Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2003-09-02-Speech-2-045"
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"en.20030902.1.2-045"2
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".
Mr President, there are many values dear to the European Union as a whole. Solidarity is one of these. It was thanks to solidarity that the principle of cohesion came to be enshrined in our treaties. According to this principle it is not possible to take any decision that would reinforce the position of stronger citizens, states or regions at the expense of weaker ones. This principle of cohesion has gained further relevance in the context of enlargement.
It is worth stating at the outset that the whole House is of the opinion that Objective 1 should remain unchanged, and that regions due to lose Objective 1 status as a result of enlargement should not lose their aid. If these regions were to be deprived of their aid they would be losing out in order to make aid available to the new Member States. Nobody wants that to happen. The statistical effect should not therefore be taken into account so as to retain Objective 1 as it stood. We must all help to support the incoming countries, in a spirit of solidarity.
We are currently witnessing a very significant change. Commissioner Barnier is well aware of it. In the draft of the new constitution there are references to economic, social and territorial cohesion. Consequently the question arises as to whether there will be a territorial policy or not. To put this another way, it is necessary to consider whether citizens resident in areas of low population density, mountain or island regions, and who therefore experience difficulty in competing with other Europeans on equal terms are to be covered by a Community territorial policy, regardless of their income.
The report I am presenting states that this should be the case. It argues that citizens resident in such areas ought to receive Community aid. This is indeed significant. It is important to bear in mind that when a farmer receives support under the common agricultural policy, that farmer is not required to declare his or her income. Similarly, when a company is awarded aid for research and development it is not required to declare its assets. It is all quite straightforward. The policy on research and development is in place, and so is the common agricultural policy. Aid is granted according to certain regulations. The same should apply to territories. It follows that territories should receive aid regardless of whether they are above or below a specific GDP threshold. I trust this will be the case.
Our report on the preparatory work of the Convention is unambiguous. In it we state that policy must not be merely economic, dealing with money. Neither should it be simply a policy on cohesion, intent on avoiding exclusion. It needs to be a policy on territorial cohesion. Mountain regions, regions with low population density and island regions must receive specific aid. I am confident that the Council, the Commission and the Commissioner will heed the report by this House rather than the report by Mr Sapir."@en1
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