Brussels, 21/10/2009 (Agence Europe) - Wanting to return to the budget amounts initially proposed by the European Commission for its draft EU budget for 2010 (see EUROPE 9994 and 9995), the European Parliament has confirmed its desire to give the EU the resources it needs to fund its action.
Is the EU able to respond in a crisis situation to the economy and to humanity (by showing it can welcome refugees from other countries in acceptable conditions), asked the EP's rapporteur on the draft European Commission budget, László Saran (EPP, Hungary), stressing the need for detailed planning and proper implementation of monies committed. Raising the problems of the EU dairy industry that needs better structured aid and a separate budget heading of its own, Surjan said that it is important to actually create a dairy fund rather than squabble about the amount of money to be earmarked for it. He said he thought the EP budgets committee had come up with a “reasonable” amount, namely €300 million.
The rapporteur for the sections of the budget covering the other EU institutions, Vladimír Maòka (S&D, Slovakia) pointed out that the budgets committee has made suggestions that would allow savings to be made without damaging the quality of the institutions' work - better organisation of the world, redeploying some funding, cutting red tape, investment in a long-term EU office strategy and setting aside easily accessible reserves.
Unemployment is rising and the economy needs a kickstart at a time when public finances are in a parlous state, and yet the budgets committee is suggesting a 10% increase in payments (on the 2009 level), said Swedish finance minister, Hans Lindblad, in astonishment. He made no bones about the fact he was worried and if one were to follow the EP's line, then there would not be any room for manoeuvre to deal with the unexpected. He immediately added that he was sure the Council of Ministers and EP would manage to reach agreement.
Speaking on behalf of the European Commission, Algirdas Šemeta, the EU budget commissioner, welcomed the fact that the EP has restored the funding to the levels suggested by the Commission, which will be working flat-out ahead of the conciliation meeting in November to reach agreement on the most controversial points. Like the Council of Ministers, the Commission queries the increase in payments suggested by the EP budgets committee (a 10% rise, as against the 4% rise requested by the Commission). The commissioner said he understood the EP but one had to examine what it would be reasonable to finance without jeopardising proper implementation of the budget.
Annemie Neyts-Uyttebroeck (ALDE, Belgium) asked whether the EU would have enough cash in its pockets next year to pay for the new EU foreign services. Jean-Pierre Audy (EPP, France) urged the Commission not to review the eligibility criteria for the sixth and seventh R&D programmes. Proper functioning of the common market, said Cristian Silviu Buºoi (ALDE, Romania) could help boost the economic recovery. Danuta Hübner (EPP, Poland) regretted the Council of Ministers' cuts in umpteen areas of the budget concerning regional policy, while Elisabeth Jeggle (EPP, Germany) called for EU management of farm markets because contrary to what is claimed, they will not self-regulate. The political agreement that had been reached on what should prefigure the market supervisory structures has not been respected in this draft budget, complained the chair of the EP's Economic and Monetary Committee, Pervenche Berès (S&D, France), protesting against the reduction of fiscal policy mechanisms at a time when there was huge global demand for governance.
Alain Lamassoure (EPP, France), the chair of the EP budgets committee, expressed surprise at the publication of a draft report by the Commission on changes to the budget (EUROPE will be returning to the Commission's report), saying that the highly innovative, if not downright provocative, content of the document seemed ill-fitting for a European Commission reaching the end of its term of office. He urged the Commission to make it clear what timeline it had in mind for its financial proposals. He said that the Commission did not usually go around changing priorities for the budget (and therefore
priorities for policies) from agriculture to research. He said the EP budgets committee will be open for debate but only a debate based on proposals from a Commission with full legitimacy, with a five year term of office ahead of it and prepared to take political responsibility for measures that will have such a wide political impact. . (L.G./L.C./transl;fl)