Reduced operating appropriations budgets since 2015 Operating appropriations finance the institution’s operations: The graph above highlights the extreme rigidity of the way operating expenditures are structured, leaving little room for manoeuvre: expenditures on rented properties, which are unavoidable and impossible to negotiate, account for over 1/3 of total expenditures. 1/3 of appropriations are allocated to funding the 150 inspection missions a year, in a context of generally increasing expenditure (rise in the flat-rate reimbursement per hotel night from 60 to 70 euros in 2017 and increase in the cost of rail transport). The institution only has room for manoeuvre on a small proportion of expenditures, including general operating costs, entertainment expenses and data processing, as well as on funding of highlights of institutional life (seminars). 140