Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2010-12-14-Speech-2-469"
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"en.20101214.36.2-469"2
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"Mr President, after many months of negotiations, discussions and tension, we will have finally managed – tomorrow I hope – to adopt the European Union 2011 budget here at the European Parliament plenary session. I would like to start positively with what I believe to be the most interesting and effective of the achievements of the 2011 budget, and those that are of particular significance for European citizens.
First and foremost, I am very pleased that we managed to reach an agreement on time, that the difficult negotiations with the Member States and the European Commission were completed before the end of 2010, and that we managed to avoid the hazard of a provisional 2011 budget, even though each of the parties, of course, had to compromise to a certain extent. I would like to draw your attention to several valuable and interesting aspects regarding the specific details of what we managed to negotiate.
First and foremost, this relates to the joint position that we drew up, and the unanimous adoption of Parliament’s proposal of October 2010 regarding the European Parliament’s priorities in terms of budgetary obligations. All our proposals regarding increased funding for the budget lines which are vital for youth, education, mobility, innovation, research programmes and for programmes relating to key issues in international affairs were accepted by the Council and the Commission. I am pleased about this. It should also be noted that Parliament was very realistic and disciplined in its October reading. I am pleased that the Council and the Member States took note of this discipline and acknowledged the priorities we proposed, and to which we have been making clear reference since March.
In summary, I am pleased that this triangle – youth, education and mobility – was understood and properly appreciated by the Council. I hope that the Commission will make every effort to ensure that these increased funds are used appropriately in 2011.
I am pleased that we managed to understand our own fears to a large extent. However, our satisfaction that we managed to reach an understanding is, in very many respects, marred by several important elements. First and foremost, during the 2011 negotiations, we saw in practice how difficult it is to implement the Treaty of Lisbon, how many unknown areas remain ahead of us and how much joint work we have to put in to develop practical, pragmatic solutions arising from the new frameworks within which we are functioning. This process has by no means finished.
It has also become painfully clear that the Member States are showing an ever-decreasing amount of solidarity when they have to contend with a crisis, and it is precisely European solidarity that is the first value to be lost when savings have to be made in national budgets. I regret greatly that the Member States have suddenly become so very short-sighted and that they want to make savings specifically on European integration. It is a sore subject. We must return to this debate, as it is by no means over.
I would also like to ask Mr Wathelet two rather important questions on subjects that continue to puzzle me. I would like to know whether the Council intends to adopt the joint declaration – the draft of which we have seen, although I am unclear as to its status – on the Multiannual Financial Framework. Furthermore, the European Commission, in accordance with Parliament’s expectations, presented a whole series of single-page declarations clarifying Lisbonisation, European added value and own resources. I would like to ask Mr Wathelet, who represents the Council here, whether the Council could explain its own position on these matters.
Once again, I would like to thank my fellow Members from the European Parliament for their contribution and everyone from the European Commission and the Council for their constructive approach, and I will be grateful for an answer to these questions."@en1
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