INTRODUCTORY REMARKS:

In recent years, growing attention has been paid in many parts of the world to fiscal performance, public budget targets, equitable tax policies and financial transparency. Since the onset of the financial crisis, public budgets have come under renewed scrutiny. At the same time, the role of parliaments in the budget process has undergone major changes in many countries. For instance, governments have been given additional responsibilities to inform parliaments regularly on budget performance, especially in the EU member states. The importance of budget discussions and assessment processes in parliamentary budget committees has increased. Budget performance audits have become more important than audits limited to assessing legal compliance. In some countries, mechanisms have been introduced, so that the main outlines of the budget can be discussed in parliament prior to detailed scrutiny in committee. Additional procedures that were not commonplace in the past, such as the involvement of budget committees in setting financial targets and program allowances, have been adopted, and efforts have been made to strengthen the knowledge generation and assessment capacities of budget committees. Often, such changes have been part of more comprehensive public finance reforms, which have also involved governments and Courts of Accounts.

Turkey has undergone a similar process. The performance budgeting approach was developed by the Public Finance Management and Control Law 5018, the implementation of which started in 2006 with a modernization of the Turkish budget system. In this context, the GNAT’s role in the budget process has increased considerably. The new approach to budgeting has required a strengthening of the GNAT’s institutional capacities and the creation of procedures that allow for the analysis of the results of the budget and its implementation. To fulfil its new role in the budget process, parliament needs committees with strong analysis and research capacities. The thorough examination of reports, information, data and statistics provided by the Court of Accounts, the Ministry of Finance and other ministries will be possible with the achievement of an accord. Parliament can further assume an active role in this process if there is open and effective cooperation amongst the standing committees, notably the budget committee and the other committees.

The changing processes in the EU member states and Turkey also affect the PUIC member countries. The PUIC member countries – which represent diverse historical experiences and encompass a range of executive and parliamentary traditions – have budgetary processes that reflect their unique conditions with regard to decision-making on, and the implementation and oversight of, the budget. A detailed analysis of how these different budgetary experiences and practices have been influenced by new trends and developments in the EU member states, Turkey and elsewhere will be useful for the participating countries. Moreover, debating the Turkish reform experience and reform processes in other PUIC member countries and their results will help to create a basis for more permanent mechanisms for exchanging information on budgetary practices. In line with the policy of the Turkish government to strengthen relations with all countries, such an initiative will contribute to the development of Turkey’s relations with the parliaments of the other PUIC member countries.

Objectives of the Symposium

The main objective of the symposium “The Changing Role of Parliaments in the Budget Process: Experiences of PUIC Countries and EU Member States” is to assess how the role of parliaments in the budget process has evolved as part of public finance reform processes in the EU member states, in Turkey and other PUIC member countries and to share experiences and good practices with a view to encourage mutual learning and lesson-drawing.

The presentations and discussions will aim

• to assess the budget reform processes and experiences in the EU member states, Turkey and other PUIC member countries. Within this framework, special attention will be paid to the significance of the principles of accountability and financial transparency with respect to “the power of the purse”, which represents one of the essential elements of the democratic tradition,
  
  
• to create a mechanism for sharing information and experiences amongst the budget/finance committees of the PUIC member countries; to allow participants from these countries to exchange opinions among themselves regarding the budget reforms that have been implemented in the EU member states; and to establish a continuous communication mechanism that will enable them to draw on good practices to improve their own budget reform processes,
  
  
• to increase the significance of the budget as tool for parliamentary oversight of the government’s budget performance and to  share information on new approaches and techniques for increasing parliament’s role in budget processes,
  
  
• to identify steps to strengthen the committee stages of the parliamentary budgetary process; to explore tools that improve the budget research and analysis capacities of committees and, in this context, to assess the institutional and functional mechanisms in different countries,
  
  
• to enable discussions on new approaches in the field of budgeting, especially as regards the participation of non-governmental organizations in the budget process, gender budgeting and social budgeting.

Expected Results

The main result expected from the symposium is to share knowledge on budget reform processes that have been experienced in the EU member states, Turkey and other PUIC member countries; and to promote and institutionalize this sharing process with the help of the communication network that will be set up.

In this context, the symposium is intended:

• to strengthen communication networks between the GNAT and the parliaments of the other PUIC member countries, as well as, when relevant, with EUMS parliaments and to achieve effective information sharing,
  
  
• to assess mechanisms that would enable improvements of the communication network among the participants, mutual comprehension of the legislative budgetary processes and inclusion of current, reliable and understandable financial information in the reports that are submitted to parliament,
  
  
• to share information and experiences among parliamentarians, academics, researchers, officials and NGOs,
  
  
• to benefit - with the purpose of increasing the role of the GNAT in the budget process - from the experiences of PUIC countries and EU member states that have gone through reform processes,
  
  
• to assess the role of the non-governmental organizations in the fields of parliamentary budget processes, gender budgeting and social budgeting,
  
  
• to issue a publication that contains the symposium papers, so as to provide guidance for budget reforms in PUIC member countries, and
  
  
• to contribute to the literature in the field of budgetary processes – even if to a limited extent – both in Turkey and in PUIC member countries and, in this way, to raise interest in parliamentary budgetary processes.