The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, together with its central structure, in Spain, has a series of Diplomatic, Permanent or Special Missions, Representations or Permanent Missions, Delegations, Consular Offices and Institutions and Public Bodies of the General Administration of State, which are established in Article 36 of Law 6/1997 of 14 April of the Organization and the Functioning of the General Administration of the State, and which make up the Administration General of the State abroad.

This structure and, in particular, its geographical distribution throughout the world, entails a great deal of complexity in the management that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs develops, so as to the achievement of a greater (a) the management procedures, together with reasons of economic and territorial nature, should be redistributed among the various bodies and institutions of the Department, using the mechanism of the delegation of powers.

Consequently, whereas it is necessary to delegate the exercise of powers in matters of personnel, economic, procurement and budgetary management and public expenditure, in the use of the power conferred on me by Article 13 of the Law 30/1992, of 26 November, of Legal Regime of Public Administrations and of the Common Administrative Procedure, Article 20 of Law 50/1997 of 27 November of the Government and of the additional provision of the Law 6/1997, 14 of

April, Organization and Functioning of the General Administration of the State, I have:

First. -Delegate in the Under-Secretary of Foreign Affairs general competence:

1. In the field of personnel, those attributed to the Minister, as a Holder of the Department, in paragraphs 5 to 10 of Article 13 of Law 6/1997, of 14 April, of Organization and Operation of the General Administration of the State.

2. The resolution of administrative resources and statements of lesivity.

3. The dispatch and resolution of all files and matters, whatever their nature, that are attributed to the holder of the Department by legal or regulatory precept and are not delegated to other bodies.

Second. -Within the framework of the competences in matters of procurement and budgetary and patrimonial management attributed to the holder of the Department by paragraphs 1, 2, 3 and 4 of Article 13 of Law 6/1997, of 14 April, Organisation and functioning of the General Administration of the State, delegate to the Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs, in any case, and the Director-General of the Foreign Service for expenditure of less than EUR 500,000.00, the following:

1. Article 2 of Royal Decree 612/1997 of 25 April 1997 concerning the allocation of the obligations of previous financial years as well as those necessary for the approval of the financial year's files closed exercises of the different concepts.

2. The approval of the files of credit modifications in cases in which the same corresponds to the holder of the Department, as well as the authorization and remission of the proposals for modification of credits whose authorization corresponds to the Minister of Finance.

3. Those attributed to him by the Royal Legislative Decree 2/2000, of June 16, by which the recast text of the Law of Contracts of Public Administrations is approved, as well as the conclusion and signature of any other contracts and agreements.

4. The administration of the appropriations for expenditure of the Department's budgets including the contraction of economic obligations in the name or on behalf of the Department.

5. The authorization and disposal of the Department's own expenses, with the consequent faculty of recruitment and obligation, as well as the interest of the Ministry of Finance for the management of the corresponding payments.

6. For expenditure the payment of which is made using the fixed cash advance payment systems and payments to be justified, the arrangement of payments and the approval of the supporting accounts of the obligations satisfied.

7. Request from the Ministry of Finance the affectation or lease of the buildings necessary for the fulfilment of the purposes of the services to his office.

8. The granting of aid or public subsidies.

Third. -In the aforementioned framework of the competences in matters of procurement and budgetary and patrimonial management attributed to the holder of the Department by paragraphs 1, 2, 3 and 4 of article 13 of Law 6/1997, of April 14, The Organization and the Functioning of the General Administration of the State, delegate to the Secretaries of State for Foreign Affairs, European Affairs and International Cooperation, and to Ibero-America and the Secretaries-General for Foreign Affairs Foreign and European Affairs, for expenditure of less than 1,000,000,00 EUR, and always in respect of their respective areas of action, the following:

1. The approval of the files of credit modifications in cases in which the same corresponds to the holder of the Department, as well as the authorization and remission of the proposals for modification of credits whose authorization corresponds to the Minister of Finance.

2. For expenditure the payment of which is made using the fixed cash advance payment systems and payments to justify the amount of which exceeds EUR 300,000.00, the arrangement of payments and the approval of the supporting accounts for the obligations satisfied.

3. Request from the Ministry of Finance the affectation or lease of the buildings necessary for the fulfilment of the purposes of the services to his office.

Fourth. -Without prejudice to the above paragraphs, for amounts less than EUR 300,000.00, the powers relating to the authorisation of expenditure as well as the management of the payments made by the Commission are delegated. fixed cash advance payment system and payments to be justified on the following Department bodies:

(a) For acts and resolutions issued in Spain, in the Secretaries-General, Directors-General, Deputy Directors-General and assimilated and Deputy Directors-General of the Department, within their respective scope of powers.

(b) For those acts and resolutions which are issued abroad, in the Heads, and in those who have informed them in the exercise of their functions, of the Diplomatic, Permanent or Special Missions, Representations or Missions Permanent, Delegations, Consular Offices and Public Institutions and Institutions of the General Administration of State, as set out in Article 36 of Law 6/1997 of 14 April, Organization and the Functioning of the Administration General of the State dependent on this Ministry of Foreign Affairs, with the following limitations:

(i) They may only be exercised within the geographical scope of their competence.

(ii) They shall be exercised within the budgetary limits of the authorised appropriations and under the conditions which, in addition to those legally in force, may be established for each type of expenditure under the specific internal rules of the Department.

(iii) They shall be limited to expenditure and payments which are not subject to prior intervention pursuant to Article 95 of the recast text of the General Budget Law or, which are subject to such a procedure, the approval of the relevant file has been carried out, following its audit of conformity.

(iv) In the case of assistance to nationals abroad and repatriation, they can only be exercised after strict compliance with the requirements laid down in the rules for each type of aid.

Fifth. -The delegation by the Under-Secretary of Foreign Affairs of the powers relating to the designation of the indemnities that are regulated in Royal Decree 462/2002 of 24 May on compensation for damages is approved. reason for the service, in the following departments of the Department:

1. In the Secretary-General for Foreign Affairs, with regard to staff seconded to the Secretariat of State for Foreign Affairs.

2. In the Secretary-General for European Affairs, with regard to the staff assigned to the Secretariat of State for European Affairs and the Permanent Representation of Spain to the European Union, in Brussels.

3. In the Deputy Director General of the Cabinet of the Secretary of State for International Cooperation and for Ibero-America, with respect to the staff assigned to the Secretariat of State.

4. In the Director General of the Foreign Service, with respect to all personnel of the Department not contemplated in the previous points.

Sixth. The delegation of powers referred to in this Order is without prejudice to the fact that, at any time, the Authority delegates the exercise of those powers to itself.

Seventh. -In the acts or resolutions that are issued in the exercise of the delegations established in this Order, this circumstance shall be expressly stated, indicating the date and the number of the official bulletin of its publication, considered as dictated by the delegating authority.

Eighth. The Order of 11 March 1998, which provides for the delegation of the Minister's powers in the field of personnel, procurement and budgetary management and public expenditure, is hereby repealed.

Ninth. This Order shall enter into force on the day following that of its publication in the "Official Gazette of the State".

Madrid, 23 March 2003.

PALACIO VALLELERSUNDI