Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2007-07-11-Speech-3-462"
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".
I am very pleased because now, after first reading, it looks like we may reach the consensus needed for a joint decision before the summer recess. A very great work on the part of three institutions lies behind all this.
The greatest success of Parliament is the fact that, as of January 2010, the mid-term progress reports will not only reach members of the European statistics network and committees of experts, but will also be formally submitted to the Council and to Parliament, on the basis of the proposal. As a result, these fundamental institutions will be able to have their say, as of the next parliamentary cycle, about the strategic and tactical problems of the day.
In the area of sectoral priorities, questions by Parliament were also successfully incorporated into the report; suffice it to mention the challenges presented by the human resources development indicators, urbanisation, equal opportunities for women and the measurement of the processes of agglomeration.
Thank you, Madam President, and now I would like to continue with the other line of questioning. There is great hope, upon joining, that the macroeconomic supervisory system, and the fact that a Member State’s economic policy is a shared concern, along with the existence of a stability and growth pact, would help us to be more secure inside the European Union than outside of it. The EC Treaty declares joint responsibility for the economic policies of Member States, and I suppose for their failures too. The European Parliament votes for and supervises the Commission, which, among other things, oversees Eurostat.
Since 2004, the Greek and Hungarian problems revealed grave deficiencies in this system. In both countries there occurred economic policy and data manipulations that even influenced elections, necessitating not only severe corrections later on, but also undermining trust in common institutions. The Eurobarometer showed a steep decline in Hungary.
In Hungary, since 2004 there have been continual discrepancies of several percentage points between the promised results and the reality that was later acknowledged. There is great discrepancy between the end of 2005 and of 2006, for instance: the amount of debt showed a difference of more than 10 percentage points in comparison to the GDP, in other words between the promised and the subsequently demonstrated reality.
Unfortunately, Mr Almunia is absent, because if he were listening now, he would hear that in 2005 and 2006, instead of taking into account market projections like those of Goldman Sachs and Standard [amp] Poor’s, the government’s misleading remarks were heeded instead. The market saw the catastrophe, and also sensed the unlawful dismissal of the Statistics Office staff. Yet the forecasting system was a fiasco.
The most shameful situation occurred in May 2006. At that time Mr Almunia predicted that all the indices would improve in Hungary, inflation would be low, growth would be high, while the prime minister was predicting extremely grave problems and an austerity programme. He admitted they had made phone calls to Mr Almunia and used hundreds of tricks. Afterwards Mr Almunia, – he would hear this if he was present – threw up his hands: we did not include the pensions in the deficit, we did not include the hidden deficits of state enterprises, we did not know how to account for the motorway. I believe all this is double-talk.
In conclusion: the Hungarian prime minister admitted serious political collusion, regrettably also with a member of the Commission, and it shows. Such “wizardry” should never be allowed to happen again, because elections are approaching after all, elections will take place again in the future, and only the admission of truth can help. I think therefore the Commission must also acknowledge these political conclusions, because the price of this lack of credibility will ultimately be paid not by us but by the population of Hungary.
First of all, let me acknowledge the excellent work done by the Committee. Their proposal reflects superbly both the Community’s current priorities and the mechanism of the present Treaty of Nice. I wish to give special recognition to the German Presidency, and more particularly to Mr Radermacher, president of the Federal Statistical Office, who, by setting an incredibly fast pace, made it possible to elaborate and become familiar with the Council’s position. The priorities of the European Parliament were thus taken into consideration even while the work was in progress.
Similar special acknowledgement must also be extended to the shadow rapporteurs of the other two major groups, the socialists and liberals, for the job they have carried out. It is thanks to this work that an almost overwhelming majority lined up behind the joint compromises in the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs.
What did Parliament accomplish in this joint text? One major result is that in the principal section, the range of otherwise well-chosen items recommended as priorities by the Committee has been expanded. Considerations regarding innovation, development of human resources, regional cohesion and demographic challenges now come into the picture. As a result, the list of priorities has become balanced without being overabundant.
Another important result is, in my opinion, the compromise reached with respect to cooperation between administrations at both national and local levels as well as in the area of statistics management. I hope that this will bear fruit with regard to quality as well, which is a particularly important point that will be addressed later on in connection with the oral question raised about the reliability of macroeconomic projections and short-term statistical data.
What, then, was the priority of the rapporteur? In addition to improving the quality and speed of statistical services, I considered my main task to be the lessening of the financial and administrative burdens, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises. It was also important to make sure that the demands of regulation does not lead to a confusion between protection of individually submitted commercial data and the obligation to provide general statistical data.
We also managed to minimize the burden of supplying the data required by international, mainly UN obligations, thanks primarily to the flexibility of the shadow rapporteurs. A huge challenge is also presented by our own as well as international commitments, but in this regard I expect a more cautious approach, and that is what we have approved. We must not overburden ourselves in the area of statistical capability and the export of know-how.
I consider it a good outcome, as well, that we were able to agree on the main points of the 2010 mid-term progress report. On the basis thereof, I would like to see a Commission proposal for a directive that would help overcome the political problem of the statistical conception determining the work programme of another, new Parliament and Committee, and would ensure instead that our new colleagues can incorporate their programmes of work directly into the clear framework of statistical work.
In addition, we made reference to the major challenges facing us, also expected for 2010, namely the reforms of CAP and of the Financial Services Directive, the entry into force of the Services Directive or the appearance of new Community policies, the monitoring of immigration, crime and climate change in the area of statistics as well."@en1
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