Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2002-10-22-Speech-2-127"
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"en.20021022.6.2-127"2
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"Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, this 2003 budget is catastrophic, nostalgic and historic all at the same time.
Catastrophic, first of all, because it is based on a whole series of things which are unacceptable. For example, the bargain or British cheque. One night, at Fontainebleau – Mrs Thatcher tells this tale in her memoirs – President Mitterrand said to her ‘Madam, you will get your cheque’. In fact, however, since then, the United Kingdom has become a net recipient. It is as if a millionaire continued to go to the soup kitchens and considered that this was actually part of the Community acquis.
Second catastrophe: the RALs, for example, not only in the field of the Structural Funds, but also in the field of agriculture. The difference between the budget on which we voted and the appropriations actually committed, actually taken up, is such that, over ten years, European small farmers have lost out on almost the equivalent of an annual budget.
This budget is not only catastrophic, however. It is also nostalgic. Everyone has said it, this is the last time there will only be 15 of us. As the Hungarian President rightly said to us earlier, in a Europe with 25 Member States, there is no question of having two speeds, with some countries receiving 100% of the agricultural subsidies and some, initially, only receiving 25%. The balance of political powers will be such that we will not be able to carry on this way.
The 2003 budget, however, is an initial response to this need, and that is why it is historic. Not historic because of a number of pretentious things such as the APS – annual political strategy – or ABB – activity based budgeting. These things have existed since the 1960s with the planning, programming, and budgeting system. No, if this budget is historic, it is because it is the first to exceed EUR 100 billion, the first in budgetary history to reach three figures. And although it took 43 years to get there, it will take barely ten years to exceed two hundred and reach the EUR two hundred billion mark. In this respect, sooner or later, these two hundred billion will, of course, force us to establish a European tax.
We must welcome this budget, it is the last easy budget, the last simple budget. In future it will be open season on taxpayers, although it is true that, for our British friends, this will replace fox hunting, which has now been outlawed."@en1
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