BUDGET: COUNCIL SETS OUT ITS OWN SPENDING PLANS FOR 2005.

The Council of Ministers has announced its main budget orientations for 2005, emphasising that its needs are mainly focused on the reinforcement of its General Secretariat to help meet the challenges of enlargement. The General Secretariat argues that the margin of growth for administrative expenses, which was initially fixed at 2.8% by the Commission, is not enough to cover the "inevitable budget increase" due to the first full year of enlargement, with growing costs in particular for personnel and infrastructure, as well as the replacement of IT networks. In short, the Preliminary Draft Budget for 2005, presented on April 28 (see Europe Information 2865), notes a 3.9% increase in appropriations for administrative spending.

The Directorate in charge of Finances of the Secretariat names its four operational objectives for 2004 as follows: the financial and budgetary consolidation of the SGC; the consolidation of the procurement function; the reorganisation of the accountancy function; and the support of the Council in the management of military operations or operations that have implications in the field of defence. In the report, the General Secretariat emphasises that it is continuing its efforts to implement its 'controlled approach' planned in the report on the administrative consequences of enlargement. This approach aims at controlling budgetary risks and optimising the use of available resources by keeping the translation workload within reasonable...