Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2001-11-13-Speech-2-024"
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"en.20011113.2.2-024"2
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"Mr President, I would also like to pass on my best regards to Mr Karlsson, thank him for his presentation and all the work he has done over the past few years. I hope he will pass on our thanks to his other colleagues who are also leaving.
We must remember that this report is the first report which assesses the first full year of the Prodi Commission – a Commission which, let us remind ourselves, was appointed with the specific remit of radical overhaul and reform of the European Union. The question we will be asking in our discharge procedure this year is: "Is the Commission delivering on that promise?". Let us be clear. If it is not, then the credibility of both the Prodi Commission and of this Parliament is on the line.
It is much too early to assess the success or failure of the Prodi Commission and of Commission reform. The only question we can ask at this point is whether we are headed in the right direction. Mr Karlsson, I noted your words last night. There are a number of hopeful signs in this report. So, where the Commission has specific responsibility, we do seem to be seeing some positive developments. As you say, the strategy on BSE is basically sound. The work of the Agency charged with the reconstruction of Kosovo was efficient and economical. The reform programme is heading in the right direction. You have approved the recasting of the financial regulation and the Commission's proposals on financial incentives for top grade officials, although I note that you have some concerns about the Commission's accounting mechanisms. Perhaps Mrs Schreyer could comment on that.
We are not going to let the Commission off the hook. There is a large area where the Commission has joint responsibility with the Member States, particularly in the agricultural sector and the structural funds. The primary responsibility must lie with the Member States. They are responsible for 85% of the budget. Here we see some serious structural weaknesses. In the structural funds, we see problems in the application of regulations at every level. The CAP accounts for over 40% of the budget and where Member States are responsible there is no improvement. Heads of stock continue be overstated.
We know that Belgium, Denmark, Ireland and the Netherlands have not signed the Convention on the Protection of Financial Interests. We are disappointed, Mr Karlsson, that you did not mention them by name in the report.
Again the Court has failed to give a statement of assurance to the Commission. As I said last night, this is a complicated and ever-changing procedure and I do not believe the Commission will ever get a statement of assurance.
So the main message, as far as I can see, is that the Commission should keep going. It is on the right track. Member States must stop hiding behind the Commission and assume their proper responsibility of protecting EU taxpayers' money."@en1
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