Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2001-04-03-Speech-2-132"
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"en.20010403.7.2-132"2
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"Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, I would like to concentrate on Mr Blak’s excellent report. The Committee on Budgetary Control has worked very hard for the past four months, and held meetings in quick succession. We are inclined to grant the Commission discharge for the 1999 budget. Does this mean that everything is smelling of roses, or that nothing is going wrong? No. After all, the Court of Auditors is refusing to guarantee that the payments were, generally speaking, legitimate and regular. Commissioner, we are extremely dissatisfied with this state of affairs. We would therefore ask you to ensure that you will receive from the Court of Auditors a positive Statement of Assurance by no later than 2003.
Ladies and gentlemen, we should still be mindful of the fact that the Member States are responsible for more than 80% of all expenditure. I would once again like to lodge a complaint against the Council for its absence, and against the Economic and Financial Affairs Council for the nonchalance which it is displaying in dealing with the discharge. This is shoddy work and cannot be taken seriously. The Member States are still insufficiently aware of the fraud issue. I therefore urge the Irish, Luxembourg and Belgian parliaments to ratify the anti-fraud agreement, which was concluded in 1995, without delay. I myself am starting a campaign today to convince my national counterparts to ratify this agreement in Belgium before July of this year. As far as I am concerned, this is absolutely crucial if the Belgian Presidency is to build up any credibility with regard to anti-fraud policy. The Blak report contains many positive statements with regard to the Commission. As permanent rapporteur for the former Yugoslavia, I can bear witness to the excellent work of our delegation in Sarajevo. But we should also turn our attention to a few of the less attractive issues: the flax case, the latest developments of which, it is true, we are not yet fully conversant with, the mafia case involving adulterated butter, and, indeed, the Fléchard case.
Commissioner, you were right in saying that we have spent a generous amount of time on this issue. There is indeed something peculiar about it, and I have listened very carefully to your statement and pledges in this connection. With an unqualified ‘no’, you have told us that this will not happen in future. You promised a solid basis for the application of the principle of proportionality. You also promised to change tack as regards debt collection. As far as my group is concerned, you herewith comply with the conditions contained in Paragraph 8, I d) of the Blak resolution, and I can inform you, on behalf of my group, that we will be granting you discharge."@en1
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