Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2006-12-12-Speech-2-249"
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"en.20061212.42.2-249"2
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"Mr President, this year budgetary requests were considered on their own merits, and the actual needs and priorities of the institutions were taken into consideration. At the same time, all forms of expenditure were critically examined in order to cut down on waste and bad practices. It was equally important, however, for me to ensure that the institutions were given the necessary tools and funds to function and operate efficiently.
One general observation I would like to make is that not enough efforts are being made by the institutions to present clearer, more accurate and more analytical estimates. Were this to happen, the amounts that are put in reserve would be markedly lower, and there would be no need to provide unduly inflated margins, with the result that we end up cancelling appropriations at the end of the year and carrying out last-minute transfers. Once again, I would like to emphasise the need for all the institutions to present more detailed and informative reports about their activities every year, stating whether their objectives have been achieved and how allocated funds have been utilised.
Another major point in this budgetary procedure was the policy related to the recruitment service, which must be improved. Both Parliament and the Council have, in principle, approved every request for posts related to enlargement of the Union. However, it is becoming increasingly difficult to understand or justify the delay in the process of staff selection related to the 2004 enlargement. This shortcoming should be remedied, and the institutions, together with EPSO, should solve this pressing problem of the filling of vacant posts. Hence, the decision taken by Parliament and the Council to monitor the recruitment process closely is a necessary one.
The 2007 budget framework concentrates also on another important point, namely cooperation beween the Committee of the Regions and the Economic and Social Committee. In the coming budgetary year, a realistic analysis should be carried out to ensure that the agreement between them is renewed without other forms of cooperation being excluded. The point of departure of every exercise should be cooperation that respects separate identities. More equitable governance of the joint service must also be guaranteed. In view of this, it would be advisable to set up a working committee which would address this matter and which would examine the impact of the opinions issued by these two committees and of other work carried out by them. In 2007 we should have fewer problems with regard to assistance to Members and the Visitors Programme. I feel we have achieved tangible progress as regards these two services and that its impact should be felt in 2007 and 2008. It should, however, be stated that the information given to Members about the services available should be more effective.
Next year we expect an upgrade in the institutional structure in order to achieve a greater degree of streamlining, as well as a more determined implementation of the redeployment policy, which I believe will have a positive impact over the next few years. On the other hand, multilingualism has been disappointing. In this regard, we reiterate our support for the initiative taken by the Parliamentary Bureau to establish a good practice guide, which should include sanctions and penalties. Good management of this useful, though expensive, service next year should be on the agenda of all the institutions.
Mr President there is not enough time to speak about other priorities that have been addressed in this budget, such as the information policy, where we expect to observe further progress in 2007, and the acquisition of property – especially property held jointly with the Commission – in relation to which we expect a great deal of improvement, as well as information science, security, training, the simplification of legislation and so many other issues. It should be pointed out that, during the planning and development phases of this budget, we felt the need to maintain contact with all the institutions.
The last budget level obtained during the first reading was a result of this process. In fact, during the conciliation process with the Council and the Commission, the parliamentary representatives did their utmost to find a balanced formula, and we are assuming that all parties, including the Council, will honour the agreements reached during these meetings. The primary aim of these trialogues and reconciliation meetings would otherwise be lost. We could not accept a situation in which procedures no longer made sense or, worse still, were counterproductive for this Parliament. In these circumstances I feel that the Committee on Budgets should address these questions urgently over the next few months."@en1
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