Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2003-10-21-Speech-2-159"
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"en.20031021.5.2-159"2
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"Madam President, I too would like to add my thanks to Mr Mulder for the way he has carried out his work as budget rapporteur this year. I will be supporting the budget proposals for 2004, but with a certain amount of reluctance, and I will certainly be supporting amendments to them. In particular, I commend the amendments proposed by the Committee on Culture and ask Parliament to think of those organisations such as the youth parliaments and the Youth Orchestra, which do wonderful work for young people but need their funds to be paid in a prompt and efficient manner, something which is not always the case. I would particularly commend the remarks by Mrs Dührkop Dührkop, and the Commission must get the legal base in order so that those funds can be paid next year promptly and on time.
I think I am the last speaker from Parliament before the rapporteur and the Commission and I just want to make three fundamental points. The level of the European Union budget, at just over 1% of Europe's GDP, is about right. When I started my political life an elderly gentleman said to me 'always remember that when you put your hand up to vote for expenditure, you are actually putting it down into my pocket'. One penny in the pound is acceptable, one cent in the euro, but no more. Secondly, the Commission must get its accounts in order. All the good work done by European Union programmes is totally destroyed by these regular accounting problems. Is there not a single Commissioner prepared to accept responsibility for this and do the decent thing? All the while they do not do so, the European Union is the loser.
Finally, we must have proper democratic control. Last year, for instance, the budgetary authority voted EUR 3 million for Euronews. I heard only yesterday that to this day not a single cent of that money has been given to Euronews, which is one of the best ways for citizens in the European Union to find out about European affairs. I fear that the Commission could not care less whether Euronews fails. Worse than that, it is ignoring the budgetary authority, which it should do its best to respect."@en1
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