BUDGET: PARLIAMENT DEMANDS INCREASE IN EXTERNAL EXPENDITURE IN 2003.

The report by Goran Farm still turns down the Commission's requests for additional staff in the run-up to enlargement. For good measure, the Parliament, which is not demanding any additional staff for itself, is also rejecting the posts sought by the Council. The Committee nevertheless reaffirms the priority of enlargement though it focuses on core issues, notably the printing and publication of the Community acquis, which should be funded by front-loading anticipated savings from 2002 under heading 5. The precise figure available will be known before the second reading in December, according to a Commission report on the execution of the current budget. For heading 7 (Pre-accession...