Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2004-10-26-Speech-2-149"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.20041026.12.2-149"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:spokenAs | |
| lpv:translated text |
"Mr President, Commissioner, Mr President-in-Office of the Council, ladies and gentlemen, respecting Parliament’s desired political guidelines is an almost impossible task every year.
For 2005, it was completely impossible, as it has been in other years, because, despite the agreement on the financial perspectives in force, the Council’s priorities mean not providing the resources our ambitions require. Respecting our priorities has, therefore, more to do with squaring the books than with reality.
That has led the Socialist Group in the European Parliament to follow the strategy proposed by our rapporteur, Mr Garriga Polledo, whom I thank. This strategy consists of prioritising the policies decided on by Parliament, while calling on the Council to fulfil its commitments in terms of the operation of the agencies, just as for Heading V and the Union’s external policies, where the aid promised for Iran can be funded without difficulty from the sums available from the flexibility instrument of more than EUR 450 million. Only this strategy has allowed us to produce a budget which reflects the very reasonable orientations established by the Socialist Group for the European Union in 2005. With regard to Heading I, we are aware that we are only consulted and, with regard to Headings II and V, which do not raise any great problems today, we have followed the rapporteur.
Nevertheless, by providing this draft budget with such reduced funding and distributing money in a random manner, the Council is expecting us to abandon what we hold most dear in terms of European integration: solidarity. By that I mean solidarity between the peoples of Europe, but also solidarity between Europe and the rest of the world. Without the involvement of the European Parliament, we would have had to choose between the geographical regions benefiting from the Union’s development policy. This is contrary to how we European Socialists view the geographical scope of the Union’s cooperation. We cannot create a hierarchy of suffering, hunger or oppression. We must act in any region we can, and provide ourselves with the necessary resources to do so.
That is why, when we voted in committee, all the lines dedicated to cooperation were reinforced, regardless of geography. Similarly, we have reinforced the budgetary lines dedicated to the Lisbon strategy, for SMEs, employment and social dialogue. We believe that solidarity means prioritising growth and employment, because solidarity means sharing the fruits of growth.
Finally, ladies and gentlemen, our last priority is inspired by European solidarity and consists of making the European Union’s information policy one of our fundamental policies. For the Union to be able to continue its actions, it is urgent that people understand the work it does. Our priority is to make the European Union’s intentions clear and visible. In our societies faced with violence and the spectre of recession, and witnessing the war in Iraq and in the world, the Union must be seen as a model for economic growth based on solidarity. This is the main requirement if we are to combat terrorism and continue to bring peace. Our budget, which we are presenting and on which we will vote on Thursday, must respect our priorities and be our main tool for implementing our political project.
Finally, I do not wish to end without thanking our Commissioner, Mrs Schreyer, most warmly for the all the work she has done over the last five years. Like Mrs Jensen, I must acknowledge everything she has contributed to the budgetary procedure, to its renewal and modernisation. Mrs Schreyer, on behalf of my group, I would like thank you most warmly for what you have done together with us, the European Parliament, over the last five years, and wish you every success in continuing your work of pursuing our Union’s greatest possible democratic well-being."@en1
|
| lpv:unclassifiedMetadata |
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples