Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2010-09-07-Speech-2-479"
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"en.20100907.31.2-479"2
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"Mr President, Mr Wathelet, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, our two rapporteurs have already provided an evaluation of the Council’s position, and now it is my turn to speak on behalf of the Committee. I would like to say right at the start that I am certain that the Belgian Presidency will do as good a job as it possibly can. However, it can only do its job as well as it is permitted to do by the Council as a whole. Unfortunately, we have to admit that, in this regard, the result is poor. The Council has, as usual – and I cannot remember things ever being any different – gone round busily deleting and cutting parts of the Commission’s draft, in terms of both the commitments and the payments. It has done this all over the place at random – and that is also the usual procedure. It has not looked to see where this could possibly make sense and where not. The result is more than EUR 780 million less in commitments and EUR 3.6 billion less in payments.
If we look at who this affects in particular, we see that once again, it is the decentralised agencies. We established these agencies together by means of legislation. Both Parliament and the Council were involved, otherwise there would be no agencies. However, if we do not make available to them the funds they need to enable them to do exactly what we have tasked them with doing, we ought to shut them down. Otherwise, every euro we give them really is money down the drain.
The same thing applies to the executive agencies. The Commission has already mentioned this. If we bleed dry the executive agencies that are supposed to implement the multiannual programmes that have been decided by law, these programmes are finished. Do we really want that to happen?
Elements in the Council hold pious speeches about how Europe must make greater efforts to be, or to become, competitive. In the budget procedure, however, it is precisely those parts of the budget that are intended to promote growth and competitiveness that are being cut, in other words, category Ia.
The structural policy figures are being affected in a similar way. Where there are now real requirements for funds from the regions, funding is being reduced by EUR 1 billion. That can hardly be regarded as logical, and it is certainly not wise.
We would really like those with the political responsibility to look closely at the content of our budget – the content! – and, in so doing, to have Europe and its added value for citizens in mind and in sight. Then they will indeed find a suitable partner for discussion in us."@en1
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