently implementing a pilot project on social media called ‘Share Europe Online’ in the 17 Member States which have a European Public Space (EPS) established. The project, that includes a detailed social media mapping of the 27 Member States, is being implemented with the presence of so called ‘Editorial Community Managers’ whose task is to provide training, assistance and advice on social media activities for EC Representations’ and EP Information Offices’ staff. They will also monitor continuously the social media landscape in the Member States on a range of topics and report back their findings.

112.

At its meeting of 12 December 2012 the Bureau approved the following proposals concerning the future of Europarl TV:

113.

Furthermore, cooperation with major television companies throughout Europe has increased significantly during the course of the year, ensuring greater visibility for the institution. This promises to be a particularly useful communication channel for the information and communication campaign in the run-up to the 2014 elections.

114.

In 2012, progress has been made in different areas regarding the future permanent exhibition, notably the development of its narrative, the definition and implementation of a collection policy, the exhibition design tender and the development of principles of visitor-friendliness. In this context the Bureau adopted the concept of the outlines of the permanent exhibition during its meeting of 22 October 2012.

115.

The decision to award the Nobel Peace Prize to the European Union on October 2012 was in itself a historical moment and reminds the European Union of its intellectual roots and founding purposes. Therefore, a specific room in the House of European History will be dedicated to this award exposing the medal and the award certificate.

116.

With regard to renovation of the Eastman Building, which will be the site of the House of European History, the environment and urban planning permits were obtained in May 2012 and on 16 November 2012 respectively. Furthermore, following the signature of the contract for the renovation of the building in September 2012, the renovation works have started and should be completed by the end of April 2014.

117.

At its meetings in December 2008 and June 2009, the European Council decided that, should the Treaty of Lisbon enter into force after the June 2009 European elections, a transitional measure would be adopted as soon as possible in order to increase the total number of Members from 736 to 754 until the end of 2009-2014 parliamentary term. As the transitional measure did not come into force until 1 December 2011, the full impact — in particular the full budgetary impact — was felt in 2012. Accordingly, the 18 new Members were admitted, immediately enjoying all their rights.

118.

On 9 December 2011, the European Council signed the treaty for the accession of Croatia to the European Union, which should take effect on 1 July 2013. With a view to this further enlargement, Parliament continued the necessary groundwork, in particular the recruitment and training of Croatian contract staff (23). Priority has been given to the language services, where experience gained from previous enlargements has shown that competition to recruit staff is greatest. The new Croatian Translation Unit was, by the end of 2012, fully staffed with 38 contract agents recruited, i.e. 27 translators and 11 assistants, the Croatian booth was staffed with 10 interpreters (four additional interpreters will join the booth in 2013) and 9 additional Croatian assistants were hired in the general services related to interpretation.

119.

On 1 April 2012, Parliament admitted 12 Croatian Observers, appointed by the national parliament, to familiarise themselves with Parliament’s working procedures and methods. They will become fully fledged Members on 1 July 2013. With regard to the opening of a Parliament office in Croatia, see the buildings/property policy section below.

120.

In keeping with the medium-term buildings strategy adopted by the Bureau on 24 March 2010, a number of projects were approved or implemented, as set out below.

121.

Work in the Trèves I building was completed in April 2012 and, as a result of relocations, space was freed up in the Paul-Henri Spaak (PHS) and Atrium buildings. To a very large extent, that space has been used to relocate posts from zone A in the PHS Building (temporarily off-limits because of the problems in the chamber roof structure).

122.

Following the property market survey launched to identify a building to house a second crèche, the Buildings Committee decided on 2 October 2012 to propose that the procedure should be closed, as it found that no acceptable offer had been submitted at a reasonable price. Efforts to find a solution for a second crèche are continuing and three alternatives have been submitted to the committee.

123.

Following an agreement reached with the owner of the Montoyer 70 Building regarding a long-term lease with option to purchase, and agreement by the Bureau on 14 November 2011 and the Committee on Budgets on 12 December 2011, the lease for the Montoyer 70 Building and the request to exercise the option to purchase were signed on 15 December 2011. Parliament became the owner when the notarial act was signed on 1 August 2012.

124.

An occupancy plan for allocation of space in Parliament’s buildings in the medium term was drawn up on the basis of the multiannual forecasts and the new rules on the allocation of space (the occupied/entitled ratio is 93,6 %). That is the ratio for Brussels; it indicates a shortfall of 6,4 %, which is shared equally between the Secretariat and the political groups

125.

With regard to the Konrad Adenauer project, all the contract units in the 2011 tender procedure were declared unsuccessful. In order to manage this situation and to facilitate continuation of the project, an enhanced partnership agreement, signed in early 2012, supplemented the framework agreement between the Luxembourg authorities and Parliament. As part of the work carried out under this partnership, an agreement was concluded with the project management for a technical savings study and the relaunching of the invitation to tender for the carcass work (east site), incorporating those savings measures. This invitation to tender was relaunched, and published in the Official Journal of the European Union, on 26 September 2012. It is expected that the contract will be awarded in spring 2013 and that the work will start in the summer.

126.

In addition, a detailed analysis was carried out of the overall performance of the project management in the study and earthworks monitoring phases, and the conclusion reached was that it was preferable for the working relationship with the project management to be ended. It was therefore decided to issue a new invitation to tender for the monitoring of the construction work, which would allow other firms to be selected, on the basis of enhanced organisational and working arrangements.

127.

Croatia’s accession is scheduled for 1 July 2013. Following a Bureau decision of 12 March 2012, a property market survey was launched in Zagreb, jointly with the Commission, to identify in good time a building meeting the requirements of a Europe House. During that survey, the ‘Ban Centar’ building was identified and, at its meeting of 19 November 2012, the Bureau approved the signing of a 10-year lease on it (5 + 5). It has a total useful area of 1 721,42 m2, of which 671 m2 is intended for use by Parliament. The necessary work should be completed by the end of May 2013, meaning that it can be opened before the date on which Croatia is scheduled to accede (1 July).

128.

With regard to the office in Sofia, the preliminary agreement for the purchase of the new building, for EUR 9 million, was signed on 7 July 2011. Because of poor workmanship affecting the building’s stability and, partially, its fire safety, it was not possible to accept the building in 2011. In view of proceedings for poor workmanship, and in the light of further structural engineering calculations, the seller agreed in May 2012 to have the necessary reinforcement work carried out at his own expense. That additional structural work was carried out in early December 2012. The specific fitting-out work on the building should be completed by the end of March 2013.

129.

As regards the phasing-in of the new maintenance policy, the procedures for and technical terms of future maintenance contracts were finalised and harmonised following an external audit. The maintenance audit led to the launch, inter alia, of the following procedures:

130.

The renovation work required on account of the buildings’ age consists mainly in replacing many of the technical installations and windows and replacing or refurbishing fixtures and fittings. In March 2012, the Working Party on Buildings, Transport and a Green Parliament was tasked with analysing the situation and submitting recommendations to the Bureau in early 2013.

131.

Following the discovery, in September 2012, of cracks in three of the ceiling beams in the chamber roof during inspections carried out as part of the new policy to carry out inspection and preventive maintenance of Parliament’s infrastructure, it was decided to temporarily close zone A of the PHS Building. Given this situation, measures to preserve the building and to establish qualitative monitoring were immediately taken to ensure the safety of the property. At the same time, engineering consultants were commissioned to produce studies with a view to determining precisely what had occurred and what repairs would need to be carried out. The option chosen means that the chamber, and the evacuated offices in zone A, will not be usable until the November 2013 session.

132.

On 28 March 2012, the Bureau agreed on the need to promote an ‘Ambitious Environmental Agenda’ aiming at giving ‘new impetus (...) to the EMAS (24) policy knowing that the largest reductions are coming from the areas of energy consumption of buildings, fixed assets and transport of persons’. In order to implement this Ambitious Environmental Agenda a number of actions have been undertaken and others will be developed in the near future.

133.

Through its ambitious environmental policy, Parliament has set an example in the fight against climate change by putting in place a comprehensive strategy for reducing and neutralising its carbon footprint. It has set a target of achieving a 30 % reduction by 2020 (a reduction of 23 % was achieved in 2012); it has become a leader in the management of its CO2 emissions by managing its carbon footprint in accordance with the strictest standards (ISO 14064:2006 and Bilan Carbone®) and it offsets the residual emissions from buildings, staff travel and official cars using the highest-quality credits (Gold Standard), which provide full traceability and make a significant contribution to sustainable development.

134.

In addition, Parliament has become one of the most progressive of the institutions with regard to compliance with and monitoring of environmental rules. In this context, contracts resulting from the invitations to tender for ‘Environmental consultancy in carbon emissions’ and ‘Verification of the carbon footprint’ were signed off on 9 July and 3 August 2012 respectively. They will allow Parliament’s carbon footprint to be checked against the ISO 14064:2006 standard and the Bilan Carbone® methodology.

135.

In the area of CO2 offsetting, in addition, a contract was signed on 4 December 2012, on the basis of the outcome of an invitation to tender, for offsetting the emissions from part of Parliament’s carbon footprint against the highest-quality standards (Gold Standard) and at very reasonable cost.

136.

Lastly, environmental policy has become a tool for the management and ongoing improvement of day-to-day infrastructure and logistics management activities. More specifically, the environmental aspect is systematically integrated into new projects on the basis of energy studies and audits. For example:

137.

Digitalisation has been progressing briskly. A growing number of documents have been produced in XML format, in particular for the legislative amendment application, the E-committee programme has been launched for all Parliament committees, and metadata (Eurovoc descriptors) have been created for many types of Knowledge Management Programme content. At the same time, standard cross-media printing systems have not been neglected and have been updated and diversified.

138.

With regard to infrastructure management, better containment of critical incidents (performance, security) has resulted from the more effective coordination of network and server operations. Progress has been made with regard to security (development of first-line firewall defence and monitoring stations), architecture authentication and project technology. Telephones have been converted to the Voice-Over-Internet Protocol for Members and political groups before being extended to the rest of Parliament. Wiring has been updated on a large scale and mobile and Wi-Fi reception extended.

139.

The eMeeting application is a component of the Paperless programme which makes available committee meeting documents in a user-friendly electronic format, which allows consultation, annotation and sharing of documents anytime, anywhere and on any device. The eMeeting was launched in 2012 in a test version in three committees (JURI, DEVE, BUDG) and it is due to become available for all committees and all devices in 2013.

140.

Regarding the eCommittee application, since February 2012 all committees use this dedicated work space for Members, committee secretariats, political group staff and others who need to follow the work of committees. Each committee has its own site, which contributes to increase transparency and work efficiency.

141.

A pilot project for video conferencing was launched in 2012 and it has demonstrated the feasibility of providing in the European Parliament environment videoconferences which in terms of the quality of audio, video and their synchronisation are suitable to be used with interpretation. The infrastructure which was developed and placed in three meeting rooms is non-proprietary and allows maximum interoperability. In 2013, it will become possible to organise larger-scale multipoint-point videoconferences, without limitations concerning the languages that can be spoken at each distant locations, although the number of interpreted languages provided will remain limited to three.

142.

There are several constraints however which are important to note. The main constraint, is that the quality required to reliably establish videoconferences which are suitable for meetings with interpretation can only be guaranteed if the partners with whom the videoconference takes place dispose of equipment which meets the same technical standards and if the connection between the different parties is of a sufficient bandwidth. Currently relatively few national parliaments dispose of equipment of this type, although such equipment together with the necessary bandwidth can be rented on an ad hoc basis.

143.

The EP is currently developing its knowledge management system. Knowledge management is aiming to rationalise and simplify the access and use of the information related to the work of the European Parliament: a unique portal of access to several sources, a contextualised search and the management of a collaborative space are the pillars of this programme. The concept was fully defined in 2012 and the first steps were made towards its implementation, in particular the release of the knowledge management portal.

144.

Under the Global Security Concept adopted by the Bureau at its meeting of 6 July 2011, the following developments took place in 2012:

145.

It should also be noted that, at its meeting of 11 June 2012, the Bureau approved the fourth stage in the internalisation of security services in accordance with the decisions taken in 2010 and 2011 to internalise various core security activities, including security management, accreditation and strategic control. The fourth stage will start in Brussels in early 2013 and will take about two years. In Strasbourg, the internalisation process will be launched in about June 2014 and should take about a year (June 2015), when synergies between the Brussels and Strasbourg sites can be achieved, in particular by reinforcing the Strasbourg-based contract staff teams with Brussels-based personnel during part-sessions. External security personnel will be phased out by recruiting contract staff (80 in 2013 and 180 in 2014) in what will be a budget-neutral process, since, in tandem with this, appropriations against the relevant service heading will be reduced accordingly.

146.

A new Administrative Work Programme for the period 2012-2014 has been adopted; it incorporates the key policy guidance laid down by the President, which, in turn, is broken down into specific activities and projects to be carried out. The second section of that programme sets out the specific activities and projects to be carried out by each directorate-general. All Directorates-General make regular progress reports on their key projects.

147.

A Bureau and Committee on Budgets working group on Parliament’s budget, set up to make recommendations for more efficient use of budget resources without impairing the conduct of parliamentary business, made proposals for a 5 % reduction in members’ and officials’ travel expenses, which were adopted by the Bureau at its meeting of 10 September 2012. The working group also proposed that the ‘mopping-up’ transfer be made (see Table 8b) and embarked on an analysis of the findings of comparative studies of the European Parliament, five Member States’ national parliaments and the US Congress. Recommendations will be submitted to the Bureau in 2013.

148.

Setting up resource directorates in nine of the 11 directorates-general has helped to make human resources management more efficient at various levels and has facilitated communication between them and the Directorate-General for Personnel.

149.

In addition, the e-CV application (online curriculum vitae) went into production in February 2012 with a view to helping Parliament’s human resources managers in their search for staff with specific skills for specific posts or tasks.

150.

The policy of bringing particular strategic sectors in-house, with a view to more efficient management and lessening Parliament’s dependence on external service providers in key areas, has been continued. In this connection, the Bureau decided on 11 June 2012 to create contract staff posts (80 in 2013 and 180 in 2014) so as to continue internalisation of security services and decided on 2 July 2012 to create 60 permanent posts over two years (2013 and 2014) so as to internalise particular ICT services. Internalisation will be budget-neutral, since, in tandem with this, appropriations against the relevant service heading will be reduced accordingly.

151.

At its meeting of 2 July 2012, the Bureau adopted the new concept for document and archives management. It is based on identifying the various stages in the life cycle of documents and on proper management of the entire cycle; this is crucial for improving the efficiency of the archiving system, helps to enhance traceability and makes for fast retrieval of Parliament documentation. It also facilitates Parliament’s compliance with the rules of public access to documents.

152.

In total, 147 new posts were created in 2012 in order to meet the five main requirements summarised as follows:

153.

The main changes to Parliament’s organisational set-up and management summarised in the table below:

Table 11

Summary of restructuring changes in Parliament’s Secretariat in 2012