Brussels, 26/11/2012 (Agence Europe) - It was with some acrimony, particularly towards David Cameron, that the parliamentary groups welcomed the news of the breakdown of the extraordinary European summit of 22 and 23 November, which could have given the EU its multi-annual budget for 2014 to 2020. The European commissioners in charge of the common agriculture policy (CAP) and cohesion stressed the urgent need for an agreement in order to prepare the programmes.
Breakdown or door opened? Right off the bat, the President of the European Parliament, Joseph Daul (France) said that Europe and its citizens have been sacrificed. He added that the breakdown of negotiations on the future long-term budget of the European Union is a scandal, and the forthcoming round on the multi-annual financial framework will be the last chance for a budget of a sufficient level to meet the challenges of the future. His group therefore calls upon the President of the European Council and the member states to think of growth and employment before they make any cuts to the policies which constitute drivers of investment. At the forthcoming European summit, we expect the member states to show a more responsible attitude and a firm commitment in this matter. Slightly more moderately, his counterpart from the Socialists and Democrats Group, Hannes Swoboda (Austria), took an optimistic stance. He sees the breakdown of Friday's negotiations as “a first step towards a reasonable budget for growth”. He explained that “the heads of government now have an opportunity to start talking about content, rather than simply figures”.
The Greens and the Liberals also lamented the haggling of the heads of state last week. Guy Verhofstadt, leader of the ADLE, had no hesitation in describing the summit as a “Turkish bazaar where bartering is part of the game and where the financial consequence is pretty negligible, but everybody needs to come away feeling they've got a good deal”. He pointed out that “the sums being fought over in Brussels today are tiny in comparison to what member states spend back home on their public administrations”. For their part, the Greens particularly lament the fact that the haggling has had the consequence of “the establishment of the wrong priorities. What is now on the table is a retrograde budget, which will not be able to capitalise on the potential of the European budget as an instrument to stimulate the economy”, said the co-presidents of the Greens/EFA group, Daniel Cohn-Bendit (France) and Rebecca Harms (Germany).
The spokesperson of the Greens on the budget, Helga Trüpel (Austria), pledged that her group would “bring pressure to bear to be certain that the MEPs do not approve a counter-productive and cobbled-together compromise”. Joseph Daul (EPP) pointed out that “the European Parliament has stated that it will oppose the attempts of the member states to agree amongst themselves behind closed doors, going against the interests of European citizens. The final proposal must be validated by the European Parliament”.
Comments to Cameron. The leaders had no trouble in attributing a breakdown of the summit to a lack of good will on the part of the European leaders, and had no hesitation in directing their comments to the British Prime Minister, David Cameron. Joseph Daul said that he was “disappointed” that the breakdown was due to “mythomaniacs and Eurosceptics dominating the negotiations. Rather than working on the long-term benefits Europe brings, certain member states prefer the short-term gain of a rise in the opinion polls”. The Liberal Verhofstadt said: “Mr Cameron and others should take off their blinkers and realise the true benefits of the Union in both saving resources as well as increasing their political and economic weight in the world”. As for Hannes Swoboda, he addressed his comments directly at Cameron: “if he is not ready to work constructively with his partners for a reasonable budget, the other EU leaders must seriously consider the option of working with annual budgets without him and without him blocking every possible and reasonable agreement”. The President of the Parliamentary committee on regional development, Danuta Hübner (EPP, Poland), hopes that the December European Council will allow the UK position to move on.
Impatience for the CAP and cohesion. As regards the cohesion policy, she remains optimistic, stating that this plank should no longer be the victim of any future cuts, because most delegations at the summit acknowledged that the “spirit of cohesion”, a bringer of growth and employment, should be kept.
Nonetheless, what worries the Commission about this policy and the CAP is the fact that the clock is ticking. The Commissioner for Regional Policy, Johannes Hahn, said that “we cannot lose more time. Preparation of programmes is ongoing and a clear and stable financial framework is needed. Now it is time to deliver fast”. The President of the Committee of the Regions, Ramón Luis Valcárcel, added that “the uncertainty about the future budget risks to create serious problems for local and regional authorities who are struggling to support recovery”, stressing that these need adequate funding. With the same feeling of urgency regarding the common agriculture policy, the spokesperson to Commissioner Dacian Ciolos explained that “it is important to put an end to this climate of uncertainty as quickly as possible, so that the forthcoming reform of the CAP can be finalised. This absence of budgetary clarity for the forthcoming period is weighing on the sector”.
The Presidents of the Council and the Commission have received a mandate to continue the work and consultations on the multi-annual financial framework. Herman Van Rompuy says that he is confident that an agreement can be reached early next year, most likely at a European Council in January. (MD/transl.fl)