Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2004-12-01-Speech-3-069"
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"en.20041201.11.3-069"2
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".
Mr President, let me start with Mr Wynn’s remark about what will happen if there is no agreement on the financial perspectives. That was not the nicest way to begin a debate in the European Parliament, because I believe we will reach agreement with Parliament on the financial perspective on time. As Mr Borrell and Mr Wynn pointed out, the next financial perspectives represent one of the weightiest and most significant dossiers currently facing the Union. The Council is therefore grateful to have been given the chance of setting out briefly how it is envisaged that this dossier should be dealt with.
As you will be aware, the timetable for finalising work was laid out in the Multiannual Strategic Programme for 2004-2006, adopted by the European Council in December 2003. Thus, with the majority of the Commission’s financial and legislative proposals already on the table, work is currently under way within the Council, aimed at possibly reaching decisions on principles and guidelines this month. The intention is to achieve political agreement before the June 2005 European Council so that both the framework itself and the detailed legislation can finally be adopted by the end of 2005. Preparatory work on new Community programmes would thereafter be carried out throughout 2006 so that they could be implemented from the beginning of the new financial perspective period.
As already mentioned, after producing two overall communications – one in February and a follow-up in July – the Commission has also presented a package of detailed proposals setting out the legal framework for key policy areas. These include cohesion policy, conservation and management of natural resources, Lisbon-related issues and external relations and will be completed by a small number of additional proposals concerning in particular freedom, security and justice, and research and development.
The Council wishes to reassure Mr Borrell that the Commission’s proposal constitutes the basis for work in the Council and is in accordance with normal institutional practice. However, I think you will agree that, again in accordance with normal institutional practice, it is open to any Member State to agree or disagree to a greater or lesser extent with the financial implications of a Commission proposal and thus endeavour to move the dossier in a direction more agreeable to it. This is part of the normal process of negotiations.
As far as the Union’s own resources are concerned, the Commission has submitted as part of its legislative package a report on the operation of the own-resources system as well as two proposals. These proposals make provision
for the possibility of new tax-based own resources to be operational as from 2014, as well as for a generalised correction mechanism. Preliminary work on these proposals has started and it is generally agreed that the concept of the globality of the financial perspective negotiations implies not only that individual policy areas must be viewed together in the context of overall expenditure, but also that expenditure must be seen in the context of the overall negotiations, including the question of own resources in all its aspects. The Council also recalls in this connection that own resources formed an integral part of the 1999 Berlin agreement on which the current financial perspective is based.
On cooperation between the Council and the European Parliament, it should be recalled that, as specified in the joint declaration of July referred to by Mr Wynn and Mr Borrell, the Council is committed to an exchange of information with the European Parliament throughout the process. The precise arrangements for putting this into practice will need to be established by common agreement between the parties. The Council continues to act in accordance with the terms of the July declaration whereby the financial perspective should be negotiated in a spirit of loyal institutional cooperation, with the institutions willing to take all measures necessary for successful completion of the procedure leading to its adoption.
The partners accordingly need to reflect on how best to give concrete expression to this spirit of cooperation, which will certainly need to deepen as negotiations within the Council intensify and firmer Council positions take shape. The Council could, to this end, draw inspiration from constructive practices followed during the last financial perspective negotiations, which enabled a satisfactory dialogue to take place with the European Parliament, culminating in the adoption of the current interinstitutional agreement in May 1999.
In this context, to conclude I wish to refer to the idea, also mentioned by Mr Wynn, of holding a monthly trialogue. Based on my experience as President-in-Office, I should like to stress that the Council, and therefore the President-in-Office, will not be able to take a position in such a formal setting. The negotiations in the Council are ongoing and difficult, as you know. In such a context it would be preferable to continue the current practice of informal contacts between the presidency and representatives of the European Parliament.
I am convinced that these contacts will be fruitful and enable our institutions to play our respective roles. Furthermore, you can be sure that the Council will look very carefully at the content of relevant resolutions and use them in its deliberations."@en1
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