Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2000-03-29-Speech-3-144"
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"en.20000329.9.3-144"2
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"Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, we face an enormous challenge with the budget for the year 2001. The first budget of the new millennium must strengthen the social and cultural dimension of Europe and honour the commitments which the European Union has set itself vis-à-vis its citizens and vis-à-vis the international community. What does that mean in practice and what do we expect from the Commission as we draw up the preliminary draft budget, Commissioner?
Of course, we assume that the budget will take suitable account of policies newly introduced or reinforced by the Treaty of Amsterdam. Even if we have deliberately dispensed in the Committee on Budgets from including detailed information and statements on each of these political areas, this does not imply that they are any less of a priority but merely that we wished to be as brief as possible and we expect commensurate account to be taken of them. We still consider the implementation of equal opportunities, equality and environmental sustainability to be priorities which we wish to see anchored in the budget.
The main priority for the budget 2001 must still be to remain active in the fight against unemployment. That does not mean, and let me be quite clear on this, financing huge employment programmes at European level, nobody wants that. What we do want, however, is to provide the strategic momentum needed so that small and medium-sized enterprises can quickly start using the structures of the new information and communications technologies and participating in the information society. This form of strategic initiative will safeguard international competitiveness and development potential and hence strengthen the enterprises which continue to provide the majority of jobs within the European Union and which still create most new jobs. I am pleased to report that we are at one with the Council on this point and I am sure that we shall be able to implement some of the commitments and objectives formulated in Lisbon in the forthcoming budget in a spirit of partnership and consistency.
Apart from this core initiative for the budget 2001, we must not allow the quality of economic and political integration achieved in the meantime to eclipse our cultural identity as Europeans. This does not mean centralisation and standardisation, by no means; on the contrary, it means promoting cultural diversity. Supporting the regional cultural industry means that we shall be laying its economic foundations and securing its potential to develop.
We want the next budget to meet the challenges of efficient administration and guarantee the necessary transparency in European finances. We support the Commission’s efforts to introduce Activity Based Budgeting. We support efforts to allocate administrative and personnel costs openly and clearly to each budget area and this must be accompanied by efforts to improve political control of the budget and to improve the implementation of political priorities. Parliament sets particular store by this. We shall monitor these objectives closely during the reform process. But one thing must be absolutely clear: any attempt to reduce parliamentary scrutiny and control of the budget will not be accepted.
The greatest challenge, however, is in relation to our commitment to reconstruct and secure peace and stability in the Balkans. I would stress here quite clearly and unequivocally that, as far as the objectives are concerned and the need to provide the necessary funds for them, there is no dissent whatsoever. The European Parliament also stands by these commitments. We know that the Council also stands by its commitments and, at the donor conference today, the Portuguese Foreign Minister stated, in his capacity as President-in-Office of the Council, that the Council wished to secure lasting stability in the Balkans and that efforts would need to be made over several years in order to achieve this. In other words, the Council recognises these demands and these commitments. However, we expect the Council to set itself these new challenges and to act accordingly. Gaining the ability to act in this important foreign policy area while, at the same time, losing it in other foreign policy areas as the result of excessive savings is unacceptable.
Allow me to make myself quite clear. The interinstitutional agreement and the budget 2001 are indeed two different pairs of shoes, but both pairs must fit, otherwise we will be unable to walk in them and we will get nowhere. I must stress the fact that we are not questioning the interinstitutional agreement per se; we stand by this agreement, but we are calling for a review which takes real account of demands in a specific area, namely the additional cost of assistance for the Balkans and certain other foreign policy measures. This call is obviously directed at the Commission and the Commission will submit its proposal accordingly; however, this message is also directed at the Council, above all at the Council. I have the very real impression that when the round of finance ministers hears the words ‘review of the interinstitutional agreement’, it immediately thinks of wasted money and sees red. But a review is not a catastrophe; it is a perfectly normal procedure which in no way questions the spirit of the agreement.
Histrionics do not help, they merely create unnecessary fronts. What we need in order to finance the measures referred to is flexibility. Without flexibility we will get nowhere. I therefore call on the Council to stop adding fuel to the fire. Do not commit yourself to a blockade attitude towards the review. Take your cue from us and work together with us to find a constructive solution which can overcome exaggerated positions both here and there.
Over the last few days, the Lisbon Summit has highlighted aspects of the development and future viability of Europe which deserve support. We want to support these aspects in the coming budget and concentrate our efforts on these areas. At the same time, we here in Parliament recognise the need for an economical and efficient budget. The objectives which I mentioned, in which we, the Council and the Commission have a common interest in numerous cases, can only be achieved if we approach the budgetary procedure in an atmosphere of trust and partnership. This means avoiding an escalation of the conflict surrounding the financing of external actions at all costs. So let us use the discussion of the forthcoming Commission proposal for a multiannual programme which has been scheduled for the coming weeks in order to find a viable solution which secures our ability to act in the foreign policy area without impeding our internal priorities."@en1
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