Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2001-10-23-Speech-2-201"
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"en.20011023.7.2-201"2
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".
Mr President, I take the floor again not for a fine conclusion, but because I would like to give consideration to a few points addressed directly to the Commission, which I had not previously mentioned, or to which I would like to respond.
Let me first return to the flexibility reserve. The question was asked as to when the Commission was going to submit its proposal. We will do it along with the letter of amendment on the use of the flexibility reserve, in accordance with the proposal on the restructuring programme for the Spanish and Portuguese fishing fleets. In accordance with the proposal, provision will be made for EUR 197 million from the flexibility reserve to be used for this purpose.
On the second point, the frontier regions, I must again bring it to your attention that regions currently on the frontiers of the European Union receive a very great deal of financial support from the Structural Fund. The situation is different from that which obtained when the European Union was enlarged to the south. I am ready and willing to produce a special report for you on the extent to which the frontier regions are making use of the Structural Fund programmes for their particular problems and the extent to which there is also some need here for reorientation. I repeat that the Structural Funds pose, at present, the greatest problem with regard to implementation. This year, we again have the situation where the Member States have drawn up comprehensive prognoses on how intensively they will be implementing the programmes, but there are major delays. I do not know how we will be able to catch up by the end of the year, and frontier regions will, of course, be affected.
I have again explained what the Commission has proposed, and you have already worked through it in your Committees. There is very little room for financial manoeuvre in the Budget; even in Category 3 I can see little of it, even after the resolutions that you will probably be adopting on Thursday. I will now take note of your demand for new regulations or proposals for legislation. We are talking about 2002; we are talking about enlargement taking place in 2004, which means that Member States, too, must implement the pre-accession aid packages in 2002/2003. The issue of new legislative initiatives is therefore, of course, double-edged. It was for that reason that the Commission reached for the available programmes in order to build on their foundations, the trans-European networks programme being just one example. We have now also submitted a definite proposal on how this building-up is to be achieved, and the same is true of the youth programme. This is an already existing programme which needs no new legislative basis but onto which the resources can be built as appropriate. It goes without saying, though, that the Commission will undertake very careful analysis and observe which way Parliament votes on this.
I would like to respond briefly to Mr Wynn's question on the Global Health Fund. My fellow-Commissioner Mr Nielson will now be producing a proposal for EDF 9 on the subject. It concerns EUR 60 million from this special allocation intended for contributions to international initiatives. Mr Nielson will propose that these EUR 60 million be allotted to the Global Health Fund. This is, I believe, a good use to put it in terms of the overall expenditure incurred in relation to the EDF. We are working on the assumption that EUR 60 million can be paid out from the EDF's resources for 2002.
I repeat: we are proposing to use resources remaining from 2001 for the Community Budget. There was also a demand for revision of the Financial Regulation. In order to take account of the changes Parliament would like to see made, our proposals will be submitted in time for the next plenary debate in Strasbourg.
I am still highly optimistic, for a certain amount of effort – above all by the Council – could mean that we may well still have the old Financial Regulation in 2002, but may be able to bring the 2003 Budget to a conclusion on the basis of a new Financial Regulation. I believe that would represent a very significant modernisation in view of the many concerns you have expressed today."@en1
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