Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2003-09-02-Speech-2-044"
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"en.20030902.1.2-044"2
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"Mr President, I congratulate the rapporteurs and I welcome the Commission's second progress report.
The Cohesion Fund is an invaluable tool in helping less well-off Member States catch up, particularly in the development of infrastructure networks and upgrading of water supplies, in order to contribute to the long-term sustainable development of disadvantaged regions. The enlargement countries will be greatly helped by simplification of the implementation rules. It is undeniable that there are still marked disparities in existing Member States and I therefore support the proposal for transitional funding arrangements for Community aid in existing Objective 1 areas post-2006.
In my own peripheral Objective 1 region, after a number of years of cohesion funding to my country, the Committee on Petitions of this Parliament recently acknowledged that Third World-standard unsafe water supply existed in communities such as Carraroe in my own constituency. How could this happen? Whilst I acknowledge the argument for targeting major projects, when these projects skew funding away from Objective 1 areas, as has happened in my country, some pressure should be put on national governments to recognise their role and duty in the use of cohesion funding for balanced regional development. I realise this is a domestic issue, but it helps to point out a failure in the existing cohesion policy.
The EUR 80 billion surplus in structural cohesion funding would be better used if it were returned to Member States in order to specifically target the internal imbalances in disadvantaged regions struggling with poor water supply or poor road infrastructure. It could also fund other essential tools for job creation in areas where our agricultural and fishing industries are struggling to survive."@en1
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