5. Notes that in Parliament’s budget, the four major 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) which accounted for 70% of total commitments;

5. Notes that in Parliament’s budget, the four major 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) which accounted for 70% of total commitments;

4. Reiterates its concerns regarding parliamentary scrutiny of the CFSP budget, the budget’s transparency and the use of the Athena mechanism for CSDP operations; welcomes efforts to undertake a clear breakdown of all items financed within the CFSP budget, including for each CSDP operation, each EU special representative and each other attendant policy, as long as this does not detract from the flexibility and responsiveness required for the CFSP; reiterates its position that the total amount of operating CFSP expenditure should be entered entirely in one budget chapter, entitled ...[+++] CFSP, and distributed between the articles of the CFSP budget;

5. Welcomes the fact that the new budgetary procedure abolishes all distinctions between the different chapters of the budget and types of expenditure; believes therefore that CFSP-related expenditure should be subject to the same rules and procedures as those applicable to other chapters of the budget,

The total amount of operating CFSP expenditure will be entered entirely in one budget chapter (CFSP) and distributed between the articles of that chapter as suggested in the fourth paragraph of this Point.

The proposed amendments concern the taking into account of legal instruments for the implementation of expenditure from the Common Foreign and Security Policy budget of the EU.