Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2000-11-15-Speech-3-010"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.20001115.1.3-010"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:spokenAs | |
| lpv:translated text |
"Madam President, I too would like to thank the chairman of the Court of Auditors for their report, and the Commissioner for their response to it. Yet again, public opinion will be the first casualty when the news hits the streets that there is to be no positive statement of assurance for European expenditure this time round either. Everyone knows – and this will crop up time and again – that the Member States spend the most money. So they must be the first port of call when it comes to raising revenue as I see it. It is also no secret that the lion’s share of expenditure goes on agriculture. A number of years ago, the Commission established, at Parliament’s insistence, that if there are irregularities, this could mean an additional financial correction of 25% for the Member States. I understand that the Court of Auditors is studying this, and would it not have been interesting if the Court of Auditors had studied what effects this had? Could the same principle be applied to other sectors? I would be very interested to know.
I completely share Mr Blak’s dissatisfaction with the fact that the Court of Auditor’s report does not contain exact figures. Is the reliability of the expenditure 5% or 7%, and is it true that reliability is less than 3% in the case of agricultural expenditure? The Court of Auditor’s constant refrain is that they do not have sufficient staff to analyse this. That may well be true, but when the Court of Auditors reaches a verdict, I take it as read that it will be based on exact figures. What I would like to know is why these figures cannot be published? I also think we should set up a mediation committee for agriculture. Then, any disputes between the Commission and the financial corrections could be brought before it. Would the Commission and the Court of Auditors be prepared to endorse this proposal?
On a final note, Madam President, this financial report covers 1999. The Commission is bound to point out that it did not take office until September 1999, and will therefore deny all responsibility. I think it is high time we heard the last of that. I feel the Commission must give us a clear indication of when it expects to be able to deliver a positive statement of assurance, for we cannot keep postponing it year after year, as we have done since 1995."@en1
|
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples