Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2012-07-03-Speech-2-547-000"
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"en.20120703.22.2-547-000"2
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"Madam President, the European economy faces challenges like never before, and it will principally be our ability to keep pace with the rest of the world that will determine the future for the European peoples.
The budget will be the key to that future, and our most pressing priority ought to be improving competitiveness to support economic growth based on a fully functioning single market and greater value for money spent at European level. That means investing in research and development, investing in border infrastructure and investing in broadband connectivity – all things which will help people in their daily lives and in the future. But it also means that, in a strictly limited budget, we should only be spending where we can see clear value for money and relevance to the challenges of the day.
This is the time when we ought to be looking again at the traditional spending areas. It is a time when we ought to be asking the difficult questions. For example: has past investment in structural funding projects really brought the benefits that were intended? Will the reform proposals for the common agricultural policy really deliver measurable environmental benefits, and at what price to the European taxpayer? Against the backdrop of the current economic challenges, this budget is missing the opportunity to seek out those new approaches. Instead, the solution is more of the same: the same policies, but more money spent.
This House would be mistaken if it was to presume that it could go on increasing spending at a time when the people of Europe are experiencing cutbacks and austerity. We should be leading by example, and that means freezing the size of the budget."@en1
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