Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2003-06-18-Speech-3-112"
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"en.20030618.9.3-112"2
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".
Mr President, the aim of this proposal is to implement once and for all the aims set out in Amsterdam in Article 191 of the Treaty on European Union. This article was supplemented by the Treaty of Nice when the latter added a legal basis for adopting the necessary legislative measures through the codecision procedure and qualified majority voting.
Article 8 sets out strict control and auditing measures to strengthen the transparency and legitimacy of the system; we consider that parties should not depend completely on public financing and we therefore propose that they should raise at least 25% of their budget themselves.
We have made a balanced proposal on the controversial issue of donations in line with the 2001 compromise and consequently propose that donations should be permitted, although only if they satisfy strict conditions of transparency.
To conclude, Mr President, I wish to congratulate the Greek Presidency on the results it has achieved, on the compromise reached between Council and Parliament, in which the Commission played a part and which should, we hope, enable this dossier to be concluded at first reading.
I congratulate Mr Leinen and the Presidency, and on behalf of the Commission I wish to express our full acceptance of and support for this compromise, which we consider to be appropriate and which will meet the needs of the various players involved in this complex matter.
Political parties at European level are an important part of the democratic structure of the Union. They are a factor for integration. They contribute to forming a European awareness, to expressing the political will of the citizens of the Union and to promoting political debate at European level. To be able to do this they must have resources. It is therefore appropriate and necessary that they should be helped to carry out the tasks conferred on them by the Treaty and that they should consequently receive at least partial financing from the Community budgets.
The Regulation seeks to establish a solid and transparent legislative framework for the recognition and financing of European political parties. We are not starting from scratch, ladies and gentlemen; this new proposal is based on the constructive work undertaken by Parliament and the Council in 2001, particularly during the Belgian Presidency. I wish, in this regard, to congratulate Mrs Schleicher, who served as rapporteur at the time.
We have taken advantage of the new opportunities provided by majority voting in comparison to the 2001compromise to propose higher thresholds for obtaining financing.
Our basic proposal has sought to avoid political requirements that are too restrictive for European political parties for two main reasons: firstly, we want an open and plural system in which all shades of opinion can be represented in the European debate; secondly, if things were done otherwise, the debate in Council and in Parliament would be drawn out unnecessarily, perhaps even beyond the 2004 European elections.
All three institutions agree that a European political party that wishes to be recognised as such and to obtain financing from the Community budget must fulfil certain minimum conditions.
We have sought to establish conditions that are not too restrictive but which are coherent and fundamental. Parties must be representative, must have a statute and aims, they must prove their intention to stand in European elections, they must have clear rules for their financial management and above all respect the democratic principles established in Articles 6(1) and 6(2) of the European Union’s Charter of Fundamental Rights. At the same time, there must be a reliable verification system. Parliament must be able to verify whether all of these conditions are met before registering a party. Furthermore, there is a special verification procedure for cases in which a minority in Parliament rejects the initial decision.
In order to receive financing, we propose that the parties have representatives elected at European, national and regional level in one third of the Union’s States, because these are supposed to be European parties and this is the European arena and, therefore, the arena that needs to be boosted.
In line with Declaration No 11 annexed to the Treaty of Nice, the Commission proposal prohibits the cross-financing of national political parties. It also prohibits political groups from raising financing by providing services, unless these are paid for in a verifiable and documented way, in other words, through bills."@en1
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