Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2005-07-05-Speech-2-158"
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"en.20050705.26.2-158"2
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".
Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, the report that I present today has been characterised, in its formal drafting phase, by a method of work firmly rooted in dialogue, even going beyond individual political affiliations, and in intense collaboration, firstly within the parliamentary Committee on Regional Development and then within the Committee of the Regions, with representatives of the Council and the very many associations and non-governmental organisations.
My past experience as a local government administrator taught me that that rule contributes effectively to preparing projects correctly and accurately and to managing funds. I therefore hope that the Commission allows greater flexibility in applying it and addresses the issue of non-refundable VAT in order that it may be allowed for the financing of the funds.
On this subject, there exists a rather precise position, to which Commissioner Danuta Hübner wished to once again draw attention in committee yesterday, which says that allowing VAT would mean reducing the financial resources available for the rest of the cohesion policy.
A very large majority in committee approved my report and I hope that the same thing can happen in this Chamber.
I felt it necessary to give particular attention to the contact and exchange of opinions with fellow Members, with the shadow rapporteurs for the political groups and with the draftsmen of the other parliamentary committees, not to mention with members of the group to which I belong, that is to say, the Group of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe.
From the outset, I greatly welcomed – and I should like to repeat it publicly in this House – the special attention of Commissioner Danuta Hübner, who, on the numerous occasions on which we met and even as recently as yesterday evening, always demonstrated a great willingness and openness to take account of Parliament’s requests.
I have, moreover, always regarded with great interest the original proposal of the Commission on a regulation for the Cohesion Fund, which today, like the crisis that has swept across the Union and the failure to agree on the financial perspectives, assumes greater importance, since it provides a suitable response to the needs of an enlarged Europe by aiming at economic and social cohesion. I therefore share the hopes expressed by Mr Hatzidakis with regard to the swift resolution of the issue of the financial perspectives before the end of the year.
Regional policy is the best means of bringing the citizens closer to Europe, and, in order to do so, it must have ambitious objectives and be equipped with the necessary instruments to achieve them. I should therefore like to stress the importance of increasing the financial allocation of the Cohesion Fund from the EUR 18 billion estimated for the 2000-2006 programming period to EUR 62.99 billion, in the event that an agreement is reached in the Council on the proposal adopted by Parliament on 8 June.
Furthermore, the increased scope of the actions of the Cohesion Fund complies with the relevant provisions of the Treaty, is in line with the priorities decided on at Lisbon and falls within the perspective of sustainable development outlined in Gothenburg. That will make it possible to meet the major funding needs of beneficiary Member States in the sectors of the environment, transport infrastructures and sustainable development.
During the work that I carried out within the Committee on Regional Development, I sought to make a number of changes and to enrich the Commission’s text with a series of original points, such as introducing a premium system in the shape of a Community reserve for quality and performance and strengthening exchanges by promoting best practice for national, regional and local authorities.
I have asked the Commission to draw up a list of indicative priorities in the programming period, with a view to increasing the quality and effectiveness of Community funding. I have highlighted the topic of disabilities, calling for an explicit reference to disabled people to be included in Article 2 of the general regulation and for the projects financed by the Cohesion Fund to include the possibility of removing barriers and obstacles of every description. I have also made room for the important issue of the environment, calling for guarantees of greater consistency between the projects financed by the Cohesion Fund and those financed within the scope of other Community programmes. Finally, I have made an explicit reference to the island and peripheral Member States, inviting the Commission to take account of their natural and demographic handicaps.
Mr President, with regard to the amendments tabled I also have to add that I personally do not believe – and I also say this on behalf of my group – that it is possible to adopt everything relating to the issue of the non-application of the N+2 rule to the Cohesion Fund, that is, introducing automatic decommitment."@en1
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