Financial Report 2022 – BSPC Joint Financing Mechanism (JFM)

1 (18)Baltic Sea Parliamentary ConferenceThe SecretariatApproved by the BSPC Standing Committee in Brussels on 6 March 2023Financial Report 2022 for the BSPC Joint FinancingMechanism (JFM)ContentsA. Introductory Remarks and the Overall ResultB. The Report in Detail1. The BSPC Joint Financing Mechanism (JFM)1.1 Financing of the BSPC1.2 Basis for the JFM in 20 221.3 Purpose of the JFM1.4 Management of the JFM2. Looking Back: JFM Result in 20 213. Financial Result in 20 223.1 Income in 20 223.2 Result in 20 22 and Implications for the 20 23 Budget3.2.1 Result by Budget Posts3.2.2 Result by Expenditure Categories3.3 Balance in 20 223.4 Unused Means3.5 Summary of the Financial Results in 20224. Proposed Budget Plan for 20 23Annex 1 Financial Result 20 22Annex 2 Proposed BSPC Budget Plan for 20 23Annex 3 Annex 3 of the Rules of Procedure---------------------2 (18)A. Introductory Remarks and the Overall ResultThe year 2022 was marked by Russia's unprovoked attack on the people of Ukraine on24 February 2022 and the brutal war that has continued since then. Furthermore, the immediatecancellation of the planned Standing Committee meeting on 28 February, and the consultationsthat took place against this background, which led to the immediate suspension of the Russianparliaments and their withdrawal from the BSPC, also directly impacted the annual budget of theBSPC.Pending fundamental policy discussions at the BSPC Standing Committee meeting in W arsaw inMay on the future work of the BSPC, the next meeting of the BSPC Working Group, which hadoriginally been scheduled earlier, was postponed so that one less meeting than usual was heldduring the rest of the year.The membership fees of the member parliaments for running costs have remained unchangedin their amount since the introduction of the Joint Financial Mechanism 2007 and for theremuneration of the Secretary General since 2012 unchanged in their amount until the end of2022. Although, at the same time , the membership fees of the suspended and withdrawn Russianparliaments in the amount of € 33,644 were dropped, the budget planning was adjusted to thisreduced budget volume.The reduced contributions could be partially compensated by no longer providing interpretationservices at the Standing Committee meetings and the Working Group meetings .The 2022 budget could only be managed with the reduced budget volume because the Ger manBundestag, the Parliament of Åland and the Parliament of Mecklenburg -Vorpommern , in thecontext of the Standing Committee and Working Group meetings hosted by them, had takenover and covered the total costs of the meeting s (i.e., for premises, technol ogy as well asnecessary transport and catering) . That mean t de facto voluntary compensation of missingbudgetary funds by individual member parliaments . Additional aspects which made it possibleto manage the reduced budget were that meeting density was decreased due to the cancellationof meetings, further more – as mentioned before – no interpreting services were provided in thecommittee meetings, and the other years ’ regularly incurred costs for the preparation of thecontent work were not incurred due to the changed annual cycle (preparation and publication ofrapporteur reports). At the same time, other expenses incurred in different years in theperformance of the tasks of the BSPC were reduced.Since it was not clear whet her necessary expenses incurred in previous years for the activitiesof the BSPC that were considered necessary could be covered within the framework of thereduced volume of contributions in the coming year, and since it was not yet clear during thefinancial year whether the previous range of activities and expenses that were considerednecessary could be covered in the following years by increasing contributions, efforts were madeto keep the costs within a framework that would allow being managed based on the availablefunds through the support mentioned above of individual member parliaments. At the sametime, it had become clear that future management following the agreements made when theJFM was introduced would only require an expansion of the volum e of funds or recourse to thereserves that had been built up ; otherwise, the previous agreements on cost reductions forindividual parliaments in the performance of BSPC tasks, which had led to the introduction ofthe JFM, would have had to be reconsidere d.3 (18)Against this background, the BSPC Standing Committee, after intensive discussions in its digitalmeeting on 5 September and in its meeting on 21 November 2022 in Berlin , decided to increasethe membership fees, which had remained unchanged since 2007, and to ask the memberparliaments to make these increased fees already available for the year 2023.This took into account the fact that several member parliaments still had to go throughprocedural approval processes , given the short -term nature of the implementation.The decision of the Standing Committee – if all member parliaments will accept this – provide san increase in contributions to a total of € 249,000.This corresponds to a compensation of the discontinued Russ ian contributions and the inflationcompensation since 2007.In the context of the se discussions, it was also necessary to take into account that the BSPCAnnual Conference 2022 in Stockholm, after intensive discussions on the content of the previousRules of Procedure, had adopted new Statutes and Rules of Procedure given the Russian invasionof Ukraine.The new Rules of Procedure include the decision that the costs for the secretariat of the BSPC(documents, personnel support, technical equipment) should in future be covered directly by themembership fees and not – as in the years before – only indirectly via the remuneration for theSecretary General or, as in previous years, via a member parliament or a parliamentaryorganisation.Therefore, this decision of the BSPC had to be included in the overall considerations for thebudget volume required in the future.In the end, the reasons outlined above and the manifold support that the BSPC has receivedthrough the assumption of costs by some of its members and others have made it possible toincrease the reserve funds again this year sligh tly. Notably, in 2022, with the fundamentalchallenges caused by the war in Ukraine, the range of discussions held throughout the year hadalso made it clear that these funds are necessary to be able to adequately take advantage ofevery option for the fur ther course of cooperation .As a result, the Joint Financing Mechanism shows a surplus of € 173,504.4 (18)1. The BSPC Joint Financing Mechanism (JFM)1.1 Financing of the BSPCThe activities of the BSPC in 202 2 were financed – as in the years before – through f ivechannels:• Firstly, the costs for delegates appointed by the member parliaments and parliamentaryorganisations to participate in BSPC activities – such as the Standing Committee, theAnnual Conference, Working Grou ps, etc. – were paid by the sending parliament orparliamentary organisation itself.• Secondly, the operating costs of the BSPC Secretariat were covered by the BSPC JointFinancing Mechanism (JFM), which the BSPC had established in 2007. The nominalbudget of the JFM (total running costs) is € 112,000. This sum has remained unchangedsince 2007 and had been exceptionally complemented in 2016 concerning the SilverJubilee by unused means from former years.• Thirdly, the remuneration costs (which include d in the past years de facto nearly all costsfor personnel and technical support as well as the secretariat costs and equipment ) ofthe BSPC Secretary General (€ 80,000) were covered by the BSPC Joint FinancingMechanism . Some additional per sonal costs incurred in connection with the budgetarymanagement of the Joint Finance Mechanism wer e covered by the Parliament and theLand Mecklenburg -Vorpommern also in 2022.• Fourthly, the costs for the 31st Annual Conference in Stockholm , which also include thetechnical costs for the Drafting Committee meeting and the Baltic Sea ParliamentaryYouth Forum , were fully covered by the host parliament. The costs for the interpretationwere covered by the BSPC Joint Financing Mechanism.• Fifthly, as for meetings in other BSPC bodies, the parliament hosting the meeting usuallyprovides specific basic amenities, for instance a meeting room. In 2022 , the GermanBundestag, the Parliament of Åland and the Parliament of Mecklenburg -Vorpommern , inthe context of the Standing Committee and Working Group meetings hosted by them,covered the full costs of the meetings (i.e. , for premises, technology, catering andnecessary transports on site) . In former years and regularly , a significant part of thosemeetings' costs is paid through the JFM .5 (18)1.2 Basis for the JFM in 20 22The – for 2022 relevant – BSPC Rules of Procedure adopted by the 20th BSPC in fall 2011 , andamended by the 2 9th BSPC in 20 20, include provisions by the JFM for the BSPC Secretariat. Theyhave serve d as the formal basis for the JFM since 2012. For the years 2023 onwards, the budgetwill be based on the new Statutes and Rules of Procedure, which were adopted by the BSPC atthe 2022 Annual Conference on 14 June 2022 and which, according to the current decisions ofthe BSPC Standing Committee, will be supplemented by further amendments at the 32nd AnnualConference in Berlin.1.3 Purpose of the J FMThe joint financial resources for the BSPC Secretariat should be allocated to, but not limited to,• meeting costs for meetings in various BSPC bodies, including the Annual Conference ;• compilation and layout (only exceptionally printing) of the BSPC Conference Reportand of other joint documents from the BSPC bodies;• information activities and maintenance of the website ( www.bspc.net );• remunera tion of the BSPC Secretary General;• operating costs for the secretariat ;• travelling expenses for the Secretariat to Standing Committee meetings, Secretar iatmeetings and other relevant internal and external meetings and conferences.That does not exclude the possibility of financing other types of joint activities via the JFM.The Standing Committee decides, in its fall meeting, on the nominal sum of the c ontributions tothe Joint Financing Mechanism in the following year – from 2023 on additionally based onpreliminary budget planning .The BSPC Standing Committee decided in its meeting on 21 November 20 22 in accordance withParagraph 11.3 of the BSPC Rules of Procedure on a raise of the contributions.The BSPC Standing Committee stated that there is an urgent need to raise the previous annualcontributions to the BSPC to adapt the BSPC's work opportunities to past developments and thecurrent situation as well as to make them compatible with the future.The main reasons for this are the di scontinuation of contributions from the Russian LegislativeAssemblies following their departure from the BSPC and the significant overall increase in costssince the introduction of the JFM.Therefore, the BSPC Standing Committee decided to fix the contr ibutions to the BSPC for 2023as follows:• € 25,000 for the big national parliaments ,• € 10,000 for the other national parliaments ,• € 8,000 for the regional parliamentsand agreed to kindly ask for the payment of these contributions already in 2023.6 (18)Based on the new contributions, the total nominal sum of contributions to the BSPC JFM in 2023is € 246,000.1.4 Management of the J FMAll BSPC member parliaments contribute to the JFM according to a cost -sharing model describedin Section 11 and Annex 3 of the BSPC RoP from 20 19.At the latest at the beginning of each year, a letter of request is sent to the member parliamentsof the BSPC, asking them to remit their cont ributions to the JFM .Contributions are deposited in a dedicated account at the German Bundesbank. Since the BSPCbudgetary affairs have been administratively located at the Parliament of Mecklenburg -Vorpommern, the receiving Landeszentralkasse Mecklenburg -Vorpommern administers theaccount. By letter of 20 December 2019 to the Secretary General of the BSPC, the Minister ofFinance of the federal state Mecklenburg -Vorpommern agreed to the further handling of thebudget implementation for BSPC funds by the State Central Treasury in the State Office forFinance until the closing date for bookings in December 2021. The State Parliament ofMecklenburg -Vorpommern has agreed by consensus in its plenary session s on 30 January and10 December 2020 that the parliament will continue to perform the tasks associated with itsinvolvement in the BSPC and support the work of the Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference asbefore.The new Minister of Finance of the federal state Mecklenburg -Vorpommern agreed with a letterof 22 D ecember 2021 to the further handling of the budget implementation for BSPC funds tillthe end of December 2023.The Secretary General has the right to administer and use the JFM. The right to authori seexpenses on the JFM account is vested in the parliament administration. The account is subjectto audit by the state.The request letter for contributions to the JFM in 2022 was issued on 22 December 2021.Members were kindly asked to remit their contri butions by 22 February 2022.Nearly a ll contributions to the JFM for 20 22 have been paid until 22. February 2022 (see Table 1in Section 3.1). As decid ed in the Standing Committee meeting on 20 April 2022, thecontributions by Russia, Kaliningrad and St. Petersburg were paid back. However, the DeputyChairman of the St Petersburg Legislative Assembly sent a letter to the Secretariat via theRussian Embas sy in Berlin, informing the BSPC that the amount transferred by theLandeszentralkasse had yet to be received by the St Petersburg Legislative Assembly. Thismatter is being further investigated. The parliaments of Karelia and Leningrad did not pay theircontributions.Annex 3 of the BSPC Rules of Procedure lists the relative cost shares of the contributions of theBSPC members to the JFM for 2022 – based on the 26th BSPC resolution with two decimal placesafter the decimal point.7 (18)2. Looking Back: JFM Result in 20 21The total expenditure for the JFM in 202 1, as of 31 December 202 1, amounts to € 178,142. Thisyielded a total budget surplus of € 13 ,819.In summary , most results had been significantly below expectations. The result for Travel forthe very most part fell below budget because meetings and events in 2021 were cancelled orhold digitally due to the COVID -19 pandemic. The result for Meeting Costs similarly had beenwell below budget because they were covered more by hosting parliaments or the meetings werecancelled or two meetings were on the same date. Interpretation costs were higher than planned,especially because of necessary technology for the meeting and the interpretation. Costs forDocumentation had been below budget. The information/communication budget was only usedfor less than a quarter of the planned amount.The Standing Com mittee approved the Financial Report 20 21 at its meeting on 20 April 2022 inWarsaw . Furthermore, the Standing Committee unanimously decided at its meeting on25 August 2019 in Oslo to publish the Financial Report for the BSPC Joint Financing Mechanism(JFM) for reasons of transparency on the BSPC website.The Financial Report 20 21 was subsequently published in the general information about theBSPC:https://www.bspc.net/fr -2021 -v-20042022 -approved/3. Financial Re sult in 20223.1 Income in 20 22The BSPC Standing Co mmittee agreed at its meeting on 20 April 2022 on the proposeddistribution of contributions to the BSPC Joint Financing Mechanism (JFM) in 20 22.After the suspension and exit of the Russian parliaments, the total nominal sum of thecontributions t o the JFM in 2022 was € 158,637 . Previous years saw total projected expendituresof € 192,000. That cover ed the running costs of the Secretariat ( € 112,000) as well as theremuneration ( € 80,000 which includes de facto nearly all costs for personnel and technicalsupport) of the BSPC Secretary General. Some additional personnel costs were covered by theParliament of Mecklenburg -Vorpommern.The letter of request for contributions to the JFM in 20 22 was issued on 22 December 2021. Asof 31 December 20 22, the total actual income was € 158,637 (see Table 1). The reasons are therepayment of the contributions of Russia, Kaliningrad and St. Petersburg. The parliaments ofKarelia and Leningrad did not pay their contributions.8 (18)Table 1. BSPC Income in 20 22, EUR3.2 Result in 20 22 and Implications for the 20 23 Budget3.2.1 Result by Budget Pos itionsThe budget disposition for the JFM in 20 22, agreed by the Standing Committee on 20 April 2022,appears in the Budget column in Annex 1.The total expendit ure for the JFM in 20 22, as of 31 December 2022, amounts to € 128,664. Thismeans a surplus of € 29,973 compared to the budget plan . The distribution of expenditures bybudget pos itions appears in the Result column in Annex 1.The distribution and size of expenditures by budget pos itions in Annex 1 will be further explainedby some comments concerning the result s as well as possible implications for the budget plan in2023.In Section 1, Secretariat, the result is some € 9,000 lower than expected. The travel costs inpost 1.1 and the Meeting costs in 1.2 have been – due to the situation caused by the COVID -19pandemic – 50 % below the budget proposal . The Secreta ry Level me etings are held in Englishonly. Travel costs have been reduced by 59 %, because many events were cancelled or tookFinancial Contributions to the BSPC Joint Financ ing Mechanism in 20 22, in Euro“Big” Countries Share PaidDenmark 17 968 17 968 (20.01.)Finland 17 968 17 968 (20.01.)Germany (Bundestag) 17 968 17 968 (18.02.)Norway 17 968 17 968 (20.01.)Poland (Sejm + Senate) 17 968 17 968 (17.+ 22.02.)Russia (Duma + Fed Council) 17 968 17 968 (22.02.)Sweden 17 968 17 968 (20.01.)“Small” CountriesEstonia 5 989 5 989 (16.02.)Iceland 5 989 5 989 (20.01.)Latvia 5 989 5 989 (12.01.)Lithuania 5 989 5 989 (10.01.)Regional ParliamentsBremen 3 839 3 839 (31.01.)Faroe Islands 3 839 3 839 (20.01.)Greenland 3 839 3 839 (20.01.)Hamburg 3 839 3 839 (30.12.21)Kaliningrad 3 839 3 839 (18.01.)Karelia 3 839Leningrad 3 839Mecklenburg -Vorpommern 3 839 3 839 (11.01.)St Petersburg 3 839 3 839 (14.02.)Schleswig -Holstein 3 839 3 839 (11.01.)Åland Islands 3 839 3 839 (20.01.)Sum 158 637 158 6379 (18)place digitally due to the COVID -19 pandemi c. Since in spring 2022 , first fundamental questionshad to be clarified at the political level, one more originally planned meeting was dropped.The budget allocation and distribution for budget Section 1 in the 20 23 budget proposal has totake into account the new para 10.3 o f the BSPC Statutes and Rules of Procedure which hadbeen adopted by the annual conference on 14 June 2022. Therefore, the budget should start in2023 to cover operating costs of the secretariat by the BSPC contributions. The proposal providesthat in a fi rst step currently fixed incurred running costs are covered .It is also envisaged that the remaining allocations will, on the one hand, be restored to pre -pandemic levels and, with regard to meeting costs, also include price increases in the meantime .Section 2 , Standing Committee, the result falls below the budgeted amount by nearly € 3 ,000.The meeting costs in 2.1 and costs for interpretation and equipment in 2.2 are for one regularmeeting in Warsaw and two digital meetings .The additional seminar , as decide d by the Standing Committee, w as also financed from theavailable funds.At these reduced cost levels, the meetings were only possible because interpretation costs wereno longer incurred and the host parliaments covered either the full or a large proportion of thecosts.The budget allocation and distribution for budget Section 2 in the 20 23 budget should beprepared for digital and regular meetings .The budget should be designed in such a way that the former practice of paying for the entiresettlements through contributions from the BSPC budget can be resumed, thereby facilitatingthe possibility of holding such meetings not only where the costs can be covered by the hos ts.Section 3, Working Groups, shows a result which is € 7,400, 74 % lower than budgeted.There were no meeting costs ( 3.1) for the WG because all meetings were held digitally or coveredcompletely by the host parliament s. The costs for the compilation of the survey of € 2,466 (3.3)were higher than budgeted .The 2023 budget should be prepared for digital and regular meetings and designed in such away that the former practice of paying for the entire settlements through contributions from theBSPC budget can be resumed - taking into account meanwhile cost increases - therebyfacilitating the possibility of holding such meetings no t only where the costs can be covered bythe hosts.The costs also vary depending on the conference location. For this reason, as in previous years,average values including prices raised in the meantime for regular meetings are used which canbe expected to cover the costs incurred.Section 4, 31st BSPC Stockholm , shows a result that is some € 23,000, i.e. 47 %, lower thanbudget ed. The main reason for this were that t he meeting costs ( 4.1) and technical support werecompletely covered by the host parliament. The result under 4.2 contain s the costs for theinterpretation . The result for the conference report was nearly than budgeted ( 4.3).10 (18)The total amount of the proposed budget for 20 23 is planned without interpretation costs. Thebudget includes the possibility to cover needs which had been raised at former conferences.Since the Baltic Sea Parliamentary Youth Forum shall be established as a permanent back -to-back event to the annual conference , the proposal is that not only the host parliament and theCBSS cover the costs as currently but to also finance that event at least partly through the BSPCcontributions. Only in that way can it be guaranteed that further hosts will also be able to manageit.In Section 5, Information /Communication , the result fall s below the budgeted amount by nearly€ 6,275. Only 37 % of the funds for information and communication were used. One reason wasthat in 2022 , regularly necessary means for the publication of rapporteur reports did not incur.The former costs for personnel support of the website had been reduced .Based on a comprehensive technical analysis, it is necessary to revise the technical aspects ofthe BSPC website to ensure its continued proper operation. This will result in increased costs in2023, which are budgeted.Section 6 , BSPC Secretary , remains unchanged.In summary , it can be concluded that the results are significantly below expectations . Due tothe impact of the COVID -19 pandemic, t here are much lower travel costs (Secretary) ( 1.1),lower costs for the Secretar iat meetings (1.2), lower costs for the Standing Committee , lowercosts for the Work ing Group ( 3.) and lower costs for the Conference (4.) because the hostparliaments have covered the costs either in full or for the most part. Lower costs have alsobeen incurred for information and communication (5.)The surplus of € 29,973 increases the unused means.The overall disposition of the proposed 20 23 budget must take into account the new Statutesand Rules of Procedure of the BSPC, agreed in 2022 in Stockholm , as well as raised prices andinflation. It should also open up the pos sibility of covering the costs of future events not onlythrough the host parliaments but primarily through contributions to the BSPC.For the case that unforeseeable costs will exceed the plan, it is asked t o reiterate the agreementthat unforeseen meet ing costs, which might exceed original budget plan positions, can becovered by the unused means up to 10 % of the budget.11 (18)3.2.2 Resu lt by Expenditure CategoriesThe distribution of expenditures by major categories appear s in Table 2 below:Table 2. Expenditures in 20 22 by Major Categories , EURAll results are significantly below expectations. The result for Travel for the very most part fellbelow budget because meetings and events in 202 2 were cancelled or held digitally due to theCOVID -19 pandemic. The result for Meeting Costs similarly is well below budget because theywere covered more by hosting parliaments o r the meetings were cancelled. Interpretation costswere lower than planned, especially because of no necessary technology for the meeting andthe interpretation. Costs for Documentation are below budget. The information/communicationbudget was only used for less than a quarter of the planned amount.3.3 Balance in 20 22The balance of the JFM in 20 22, as of 31 December 2022, appears in Table 3.Table 3. Ba lance of the JFM in 20 22, EURIncome Expenditure Balance158637 128664 +29973The Income column indic ates t he nominal income for 20 22. The total result shows a surplus of€ 29,973. This has been explained in the sections above.Category BudgetPosts Budget2022 Budget new2022 Q4 ResultTravel 1.1 20000 15000 6204Meeting Costs 1.2, 2.1,3.1, 4.1 21000 31000 5021Interpretation, incl . equipment &technical support 2.2, 3.2,4.2 54000 38000 26617Documentation and Expertise 3.3, 4.3,5.2 9000 7000 7097Information/Communication 5.1, 5.3 8000 8000 3725Subtotal 112000 99000 48664Secretary 6. 80000 80000 80000Sum total 192000 179000 12866412 (18)3.4 Unused meansThe principles for using the unused means (“ Reserve Fund ”) are laid down in the BSPC Rules ofProcedure from 2011. The Rules state that “If additional resources are needed for organizingevents, the Standing Committee, after receiving an application from the BSPC Secretary, shalldecide on the possibility of granting additional fundin g”. Moreover, “The Standing Committeeshall decide on the BSPC budget reserve fund and its use”.The BSPC Sta nding Committee has agreed (31 January 2013) on the following procedure forauthori sing withdrawals from the Reserve Fund in accordance with certain provisions: Arapporteur/BSPC member who wants to examine the possibility of using the Reserve Fundcontacts the BSPC Secretary General for deliberations. The Secretary General then raises th eissue with the BSPC Chairmanship, which approves the use of the Reserve Fund. TheChairmanship and Secretary also report to the Standing Committee about any uses of theReserve Fund (cf. para 11.6 in the Rules of Procedure).The Standing Committee agreed in Hamburg (14 November 2021), digitally (16 November2020), in Berlin (11 November 2019), Trondheim (13 November 2018), Mariehamn ( 17November 2017) and in Hamburg (15 November 2016) that contributions do not have to beraised with a view to the next year because of the current surplus and that the samecontributions as in previous years shall be pa id. The Standing Committee in Riga (6 November2015) agreed that the surplus could be used to develop a new website, draw up contr acts tosupport the Secretariat with its work, special projects regarding the BSPC Silver Jubilee - i.e., aspecial brochure - and to cover unforeseen meeting costs, which might exceed original budgetplan positions . The Standing Committee mee tings in Liepāja and Riga (28 August 2016) agreedthat the unused means could be used to finance the mission to Minsk of the Standing Committee(~€ 10,000) and a 2nd edition of the S ilver Jubilee brochure. The digital Standing Co mmittee on16 November 2020 decided that, should the planned funds have been fully used at the end ofthe year, the costs for the seminar on 1 February 2021 and the publication on 30 years of theBSPC would be financed from the current budget surplus. Ther e are no further considerations inthis regard at that time.In 201 6, the funds of the JFM were transferred from the Nordea Bank account to theLandeszentralkasse Mecklenburg -Vorpommern, which administers the account. On26 June 2015, € 168,821 were transferred into the new account.The current amount of the unused means is mainly due to the exceptional situation that fiveyears earlier , no remuneration had to be paid for the secretary for one year and the stateparliament of Mecklenburg -Vorpommern provided additional perso nnel support and due to thebefore mentioned savings in 2020 - 2022 because of the COVID -19 pandemic .On 31 Decembe r 2020, the amount of the unused means was € 129,712.On 31 December 2021, the amount of the unused means was € 143,531.On 31 December 2022, the amount of the unused means was € 173,504.13 (18)3.5 Summary of the Financial Result in 20 22The total expenditure for the JFM in 20 21, as of 31 December 2022, amounts to € 128,664. Thisyields a total budget surplus of € 29,973.In summary , it can be concluded that the results are significantly below expectations.There were much lower costs for Secretary (1.), lower costs for the Standing Committee (2.),lower costs for the Working Group meetings (3.), lower costs for the Conference (4.) , lower costshave been incurred for the technical support for the website (5.). Also , the total running costswere lower than planned.4. Proposed Budget Plan for 20 23The proposed budget plan for 20 23 is found in Annex 2.The 2022 budget could only be managed with the reduced budget volume because some memberparliaments had taken over and covered the total costs of the meetings which they hosted (i.e.,for premises, technology, and necessary transport and catering). That meant de facto voluntarycompensation of missing budgetary funds by individual member parliaments. Additional aspectswhich made it possible to manage the reduced budget were that meeting de nsity was decreaseddue to the cancellation of meetings, further more – as mentioned before – no interpretingservices were provided in the committee meetings, and the other years ’ regularly incurred costsfor the preparation of the content work were not in curred due to the changed annual cycle(preparation and publication of rapporteur reports).Against this background, the BSPC Standing Committee, after intensive discussions in its digitalmeeting on 5 September and in its meeting on 21 November 2022 in Berlin, decided to increasethe membership fees, which had remained unchanged since 2007, and to ask the memberparliaments to make these increased fees already available for the year 2023.This took into account the fact that several member parliaments s till had to go throughprocedural approval processes, given the short -term nature of the implementation.The decision of the Standing Committee – if all member parliaments will accept this – providesan increase in contributions to a total of € 249,000.This corresponds to a compensation of the discontinued Russian contributions and the inflationcompensation since 2007.In the context of these discussions, it was also necessary to take into account that the BSPCAnnual Conference 2022 in Stockholm, afte r intensive discussions on the content of the previousRules of Procedure, had adopted new Statutes and Rules of Procedure given the Russian invasionof Ukraine.The new Rules of Procedure include the decision that the costs for the secretariat of the BSPC(documents, personnel support, technical equipment) should in future be covered directly by themembership fees and not - as in the years before - only indirectl y via the remuneration for theSecretary General or, as in previous years, via a member parliament or a parliamentaryorganisation.14 (18)Based on these key points and decisions, the budget proposals for 2023 were prepared. That isintended to enable the develo pments that the BSPC sees as necessary for its work.15 (18)ANNEX 1BSPC Secretariat/31.12.20 22Financial Result 20 22 (Euro)* The concrete amount of all contributions is: € 158,637The detailed ratio of revenue to expenditure is as follows: € 128,664 : € 158,637 = 81.10 % (rounded: 81 %)*** In the case that in 2021, the budget for the current plans is fully utilised, the BSPC Standing Committeedecided on 16 November 2020 that the costs for two additional projects will be financed from the unused means:a digital seminar on democracy in a ch anging landscape anda print publication on the 30th anniversary of the BSPC.Surplus 202 2: € 29,973 (Surplus 2021: € 13 ,819)Unused means per 31 December 202 2: € 173,504 (2021: € 143,531)Budget Post Result2021 Budgetnew2022 Result as per31.12.202 2 Comments1. Secretariat (3 meetings) 2 meetings , 1 cancelled1.1 Travel (Secretary) to all BSPC meetings+ other relevant meetings/events 5220 15000 6204 (41%)1.2 Secretar iat meeting costs 1428 3000 2564 (64%) Digital I: technical support ;HelsinkiSubtotal 6648 18000 8769 (49%)2. Standing Committee (4 meetings) 3 meetings , 1 cancelled2.1 Meeting costs - 9000 2339 (26%) SC Warsaw (Dinner)2.2 Interpretation, incl. technical andorganisational support, equipment 19825 2000 4565 (228%) SC Digital I: 3339 (952interpretation + 2387 techn.Support)SC Digital II: 1226 (techn.Support)Subtotal 19825 11000 6904 (63 %)3. Working Group (3 meetings) 3 meetings held3.1 Meeting costs, incl. external experts - 9000 118 (1 %) Schwerin: expert3.2 Interpretation, incl. technical andorganisational support, equipment 13161 - - (0%)3.3 Documentation 1749 1000 2466 (247%) Compilation surveySubtotal 14910 10000 2584 (26%)4. 31st BSPC, Stockholm, 20224.1 Meeting costs 6554 10000 - (0%) Experts;4.2 Interpretation, incl. technical andorganisational support, equipment 35514 36000 22052 (61%) interpretation4.3 Conference report ENG 3758 4000 4630 (116%)Report Annual Conference:Text & layout4.4 30 Years Publication 8229 - - Print***Subtotal 54044 50000 26682 (53%)5. Information/Communication5.1 BSPC Public relations work 1131 5000 1213 (24%) Mock-up website, text5.2 Layout of reports 1198 2000 - (0%)5.3 Technical preservation websitefunctionality 375 3000 2513 (84%) Personnel & technical support,domainSubtotal 2704 10000 3726 (37%)Total Running Costs 98142 99000 48664 (49%)6. BSPC Secretary 80000 80000 80000 (100%) RemunerationGrand Total 178142 179000* 128664 (72 %)*16 (18)ANNEX 2Budget Plan to be approved by the Digital BSPC Standing Committee on 06.03.2023BSPC Budget Plan for 2023 (Euro)*In the case that all parliaments will agree on the new contributions, the total nominal sum of contributions to theBSPC JFM in 2023 will be € 246,000 .The concrete amount of all contributions in 2022 was: € 158,637.Unused means per 31 December 2022 : € 173,504 (2021: € 143,531; Surplus 2022: € 29,973 ) Budget Post Proposal2023 Comment1. Secretariat 3 meetings held1.1 Travel (Secretary) to all BSPC meetings plusother relevant meetings/events 20,000 The amount reverts to the pre -pandemic budgetbetween 2007 and 2020, without including costincreases in the meantime.1.2 Secretariat meeting costs 6,0001.3 Operating costs1.3.1 Rent for secretarial premises1.3.2 Personnel costs1.3.3 Additional personnel support bycontracts for individual services1.3.4 Technical equipment and office costs7,00017,0006,0000,0001.3.1 -1.3.3: starting to cover operating costs of thesecretariat via the BSPC contributions based on Para10.3 of the BSP C Statutes and RoP adopted on14 June 2022;1.3.4: in 2023 still covered by renumeration foradministrative reasons (see 6.1)Subtotal 56,0002. Standing Committee (4 meetings) In 2022 2 meetings + 1 seminar held,1 cancelled2.1 Meeting costs 18,000 Experts, facilities if necessary, catering,interpretation to English if necessary2.2 Technical andorganisational support, equipment 6,000Subtotal 24,0003. WG Climate Change and Biodiversity(CCB) (2 meetings); next WG (1 meeting) In 2022 3 meetings held3.1 Meeting costs 15,000 Experts, facilities if necessary, catering,interpretation to English if necessary3.2 Technical andorganisational support, equipment 3,0003.3 Final Report 5,000 Text and layout compilation surveySubtotal 23,0004. 32nd BSPC Berlin4.1 Meeting costs 15,000 Experts4.2 Technical andorganisational support, equipment 8,0004.3 Conference report5,000 Text & layout4.4 Baltic Sea Parliamentary Youth Forum:proportionate support to the host parliament andthe CBSS 15,000 Technical and organisational support, equipment,cateringSubtotal 43,0005. Information/Communication5.1 BSPC public relations work 5,000 Staff support website management5.2 Layout of reports 10,0005.3 Technical preservation website functionality 5,000 Necessary web platform updates, backups, syncwith local development environment and codeupdates to preserve website functionality, technicalimprovementSubtotal 20,000Total Running Costs 166,0006. BSPC Secretary 80,000 RemunerationGrand Total 246,000*17 (18)Budget Plan 20 23 by Major Expenditure CategoriesCategory Budget Posts Result 20 22 Nominal allocation2023Travel 1.1 6,204 20,000Meeting Costs 1.2, 2.1, 3.1, 4.1 5,021 54,000Operating Costs 1.3.1, 1.3.2, 1.3.3, 1.3.4 - 30,000Interpretation, incl. technical andorganisational support, equipment 2.2, 3.2, 4.2 26,617 17,000Documentation and Expertise 3.3, 4.3, 5.2 7,097 20,000Information/Communication 5.1, 5.3 3,725 10,000Baltic Sea Parliamentary YouthForum 4.4 - 15,000Subtotal 48,664 166,000Secretary 6 80,000 80,000Sum total 128,664 246,00018 (18)ANNEX 3Joint Financing Mechanism of the BSPC SecretariatRelative Shares of Contributions to the JFMThe relative cost shares of the contribution or the BSPC members to the JFM are listed below:Member Parliament Share %*DenmarkFinlandGermanyNorwayPolandRussiaSwedenEstoniaIcelandLatviaLithuaniaBremenFaroe IslandGreenlandHamburgKaliningradKareliaLeningradMecklenburg -VorpommernSt PetersburgSchleswig -HolsteinÅland Islands 9.369.369.369.369.369.369.363.123.123.123.122.002.002.002.002.002.002.002.002.002.002.00Total 100.00*rounded