Brussels, 03/05/2000 (Agence Europe) - The reduction in the ceiling of agricultural spending, the cuts in certain external policy programmes and the funding of revision from 2003-2006 were the main points raised - and criticised - by MEPs during the short debate which followed the presentation of revision of financial perspectives proposed by the Commission (see yesterday's EUROPE, p.11).
Commissioner Schreyer presented to MEPs the two texts adopted on Wednesday: a) the proposal for revision (increased ceiling under Heading 4 External Actions of EUR 300 million annually from 2001 to 2006; b) the decision to carry out redeployment within the same Heading 4 (EUR 1.64 billion from 2000 to 2006). Michaele Schreyer insisted on the need to carry out revision in order to confirm the EU's "political orientation" and respect EU commitments towards the Balkan region. The Budgets Commissioner then stressed the importance of aid to Serbia (2.26 billion). This aid (40 or 240 million in 2001, 320 million in 2002 and 420 million every year after this) will only be paid if there are "democratic changes in Serbia". Until this is the case, the increase in the ceiling for foreign policy (which is a maximum amount of spending) will not be carried out in the annual budget. The Commissioner, however, considers it necessary to foresee this eventuality now "in order to show the democratic opposition in Serbia that we are not just making vain promises". Given that the Commission does not specify where the money will come from after the 2003 budget, it should only be collected if there is a democratic regime in Serbia.
In answer to Terry Wynn, Chair of the EP Committee on the Budgets, the Commissioner stipulated that the Commission was proposing that, when aid to Serbia may begin, "the two branches of the budgetary authority undertake to achieve the necessary savings so that the general budget does not increase, which will be possible notably through the review of the common agricultural policy".
The Chair of the Agriculture Committee, Friederich-Wilhelm Graefe zu Baringdorf (German Green) and Jean-Louis Bourlanges (France, EPP) asked the Commissioner on the use of agricultural credits to finance aid to the Balkans, denouncing the use of agriculture as "fill-all". Michaele Schreyer repeated that it was in no way a case of reducing aid to farmers, but of increasing credits for the CAP a little less steeply than the financial perspectives decided in Berlin allowed. In addition, the Commissioner announced that thanks to the euro-dollar exchange rate, there would be in the agricultural budget "savings of 500 million euro this year", and probably 650 million euro next year. Anyhow, most of the money for the Balkans will come from heading 4 itself, notably through redeployment and certainly not heading 1.
For redeployment, Jean-Louis Bourlanges denounced a reduction in external programmes other than those relating to the Balkans simply for the Commission's "need of money". For the Commissioner, the redeployment was planned, with horizontal cuts, according to precise criteria: geopolitical importance of a region, respect for programmes to eradicate poverty, use of available funds in preceding years. She nevertheless did not detail these reductions, with the exception of the Tacis programme. The communication adopted on Wednesday by the Commission specifies that: 1) the programme for Asia, based on the eradication of poverty, will not be affected, as the increase for 2000-2006 from 1993-1999 has been maintained; 2) the programme for South Africa is being maintained at its current level; 3) programmes for the Mediterranean countries, the Newly Independent States (Tacis programme) and Latin America "should be reduced from the May 1999 financial programme because they are less oriented towards poverty and because their performance level [rate of use of available funds] is low".
As EUROPE announced yesterday, the proposed revision was not presented with the framework regulation for aid to the Balkans for 2000-2006. Adoption of this regulation has been announced for next week. But the proposed revision of the financial perspectives is matched with an annex outlining the programme for the Balkans and its objectives, country by country. EUROPE will return with details on this programme.