Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2012-11-21-Speech-3-008-000"
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"en.20121121.4.3-008-000"2
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"Mr President, let me begin by thanking you for the opportunity to participate in this debate. As you know, this week’s extraordinary meeting of the European Council is convened in order to deal with the multiannual financial framework 2014-2020.
This Parliament has consistently sought to maintain the level of expenditure originally proposed by the Commission. Even if, on a personal basis, I may regret that this has not proved possible, we must all be realistic. Europe has been through one of the most severe crises, and despite significant efforts at both national and EU level, the effects of this crisis will continue to be felt for some time. We have no choice but to reflect this dire situation in the MFF and draw and assume the ensuring outfall.
We live at a time of severe constraint as a result of the need for fiscal consolidation. The negotiations on the European budget cannot take place in complete isolation from this reality, however uncomfortable that is. We need to cement together fiscal consolidation with investment in growth and jobs through an unavoidably tight MFF, which is our main investment tool.
Of course we are fully aware of the arguments on European added value, complementarity, synergy, economies of scale and how valid all those arguments are, but under the circumstances it was felt that these parameters could be appropriately addressed through the improvement of the quality of spending.
To reach a compromise we have to go below the Commission proposal. I cannot say now by how much exactly, but I believe that the latest proposals are not very far from where we are likely to end up. The conclusions put forward by the President of the European Council contain cuts across all headings.
As regards instruments outside the MFF and flexibility, the President has been guided by the principle that lower ceilings require greater flexibility in a seven-year framework. It is not therefore proposed to reduce the flexibility instrument. Furthermore, a contingency margin is part of the package.
You may have seen that the conclusions also put forward some proposals from the revenue side such as retaining the option of reforming the VAT-based own resource while the option of having the financial transaction tax as an own resource has also been kept on the table. Last, but not least, a reform of the system of corrections is proposed in order to make them more transparent and fair, within the limits of what seems to be achievable.
The whole day tomorrow will be taken up with bilaterals between the Presidents of the European Council and of the European Commission with all heads of state or government of Member States to test out the likely basis on which a compromise can be reached. The European Council will open tomorrow evening, with a discussion with you, Mr President.
I know that President Van Rompuy is committed to achieving a compromise. The European Council is therefore expected to last as long as it takes.
Let me conclude by saying that throughout this whole process the representatives of Parliament have been extremely helpful and cooperative. You will see that a number of your concerns have been addressed in the draft European Council conclusions. I am sure that all the institutions and the Member States will do their utmost to ensure that we reach a conclusion on this issue by the end of the year. The Cyprus Presidency stands ready to facilitate the agreement both amongst the Member States and with Parliament.
Over the last months the Cyprus Presidency and our trio of partners beforehand have invested a lot of time and effort into what is a very complicated and challenging file following last year’s Commission proposals.
The aim of the Cyprus Presidency was to maintain the momentum and mature the dossier, preparing the file for a full discussion aiming to reach an agreement this year. To this end, we held extensive bilateral consultations in July, followed by an issues paper and an informal General Affairs Council meeting in Cyprus. Then, we issued two non-papers on various issues covering macroeconomic conditionality, better spending, RAL, flexibility and corrections, trying to advance the discussion and provide solutions where possible.
Having taken into account the wish of Parliament to wait for the vote on the relevant interim report, we only introduced for the first time figures in late October in the negotiating box. This proposal was underpinned by difficult political choices, trying to pave the way for a balanced agreement. Overall, I believe that work in the Council in the past few months and the interaction with all institutions and stakeholders has covered some important ground facilitating the prospects for an agreement.
All along this process, we have worked very closely and constructively with Parliament. We met formally before and after each General Affairs Council according to the procedure agreed under the Hungarian Presidency. In addition, Parliament’s negotiating team was invited to participate at the informal ministerial meeting in Cyprus in August and also in an informal ministerial breakfast in Luxembourg last month. Of course, beyond these formal meetings, we have held many other informal discussions which have been very fruitful and conducive to advancing this file.
The negotiating team of Parliament also had an extensive meeting with the cabinet of President Van Rompuy in the framework of the bilateral meetings held between 5 and 12 November 2012. On 13 November 2012, the President of the European Council presented a draft set of European Council conclusions which include all the elements which will need to be part of an agreement. The text presented further develops the work carried out by the presidencies, differentiating in a number of aspects, something normal at this stage.
Last Monday we had an extensive meeting with Mr Lamassoure, Chair of the Committee on Budgets, and the negotiating team of Parliament, along with the head of the cabinet of President Van Rompuy and the competent Commissioners. This meeting allowed for a fruitful and productive exchange of views on the draft European Council Conclusions and for Parliament’s substantial input. We all know how important it is to get the EU’s future financial framework right.
The Presidency supports the President of the European Council in his determination to secure a deal later this week. This is essential for the credibility of the Union and for its ability to deliver to and on behalf of its citizens.
This package takes us towards an eventual compromise. The proposal reduces the original Commission proposal by approximately EUR 75 billion for the MFF itself and an additional EUR 6 billion for those elements outside the MFF. The draft conclusions do not contain options."@en1
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