Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2009-10-20-Speech-2-329"
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"en.20091020.35.2-329"2
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"Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, it is precisely on the budget that Parliament can and should bring to bear all of its power as an institution directly elected by the citizens, in order to ensure that this vital instrument for growth, and also for fairness and justice, is fully able to meet citizens’ needs. The budget must have the ability to be tangible and dynamic, to listen and to respond.
We have worked towards making the 2010 draft budget as flexible as possible at this time of particular economic and financial crisis. However, the budget must also be credible, feasible and tangible, and in this regard, it was fundamental to avoid making financial resources for the coming years too inflexible by restricting excessive spending beyond the maximum expenditure ceiling contained in the perspectives of the multiannual financial framework just to cases that really are an absolute priority. This is the case with the Recovery Plan.
Again with the same aim, namely establishing a budget truly able to meet citizens’ needs, we have formulated specific amendments regarding payments in order to free up the maximum amount of resources possible with immediate effect.
The European budget is structured on two tracks: commitments and payments. The commitments represent serious political intentions, but also real, concrete actions. Therefore, payments have been increased to EUR 127 billion in line with the draft budget tabled by the Committee on Budgets, compared with EUR 120 billion proposed by the Council and EUR 122 billion proposed by the Commission.
Still with the same aim, with the same political approach, as a group we are strongly opposed to the creation of reserves, which are not genuine resources immediately available to citizens. The policy of establishing reserves at times of crisis should be reduced to the absolute minimum, to cases in which a reserve really is technically indispensable. In times of crisis, there is no point merely writing figures in the budget, but instead we should build a useful budget, immediately ready for action.
Other matters also deserve special attention. As a group, we have taken the important responsibility of re-tabling the amendment to increase the milk fund to EUR 600 million, as decided by a unanimous vote of the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development, and therefore with the participation of all the Members and groups, and also re-tabling an amendment for a microcredit project amounting to EUR 37 million which, and this is extremely important, does not jeopardise the implementation of other programmes under heading 2.
There is a particular risk at times of crisis: that budget resources will not actually be increased, but transferred from one budget line to another. It is to counter this risk that Parliament, as a directly elected institution, with a role different to that of the Council and the Commission, must be especially careful in its actions, not least with regard to scrutiny."@en1
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