Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2006-12-12-Speech-2-272"

Predicate	Value (sorted: default)
rdf:type	lpv_eu:Speech2
dcterms:Date	"2006-12-12"^^xsd:date2
dcterms:Is Part Of	lp_eu:Draft general budget for 2007, amended by the Council (all sections) – Financial Regulation applicable to the general budget of the European Communities – Draft amending budget No 6/2006 (debate)2
dcterms:Language	"el"^^xsd:language2
lpv:document identification number	"en.20061212.42.2-272"2
lpv:hasSubsequent	lp_eu:2006-12-12-Speech-2-2732
lpv:speaker	lp:Antonis Samaras2
lpv:spokenAs	member; Delegation to the EU-Russia Parliamentary Cooperation Committee (2004-09-15--2007-09-25)3 member; BUDG (2004-07-21--2007-01-14)3 substitute; ECON (2004-07-22--2007-01-14)3 member_of_the_bureau; EPP-ED (2004-11-14--2007-02-14)3 unknown; Nea Dimokratia (2004-07-20--2007-09-25)3
lpv:translated text	"Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, I am a firm believer in development. In 2007 the cost of the Community budget will be less than 1% of the Community’s GNP. Is this an achievement for which we must be proud? Some of my colleagues are. ‘At least we managed to enforce budgetary discipline’ they say. I am sorry if I cannot share their feeling of high achievement that has engulfed them. While the European Union is expanding we, at the same time, limit our community budget, which does not make us more financially disciplined but less visible in the eyes of the European citizens. I do not wish to be misunderstood, I believe deeply in the concept of financial discipline. If pointless expenses are being made then we should stop them. However, pointless expenses only exist in national budgets of Member States, not in our tiny community budget. Nevertheless, national expenses are outside the European Parliament’s jurisdiction and because we cannot make expense cuts on national budgets we are forced to make cuts on necessary expenses of our community budget. However, we will not be taken seriously on matters of discipline and neither will we be taken seriously on matters of European integration. How are we supposed to go to Lisbon like this? The USA spends more than 20% of its GNP on its federal budget. We spend less than 1%! How are we supposed to compete with them? The truth is that we cannot compete with them. A continuously shrinking European budget seriously undermines our status, our credibility and our capacity to impose any changes. The inadequacies of the Finnish Presidency, which we all viewed in the Committee on Budgets, only made things worse. Therefore, I fear that on a collective basis we are well below 1% of our capabilities as Europeans. I am sorry to say this, but I think we are heading towards the wrong direction."@en1

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