Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2007-03-28-Speech-3-283"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.20070328.21.3-283"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:spokenAs | |
| lpv:translated text |
"Mr President, the integration of the ten new Member States is a very complicated matter. I feel that, in my own-initiative report, I have tried to analyse the results, the consequences of integrating the ten new Member States, because we are talking, in general, about the success of integrating ten new Member States, but we need to analyse exactly what consequences this has within the various sectors.
As far as the consequences of the integration for agriculture are concerned, despite all the inconsistencies, I must say that they are very positive. This is a win-win situation. This means that the 15 old Member States have won because they have expanded their markets. They have managed to play a part in the privatisation of this sector in the new Member States. It is the producers, above all, who have won; it is the traders and agricultural manufacturers, above all, but the consequences were positive for them and the new Member States have won as well, despite all the discrimination concerning direct payments; they have won because, for two years, they have increased their agricultural subsidies by 50%. This is a major result, and we have yet to talk about price stability; we need to talk about guarantees and the single market, for example.
With regard to enlargement, there were huge fears that the new Member States would disrupt the single market. That is not the case. There has been no disruption. The safeguard clause has not had to be used. This is very important and very positive and, when it comes to the new Member States, their producers have been able to use the direct payment funds and the rural development funds, and one can say that food safety has increased.
However, at the same time there are some inconsistencies regarding the enlargement. No equal opportunities exist between the producers of the Fifteen and of the ten Member States since, last year, farmers from the new Member States received only a third of the direct payments from the Community budget. It is true that they were entitled to supplement these payments with their national budgets, but there are no equal opportunities, that much is clear. At the very outset, 25% of funding was inconsistent, too; 50% or 60% would have been fairer and more justified.
With regard to the budget, for years there has been no competition between the old and new Member States, but there is competition in the financial perspective, because the ‘cake’ is the same: there are 27 Member States sharing the same cake because of the freeze proposed by Mr Schroeder and Mr Chirac, who have frozen the Community agricultural budget.
Ladies and gentlemen, with regard to the new Member States, I believe that there are some inconsistencies regarding the reforms under way. I have already pointed out, on several occasions, not least to Mrs Fischer Boel, that, with regard to the fruit and vegetable reform and viticulture, even though historical precedents exist in this case, there is a new kind of inconsistency, a new kind of discrimination against the new Member States.
To conclude, in my report, I have tried to learn lessons regarding the future of the common agricultural policy, and I believe that what Mrs Fischer Boel is proposing, namely having national envelopes as part of the viticulture reform, would perhaps set a good example when it comes to carrying out the health check on the entire future reform, because it is clear that, where the 27 very heterogeneous Member States are concerned, we need to play the subsidiarity card – the flexibility card – more."@en1
|
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples