Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2004-12-14-Speech-2-188"
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"en.20041214.12.2-188"2
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"Mr President, first of all, I should like to extend warm thanks to the rapporteur, Mr Salvador Garriga Polledo, for the excellent cooperation. Even though I am only moderately pleased with the end result, I do think he has done what he can in order to put the position of Parliament, but even more so the position of the European countryside, in perspective.
I feel the same way about the Dutch Presidency, and this brings me directly to my major disappointment about this Budget. With this agreement, we are ultimately nearly one billion under the correct estimate and the Commission proposal about what is needed. I know that the Dutch Presidency has played a positive role in itself in order to prevent this in part, but I am disappointed greatly with the rest of the Council, where the last Commission proposal was eventually not followed.
Which surprises me if I consider the position of Europe’s countryside, if I consider the major agricultural reform that has now started and which will result in sometimes drastic drops in income, but it also surprises me if I consider the enormous programme for rural development that we need to introduce as yet in the ten new Member States. Given these circumstances, economising to that extent is unacceptable, certainly if we realise that agricultural spending will be around 0.4% of the GNP next year. That is exceptionally little if we see that European agriculture and horticulture meet the world’s strictest standards in terms of the environment, animal welfare, landscape protection, food security and food safety. Anyone who wants a cheap ride could get a nasty surprise.
We cannot go on like this. I hope that this will not lead to further cuts in the agricultural budget, but that we will continue to fight for competitive agriculture, even in Europe. In that respect, I should like to say two things to the UK Independence Party Members and Non-attached Members in response to their expressions of blame directed towards European agricultural policy. I can tell them that the United Kingdom receives a disproportionately large share from the agricultural budget. My own country represents 7% of production and only receives 2% of the money. In the United Kingdom, the exact reverse is true. Without this Parliament, the foot and mouth crisis in the United Kingdom would not have reached a satisfactory conclusion. If these gentlemen can do nothing but make disparaging remarks, they have failed to get the message, including in the British countryside, and they are leaving the British countryside firmly out in the cold. In any event, Parliament, and the Group of the European People’s Party (Christian Democrats) and European Democrats are keeping an eye on the British countryside."@en1
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