Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2006-03-14-Speech-2-372"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.20060314.29.2-372"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:spoken text |
".
Mr President, the report which I have presented for Parliament’s consideration and approval outlines the main guidelines for the 2007 budget pertaining to other institutions. The main part of my report, however, is dedicated to Parliament’s budget.
In conclusion, I trust the various guidelines highlighted in this report, if effectively adopted, will improve the efficiency, quality, performance and transparency of the European institutions, offering more added value to the European citizens and hopefully more added value to the institutions’ credibility.
The report places major emphasis on the need to consolidate what has been successfully achieved in these last few years. No major projects are being contemplated for 2007, which should provide us with enough time to carry out an in-depth stocktaking exercise and enable us to examine and evaluate critically and objectively what needs to be done in the coming years.
In a framework of budgetary constraint, we need to implement budgetary rigour in all ongoing activities, ensuring added value for taxpayers’ money. I wish to stress the importance of the application of activity-based budgeting, which would result in more rational and analytical estimates. Moreover, appropriations should relate to specific activities. This would help to avoid cancellation of appropriations at the end of the year.
The institutions have to base their estimates on well-defined needs, avoiding duplication of functions, focusing on core operations and eliminating malpractice and all bottlenecks. In this respect, the institutions are invited to make better use of their resources, leading to more interinstitutional cooperation, which should be conducive to more efficiency and hopefully more savings. It is reasonable to assume that some administrative tasks could be shared amongst the institutions, without the latter losing their independence. This could create economies of scale and increase the effectiveness of services.
Another key issue in the report relates to information policy, which addresses Parliament’s objective of bringing Europe and its institutions closer to its citizens. In order to improve the perception that the citizens have of the Union, the implementation of an effective, strong information strategy is crucial. Having said that, however, I still contend that in any information project particular attention should be given to the extent of participation and cooperation of political groups, the pluralism of opinion, the value of its contents and its cost structure. In the final analysis, the level of success of any project will have to be measured in terms of its positive impact on EU citizens.
In terms of staffing, keeping in mind the exceptionally strong recruitment exercise which took place in the last three years and the Streamline software system, which should be in place by the end of the year, it would be justified to assume that with the exception of enlargement and an extremely limited recruitment of specialised staff, no new employment should take place in 2007, which would result in real economies in the future.
In my report I also addressed a number of additional priorities for 2007, relating mainly to buildings policy, enlargement, assistance to Members, a statute for Members’ assistants, and training. Regrettably, in view of time constraints, I will be unable to deal with all those topics in any detail.
It is unfortunate that this budgetary procedure starts in a context of uncertainty, due to the absence of a new interinstitutional agreement. Understandably, we should do our utmost to reach an agreement on the financial perspectives but not at any cost. We cannot and should not pay lip service to high-flown buzzwords such as ‘growth’, ‘employment’, ‘research’, ‘social solidarity’ and ‘enlargement’ and at the same time not provide the funds or flexibility to achieve them. In other words, if we really mean what we say, we should put our money where our mouth is.
Moreover, and under these circumstances, it would be advisable, at least at this stage, to work on the assumption that we will be retaining the self-imposed ceiling of 20% of Category 5 expenditure. Having said that, however, we know that the self-imposed ceiling is not an irrefutable and fixed law. In future we should not be hesitant to challenge and review this agreement if we are truly convinced that it makes more financial and budgetary sense to do so."@en1
|
| lpv:spokenAs | |
| lpv:unclassifiedMetadata |
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples