Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/1999-12-14-Speech-2-215"
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"en.19991214.9.2-215"2
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"Mr President, to be a rapporteur or not to be rapporteur? That is the question, if you will allow my immodesty. Rarely have there been so many supporters of a Colom report in the Council. I wonder where I am going wrong. The Berlin European Council was obsessed with budgetary cuts, and not only gave rise to a reduction in the funds for structural policies compared to levels reached in 1999, but also forgot that there were other Community policies. It appears that the Council deliberately daydreams about a European Union which will cost them nothing. After a struggle, in six weeks of Council-Parliament negotiations, we tidied up headings 3 and 5. But although we were negotiating while Kosovo was being bombed, the Council refused to adapt category 4 to something so obvious as the fact that, within a few months, the Union would be involved in its reconstruction, would have to provide humanitarian aid and would certainly have to compensate Romania and other countries, as well, for the losses suffered in trade on the Danube.
I believe that this a problem of short-sightedness. Apparently, the Council cannot tell the difference between the financial perspectives, the multiannual framework for the budget and the budget itself. To my mind, the Council is like one of those people whom you cannot ask to post a letter, because they cannot tell the difference between a letterbox and a drain-hole. Exact figures are requested for something that can only be estimated approximately. I took part in the negotiations and the Council’s only coherent argument is that we should not prejudice the Union’s negotiating position in the Conference of Donors. For this there was a proposal and it seems that we have adopted it and this is the solid position we have taken.
The figures are confused. The Commissioner spoke of EUR 500 million for 2000, on the same day that the President-in-Office of the Council spoke of EUR 12 billion for a period of seven years. This clearly has to be resolved. But we can wait, if necessary, for better figures, although we could make perfect use of the budgetary framework. I believe that there is a time for everything, but we could deal with this problem perfectly – and much better – by means of an amending budget I/2000. In that way we would also fulfil the wishes of the Council which aims for permanent budgeting."@en1
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