Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2012-03-28-Speech-3-230-000"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.20120328.22.3-230-000"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:spoken text |
"Mr President, it is normal on these occasions to thank the shadow rapporteurs. I want to give particular thanks today because the cooperation between the shadows on these estimates has been exceptional. I also want to thank the Bureau and the Secretary-General for their cooperation in putting these estimates together. There is now a widespread consensus that we need a modest budget in Parliament, especially during these difficult economic and financial times.
I believe the estimates show that we are on the way to achieving that modest budget. The proposed increase of 1.9% for 2013 is already a freeze in real terms, and it is in line with the letter we received from Commissioner Lewandowski asking us to keep the increase at or below 1.9%, although I do believe there is potential to make even more savings. I will return to that in a few minutes.
To achieve the 1.9% we have found around EUR 9.3 million in savings in the budget, savings in all Members’ allowances, including the daily allowances and general expenditure allowance, all travel budget lines, in the security costs in Parliament, in representational costs, in seminars, savings made in the budget of political parties and foundations, and also in the project reserve. Colleagues will note that when we have sought to make savings we have also attempted to protect the effectiveness of the European Parliament and to respect our legal responsibilities.
It would be easy to listen to populist voices and make cuts in areas which damage the European Parliament’s effectiveness, and indeed the effectiveness of individual Members of this House. I believe the majority of Members will take the middle, sensible course. Therefore, in addition to the suggested savings, I also support the call for no new unforeseen building projects for the rest of this term. I also call for more information on the KAD building in Luxembourg, for no extra funds to be made available for the House of European History and for this project to be co-financed. We need to clarify with the Commission how much they will put into the building costs and the running costs of that particular project.
I support greater interinstitutional cooperation. There must be opportunities for savings if we work jointly with other institutions on translation, on interpretation, on buildings and on human resources. I am pleased to say that work has already started on that.
I also support calls to look at all our budget lines, particularly the budget lines which are normally under-spent each year. There must be the potential for further savings. As I said earlier, the estimates currently calling for an increase of 1.9% should be just the start. That is why we are also calling for the establishment of a working group in our guidelines.
This working group can do a full evaluation of Parliament’s budget. It can also look at the forthcoming travel costs report, and it can look at the comparable study with other parliaments and Congress which this House called for in last year’s estimates.
When this working group finishes its work towards the end of the year we will be able to identify even more savings in our budget. My aim, and I believe the aim of most Members of this House, will be to say that we have listened, we have listened to people’s views, we have made savings in our budget, and we have produced a budget which is a cut in real terms, but at the same time we have produced a budget which protects the effectiveness of this Parliament and of all its Members."@en1
|
| lpv:spokenAs | |
| lpv:unclassifiedMetadata | |
| lpv:videoURI |
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples