Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2003-09-02-Speech-2-031"
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"en.20030902.1.2-031"2
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"Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, as part of this joint debate on economic and social cohesion, we are analysing the Mastorakis report on the Commission’s second progress report on European cohesion policy. I would like to express my support for the ideas expressed by the rapporteur, and take this opportunity to thank him for the remarkable quality of his work.
Regional policy and cohesion policy have played and continue to play a vital role in the development of Member States such as Portugal and their full integration into the European Union. I am delighted that some European regions, including some regions of Portugal, have left the Cohesion Fund through their own efforts. That is without a doubt the best example of the success of this Community policy.
It should not be forgotten, however, that although major differences already exist between some European regions in terms of their levels of development, these disparities will become even more marked after enlargement. In order to realise the full potential of its cohesion policy, thus reducing inequality in regional development, the European Union must maintain its support of current Member States at a constant level. At the same time, it must also develop the regions containing the future Member States in a balanced way. Faced with this double challenge, the European Union’s duty is to make sufficient funds available to meet the new demands of this situation.
For that reason, the current threshold of 0.45% of Community gross domestic product must never fall victim to budget cuts of any kind. For that reason, and because the cohesion policy has proved to be a success in Portugal, I oppose the renationalisation of this development tool. I welcome the Commission’s establishment of a transitional scheme for regions suffering from the ‘statistical’ effects of enlargement, losing their eligibility as a result of Objective 1 being opened up to less-developed regions. Finally, I have nothing but praise for the creation of a new Objective 2, on the basis of regional competitiveness in accordance with the guidelines laid down at the Lisbon Summit."@en1
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