Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2003-10-21-Speech-2-142"
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"en.20031021.5.2-142"2
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"Madam President, the 2004 budget is an expression of the anti-grass roots, autocratic policy of the European Union. For yet another year, a budget is being presented which strengthens big business and the expansionist imperialist policy of the European Union. The restriction on the budget items to less than 1% of Community GDP, especially in a year in which it is being called upon to fund not 15 but 25 countries, with enhanced convergence requirements, throws into relief the picture of the promotion of plans to restructure, privatise and liberalise the markets and of the indifference towards the needs of the workers, the poor and the small and medium-sized urban and rural classes, who are being called on to pay the price of the crisis.
The general guidelines for the European Union budget for 2004 consist of cutting spending for the Structural Funds and limiting funding for the CAP so that the repressive and aggressive European defence and security policy can be funded on the pretext of fighting terrorism and addressing immigration and creating and funding repressive mechanisms, such as the European army, police and border guards, the central personal records system and so on.
The murder of Palestinians by Israel is being funded under the agreements and the invasion of the USA in Iraq is being funded and legitimised. The austerity imposed on the workers and working classes in order to serve the interests of the monopolies is being continued under the Lisbon philosophy, with more intense exploitation, violation of workers' employment and insurance rights, rising unemployment, the destruction of the environment and the continuing commercialisation of health, education and social welfare. The pompous statements on economic and social conversion are categorically refuted by this budget, which presents no substantial redistribution of income to the less developed areas and the working classes suffering from unemployment, underemployment and poverty. Quite the contrary! Any convergence happening is happening downwards, dragging even broader sections of society into poverty and penury.
The cutbacks in Community spending on agriculture, within the framework of the philosophy of the WTO and in agreement with the USA, come within the anti-farming framework of the partial reform of the CAP. At the same time, restructuring is being imposed and pressure is being exerted for alternative crops, such as for tobacco cultivation and other Mediterranean products in which the European Union has a deficit, while genetically-modified organisms are being promoted under pressure from the Americans and its multinationals. The budget is funding the extermination of small and medium-sized farming. The MEPs of the Communist Party of Greece will be voting against this budget because, instead of resolving, it will create new problems for the workers, farmers and small enterprises in the regions and instead of contributing to peace in the world, it promotes war and the imperialist hegemony."@en1
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