Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2004-04-20-Speech-2-251"
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"en.20040420.9.2-251"2
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"Mr President, first of all I wish to congratulate Mr Wynn on producing a very balanced report. At the same time I would like to thank you, Terence, for the constructive work you have done as Chairman of the Committee on Budgets. Yours has been an amicable and constructive approach to the job, with the result that the work of the committee has been harmonious and effective.
The value of the financial perspective proposed by the Commission depends on what the balance of power between the budgetary authorities will be in the future. If the end result is that the financial perspective creates a jointly agreed framework in which Parliament can participate fully in drafting the budget, it will be of great value. If, on the other hand, the EU budget is to become merely a set of small-scale appropriations, as the Ministers of Finance recently proposed, that does not bode well for consistency in budget policy in the years to come.
The Commission’s proposal to review the financial perspective is a step in the right direction. The number of headings has been reduced. Nevertheless, heading 1 covers an unnecessarily large area compared to the others and it might be a good idea to divide it in two. Similarly, the allocation of appropriations for agriculture and environmental protection under the same heading raises questions.
The priorities with regard to future policy are the right ones. EU competitiveness will only improve by promoting entrepreneurship and by investing in research, product development and education and training. The intention is to treble the figure for appropriations currently being spent in the next seven years. My group is in favour of this. There has to be investment, particularly in education, training and trainee exchange programmes, so that we will have better educated youth with a more international outlook that can take responsibility for its intellectual and material development in the future.
The other important priority is cohesion policy. It is now vitally important to promote cohesion, as we are about to be joined by new Member States whose combined GDP is just 5% of that of the old Member States, although they make up 20% of the population. One of the EU’s main objectives is the promotion of economic, social and regional equality.
The EU bureaucratic machine is vast, and not only does it pose a threat to efficiency but it especially threatens to tarnish the Union’s reputation in the eyes of the public. That is why there has to be less bureaucracy and more administrative efficiency. Power and responsibility must be devolved downwards and personal accountability clarified."@en1
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