Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2004-02-10-Speech-2-190"
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"en.20040210.9.2-190"2
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"Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, the debate about the EU budget will be tough. At a time when the net contributors do not have unlimited resources at their disposal and net recipients are keen to protect their vested interests, it will be difficult to achieve a constructive solution. As this solution, the Commission is proposing an increase in own resources. The idea of granting the EU its own tax competence – the keyword is the ‘Europe tax’ – is being discussed. Given the difficult economic situation and massive austerity measures being applied in numerous EU Member States, the letter from the six governments is quite understandable, in my view. If savings are being made across the board, then the EU cannot – no, esteemed colleagues – must not shy away from this desire for savings and reform. Anything else would damage the future of the EU and would ultimately be impossible to justify to the public.
In the conflict over the EU’s future finances, there are two options: either to carry on muddling through, repeating the sins of the past and trying to fund everything at once, or – the second option – to see the future framework for the EU budget as an opportunity. Ever since the decision to admit ten new Member States, at the latest, it has been clear that reforms are essential. Yet so far, no one has been willing to grasp the nettle. Is everything just fine in the EU’s subsidy policy, for example? Is it clear why the EU subsidises tobacco cultivation while banning tobacco advertising at the same time? Is it really the clever option to fund the transportation of animals right across our continent and beyond?
These are just two minor examples. However, one thing is clear: reforms must happen, and this is an opportunity. It takes political courage and probably also a political vision of Europe’s future shape, tasks and prospects. After all, a budget is merely a set of policies presented in numerical form."@en1
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