Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2006-12-12-Speech-2-251"
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"en.20061212.42.2-251"2
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"Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, it is an honour for me to be here in Parliament discussing the 2007 budget, in a situation where the template for a very lengthy drafting process is clearly apparent. I am relieved that the budgetary authorities have reached agreement on the budget for 2007. That is the job of the Council and Parliament.
Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, it is important that the Council and Parliament should have finalised this package adopted jointly within the framework of this budget process. I want to say again that I am glad that the budget approved for 2007 will contain adequate margins in almost all categories.
I would like to thank the Members of Parliament for their cooperation over the last six months. There has been more open dialogue among the budgetary authorities than before, and that makes it possible for us to reconcile our varying views more easily. My special thanks go to the Chairman of the Committee on Budgets, Mr Lewandowski, and to the rapporteurs, Mr Elles and Mr Grech.
That said, I think that it is only right that I should assess the package from the point of view of the Council.
The increase in the 2007 budget matches the objectives of the Member States fairly well and does not place too great a burden on the taxpayer. Fortunately, the Council and Parliament reached agreement on a realistic figure for payment appropriations. Strict budgetary discipline has therefore now been included as a key principle. This should continue to be the approach in the years to come.
Overall it has been a significant achievement to adopt the amendment to the Financial Regulation in a situation where there are ever-growing pressures on making financial administration more efficient. In connection with the Financial Regulation, I might say that the Council this morning began a written procedure. That way this Council Regulation can be passed this Wednesday, that is to say 13 December, after Parliament has delivered its opinion on it. Regarding that, I would have liked to hear the Commission’s commitment to the letter sent yesterday by the Director-General of the Directorate-General for Budget on the topic of the rules for the implementation of the Financial Regulation.
On behalf of the Council, I wish to thank Parliament for allowing both budgetary powers to decide jointly now on pilot projects. The Council will act responsibly in the years to come. Similarly, compliance with the new interinstitutional agreement, especially with regard to the appropriations for the Common Foreign and Security Policy, is to be applauded.
The budgetary powers are showing a sense of responsibility and realism in not using the Flexible Instrument in 2007. This will provide a firm basis for budgetary practice in future years. Budgets need to be drafted within the context of frameworks.
The budget for 2007 contains clear priorities. The promotion of competitiveness, the introduction and monitoring of posts in association with enlargement, and the commencement of new generation programmes are practical examples of these.
This budget process also, however, contains some worrying prospects for the future. We did not make sufficient progress in making administration more efficient. The Commission and Parliament cannot ignore their responsibility for making the Union’s administration more efficient. If people in the Member States feel strongly about cuts in the number of posts, why are not the same measures, with nobody suffering personally, approved at Union level? This is a matter of the credibility of the work of the EU as a whole from the public’s point of view, and that means the budget, which the citizens of the Member States are responsible for financing."@en1
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