Brussels, 20/10/2010 (Agence Europe) - MEPs were fairly satisfied with the debate launched on Tuesday 19 October by the European Commission in view of creating new own resources for financing the EU budget. They were also generally disappointed by the coolness of the Commission towards EU budget spending which they would have liked to see modified between now and the end of the current financial framework on 31 December 2013.
During a press conference following adoption of the Commission communication on the re-examination of the EU budget, Alain Lamassoure (EPP, France), the president of the EP budgets committee explained that he was disappointed by “the persistent refusal to have a genuine revision of the current financial perspectives”. The Commission document proposes a number of orientations and reflections regarding future EU budget spending, “but is not proposing to include figures in the budget between now and the end of 2013”, regretted Lamassoure. He was pleased, however, that the Commission is putting on the table, “half a dozen possible options for new own resources, together with a few rough figures”. He said that he hoped that the Council would agree to discuss these important questions (revenue and revision of the financial framework) with the EP, during the conciliation process.
Speaking on behalf of the EPP Group, Joseph Daul declared that if there is an objective that “our Parliament” should aim for over the course of this legislature, it should be ensuring that European policies are appropriately funded. “Our states can even make savings and lower their contributions to the Community budget, if they accept that Europe changes its financial system, which is today obsolete, and benefits from its own resources”. Daul explained that one euro spent at European level is in fact more profitable and more productive than a euro spent at national level because the European euro does not have to cover any deficit. He also urged the Belgian Presidency to kick-start these discussions and negotiations on own resources.
Stéphane Le Foll (S&D, France) called on the commissioner “to try, when there is a discussion about budgetary revision and post-2013 budget perspectives, not to remain totally imbued with the current context of crisis, unless this involves telling me and telling all the citizens of Europe that Europe will decidedly remain in crisis for a long time to come”. He added that “we will only be able to come out of the crisis if the European budget is able to give us the means of finding again what is currently missing, namely growth, job creation, innovation and research”. Le Foll highlighted the Commission suggestions, “on which we all agree”, like the necessity of introducing greater budget flexibility. On the question of own resources he wanted to know, “what are we going to do to have our own resources for the Europe of tomorrow, or rather for all the European citizens, and to find together the path back to growth and a stronger path for the Europe of tomorrow?”
Guy Verhofstadt, the president of the ALDE Group said: “I find that the document produced by the Commission is a good one, except for what will happen 15 months down the line”. The founding fathers of the Union created the EU on the basis of own resources (customs duties, taxes on imported agricultural products and VAT). That was it, but the British rebate meant that a stronger push on national contributions began. “It is therefore necessary to return to own resources as the basis for funding… it is said that it is necessary to reduce the European budget and European level contributions in order to clean up public finances but this is just garbage”, exclaimed Verhofstadt. The president of the ALDE Group said that it was necessary “to transfer competences from a national level to the European level in an effort to reduce costs at a level of member state spending”. Defence, research, diplomacy and infrastructure - “these are the tasks that can be best executed by the European Union and which can help to reduce budget deficits”. He concluded with a warning: “An opening up in own resources is absolutely necessary because if this does not occur, there will be no agreement on the 2011 budget”.
“We expect some good and ambitious reforms from the Commission to make sure that agricultural policies and cohesion policies really deliver on poverty eradication, greenhouse gas reduction, innovation and unemployment”, emphasised Bas Eickhout (Greens/EFA, the Netherlands). He judged that the Commission, among the options proposed in new resources, did not support the financial transaction tax.
Speaking on behalf of the EFD Group, Marta Andreasen regretted the modest approach by the Commission on reducing agricultural spending: “While there is a modest approach to limit common agricultural policy expenditure, there is a more radical attempt to eliminate the British rebate. But, worse still, there is a clear intention to create a new own resource”. (L.C./transl.fl)