Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2005-07-05-Speech-2-183"
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"en.20050705.26.2-183"2
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".
Mr President, the existence of a properly funded and proactive European regional policy is an essential prerequisite for the EU to be able to foster economic and social cohesion and to address increasing economic and social disparities.
The Structural and Cohesion Funds are a vital tool, and indeed the only tool in the Community budget geared towards redistribution. These Funds enable the EU to take action to reduce regional disparities, to promote real convergence, to stimulate sustainable development, growth, production and jobs in the regions, and to redistribute and offset the costs of the internal market in the least-developed regions.
Accordingly, one of the crucial issues is the financial envelope, with regard to both the amount involved and the way in which it is distributed. As far as we are concerned, the figure of 0.41% of EU gross national income is woefully inadequate in terms of achieving the proposed objectives and of meeting the cohesion needs of an enlarged EU.
Yet this is the Commission’s proposal, and that of our very own Parliament in its report on the Financial Perspective. In limiting themselves to this ceiling, they are undermining the EU’s ability effectively to promote economic and social cohesion and are failing to address such crucial questions as full compensation for regions affected by the statistical effect, Portugal’s Algarve region being one such region; adequate financing of the transition mechanisms, including the Cohesion Fund; and the adequate financing of the outermost regions. As such, the signatory countries to the so-called ‘Letter of the Six’, whose aim is to restrict the Community budget to 1% of EU gross national income, have got their way.
The recent European Council’s failure to reach agreement on the Financial Perspective 2007-2013 is, however one looks at it, a victory for the ‘Letter of the Six’ signatory countries. The Luxembourg Presidency had proposed a compromise reduction in the Structural Funds envelope of over EUR 30 billion for the period in question, which translates into 0.37% of EU gross domestic product. The reports before us also fail to address implementation needs, with regard to pre-financing and cofinancing amounts, and to the issue of pegging the Cohesion Fund to the Stability and Growth Pact.
Unfortunately, a new mindset for the Structural Funds and for their adaptation to the financing of the Lisbon Strategy has become prevalent. Such is the case of the European Social Fund, which plays second fiddle to the European Employment Strategy. We are therefore opposed to the emphasis placed on competitiveness, competition, adaptability and entrepreneurial spirit, at the expense of cohesion and convergence. Against this backdrop, we have tabled proposals for amendments to the reports before us with a view to addressing these key concerns and to stepping up European social cohesion."@en1
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