30.6.2014   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 201/1

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Annex I —

Annex II —

Annex III —

1.

This report analyses the European Parliament’s budgetary and financial management during the financial year 2013. It outlines the use made of financial resources and the events which had a significant influence on activities during the year (Parts I and II) and gives an overview of the results achieved as against the objectives set for 2013 (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 established by the Accounting Officer.

3.

Parliament's final appropriations for 2013 totalled EUR 1  75 0 4 63  939, or 19.07 % 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 2013.

Table 1

Use of appropriations

4.

Total revenue entered in the accounts as at 31 December 2013 was EUR 15 8 1 17  371 (2012: EUR 17 5 5 41  860), including EUR 2 5 9 91  783 in assigned revenue (2012: EUR 2 2 2 74  843).

5.

Total appropriations in Parliament’s final budget for 2013 were EUR 1  75 0 4 63  939, representing a 1,9 % increase over the 2012 budget (EUR 1  71 7 8 68  121).

6.

Commitments totalled EUR 1  73 5 9 63  486, accounting for 99 % of final appropriations (2012: 99 %). Payments totalled EUR 1  45 8 1 88  881, or 84 % of commitments entered into (2012: 82 %).

7.

Automatic carryovers to the financial year 2014 totalled EUR 27 7 7 74  604, or 16 % of appropriations committed (2012: 18 %). Non-automatic carryovers to the financial year 2014, pursuant to Article 13 of the Financial Regulation, totalled EUR 7 34  000.

8.

Automatic carryovers to 2013 totalled EUR 30 5 4 57  875 (2012: EUR 22 2 9 00  384). Payments against those carryovers stood at EUR 28 6 1 09  573, or 94 % (2012: 89 %). Appropriations cancelled thus totalled EUR 1 9 3 48  302, 22 % less than in 2012 (EUR 2 4 9 09  308). The bulk of the cancellations was made against: Article 2 0 0 (Buildings), Article 2 0 2 (Expenditure on buildings), Article 3 2 4 (Production and dissemination), Article 2 1 0 (Computing and telecommunications), Article 1 4 0 (Other staff and externals) and Article 3 0 0 (Expenses on staff missions and duty travel between the three working places). Cancellations against those six articles accounted for 74 % 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 carryovers from 2012 to 2013

10.

Assigned revenue available in 2013 totalled EUR 2 5 9 91  783 (2012: EUR 2 2 2 74  843). Commitments totalled EUR 1 6 9 07  174, i.e. a 65 % commitment rate (2012: 81 %). Payments totalled EUR 8 9 97  498, accounting for 53 % of the commitments entered into (2012: 62 %).

11.

The source of the appropriations from 2013 assigned revenue is analysed in the figure below.

Figure 1

Appropriations from 2013 assigned revenue by chapter

12.

Assigned revenue carried over to 2013 totalled EUR 10 6 9 00  532 (2012: EUR 10 7 5 92  247). The bulk (91 %) of the appropriations came from Chapter 2 0. This is mainly accounted for by the Belgian Government’s payment of EUR 8 5 9 87  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.

13.

Commitments in 2013 against assigned revenue carried over totalled EUR 10 4 1 47  894 (2012: EUR 10 5 4 82  187). Payments in 2013 represented 16 % of commitments entered into (2012: 10 %). The bulk of 2013 commitments related to the purchase of the TREBEL building in accordance with the Bureau decision of 30 November 2011.

14.

EUR 10 6 9 34  452 was transferred to the financial year 2014: EUR 1 6 4 94  703 from appropriations from assigned revenue in 2013 (EUR 4 99  582 cancelled) and EUR 9 0 3 35  056 from appropriations from assigned revenue carried over from 2012 (EUR 30 cancelled). The EUR 8 5 8 97  000 paid by the Belgian Government in January 2010 (cf. paragraph 12) is external assigned revenue within the meaning of Article 21(2) of the Financial Regulation. Appropriations from internal assigned revenue carried over totalled EUR 2 1 0 37  452.

15.

EUR 1 3 7 66  453 (2012: EUR 2 4 8 30  106), representing 0,8 % of final appropriations (2012: 1,4 %), was cancelled. The main reasons for the cancellations are set out in the table below:

Table 3

Main reasons for cancellations in 2013 of appropriations for the year

16.

Over the course of the financial year, 10 C transfers (including the ‘mopping-up’ transfer) were approved under Articles 27 and 46 of the Financial Regulation (7) They totalled EUR 6 9 0 88  000, accounting for 3,9 % of final appropriations (2012: 10 transfers, accounting for 4,7 % of final appropriations). The President authorised 10 P transfers under Article 25(1) of the Financial Regulation (8), totalling EUR 9 7 98  500, or 0,6 % of final appropriations (2012: eight transfers, accounting for 0,6 % of final appropriations).

17.

In all, 20 C and P transfers were authorised in 2013, involving a total of EUR 7 8 8 86  500, or 4,5 % of final appropriations (2012: 18 transfers, involving a total of EUR 9 0 8 41  790, or 5,3 % of final appropriations).

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

18.

This section looks at the use of appropriations from Chapter 10 1 (Contingency reserve) and Chapter 10 8 (EMAS reserve). Appropriations entered against those 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 59 % of the total (EUR 8 8 34  000 out of a total of EUR 1 5 0 88  000).

19.

Of that amount, EUR 6 0 74  000 was for expenditure on Members, EUR 2 0 60  000 for IT expenditure and EUR 7 00  000 for administration expenditure. The purpose of the transfers of provisional appropriations is set out below

Table 7

Purpose of transfers of provisional appropriations

20.

This section looks at the transfers, excluding the ‘mopping up’ transfer, from sources other than Title 10 (Other expenditure). A total of EUR 6 2 54  000 was transferred from other titles. Expenditure on Members accounted for the bulk (44 %) of those transfers, followed by information-related expenditure (28 %), IT expenditure (26 %) and administration expenditure (2 %). Tables 8a and 8b give details of those transfers.

Table 8a

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

21.

A total of EUR 5 4 0 00  000 was transferred from provisional-appropriation headings, and from other sources, so as to help fund the extension and modernisation of the Konrad Adenauer Building (KAD), which is the main construction project in Luxembourg. Table 8b gives details of that transfer.

Table 8b

Breakdown of Transfer C12 (‘mopping-up’)

22.

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

Table 9

Purpose of P transfers

23.

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 1 2 (Officials and temporary staff), Chapter 2 0 (Buildings and associated costs) and Chapter 4 2 (Expenditure relating to parliamentary assistance).

24.

Table 10 provides a breakdown by chapter of the appropriations committed in 2013 as against those committed in 2012. Figures 2 and 3 depict, respectively, the relative shares and the changes between 2012 and 2013.

Table 10

Appropriations committed in 2013 as against those committed in 2012

25.

Direct expenditure on Members amounted to EUR 20 5 4 14  449 in 2013, or 12 % of total commitments for the year. That figure is EUR 1,1 million, or 0,6 %, more than in 2012. There are five main expenditure items in the chapter: 1 0 0 0 (Salaries) and 1006 (General expenditure allowance) accounted for 34 % and 19 % of commitments respectively, 1 0 0 4 (Ordinary travel expenses) and 1005 (Other travel expenses) accounted for 35 % and 3 % respectively, and 1030 (Retirement pensions) accounted for 6 %.

26.

Commitments against Item 1 0 0 0 (Salaries) and Item 1006 (General expenditure allowance), which are intended to cover the cost of Members' parliamentary activities, amounted to EUR 10 8 6 33  749, or 53 % of total commitments for the chapter. They were 0,5 % up on commitments for 2012 as a result of Croatia's accession and the arrival of 12 new Croatian Members (9). Members' gross monthly salary is EUR 7  957; the general expenditure allowance is EUR 4  299; there was no change in either amount over 2012.

27.

Commitments against Items 1 0 0 4 (Ordinary travel expenses) and 1005 (Other travel expenses) amounted to EUR 7 8 4 97  779, or 38 % of total commitments for Chapter 1 0. They were 0,4 % down on commitments for 2012. The level of commitments should be viewed with caution, however, since it does not definitively represent the year's actual expenditure on Members' travel and subsistence (10). Nonetheless, despite incorporation of the new Croatian Members (11) and despite transport cost inflation, the measures taken by the Bureau to bring about a structural reduction in Members' travel expenses have helped to cut the level of commitments.

28.

In 2013, Members (12) made a total of 29  142 (13) journeys (14). Most journeys were made to Brussels (18  280) and to Strasbourg (8  407). There were 1  514 and 941 journeys, respectively, to attend meetings elsewhere in the European Union and outside the European Union.

29.

Commitments against Item 1 0 3 0 (Retirement pensions) amounted to EUR 1 1 9 41  558, or 6 % of total commitments for the chapter. They were 18 % up on 2012 because arrears and default interest in connection with retirement pensions for former Members elected in France had to be paid.

30.

Expenditure on officials and temporary staff amounted to EUR 57 4 9 99  348 in 2013, making it the largest spending category (accounting for 33 % of total commitments for 2013). That figure is EUR 14,3 million, or 3 %, more than in the previous financial year. The growth against the chapter stems largely from the increase against Item 1 2 0 0 (Remuneration and allowances), which accounts for 99 % of the appropriations

31.

Commitments against Item 1 2 0 0 (Remuneration and allowances) totalled EUR 57 0 6 69  888; they were 3 % up (EUR 1 5 2 94  817) on 2012. That movement reflects the proportion of posts filled and includes career progression. Item 1 2 0 0 showed a surplus in 2013 and was the main source for the ‘mopping-up’ transfer (15) (EUR 6 3 00  000). The main reason for the surplus is that, when the 2013 budget was drawn up, the 2011 and 2012 annual pay adjustments were factored in, but, ultimately, those adjustments were not made in 2013. In its judgment of 19 November 2013, the Court of Justice of the European Union ruled that the Council of the European Union had been entitled to reject the Commission proposal, based on the ‘adjustment method’, to increase European Union officials' pay by 1,7 % for 2011 (16).

32.

In 2013, 463 officials and temporary staff members were recruited to the Secretariat, 75 temporary staff were recruited to political groups and 337 accredited parliamentary assistants were recruited. A total of 6  105 officials and temporary staff were employed within Parliament as at 31 December 2013 — 5  308 in the Secretariat and 797 in the political groups — and there were 1  763 accredited parliamentary assistants.

33.

As regards the gender breakdown, women accounted for 29 % of heads of unit, 34 % of directors and 33 % of directors-general as at 31 December 2013. The figure below gives a gender breakdown of staff by function group

Figure 4

Secretariat staff by gender

34.

Expenditure on other staff and external services amounted to EUR 10 6 1 82  103 in 2013, or 6 % of commitments. The chapter contains three main spending items: Item 1 4 0 2 (Conference interpreters) accounted for 47 % of commitments, Item 1 4 0 0 (Other staff) (17) 35 %, and Item 1 4 2 0 (External services) (18) 11 %.

35.

Commitments against the chapter were some EUR 3,7 million, or 4 %, higher than in 2012. The main reason for this change lay in the increase in the number of days on which interpreting was provided by auxiliary conference interpreters and the recruitment of contract staff in connection with bringing security in house, while in the field of freelance translation several measures made it possible to cut costs.

36.

Commitments against Item 1402 (Conference interpreters) totalled EUR 4 9 5 99  377 and covered the fees, social security contributions, travel expenses and subsistence allowances of auxiliary conference interpreters used by Parliament to service meetings organised by Parliament. Commitments against the chapter increased by EUR 3 5 99  377, or 8 %, in comparison with 2012. This change was mainly due to the increase in the number of days on which interpreting was provided by auxiliary conference interpreters (2013: 53  244 days, 2012: 49  615 days).

37.

Parliament’s interpreters and the auxiliary conference interpreters provided 1 03  550 days of interpreting in 2013 (2012: 1 02  471 days), for Parliament and other institutions (19) in cases in which Parliament was require to provide this service. Parliament interpreters worked 50  306 days (5 % down on 2012), and auxiliary conference interpreters 53  244 days (7 % up on 2012).

38.

Commitments against Item 1 4 2 0 (External services) totalled EUR 1 1 9 04  661 (EUR 2 6 82  972, or 18 %, down on 2012). The reduction was due to various cost-cutting measures. The decision to produce the verbatim report of proceedings only as a multilingual document, without systematic translation, made it possible to reduce commitments for external services by EUR 9 70  000. In addition, the quantity of amendments to be translated by freelance translators was reduced by 1 49  000 pages because the average length of an amended document was reduced from 28 standard pages in 2012 to 21,5 standard pages in 2013. Accordingly, the proportion of pages translated by freelance translators fell from 30,1 % in 2012 to 28,9 % in 2013.

39.

Commitments against Item 1 4 0 0 (Other staff) totalled EUR 3 7 2 96  239 (7 % up on 2012). That item mainly covers the remuneration and 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. The increase is mainly due to the recruitment of contract staff following the internalisation of the security guard function. As at 31 December 2013, Parliament employed 691 contract staff. A breakdown of contract staff by function group (20) and gender is given in Figure 5.

Figure 5.

Contract staff by function group and gender in 2013

40.

Chapter 1 6 expenditure stood at EUR 1 7 8 29  236, or 1 % of total commitments for the financial year 2013. That is EUR 1 1 29  413, or 7 %, more than in 2012.

41.

33 % of the chapter's commitments were made against Item 1 6 5 4 (Early childhood centre and approved day nurseries), 26 % against Item 1 6 1 2 (Further training) and 24 % against Item 1 6 5 2 (Current operating expenditure for restaurants and canteens).

42.

Outside management of Parliament's day nursery and family room in Brussels and ancillary expenditure accounted for the bulk of spending against Item 1 6 5 4. Commitments against this item totalled EUR 5 8 43  000 — unchanged from 2012 — and covered Parliament's contribution to the overall costs of the early childhood centre and outside crèches with which an agreement has been concluded (21).

43.

Commitments against Item 1 6 1 2 (Further training) stood at EUR 4 6 82  180 — 12 % up on 2012 — and covered expenditure on training to improve staff skills and the performance and efficiency of the institution. In 2013, 4  766 persons (2012: 5  089) attended language courses, 5  775 (22) (2012: 1  538) attended IT courses, and 900 (2012: 1  126) attended financial training courses. A total of 7  709 persons (2012: 6  963) attended in-house general training courses and 343 (2012: 320) attended outside courses.

44.

Commitments against Item 1 6 5 2 (Current operating expenditure for restaurants and canteens) stood at EUR 4 2 60  000 (8 % up on 2012). At its meeting of 10 June 2013, the Bureau adopted a note by the Secretary-General on ‘Parliament’s future catering policy 2014-2019 — Guidelines for modernisation’, setting out strategic guidelines for the future development of the sector. The initial effects of the implementation of the structural reform in conjunction with a revision of prices (which had not changed for 12 years) carried out at the beginning of 2013 in Parliament’s restaurants, canteens, cafeterias and bars made it possible to generally stabilise the budgetary situation for Item 1 6 5 2 (see paragraph 130). The increase in comparison with 2012 was due to the organisation of the EYE event (European youth gathering in 2014) decided upon by the Bureau on 1 July 2013 (see paragraph 106), for which a transfer of appropriations of EUR 3 00  000 (transfer P6, see Table 9) was made.

45.

Chapter 2 0 commitments stood at EUR 25 0 3 36  611, or 14 % of total commitments for 2013. Commitments increased by EUR 1 4 71  683, or 1 %, over 2012. Appropriations for the chapter rose by EUR 41 million during the year (19 % of initial appropriations) because of the ‘mopping-up’ transfer (cf. Table 8b).

46.

A breakdown of Chapter 2 0 appropriations by expenditure type is given in Figure 6 below.

Figure 6.

Breakdown of Chapter 2 0 commitments by item

47.

The commitments entered into against Item 2 0 2 2 (Building maintenance, upkeep, operation and cleaning) stood at EUR 5 1 8 91  984 (21 % of the chapter). This item covers 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 7 % over 2012 (up by EUR 3 2 53  340). This was mainly due to the stage-by-stage conclusion of contracts for the implementation of the new maintenance policy (based on the Baloche report adopted on 22 December 2008), which is intended to step up maintenance work in the light of the responsibilities incumbent on the European Parliament as the owner. However, the allocation to the item was cut by EUR 3,9 million (7 % of the initial appropriations) during the year because of the non-replacement of certain equipment, the postponement of procurement procedures and the use of assigned revenue.

48.

Commitments against Item 2 0 0 1 (Lease payments) — 28 % of the chapter — totalled EUR 6 9 2 36  000, or more than twice the amount in 2012. The item's allocation was topped up by EUR 5 3 1 00  000 during the year — 329 % of initial appropriations — chiefly because of the ‘mopping-up’ transfer (cf. Tables 8a and 8b). The full amount has been committed to the project to extend the KAD Building in Luxembourg.

49.

Commitments against Item 2 0 0 5 (Construction of buildings) amounted to EUR 8 0 65  316 (3 % of the chapter) and covered expenses and work relating to the KAD project, except for the work financed under the lease (which is covered by appropriations from Item 2001). The 76 % increase in commitments over 2012 (+ EUR 3 4 81  701) takes account of the increase in resources used for monitoring (lead coordinator, cost controller) requested by the Bureau.

50.

Commitments against Item 2 0 0 7 (Fitting-out of premises) — 15 % of the chapter — stood at EUR 3 6 3 26  338 (4 % up on 2012). In 2013, a large volume of work was started and completed on buildings and projects at the Brussels site. The largest amounts concerned the House of European History project, for which EUR 1 2 4 48  650 was committed in 2013, and the work on the Chamber in the PHS Building in Brussels (renewal of the ceiling support frame), for which EUR 2 0 79  600 was committed in 2013 (an additional amount of 15 % for changes and contingencies is provided for in the contract). Various works were also carried out on occupied buildings. This item serves to carry out specific and individual fitting-out projects which do not involve recurrent work. A comparison of the appropriations for different years would therefore not be particularly enlightening.

51.

Commitments against Item 2 0 2 6 (Security and surveillance of buildings) — 12 % of the chapter — totalled EUR 3 1 0 97  983 (11 % down on 2012). They essentially covered the costs of caretaking and surveillance in respect of buildings occupied by Parliament at its three places of work and the information offices. The reduction mainly arises from the savings made thanks to internalisation.

52.

Chapter 2 0 commitments stood at EUR 13 1 8 05  904, or 8 % of total commitments for 2013. Some EUR 1 0 9 98  530, or 8 %, less was committed than in 2012. Appropriations for the chapter increased by EUR 3 8 78  200 during the year (3 % of initial appropriations). (Cancellations of appropriations represented only 1,2 % of the final appropriations, viz. a technical balance).

53.

Items 2 1 0 0 (Equipment and software) and 2 1 0 2 (Outside assistance for information and innovation technologies) alone accounted for 79 % of commitments against the chapter.

54.

A breakdown of Chapter 2 1 expenditure is given in the figure below.

Figure 7.

Breakdown of Chapter 2 1 expenditure

55.

Commitments against Item 2 1 0 0 (Equipment and software) represent 23 % of Chapter 2 1, with an amount of EUR 3 0 7 92  197, down 31 % on 2012. The item covers 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. The main reason for this reduction was that the level of commitments for this item in 2012 was exceptionally high: two C transfers were adopted, making it possible to increase the appropriations for this item by more than EUR 11 million at the end of 2012 in order to finance Wi-Fi cover in Parliament’s buildings and the renewal of a large part of the network infrastructure.

56.

Item 2 1 0 2 (Outside assistance for information and innovation technologies) accounted for 55 % of Chapter 2 1 commitments, totalling EUR 7 2 9 84  023, which was 4 % up on 2012. This increase was due to several additional projects requiring outside services. Delays also occurred in bringing certain tasks in house, because of difficulties in recruiting qualified staff to fill the new permanent posts. Thus appropriations increased by EUR 5 5 86  300 during the year (8 % of initial appropriations). The appropriations principally covered the cost of outside assistance from service providers 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.

57.

This chapter accounted for 1 % of 2013 commitments, totalling EUR 9 5 48  021 (1 % up on 2012).

58.

Commitments against this chapter broke down as follows: 49 % against Article 2 3 5 (Telecommunications), 24 % against Article 2 3 0 (Stationery, office supplies and miscellaneous consumables) and 10 % against Article 2 3 2 (Legal costs and damages). The remaining 17 % is accounted for by Articles 2 3 1 (Financial charges), 236 (Postage on correspondence and delivery charges), 2 3 7 (Removals), 2 3 8 (Other administrative expenditure) and 2 3 9 (European Parliament carbon offsetting scheme).

59.

With the exception of Items 2 3 8 0 (Other administrative expenditure) and 2300 (Stationery, office supplies and miscellaneous consumables), all the items in the chapter provided funding for transfers C8 and C12 (cf. Tables 8a and 8b). As a result of those transfers, initial appropriations for the chapter were reduced by 24 %, which illustrates the effort made to control current administrative expenditure.

60.

Appropriations against Article 2 3 9 (European Parliament carbon offsetting scheme), initially EUR 1 0 64  000, were reduced by 98 % as a result of the ‘mopping-up’ transfer because of a large reduction in the price of a tonne of CO2.

61.

This chapter accounted for 2 % of 2013 commitments, totalling EUR 3 2 8 16  473 (1 % up on 2012). Commitments against this chapter broke down as follows: 78 % against Article 3 0 0 (Expenses for staff missions and duty travel between the three places of work), 19 % against Article 3 0 4 (Miscellaneous expenditure on meetings), and 3 % against Article 3 0 2 (Entertainment and representation expenses).

62.

In 2013, there were 32  736 missions (2012: 33  616) representing a total of 97  161 mission days (2012: 99  377). Most of the missions involved travel between Parliament's three places of work (Brussels — 4  094 missions; Strasbourg — 19  427; and Luxembourg — 1  886).

63.

Commitments against this chapter accounted for 7 % of 2013 expenditure, totalling EUR 12 5 6 72  031 (19 % up on 2012). Some 25 % 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), 20 % for Item 3242 (Expenditure on publication, information and participation in public events) and 16 % for Item 3248 (Expenditure on audiovisual information).

64.

A breakdown of commitments is given in Figure 8 below.

Figure 8.

Breakdown of Chapter 3 2 commitments

65.

Commitments against Item 3 2 4 4 (Organisation and reception of groups of visitors, Euroscola programme and invitations to opinion multipliers from third countries) totalled EUR 3 1 6 67  743, which was up (+13 %) on 2012. 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 The increase is due, inter alia, to Parliament’s participation in the financing of the new EU-PHORIA exhibition at the Schirmeck Museum in cooperation with the Alsace Region and Memorial Alsace-Moselle, as well as the organisation of the EYE event (European youth meeting in 2014) and the rise in the number of groups of visitors and participants in the Euroscola programme.

66.

Commitments against Item 3 2 4 2 (Expenditure on publication, information and participation in public events) amounted to EUR 2 5 4 53  635 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 candidate countries, and updating of the Legislative Observatory (OEIL). Commitments were 15 % up on 2012. This was due to information activities with a view to preparing for the 2014 elections.

67.

Commitments against Item 3 2 4 8 (Expenditure on audiovisual information) totalled EUR 2 0 5 33  306 and covered expenditure relating to:

Commitments were 54 % up on 2012. This was due to audiovisual information activities relating to the 2014 elections.

68.

With regard to audiovisual information, 1  375 events, including 1  134 committee meetings, were webstreamed. ‘Europe by Satellite’ production was as follows: 829 news items about Parliament were broadcast 27  563 times by 187 channels, 79 info clips on legislative subjects, 75,5 plenary days, 527 live broadcasts, 321 topical features produced for Eurovision (for distribution to its members) and 26 events relayed by Eurovision from Parliament in Brussels and Strasbourg.

69.

It should also be noted that commitments against Item 3 2 4 3 (Parlamentarium — the European Parliament Visitors' Centre), EUR 3 8 44  123, increased by 11 % over the previous year. The Parlamentarium is one of the most visited tourist attractions in Brussels, and received 3 37  000 visitors in 2013 (2012: 2 50  000 visitors).

70.

This chapter accounted for 5 % of 2013 commitments, totalling EUR 9 2 6 83  288 (5 % up on 2012).

71.

Article 4 0 0 (Current administrative expenditure and expenditure relating to the political and information activities of the political groups and non-attached Members) accounted for 63 % of Chapter 4 0 appropriations (2012: 65 %). Commitments against that article totalled EUR 5 8 6 97  494 and were intended to cover the following in respect of the political groups and the non-attached Members:

These commitments rose by 3 % over 2012 due to additional needs arising from the accession of Croatia.

72.

Article 4 0 2 (Financing of European political parties) accounted for 23 % (2012: 21 %) of commitments against Chapter 4 0, viz. EUR 2 1 5 85  794, an increase of 14 % over 2012. This increase was due to the fact that 2013 was a pre-election year.

73.

Article 4 0 3 (Funding of European political parties), EUR 1 2 4 00  000, accounted for 13 % (2012: 14 %) of Chapter 4 0 commitments.

Figure 9.

Breakdown of Chapter 4 0 commitments

74.

This chapter accounted for 11 % of 2013 commitments, totalling EUR 18 8 3 01  020 (4 % up on 2012).

75.

The appropriations rose by EUR 3,7 million (2 % of the initial appropriations) in the year, in order to cover the growing expenditure on accredited parliamentary assistants (+EUR 3,5 million) and greater than anticipated exchange rate differences (+ 0,2 million).

76.

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

Figure 10.

Breakdown of Chapter 4 2 commitments

77.

Commitments for local assistants stood at EUR 8 3 8 40  699 (4 % up on 2012).

78.

Commitments for accredited parliamentary assistants stood at EUR 10 3 7 97  680 (5 % up on 2012). These cover salaries, allowances and mission expenses for the staff concerned, together with the cost of outside courses. Average monthly remuneration paid was EUR 7,9 million (EUR 7,5 million on average in 2012).

79.

On 31 December 2013 there were 1  785 accredited parliamentary assistants working at Parliament and 4  860 local assistants had an employment contract with a Member (including 162 via groupings of Members). On average, each Member employed 2,33 accredited assistants and 6,34 local assistants (23). The number of local assistants employed per Member varied greatly — between 0 and 43 — in 2013. Although 16 Members employed no local assistants, 84 Members recruited more than 10 employees in their Member State during 2013. Around 45 Members employed only local assistants in 2013.

80.

Parliamentary assistance payments in 2013 relating to local assistants living outside the euro zone were made on the basis of a rate of exchange between the euro and other currencies which was set for the entire year (December 2012 rate).

81.

This chapter accounted for 0,02 % of 2013 commitments, totalling EUR 3 75  000 (4 % up on 2012).

82.

The chapters in this title contain only provisional appropriations, which may be committed only once they have been transferred to an operational line. Transfers of provisional appropriations (EUR 2 2 9 12  765) are dealt with in section 1 of this report. Initial appropriations against this title stood at EUR 2 2 9 12  765 (2012: EUR 2 9 5 42  652) — equivalent to 1,3 % of the total budget for 2013.

83.

The financial year 2013 was marked by the continuation of action, begun in 2011, to bring about 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.

84.

The institution also continued to implement multiannual programmes to rationalise and modernise key sectors of its administration, particularly in the field of security, and undertook significant development of its information and communication policy with a view to the 2014 elections.

85.

The institutional changes arising from the accession of Croatia were completed without any significant difficulties.

86.

The objectives pursued and outcomes achieved in 2013, which are set out below, stem from the priorities and decisions adopted by the Bureau in 2013, the guidelines adopted by Parliament in its budget resolutions, and the goals and achievements of the 2012-2014 Administrative Work Programme.

87.

A comparative study with four national parliaments and the Congress of the United States has demonstrated a significant margin for improvement in the support structure to the European Parliament, particularly in terms of independent scientific advice. Based on the recommendations of the Joint Working Group of the Bureau and the Budget Committee on the budget of Parliament, the Bureau decided, at its meeting of 20 May 2013, to create a new Directorate-General for Parliamentary Research (DG EPRS) in order to provide independent scientific advice both for political bodies of Parliament and for individual Members.

88.

This Directorate-General, whose setting-up took effect on 1 November 2013, brings together the former Directorate for the Library and Document Management (with the exception of the Official Mail Unit, which remains attached to DG PRES) and the Directorate for Impact Assessment and European Added Value, formerly attached to DG IPOL, to which has been added a new Directorate for Members’ Research Services, organised thematically.

89.

The new parliamentary research service will support individual Members and complement the policy departments (24), which will continue to serve holders of offices and those with particular responsibilities, such as rapporteurs. These products are of a different nature, as the policy departments were explicitly conceived as a way of providing an immediate response to Parliament’s committees and delegations. Nonetheless, these two services will cooperate as closely as possible and exchange information as if they really belonged to the same department. They will share the existing expertise budget heading.

90.

At its meeting of 15 April 2013, the Bureau had authorised negotiations with the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions in the context of the 2014 budget procedure with the aim of increasing efficiency in the field of translation, the part of those efficiency gains realised within Parliament being earmarked for the further build-up of the Parliamentary Research Service. Those negotiations having been successfully completed, the Bureau instructed the President to sign a cooperation agreement with the two committees at its meeting of 9 December; this agreement particularly gives staff who are affected by the restructuring of the committees’ translation service and who have the required profile the option of being transferred to Parliament in order to work for the new Directorate-General for Parliamentary Research (a maximum of 80 staff).

91.

The cooperation of committees with Policy Departments is very close, continuous and multi-faceted: Policy Departments' briefings, policy papers, studies and workshops regularly feed into committee deliberations and ensure a valuable interconnection between expertise and policy-making. To enhance the visibility and accessibility of Policy departments’ products, a common newsletter of Policy Departments has been created in 2013. It offers a monthly overview of the main upcoming events organised in the European Parliament, a summary of key studies in preparation and a direct link to a selection of studies published recently. Policy Departments have carried out a major update of Parliament's Factsheets ahead of the election year.

92.

According to the Lisbon Treaty, 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 2013, the International Trade committee (INTA) worked on major legislative reports on International Procurement Instrument, Enforcement Regulation, and second reading agreements on Omnibus I and Omnibus II (aligning the Union trade legislation to the Lisbon treaty), and also the Public Procurement Instrument and modernisation of the Union's Trade Defence Instruments. INTA monitoring groups continued their work in monitoring trade negotiations. Resolutions were adopted in connection to all negotiating mandates, which were suggested by the Commission.

93.

The committees continued the practice of monitoring negotiations of international agreements. For the Foreign Affairs committee (AFET), it concerned especially the pending Framework for Association Agreements with third countries. AFET also questioned the practice by the Council to request Parliament's consent once the ratification process in EU Member States is almost completed. AFET adopted resolutions on all candidate and pre-candidate countries, as is now consolidated practice.

94.

Monitoring of developments in Ukraine intensified with a view to determining Parliament's position regarding the signature of the Association Agreement. AFET organised briefings with EU and Ukrainian stakeholders and prepared a resolution on the EU neighbourhood policy, which covers the Association Agreement with Ukraine (and also Moldova and Georgia).

95.

The Bureau decided on 26 February 2013 that a programme for Euronest Scola (25) would be organised and managed by DG EXPO in line with the principles for the already existing Euromed Scola (26), and decided on 15 April 2013 on an extension of the programme for Young Political Leaders from Europe, Palestine and Israel to include the neighbourhood countries. For the first time, a Euronest Scola programme and two new Young Political Leaders Fora were very successfully organised in November-December 2013 (Maghreb-EU and Eastern Partnership-EU), expressing concretely via the administrative action the EP priority commitment to strengthen and empower civil society in the neighbourhood.

96.

Efforts to improve the Institution’s image and the attractiveness of plenary continued, with the development of a reliable database containing statistics on plenary work, the adoption of amendments to the Rules of Procedure and modifications to internal procedures, for example written declarations, summary records and voting procedures. The IT applications used in plenary are still being modernised.

97.

As regards the drafting of legislative acts, the general introduction of the procedure for finalising texts before their adoption, which makes it possible to sign and publish legislation more quickly, and the development of a substantial programming capacity, made it possible for most of the MFF decisions to enter into force before the end of the year. Other progress has also been accomplished in the ‘on demand’ editing service, for example in creating e-Parliament tools (27) and the Drafting Support Tool (28).

98.

It may be noted that the number of legislative texts adopted by Parliament (drafted by the Directorate for Legislative Acts) has doubled over 2012. The integration of the Croatian language (publication of legislative and parliamentary texts since the date of accession) has been a success.

99.

The creative concept of the institutional information and communication campaign for the 2014 elections was endorsed by the Bureau on 20 May 2013 and a specific contract for the execution and implementation of the campaign was signed on 7 June 2013. The emphasis of the campaign has been put on the political nature of the European Parliament and the new powers conferred on it by the Lisbon Treaty translated through the message ‘This time it’s different’. The concept is based on a four-phase approach which revolves around the baseline of ‘ACT. REACT. IMPACT’. This baseline, which aims to establish the European Parliament as a recognised brand, will ensure the perennity of the campaign well beyond 2014.

100.

The kick-off of the institutional information and communication campaign took place in Strasbourg on 10 September 2013, contextually to the State of the Union, a symbolic moment chosen to highlight the new role of the European Parliament after the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty. The event enjoyed extensive media coverage, with some 160 journalists attending the kick-off press conference. This coverage, together with the intense interaction on the social media, means that the launch can be considered a true success in terms of awareness raising. In December 2013 the official website of the campaign went online.

101.

The last months of 2013 were dedicated to the implementation of the second phase of the campaign (‘Thematic phase’) and the preparation of the following phases (‘Go to vote’ and ‘post-election’).

102.

In addition to using traditional communication channels, the thematic phase of the campaign sees the introduction of a number of innovative outreach activities such as the organisation of ‘ReACT’ events in five major cities.

103.

The first events, organised in Paris, Warsaw and Frankfurt, tackled the main themes such as jobs, the economy, the EU budget and Structural Funds, and registered a high level of interest among civil society and stakeholders. Two more events about quality of life and the EU in the world will take place in Rome and Madrid in 2014.

104.

The Information Offices played a key role in the implementation of the campaign, promoting the centrally developed tools in all Member States, involving stakeholders and media as multipliers in order to achieve wider outreach of the campaign message as well as managing social media at local level.

105.

In parallel to the institutional information and communication campaign, a European Youth Event (EYE) will be organised. The Bureau adopted on 1 July 2013 the concept for this event, aimed at raising awareness of European identity among young people.

106.

The event, under the general motto ‘Ideas for a better Europe’, will take place in Strasbourg in May 2014, with up to 5  000 young people from all over Europe. Registration has been open since October 2013.

107.

The concept of the outlines of the permanent exhibition was adopted by the Bureau during its meeting of 22 October 2012. In 2013, this concept was further developed with a design company and has now been finalised.

108.

In parallel to the designing of the permanent exhibition, the House of European History team has started developing the future offer to visitors, comprising temporary and travelling exhibitions, events, conferences, an extensive online offer and learning programmes targeted at different age groups. The House of European History project is an integral part of the visitor offers of the European Parliament and the visitor’s strategy currently under development.

109.

The works in the Eastman building, that will host the House of European History, have progressed substantially in 2013 and are expected to be finished by end of 2014. The building will be prepared in order to receive the exhibitions: the opening of the House of European History is foreseen for the end of 2015 with the permanent exhibition, while the first temporary exhibition is scheduled for 2016.

110.

Progress in improving services to visitors was made in 2013 thanks to two cooperation agreements with the Autonomous Port of Strasbourg and the Region of Alsace/Memorial Alsace-Moselle following Bureau’s decision of 18 November 2013: the visitor-reception capacity of the EP premises in Strasbourg will be increased in view of the higher number of visitors expected during the election year, and citizens visiting the EP in Strasbourg will be provided with a broader historical overview as part of the new EU-PHORIA project in Schirmeck.

111.

At the same time and in accordance with the abovementioned decision, preparatory work was undertaken to establish a reduced 360o cinema in Strasbourg and in Berlin, and to realise role play game exercises in Strasbourg similar to those organised in Brussels.

112.

The posts provided for in the budget (124 in total) were filled by appointing temporary staff with effect from 1 July 2013, and then by replacing the temporary staff with officials on probation as the lists of successful candidates in specific competitions for Croat nationals were published.

113.

The 12 Croat observers attended Parliament’s proceedings (plenary sittings and meetings of committees and political groups) from 1 April 2012, and became full Members as of 1 July 2013.

114.

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:

115.

With regard to the Trebel project, the urban planning permit was issued on 30 April 2013, with a reduction of around 8 % in the surface area originally planned. Due to this alteration to the project, an additional shortfall in office space of 2  562 m2 is anticipated by 2017.

116.

Efforts to find a temporary solution until the Trebel Building can be occupied, which is expected to happen in 2017, resulted in the Square de Meeûs No 8 Building being identified as the most appropriate (cf. Bureau decisions of 30 November 2011, 14 January 2013 and 11 March 2013, and the decision of the Committee on Budgets of 28 February 2013). The 12-year usufruct contract for this building was signed on 28 March 2013, with provision for the building to be occupied from 31 March 2014. The planning of the stage-by-stage removal, from 2014, of the departments currently housed in other buildings (a minimum of 1  000 persons) and the work in the current and future offices for Members and their assistants began in 2013.

117.

As regards the Konrad Adenauer project, an overall analysis of the work of the consultancy which had initially managed the project was performed under the terms of the partnership agreement signed on 16 January 2012 with the Luxembourg State, with the result that it was decided to dispense with the services of the consultancy. An invitation to tender for an enhanced project management set-up to supervise the work was published on 2 January 2013, and resulted in the appointment of the five entities making up the project management team, headed by a lead coordinator. The new project management began to provide its services in mid-2013. In addition, efforts to cut the cost of the project and the reissuing of the invitations to tender for the east site carcass works made it possible to obtain tenders which remained within the budgets allocated. The construction work began in September 2013. An additional lot (Façades) was awarded on 20 December 2013, and led to the signing of the corresponding contract on 6 January 2014.

118.

The financial arrangements for the project have been put into practice for the first time. The initial invoices submitted by the contractors have been paid by the specially constituted property company. A fiduciary agreement was signed on 25 November 2013 with the bank BGL. Its purpose is to guarantee the amounts credited to the accounts of the property company and to make it possible to transfer safely the appropriations allocated to the Konrad Adenauer project by the budgetary authority. As a result, the fiduciary account was able to receive the first transfers in December 2013. In accordance with the contractual obligations, a first loan drawdown was performed on 31 December 2013.

119.

Until the new Konrad Adenauer Building becomes available, it is necessary to extend the lease on the Goldbell Building until 31 December 2017 and to rent the Geos Building instead of the President Building. With regard to the Goldbell Building, it was possible to achieve a substantial saving in comparison with the current lease conditions at the conclusion of the negotiations with the owner, and the additional agreement to the lease was signed in December 2013, the Bureau having approved it at its meeting of 21 October 2013 (29). A cost-benefit analysis showed that moving from the President Building to the Geos Building in 2014 would generate a saving for the period from 1 April 2014 to 31 December 2017 which would exceed that which would be derived from maintaining the lease on the President Building under the new terms proposed by its owner. Consequently, on 13 August 2013, a lease on the Geos Building was signed, once the Bureau had approved it at its meeting of 2 July 2013 (30).

120.

The preliminary agreement for purchase of the new building in Sofia, for EUR 9 million, was signed on 7 July 2011. Because of poor workmanship and the non-conformity of fitting-out work with building regulations, the building was not accepted in 2012. Once the owner had remedied all the construction defects, the procedure for acceptance of the building led to the signature of the deed of purchase before a notary in Sofia on 4 June 2013. The removal took place on 11 June 2013, and since July 2013 the Europe House has been fully operational.

121.

A cooperation agreement between the European Parliament and the European Commission on joint management of Europe Houses is still being sought with the aim, on the one hand, of setting out a framework for multiannual planning of property surveys with a view to purchasing or leasing property, and, on the other hand, of simplifying the administrative and financial procedures for their day-to-day management.

122.

An external audit was initiated in 2013 with the aim of being able to submit, in the new parliamentary term, an initial assessment of the enhanced maintenance policy. An internal and external audit schedule, to be repeated regularly in each parliamentary term, was approved by the Bureau on 26 February 2013, and the resources to be mobilised will be decided on this basis.

123.

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 ongoing policy of carrying out inspections and preventive maintenance of Parliament's infrastructure, it was decided to temporarily close zone A of the Paul-Henri Spaak Building. After a detailed analysis of the pros and cons of the options for making the structure safe, the experts selected a solution which, in view of the time required for studies, inspections, invitations to tender, performance of the work and refurbishment of the Chamber, will not make the Chamber available for use again before the beginning of 2014. The contract for making the Chamber safe (repairs to the roof structure and refurbishment of the Chamber) was signed on 26 June 2013, enabling work to begin on reinforcement of the ceiling structure.

124.

As regards the faults affecting the fireproofing (flocking) on the roof frame in the Louise Weiss Building, the inspections being conducted by the group of experts appointed by Strasbourg District Court will continue until the end of the first quarter of 2014. However, the conclusions reached by the experts on the basis of their initial studies enabled Parliament to plan the initial work required to bring the Chamber roof frame into line with fire safety law. In that connection, two invitation-to-tender procedures have been launched. The first, concerning the work referred to above, has been suspended pending completion of the experts' report, and the decision should be taken before May 2014. The second has been finalised and will cover the drafting of a fire safety study which will set out possible ways of bringing the rest of the structure into line with the law. The practical work required as part of that second procedure should be carried out in the first quarter of 2014.

125.

Parliament has sought to set an example in the fight against climate change by adopting a comprehensive strategy for reducing and offsetting its carbon emissions, with the ambitious target of reducing its emissions by 30 % by 2020. In 2013, a cut of 26,4 % was achieved, and 28 % of the carbon footprint was offset (buildings, missions, official cars).

126.

For the first time since the first EMAS registration in 2007 (which covered 9 buildings), Parliament has increased the number of EMAS-registered buildings. Three new buildings (WIB, JAN and PFL) were added in 2013. This necessitated an environmental analysis and audits of these buildings. In addition, this contract was used to order a significant number of inspections to facilitate interpretation of environmental legislation and to ensure that Parliament’s Administration was entirely compliant (a requirement of the EMAS Regulation). After external audits had been conducted in May and June 2013, Parliament was able to apply for an extension of its EMAS registration for three further years.

127.

A contract was signed with the undertaking ECOACT on 7 November 2013 to offset 28  747 tonnes of CO2 in the context of an energy efficiency project for the urban heating system in Pernik, Bulgaria. The offset credits purchased comply with the rules governing the European Union Emissions Trading System (EU ETS).

128.

Three events were also organised in 2013 at the three places of work: the Green Week, the Mobility Week and the Waste Week.

129.

2013 marked the beginning of a period of reorganisation of Parliament’s catering activities, designed to bring about their complete modernisation by 2019. In this context, at its meeting of 10 June 2013, the Bureau adopted a note by the Secretary-General on ‘Parliament’s future catering policy 2014-2019 — Guidelines for modernisation’, setting out strategic guidelines for the future development of the sector.

130.

The Bureau decision covers not only issues relating to infrastructure and operational and nutritional aspects but also economic objectives. The initial effects of the implementation of the structural reform in conjunction with a revision of prices (which had not changed for 12 years) carried out at the beginning of 2013 in Parliament’s restaurants, canteens, cafeterias and bars made it possible to improve the budgetary situation for item 1652 (Current operating expenditure for restaurants and canteens).

131.

Thanks to better control of costs, higher productivity, competition between suppliers and realistic pricing, the aim is to break even by the end of the 2014-2019 parliamentary term.

132.

The implementation of programmes such as e-Parliament (amendments and electronic signature, MEP Portal, etc.), Paperless (e-Committee (31), e-Meeting (32), etc.) and Knowledge Management is making it possible to move towards a totally on-line EP with full mobility. This is being supplemented by the introduction (in progress) of a tablet as the standard working tool. This process has been accompanied by a software upgrade (migration to Windows 7 and Outlook 2010) and a substantial enhancement of the videoconferencing network and Wi-Fi.

133.

In response to articles in the press reporting an intrusion into Parliament’s open Wi-Fi network, an inquiry was launched to assess the extent and nature of the attack. At its meeting of 9 December 2013, the Bureau unanimously approved the immediate and medium-term measures proposed by the Secretary-General in order to enhance Parliament’s security rules for the use of mobile equipment.

134.

Relations with National Parliaments have been further strengthened through the European Parliamentary Week from 28 to 30 January 2013, during which Members of the European Parliament and national Parliamentarians met to debate the European semester for economic policy coordination.

135.

The first interparliamentary conference on the economic and financial governance of the European Union, provided for by Article 13 of the Treaty on Stability, Coordination and Governance, was held in Vilnius from 16 to 17 October 2013.

136.

On the technical side, it is important to note the development of the EP’s ‘Connect’ database for documents from national parliaments in order to better disseminate their opinions and contributions, in accordance with the Treaty provisions on subsidiarity and proportionality. The pilot project on videoconferencing — a major asset in interparliamentary cooperation — was successfully completed. The information available to Members and third parties was significantly improved thanks to the development of the databases ECPRD (European Centre for Parliamentary Research and Documentation) and IPEX (Interparliamentary EU Information Exchange).

137.

Since the Bureau decision of June 2012 on internalisation of general security services, a series of preparatory measures to launch the process have been adopted, starting with the procedure to select 1  212 candidates out of a total of 2  443 applicants, making it possible to undertake the stage-by-stage recruitment of contract staff at Parliament’s three places of work, while strictly complying with the action plan approved by the Bureau.

138.

Since September 2013, the control centre has comprised solely Parliament staff, and since October, security at the crèche, the Parlamentarium and the entrances to the ASP Building has likewise been brought in house.

139.

Internalisation involves a complex and multi-faceted process, entailing not only a major drive to recruit Parliament staff but also, and above all, their training, adjustment and integration and the organisation of work, tasks which have never been carried out in house in the past. The complexity of the process also arises from the fact that, during its transitional stage and until its full completion, the current external security companies and Parliament’s own staff will have to work in tandem.

140.

As indicated in the action plan endorsed by the Bureau, the internalisation process in Brussels and Strasbourg will be carried out on a phased basis over the period 2013-2016. As regards Luxembourg, the internalisation process is connected with buildings policy and the work on the KAD Building. This means that the evaluation and implementation of internalisation are tied in with the progress made in that work.

141.

At its meeting of 9 December 2013, the Bureau noted and approved the creation of a One Stop Shop for parliamentary services to Members. This was a follow-up to the conclusions from a process of consultation of Members and Parliament staff concerning ways of improving and modernising Parliament’s organisational capacities. This service will be attached to the Directorate for Logistics, and the staff for it will be recruited by internal redeployment. It will begin to operate, in stages, from the beginning of 2014, becoming fully operational after the elections.

142.

The Members’ portal for their social and financial entitlements aims at providing Members with a unique Intranet entry point where they can obtain information on the status and trends of their financial and social rights arising from the Members' Statute and its implementing measures. This will substantially facilitate each Member his/her management of financial and social entitlements. A first release of the Portal for active Members to be used from within the EP premises for a subset of forms and data has been made available in 2013. Further steps (such as additional features for MEPs including use of electronic signature, accessibility from outside EP premises, portal for former Members and their beneficiaries, paying agents, completion of the archives) are foreseen, with the target date of December 2015, to complete the full-fledged system.

143.

During the year 2013, in the framework of the 2014 budget procedure (33), the Parliament on the basis of its Bureau's proposals and after consultations in the Joint Working Group Bureau — Committee on Budgets has endorsed the need for strengthening four areas of its activities:

144.

In addition, the Joint Working Group has identified seven areas, where Parliament can improve its efficiency in order to allow the development of the four above mentioned areas of activity in a financially responsible manner:

145.

The preparations for the implementation of the new Staff Regulations continued throughout 2013. Because virtually all the new provisions were to apply as of 1 January 2014, the work of revising rules and certain procedures and updating the IT systems was carried out to very tight deadlines. This work (particularly the modification of the legislative framework and IT work) will partly continue in 2014 for fields which were not regarded as priorities in 2013.

146.

In preparation for the end of the parliamentary term and the beginning of the new one, measures were taken to organise the management of the termination of the contracts of some 1  700 accredited parliamentary assistants (APAs), assistance to these staff in their administrative procedures and the arrival of several hundred new APAs, and to support the action to be taken by the political groups if the results of the European elections in 2014 lead to significant changes in the make-up of the secretariats of certain groups. For example, a platform for uploading documents (APA-People) was established, together with a Departure Desk and an Arrival Desk open for a long period to give parliamentary assistants and political group staff more support with administrative procedures.

147.

At its meeting of 2 July 2012, the Bureau adopted the new concept for document and archives management. This model is based on the identification of various stages in the life of documents and on appropriate management of the whole cycle. It also facilitates Parliament's compliance with the rules on public access to documents.

148.

The arrangements for implementing the document management rules have been prepared. At its meeting of 15 April 2013, the Bureau approved the decision on the processing of confidential documents at the EP, and on 10 June 2013 it adopted the annual report on the management of classified documents. The Council approved the technical aspects of the plans to create a secure reading room, which is now open.

149.

In total, 59 new posts were created in 2013 in order to meet the four main requirements summarised as follows:

150.

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

Table 11

Summary of restructuring in Parliament's Secretariat in 2013