Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2000-07-06-Speech-4-345"
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"en.20000706.13.4-345"2
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"Mr President, we are discussing the European Parliament report on the information strategy to be adopted in the final phase of application of monetary union. I would like to make it clear to Mrs Peijs that I voted against this report.
This report reflects the concern felt by many leaders in the face of the public’s virtually total lack of interest in the implementation of the euro. We are, however, eighteen months away from a crucial deadline: the withdrawal of national currencies and the start of the physical circulation of euro notes and coins. So far, admittedly, progress has been relatively smooth for the euro, as the initial phase has principally involved technical experts, bankers, investment experts and stock market traders, who have all had adequate warning and who, moreover, are favourable to the idea on the whole. In such circumstances, it is not surprising that the euro has been easy to establish in this phase.
From now on, however, progress promises to be a lot less smooth, since the euro is about to come up against the citizens who, more often than not, have not yet fully understood what is going to be expected of them and who are going to find themselves cornered by decisions which have already been taken. In order to make up for this omission, the European Parliament is demanding that the information policy be stepped up, increasing appropriations by approximately 30%, to EUR 38 million per annum. In order to deal with the complexes of decision-makers who might be experiencing doubts, it adds, somewhat ingenuously, that, to quote the resolution voted on, “according to Article 37(b) of the Interinstitutional Agreement of 6 May 1999, information policy is an autonomous action which needs no legal basis”.
In such circumstances, indeed, why should we hold back?
Let me mention, incidentally, that we have always challenged the Commission’s option to make expenditure commitments without a legal basis, and we also challenged this interinstitutional agreement which the Council was weak enough to accept in contravention of the customary principles of proper management of public monies."@en1
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