Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2002-10-22-Speech-2-138"
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"en.20021022.6.2-138"2
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"Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, on the eve of the vote at first reading of the 2003 budget, I must confess to mixed feelings. We are working to overcome the constraints of the Community budget as best we can and find the best possible arbitration. Having said that, I cannot prevent myself from thinking that we placed these constraints on ourselves. The now regular reduction in the Community budget as a percentage of GDP seems to me to be of particular concern. Once again, we do not appear to want to equip ourselves with the means to fulfil our ambitions.
The situation of heading 4 is a prime example of this. The Council, in the context of large multinational conferences, undertakes to support various very worthy causes: the reconstruction of Afghanistan, campaigns to fight AIDS, etc. Then, when it returns to Brussels, it does not seem to want to give us the means to keep its promises. We owe it to ourselves to remind the Member States of their duty to ensure coherence and, in particular, to fulfil our ambitions with regard to enlargement. More generally, I believe that the current Financial Perspective system has shown that it is no longer capable of fulfilling the needs of Europe. I would not like you to think, however, that our draft budget is bad. On the contrary, I believe that, in many areas, we have succeeded in making progress and finding compromises that are acceptable to everyone.
I welcome the fact that, as regards heading 1, the amendments proposed by the Committee on Budgets clearly reflect our wish to make the common agricultural policy fairer, more just and more sustainable, and to strengthen its rural development pillar. The budget must first and foremost fulfil the citizens’ expectations. The amendments proposed by my group with regard to the ‘information and communication policy’ chapters are along these lines and are essential to the future of Europe. The same is true of support for small businesses and craft trades. As Mrs Haug stated in our various speeches, that must be a priority. Employment depends on it. These appropriations cannot be refused year upon year. I would nonetheless like to thank our two rapporteurs for having instigated new methods of budgetary debate, for greater transparency, because all this is indispensable with a view to increasing citizens’ awareness of European politics in future."@en1
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