Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2008-12-17-Speech-3-012"
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"en.20081217.3.3-012"2
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"Madam President, Commissioner, please allow me to note the Council’s absence and the innovation on the part of the French Presidency, honouring us with its absence, which is a first. I would like to say, Jutta, you had thought that it was out of contempt that the French Presidency had not met with you. I believe simply that this absence shows the contempt this Presidency has, or its Ministers have at any rate, for the budget of the European Union.
Lastly, I would like to wish the Commission good luck. It is up to you to implement this budget accurately without wasting a single euro. It is up to you to show sceptical states and convince them of the added value that the Union provides, both politically and in budgetary terms.
I will not go back over the proposals of our rapporteurs, but I would like to dwell on just a few thoughts. I shall repeat, once again this year, that the budget is inadequate and the multiannual financial framework is unsuitable. There is a lack of funds for economic recovery policies, research, lifelong learning, networks, and aid for SMEs and micro-enterprises. It is difficult to implement the policy of territorial solidarity and, in particular, the Cohesion Fund, and therefore billions of euros are left in unused payment appropriations. Too much money is earmarked for aid for market agriculture, which leaves margins unused due to legal bases that prohibit new commitments. There are problems in using the sums set aside for rural development and the environment. Money is being scattered on security and justice policies, far removed from the Council’s public commitments, and citizenship and information policies are practically bankrupt and do not enable real communication with European citizens.
However, the promises made within the framework of external action are the last straw in terms of the lack of realism. Needs are continually piling up, conflicts and poverty are taking hold all over the world – Somalia, Darfur, Asia, typhoons, cyclones, famine, war in Palestine, Kosovo, now in Georgia – and the allocated resources are not changing. Every year, mission impossible becomes ever more impossible.
Only the creation of a billion-euro fund, which is essential in order to attempt to revive subsistence agriculture in the poorest countries, has provided a faint glimmer of hope. Trusting the financial perspective, we were hoping that we could continue to implement the traditional policies and find, in the margins available, enough money to respond to this different emergency, to which establishing the fight against climate change must be added. That is to overlook the fact that the budgetary agreement is negotiated with the Council and that the Council, rather I should say the 27 governments of the Member States, in addition to their traditional problems, are facing the financial crisis that is threatening the European economy, but which is being experienced as 27 national budgetary crises.
That is why we are forced to adopt a budget that is not in line with Members’ expectations, a budget in which the gap between commitments and payments is giving rise to increasing concern with regard to the sincerity of the budget procedure. The desire to contribute as little as possible to the revenue of the Union leads the Member States to adopt simple and unproductive positions. Firstly, they keep payments to a bare minimum, hence the payment appropriation of less than 0.9% of GDP, with commitment promises that are never monitored, and they do not facilitate the implementation of European policies in their country so as to avoid cofinancing and thus allow unused appropriations to flow back into the coffers of each state.
Admittedly, the Union’s usual policies continue to be implemented as well as can be expected. Innovative actions, which are often promoted by our pilot projects, and preparatory actions are being implemented by the Commission. The European budget, however, is characterised by promising everything and not investing sufficient funds in implementation procedures, with the willingness of each of the Member States.
Once again, we have two new urgent challenges to face this year. The first is the fight against climate change, and the Council’s conclusions on the subject are modest but at least it has made some conclusions; investments need to be made this year and increased in 2010. The second challenge is the EUR 200 billion economic stimulation that has been announced. Only EUR 5 billion of that amount is needed for new investments. The financial perspective therefore needs to be reviewed somewhat.
Yesterday, the President-in-Office told us that this review had been acknowledged, but the Council tells us that it has been blocked. What, then, is the situation? We in the Socialist Group in the European Parliament are ready.
To conclude, we absolutely cannot continue on this course, since political Europe is falling apart before our eyes. The time has come to review the financial perspective so as to restore balance to Europe’s revenue and expenditure, to deconsecrate some immutable policies and to finance dynamic policies to effectively meet the real needs of people around the world."@en1
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