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Statements in International Organisations

05.05.2008

Statement of the Republic of Slovenia on behalf of the European Union at the Programme and Budget Committee - IAEA (Vienna)

Statement on behalf of the European Union by Mr. Bojan Bertoncelj, Charge D'Affaires

 

Thank you, Mr. Chairman,

 

1. I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union. The Candidate Countries Croatia and The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia1 and Turkey, the Countries of the Stabilization and Association Process and potential candidates Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, and Serbia, the EFTA countries Iceland and Norway, member of the European Economic Area, as well as the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine, align themselves with this statement.

 

Mr. Chairman,

At the outset we would like to express sincere appreciation to the Deputy Director General for Management Mr. David Waller and the Secretariat for preparing and presenting all the relevant documents and for organizing the Workshop on Financial and Administrative Matters.

 

2. External Auditor’s report

The EU notes with interest the opinion of the External Auditor on budget matters. In particular, the EU fully shares the recommendations calling for improvements in the presentation of the budget and of the budget documents in order to give greater transparency. The EU would like to restate that it fully supports the implementation of IPSAS standards and looks forward to its implementation. In that connection, it recognizes the interest and benefits of the implementation of the Agency-wide Information System for Programme Support (AIPS). It encourages the Secretariat to continue to make its best efforts to secure the necessary funding, including through reallocating funds within the Regular Budget in line with the high priority it rightly assigns to this project.

 

3. Cash surplus

With regard to the option to use the cash surplus from 2006 due to member states, to finance AIPS, the EU would like to underline that national legislation in a number of EU member states makes it a principle to have unspent balances refunded. Member States will decide individually on the future use of these funds.

 

4. Programme Support Costs on extrabudgetary resources

The EU notes the intention of the Secretariat to apply Programme Support Costs to extrabudgetary resources. We would be grateful for more information in order to be able to assess the impact of this and the conditions under which it should be implemented. In particular, we would welcome clarification of what effect such a levy would have on the level of Agency resources. The EU considers that any such measure should be implemented so as to be neutral with regards to the level of the Regular Budget, which is a different issue that has to be considered separately. Additional information is also needed on the effect of the proposed measure on the allocation of funds within the Regular Budget, given that it could result in a transfer of resources from projects to overhead costs. Finally, the EU notes that the reports of the UN Joint Inspection Unit (JIU) suggest that the implementation of such a levy is a complex matter and can take many forms. In this regard, the EU would appreciate additional information from the Secretariat as to how it has taken into account the various recommendations of the JIU to determine the conditions of the proposed levy.

 

5. Transparency

The EU would like to emphasize the need for a more transparent treatment of savings, and would like to endorse the recommendation of the External Auditor in this respect. It would be valuable if the budget could clearly describe the type and amount of the savings and how the Secretariat intends to make use of these funds.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman

[1] Croatia and The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia continue to be part of the Stabilization and Association Process

 

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Date: 07.05.2008