Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2005-09-27-Speech-2-151"
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"en.20050927.18.2-151"2
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"Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, I would like to congratulate Mr Guellec and Mr Marques on their excellent reports. As I come from one of the outermost regions, I will concentrate on Mr Marques’s report, which focuses on a stronger partnership for the outermost regions, because it makes it possible, thanks to some in-depth work, to provide a comprehensive assessment of the European Union’s activities in those regions.
I give my full support to the rapporteur, who, while noting that the most recent proposals drafted by the Commission in favour of the outermost regions are promising, nevertheless calls on it to be more active in exercising the right of initiative accorded to it under the Treaties, with regard to the cohesion policy, of course, but also to other Community policies and more generally to areas important for the development of the outermost regions.
It seems to me to be essential to point out once again, at a time when everyone is preoccupied with the financial perspective and the reform of EU regional policy for the period 2007-2013, that the great majority of the derogations implemented or proposed for the outermost regions can in no way damage competition or the fundamental principles of Community law.
With regard to the programme to compensate for the additional costs incurred by the outermost regions, the Commission has quite rightly proposed to provide it with EUR 1 100 000 000. However, echoing one of my amendments, which was adopted in the Committee for regional development, I would stress that these funds should be devoted solely to the outermost regions and that their allocation should not penalise any of those regions.
With reference to another of my amendments that was adopted in committee, I hope that the wider neighbourhood action plan will have a specific budget aimed at transnational and cross-border cooperation and that the much hoped-for coordination between the assistance funded by the ERDF for the outermost regions and the assistance provided by the EDF for their ACP and OCT neighbours will finally come into effect, with or without the inclusion of the EDF in the budget.
In conclusion, I think this is an opportune moment to state, with modesty, but without an inferiority complex, my conviction that the outermost regions of the EU are just as important as its centre. I sincerely hope that this vision is shared by all the Member States, old, new and future. Indeed, in an increasingly globalised world, there is no benefit for the enlarged Europe in doing without its outposts in the Atlantic Ocean, the Caribbean, Latin America or the Indian Ocean. That is the position that Parliament has always defended and will, no doubt, continue to defend. Have no doubt that the overseas populations will be particularly grateful to you for this."@en1
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