Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2005-10-26-Speech-3-032"
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"en.20051026.2.3-032"2
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".
Mr President, I should like to pay tribute to Mr Pittella and to the Committee on Budgets for the work they have done.
The challenges facing the European Union are as follows. Firstly, economic growth is slowing. Secondly, EU businesses are becoming less competitive. Thirdly, unemployment is high and the gap between the rich and the poor is widening. Fourthly, there is a lack of political will and initiative to stimulate the economies of the new Member States, with the result that the post-Communist countries remain backward and dependent in economic terms. Fifthly, the EU leaders have pushed though the decision on Turkey’s accession to the EU, despite the opposition of the majority of citizens to this decision, and despite the fact that there is a concurrent lack of political will, vision or strategy as regards Ukraine’s accession.
The 2006 budget makes no attempt to solve any of the above-mentioned problems, and in fact the opposite is the case. It is a continuation of the strategy that has been applied in previous years, which means that it will result in further economic slow-down and even more deep-rooted social and economic problems. The structure of spending is almost identical to previous years, which makes it inevitable that large sums will be spent on headings that have little effect in economic terms. At the same time, there will not be enough money to fund research and development, large infrastructure projects or aid for backward regions and countries.
The scope and structure of the 2006 budget will make it impossible to meet the challenges posed by the enlargement of the EU to include 10 new Member States. The draft budget also fails to take sufficient account of the future accession of Bulgaria and Romania. Worse yet, the 2006 budget contains a long list of superfluous expenses for a wide range of consultancy and promotional services, as well as increased spending on administration and bureaucracy.
To sum up, we believe that the 2006 budget is flawed, and that it runs counter to the ideals of a united Europe. These include rapid economic growth, social peace and solidarity with backward regions and countries."@en1
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