Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2005-06-22-Speech-3-052"
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"en.20050622.13.3-052"2
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"Madam President, I would like firstly to thank the Luxembourg Presidency for the efforts and imagination it has applied to trying to reach an agreement on the financial perspectives in the European Council.
We have seen once again that the European leaders have not been a match for the circumstances: they have been unable to go beyond their exercise in national accounting, and at a crucial moment of crisis, they have been unable to show any positive sign of a forward-looking political vision.
The Commission has done its job; as has the European Parliament: it has adopted its position by a large majority and, for the first time in its history, showing responsibility and taking account of the economic difficulties faced by certain Member States, it has proposed slightly lower figures than those proposed by the Commission. Both the Commission and Parliament have done their duty. On the other hand, the Council is having increasing difficulties adopting a position and this is regrettable since it leads to a lack of leadership which undermines the foundations of European integration and confidence amongst the citizens.
I would like to point out that our group will stand by its commitments and that, if no financial perspectives are forthcoming, it will fully apply the provisions of Article 272 of the Treaty and will try to establish annually the figures that this Parliament has approved with a view to guaranteeing Community action. We still want to make progress with European integration and we therefore need the resources that this House has indicated in its capacity as budgetary authority.
Let us be serious, representatives of the Council: it is not possible at the last minute to say that we must change the Union’s spending philosophy, it is not possible to advocate that we must spend more money on policies which create more added value and less on agriculture. What were certain people thinking in October 2002, when they approved the spending for the period we are dealing with? We must respect the commitments we have made.
For the Socialist Group, and for the Council as well, I hope, the Lisbon Strategy and, hence, economic and social cohesion, are the mid-term development objective. We would be delighted to have many more resources, we are aware of the achievements of governmental cooperation in relation to the Lisbon objectives. I would therefore like to point out that all policies ultimately find their expression in the budget. If the financial perspectives offer any added value, it consists of safeguarding and guaranteeing the programming of the Union’s cohesion policies, which, apart from being a mechanism for solidarity and for correcting territorial imbalances, are the most important Community public instrument, and are able to generate investment, economic growth and employment, and hence attract the citizens to the European project.
Gentlemen of the Council — and I say gentlemen because there are no ladies — on behalf of my Group, I would ask you to show responsibility. The ‘no’ in the referenda and the lack of agreement in the Council are simply two sides of the same coin."@en1
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