Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2005-11-15-Speech-2-021"
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"en.20051115.6.2-021"2
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"Mr President, listening to the UK Independence Party talking about the Commission not being able to manage its grandchildren’s pocket money, I must say that I would rather have the Commission managing it than the UK Independence Party! In any case, I would like to make three main points, firstly a general point, and then two points aimed at the Commission and then the Council.
My first and general point is that I think this is a good report. The aim of the report is to improve the control environment as it stands, to make the use of money more transparent and more understandable and to get rid of fraud and mismanagement. There have been some improvements but, as many have said, a lot remains to be done. Having said that, I do not think any company would receive a positive Statement of Assurance – DAS – using the method that the Court of Auditors does.
My second point is that I would like to congratulate the Commission. I know that it gets a lot of flak for the way in which it uses the money at its disposal, some of which is justified, but most of which is not. It has made a lot of improvements. I like what it has done on establishing a roadmap to a positive DAS and what it has done on accounting.
My final point is a criticism of the Council, not merely of the fact it is not present today but of the fact that – just as the UK Independence Party was doing a second or two ago – it is trying to create the illusion that everything is the fault of the Commission or the other EU institutions. That is simply not the case. Eighty per cent of the money used in the European Union is used in the Member States. That is why I condemn the fact that, at the Ecofin Council two weeks ago, the Finance Ministers once again refused to sign a declaration of assurances. I think we could go very much further in this whole process of the management of finances if the Finance Ministers were to take their responsibility.
To sum up: one, we are improving the system; two, the problem is not the Commission, but the Member States; and three, I am optimistic that in five years’ time we will have a positive DAS."@en1
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