Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2006-04-05-Speech-3-055"
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"en.20060405.4.3-055"2
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".
Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, grateful though I am for the words of encouragement that have been spoken at the mid-point of the Austrian Presidency, we are not resting on our laurels – in any case, there are none – but want to carry on working hard alongside you.
I would like to make a few brief comments, firstly, on the objectives: What would we like to see? Should we actually be setting ourselves targets? To that there is the inevitable criticism along the lines of ‘what about their implementation?’ Or are we not, then, to set ourselves targets? I tend towards the view that, yes, we should be bold enough to set ourselves definite targets, targets that are capable of being reviewed, notwithstanding the risk of one or other country, or perhaps the whole European Union, failing to achieve what we have set ourselves 100%, but the ten million jobs – 2 million a year – is a realistic target.
In 2005, we managed to create 2 million extra jobs in the European Union, and we can now take pride in the real chance we have now that the economic cycle is in a relatively healthy state and many European countries are beginning an upturn, and this is something we must not talk down. Yes, of course it will call for national commitment and for funding of infrastructure. In Austria, for example, we are making a very good job of this, and other countries will do likewise, but the goals are necessary.
To those who have said that the European Council should be done away with altogether, I have to say that I really do think that is the wrong idea. What we have to do is invest more time and more energy, and that may even mean meeting more often – perhaps with fewer cannon and mortar effects and less media hype – but real work, hard work, is what is needed if we are to get anywhere.
Now for my second topic: A number of speakers have described themselves as less than completely satisfied with the financial perspective, measuring it solely against what the Prodi Commission originally proposed. Now you are all experts; you know perfectly well that this proposal was not realistic. It cannot be said that we now have EUR 200 billion less than what was proposed then; if you compare that with what we had over the past seven years, there has been an increase of over 100 billion.
There have, in particular, been enormous increases in those programmes that your honourable House regards as important. If you take only the example of research and development, provision is made in the budget for an increase in excess of 75% over the next seven-year period. The amount allocated to the trans-European networks has doubled; that available for lifelong learning has been increased by 50%, so now between 30 000 and 40 000 more young people virtually right across Europe, have the opportunity to learn. For the neighbourhood policy, 40% more has been made available; the foreign policy budget has been increased by 250%.
There are two options open to us: either we send the people out there the message that all this is far too little – which they will actually believe, for you, Members of the European Parliament, enjoy a great deal of credibility in your electoral districts – or we can say that this is a great advance, bringing us closer to the targets we have set ourselves, and then they will take that seriously and say, yes, that is a significant step forward. I repeat: every single one of you knows that, and you are all aware of the position I am in, caught between those who have to pay up and those on the receiving end. All that has to be extracted from the national budgets, and you know that. The only solution is a new definition of what is meant by ‘own resources’; that is the only way to deal with the situation.
Getting this Financial Perspective off the ground in the first place was a great achievement, and for it I would like to thank Mr Barroso, the President of your House and all the groups in it, and the negotiators. It was not easy, but we do now have the chance to get down to work straight away. I really do ask for general support, for people, wherever they are, want to hear that we are getting somewhere with things, and not just about the disputes that go on between the groups and between the institutions. Nobody out there is interested in the question as to whether EUR 500 million more could have been found somewhere or whether or not the Council was offering EUR 500 million too much.
What matters to them is whether we can now get stuck into the job for the next seven years, in the people’s interest and in Europe’s. I am ready and willing to do so and I very much hope that we will work together on the constitution issue every bit as well, so that we may well not have a solution in place by June, but we will be able to map out a way whereby we will achieve the better legal basis that we all need."@en1
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