Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/1999-12-14-Speech-2-200"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.19991214.9.2-200"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:spokenAs | |
| lpv:translated text |
"Mr President, I should like first to extend my group’s warmest thanks to the two rapporteurs. If we look back to where we stood at the beginning of the budgetary procedure, then we can see, in our view, just how far we have come during difficult, at times extremely difficult negotiations.
I also appreciate the fact, Commissioner, that you too endeavoured to mediate in the difficult and, in the final analysis, unsuccessful budgetary conciliation, although the conduct of the Commission itself during this whole procedure was not, of course, without its contradictions.
On the one hand, it took too timid an approach to the declaration in the minutes of the interinstitutional agreement and entered into international multiannual commitments while wanting to solve the financial problem for the year 2000 alone during the initial stage. That was too little as far as we were concerned. At the same time, we realised that Mr Prodi was already making preliminary plans up to the year 2006 – a decided lack of coordination, Mr President of the Commission.
For the rest, the question naturally arises in the wake of the decisions by the European Council as to what will happen in future with heading 7 of the budget? Should we not also review the financial perspective, given the option, the option dynamically pursued by the European Council, to enlarge the circle of candidate countries? No, what we in the European Parliament want is to retain international credibility and a serious budgetary policy in this budgetary procedure even when financing the new priorities. Parliament is conscious of its responsibility as part of the budgetary authority. President Chirac’s praise this morning with respect to the budgetary and supervisory function of the European Parliament emphasised this yet again. We do not want to repeat this year’s experience of acting as a repair shop, with a plethora of supplementary and amending budgets and transfers of appropriations!
I therefore say quite clearly to the Council: by failing to act this week, by failing to endorse the proposals tabled by Parliament under option 3, you have put us in a very difficult position and have pushed us almost to the limit of what we can do under the Rules of Procedure. Please do not do so again. We stand today by the offer made by Parliament as a symbiosis between budgetary discipline and the readiness to consider precise reductions rather than all-inclusive reductions, as you intended and, at the same time, to enter into and finance the necessary political priorities. I would also say on behalf of my group that if you, Madam President-in-Office of the Council, are able tomorrow morning to table the written declaration which we have demanded, we are prepared to support and implement the compromise.
I want to be perfectly clear on this: with the relevant declarations by the institutions, including on the question of the limited review of the financial perspective which we expect from the Commission by April, and the corresponding statements from the Council, you are all, to borrow an expression from the money markets, accepting a bill of exchange and anyone who fails to honour the bill will lose their credit rating. Hence, in view of past experience and in view of today’s discussion, a very clear warning to the Council: if we fail in the spring to reach an adequate solution for the multiannual programme for Kosovo and the western Balkans, combined with a corresponding commitment by the Council, you will end up in extremely dangerous waters as far as the budgetary procedure for the year 2001 is concerned. We here in Parliament want to avoid this. It is up to you to ensure that we get both the Budget 2000 and a reasonable multiannual programme to finance these priorities under way."@en1
|
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples