Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2008-07-07-Speech-1-094"
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"en.20080707.16.1-094"2
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"Madam President, Commissioner, we are in the process of setting a clear mandate for negotiations on the discussions we are to have with the Council next week.
I understand why many fellow Members who have spoken have pushed for special additional efforts on issues relating to the scope of their powers (external relations etc.), but I believe that this year in particular, this mandate should be set in relation to what citizens expect of the budget, rather than what many of us expect because of special interests or other concerns.
We must focus on the four issues that, in my opinion, are now the most pressing issues for citizens in Europe today. These four issues are: high prices, climate change, competitiveness and the environment.
These are the four cornerstones on which we should build the mandate: I think we are on the right path, but we must not lose sight of this outline.
I would like to say a few words about the idea that President Barroso pulled out of his sleeve yesterday and will be putting to the G8 summit today or tomorrow, if I am not mistaken, on food security. It is an idea that we should examine, but we should examine it from the standard perspective of the way in which we draw up the EU budget: in other words, we should discuss it with the Council as a budget principle and decide whether it should be tabled as an EU proposal in international forums.
To conclude, I would like to say a few words about immigration. I come from a Member State that is subject to enormous pressure on its external borders, which are EU borders, especially on its maritime borders. I think we should make a special effort this year as regards the issue of Frontex, especially its maritime dimension, with operations such as Operation Poseidon in the Aegean, which last year alone, in the summer months, was able to respond to an average of 700-800 cases of illegal immigration.
We need this effort, just as we need to make a mark, at last, on the budget – and I am in touch with other Members with the aim of achieving this – to ensure that for the first time there will be a mechanism for solidarity between the Member States in handling the administrative cost and the administrative burden of receiving immigrants.
This is something which we do not have yet, and which we need. This puts great pressure on some Member States and I think we have a special responsibility to make it work.
I shall end as I began. No budget can succeed unless it responds to the expectations of citizens rather than special interests and lobby groups."@en1
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