Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2007-10-23-Speech-2-254"
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"en.20071023.23.2-254"2
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"Thank you Mr President. The adoption of the budget each year is one of the most important duties we MEPs have. It is one of the few opportunities we have to send a very clear, collective message about what kind of EU we in Parliament want to see. Generally, I think that it is good that an increasing number of my fellow Members here in the Chamber seem to see the importance of holding back EU funds, but there is still much to be done. I think that it is important for us to set the
priorities in the budget, but the work on monitoring the money and its use is as important as budgeting for the right purposes. If we are doing it today, I think that unfortunately in many areas we are seeing that some of our money almost does more harm than good. In addition, the institutions must develop the EU’s accounting system so that it is easier to understand and monitor the money, so that we can see both beforehand and afterwards how it is actually spent. It is a question of transparency.
Personally, I would hope that the 2008 EU budget would signal more clearly an EU that prioritises, an EU that focuses on its core task – to create free movement of goods, services, persons and capital. But unfortunately this year’s draft budget leaves much to be desired in this respect. Let me just take a few brief examples: grants for silkworm breeding, bee-keeping, cotton farming, energy crops, figs, hemp, nuts, olive groves, rice cultivation, and tobacco. Export subsidies for cereals, sugar and products from the wine sector. Altogether, these budget headings amount to more than EUR 1 858 436 000. Aside from the fact that the budget headings, in my view, are an incredible waste of European taxpayers’ money, they are doing more harm than good. They affect people outside the Union. Nevertheless, one of the most serious examples is, I think, the EU’s export assistance for agriculture, where the EU subsidises its own agriculture sector and thereby dumps goods and prices on the markets of poor countries. This invalidates the poor countries’ natural competitive advantages and is a serious obstacle on their path to prosperity. We have to do something about this, not in 2013 but next year. Thank you."@en1
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