Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2004-04-20-Speech-2-252"

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"Mr President, one of the first questions that must be asked in this debate is whether the financial framework proposed by the Commission is up to the task of guaranteeing economic and social cohesion and of guaranteeing the redistributive nature of the Community budget and the commitments to the less advanced countries in a European Union enlarged to 27 Member States, in which Community GDP will be reduced by more than 12% and whether economic, social and regional disparities will increase, as stated in the third cohesion report. My answer is no – this perspective is clearly not up to the task. One only has to look to the past. The financial perspectives for 1988-1992 and for 1993-1999 increased the ceiling for own resources from 1.15% to 1.27% of Community Gross Domestic Product. In both cases, the Structural Funds were duplicated in the packages nicknamed ‘Delors I’ and ‘Delors II’. Agenda 2000 maintained the ceiling for own resources and for funds, when enlargement to encompass a further six countries was already on the horizon. The Commission’s current proposal, however, maintains the ceilings set in Agenda 2000, despite the fact that the current round of enlargement involves a further ten countries, plus another two, with incomes of less than 40% of the Community average. I refer to the pressure exerted and the lack of solidarity shown by the main cash contributors to have signed the Letter of the Six, who are seeking to limit the budget to 1%. Nevertheless, Commissioner Schreyer acknowledges that her proposal, which is low, is only possible due to the process of budgetary consolidation that has taken place in the current 15 Member States: to the Stability Pact and to the reallocation of funds. But what and who will suffer as a result? This framework shows the risks both for the countries that are about to join, and for the cohesion countries, such as Portugal, given that the value of the Structural Funds for the current Member States will fall from 0.31% to 0.21% of Community income. This situation really needs to be changed, the ceiling on own resources must be increased and a response must be given to the serious problems of cohesion, poverty and of protecting greater economic and social cohesion between all the countries of the European Union."@en1

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