Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2001-04-03-Speech-2-036"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.20010403.3.2-036"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:spokenAs | |
| lpv:translated text |
"Mr President, clearly, Mr Colom i Naval has not applied Goethe’s maxim “In der Beschränkung zeigt sich erst der Meister” [Only in moderation is the master revealed]. In his report on the financial perspective, he is right to draw our attention to the considerable underspending of appropriations for structural measures in 2000. It appears that EUR 14 190 million in commitment appropriations and EUR 7 988 million in payment appropriations were not implemented in 2000. This is a considerable problem which has been around for years.
However, I do share the rapporteur’s view that something needs to be done. The policy adopted hitherto cannot be sold to the citizens. But what a surprise. Both the Commission and Mr Colom propose, by way of adjustment, to re-budget the unspent amounts to the year 2002. I cannot quite follow this line of thought. There is every reason to get to the bottom of this problem. What, for example, is the reason for the payments falling behind the commitments to such an extent? Would that not be due to the fact that the Commission services are unable to properly manage all commitments with which the budgetary authority has saddled the Commission over the past couple of years? Is this not quite simply a question of far too generous budgeting?
In my opinion, the solution can be found in the quote of Goethe. We need to learn from the mistakes we made in the past, and economise as a Parliament. The unspent appropriations should not always be transferred to the subsequent years. We must tailor the appropriations to the Commission’s implementation capacity. Furthermore, the Union must cut back its activity to those areas of policy where European action clearly adds value. Programmes which are not effective must be abandoned.
The Costa Neves report remains ensnared in woolly statements; they can be interpreted in any way one wants. I would like to gain a clear picture of his plans. It is really beyond belief that enlargement – surely the top priority of the next couple of years – is missing from Mr Costa Neves’ list of political priorities. I suggest including this major development in the report at this late stage.
Finally, we object to the Commission proposal on the statute and financing of European political parties. It is not up to Europe, but the parties themselves, to decide how they want to organise themselves. They are responsible for their own revenue. Furthermore, parties organised at European level will only widen the chasm between the citizen and European politics."@en1
|
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples