Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2001-10-23-Speech-2-145"
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Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, in a few days’ time, you will be voting at first reading on the amendments to the draft budget as it was drafted by the Council in July. I already had the honour of making an explanatory statement concerning this draft budget at the part-session in September. I will therefore not enter into any detail today. Instead, I should briefly like to outline the aspects which will undoubtedly be on the agenda in the framework of our dialogue. I hope that this dialogue will be fruitful, so that we can reach an agreement which is satisfactory to everyone, but particularly to the European citizens, of course.
As for the letter of amendment, to which some of our discussions in the coming weeks will relate, I should like to note that the Council expects a balance estimate for the 2001 budget year to be included. This request is an illustration of the principle of good management, which means that the budget burden for the individual European taxpayers will, where possible, not become any heavier.
I know how much importance the European Parliament attaches to the expenditure under heading 3 of the financial perspectives. That is why the Council has ensured that its draft budget sufficiently covers the priorities of the EU’s internal policy, notably the honouring of commitments concerning the funding of multi-annual programmes, in respect of which both our institutions have taken a decision.
I would also point out that, at first reading, the Council increased appropriations in its draft budget in order to launch Eurojust and the SISII system for Schengen. The Commission had proposed the budget lines for this in its preliminary draft. In the current climate, these objectives are more topical than when we compiled the draft budget back in July. In this way, the Council has created a margin of EUR 110 billion which is wider than the margin in the Commission’s preliminary draft budget. This margin should be sufficient to cover priorities, some of which, including
learning and immigration, will undoubtedly be mentioned by your rapporteur or, in any event, will be suggested at our forthcoming dialogue.
I should like to reiterate quite emphatically that the presidency would like to reach an agreement on the 2002 budget as early as November at second reading of the Council. A few days after your first reading, the overall structure will be in place and the different positions will be known. In November, we should consequently be able to put the finishing touches to the activities which will culminate in a sound budget for 2002.
In this connection, it seems useful to me to remind ourselves briefly of the guidelines which the Council used when it compiled the draft budget, in respect of which you will be proposing amendments in the next couple of days. This draft budget is able to fund all policy components and priorities of the European Union, without imposing too great a burden on the Member States that work towards achieving stricter control of government finances. At the same time, however, notably under the ceilings of heading 3 of the financial perspectives and of heading 4, it creates some leeway for coping with new priorities. For that purpose, the Council has made sure that the different actions of the European Union are funded appropriately within the available financial means under the ceilings of the financial perspectives, in connection with which no changes have been made to the funds allocated to programmes on which a decision was made in the codecision procedure, whilst the extent of the commitment appropriations has been determined on the basis of implementation options.
In addition, the Council has paid particular attention to the development of payment appropriations by curbing and controlling their growth compared to 2001. In this context, particular consideration was given to the implementation options and the expected rate of payments in connection with commitments outstanding and national budgetary requirements.
After these general considerations, I should like to broach a few subjects which will be on the agenda in the next couple of weeks and these concern, of course, agricultural expenditure. As you know, the Council did not adopt the Commission’s proposal at first reading and has asked the Commission for a detailed analysis of the requirements. During the conciliation meeting of 20 July, Parliament sided with the Council, and I have every faith that, once we have discussed the letter of amendment which the Commission will be sending us shortly, we will reach an agreement through which we will be able to cushion the effects of the different crises. I think that I can already say that, at the moment, it is becoming increasingly clear that, in this connection, a solution is certainly in the offing.
As far as the other agricultural expenses are concerned, when the Council’s draft budget provided for an increase in the appropriations, although they were still slightly below those which the Commission had initially put forward in its preliminary draft, consideration was given to the effects which the decisions by the European Council of Berlin would have on the reorganisation of the common agricultural policy. When we analyse the final appropriations to be included in the 2002 budget, we must obviously take account of the most recent data in the letter of amendment concerning agricultural expenditure.
I should now like to turn to a second point which, according to the Interinstitutional Agreement, is also pertinent, in the framework of the letter of amendment which the Commission will be sending us shortly, namely the financial implications of the delay in the fisheries agreement with Morocco, together with the funding and restructuring of the fishing fleet in question.
In July, the Council followed the Commission’s preliminary draft of the budget as far as the international fisheries agreement was concerned, and the Council asked the Commission only to use these appropriations for other fisheries agreements. It is unfortunate that this position by the Council in July did not lead to an agreement. With regard to the structural measures, heading 2 of the financial perspectives, the Council insisted on including this entire heading in the budget in the form of commitment appropriations in accordance with the conclusions of the European Council of Berlin of March 1999.
In this connection, I should like to point out that the Council, at the time of compiling its draft budget, did not have a full overview of the situation, and that it stated that it would review the situation in the light of the letter of amendment in the autumn, which is prescribed according to the Interinstitutional Agreement. The Council will do this as soon as it has received the letter. I would remind you that the appropriations for international fisheries agreements, in accordance with the Interinstitutional Agreement, fall within compulsory expenditure, whether they are indicated in the budget line or in the reserve."@en1
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