Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2005-12-13-Speech-2-016"
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"en.20051213.6.2-016"2
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"Mr President, Commissioner, Minister, ladies and gentlemen, we have concluded the budgetary procedure with a success. It is a success for everyone but, if I may say so, it is above all a success for Parliament, which has been able to fight for its political priorities. I should like to thank all the political groups, all my fellow Members, the committee Chairman and secretariat, and all those whose competence and generosity have helped to bring the procedure to a successful conclusion.
The outcome speaks for itself. We had asked for a decent level of payments in line with strict control over spending but also with the need to have sufficient funds available to carry out the Union’s essential policies. We have achieved a budget of EUR 112 billion and a joint declaration that an amending budget will be put forward, particularly for the Structural Funds, if spending picks up in the new Member States, as we think it will.
We had asked for the budget lines for growth, competitiveness, education, research, small and medium-sized enterprises, and youth, environmental and cultural policies to be prioritised, and we have achieved renegotiated sums for a good half-dozen codecided programmes and the allocation of EUR 100 million in additional resources. I feel particularly pleased that we have achieved our aim of sending out a strong political message to the youth of Europe through the reinforcement of the Socrates, YOUTH and Leonardo programmes.
We had asked the Council to reflect on the inadequacy of the Berlin spending levels for external actions, and we provided indisputable evidence in that regard. We reminded it of the solemn commitments made by the Heads of State or Government on issues such as Iraq, the tsunami, sugar and Afghanistan, to which Parliament intends to make its own contribution, without, however, sacrificing geographical programmes, humanitarian actions, essential initiatives on human rights and democracy, and inclusive development actions.
What we have achieved is that for the first time we have broken through the fateful EUR 200 million ceiling for flexibility in external actions. Let me be quite clear: having an extra EUR 275 million available for external actions and a protocol that better acknowledges Parliament’s competence in foreign and security policy is not a trophy for us to show off but a necessary response, a decision warranted by everything that we, together, are expected to do in the world.
We are also pleased on other, more general grounds. In recent years the European Union has gained historic prominence; it has made and maintained peace on its soil; it has brought down borders without resorting to the use of force; it has proposed its values without imposing them; and it has promoted growth and cohesion in an often troubled and unstable world. Today we are experiencing a profound crisis in the European project, but it is not an irreversible crisis. As Henri de Saint-Simon wrote, at such times what is needed is a force able to unite desires, to focus movements and to make interests mutual and commitments firm. Our political project was rocked by blustery winds back in the 1980s as well; despite the impending storm, however, strong political leadership enabled us to weather the elements and emerge even stronger than before.
None of us is pretending to be a new François Mitterrand or a new Helmut Kohl but, if we cast aside selfish attitudes and if we adjust national budgetary priorities to the priorities of our European duties, we shall, all together, be able to stop the European project from drifting and crumbling. The right response to a downturn is a change of course and, after our setbacks, we have together scored a positive point this week – we have put the ball in the net – with the annual budget. As Minister Lewis and Commissioner Grybauskaitė know, we could have used the annual budget for leverage on the financial perspective, but we did not want to do so because we have a sense of responsibility and realise that the European Union does not need conflict among the institutions. The Council should understand, however, that it cannot offer us a tiny little Europe; nor can it think that the European Parliament will settle for miserly compromises that mark the end of the European dream.
The European Parliament has made an important contribution to the debate on the budget for 2007-2013 in the excellent Böge report, which has so far been unfairly ignored. The proposal from the UK Presidency, on the other hand, I am sorry to say, is unacceptable because it is the exact opposite of the worthy project that Mr Blair himself set out before Parliament, in that it releases the Member States from their duties towards Europe and gives out little sweeteners here and there, without setting a process of budgetary reform in motion or providing the Union with greater financial leeway.
It is not just a case of Robin Hood in reverse, as somebody suggested: there is also the danger, which I should like to avert, that we shall be responsible for burying any hope of a European revival. With the annual budget, however, we are making a positive response, and for that I am also grateful to Minister Lewis and Commissioner Grybauskaitė. We remain convinced that, at a time of uncertainties and concerns, the empowerment of Europe’s financial conscience is the only basis for fruitful and confident European integration."@en1
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