Brussels, 03/04/2001 (Agence Europe) - By adopting on Tuesday (440 in favour, 60 against and 8 abstentions) the report by Carlos Costa Neves (Portuguese, EPP/ED) on the guidelines for the budgetary procedure 2002, the European Parliament placed emphasis on the need to guarantee food safety and product quality, given, notably, the bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) crisis, and to stick to the EU's commitments regarding external relations. It also underlined the importance of improving the execution of the Community budget and provided its support "for appropriate budgetary measures" in favour of reforming the European Commission (also see EUROPE of 28 March, p.14).
In two amendments on the Union's enlargement, the EP urged the Commission to undertake a "systematic study in view of determining which budgetary headings will be affected by the pre-accession process and enlargement" so as to take account of needs regarding expenditure. The Commission and Council are also called on the conclude an agreement allowing for the financial perspectives to be adapted so that unused credits of the pre-accession fund "may be carried over to later financial years", according to the lines applicable to Member States. Concerning the setting up of a European security and defence policy (Esdp), MEPs would like, at the same time as the setting up of military structures, an international consensus to be sought for a "programme for the reduction and destruction of weapons of mass destruction based on the model of what has already been undertaken for arms reduction in cooperation with Russia". In the framework of the reform of the European Commission, the EP calls on the latter to continue to talk to its officials, in compliance with the rules of the social dialogue, while stressing its attachment to the defence of a "high level European administration." It is the first time that the three institutions jointly take together in the setting of budgetary guidelines, said the Commissioner Michaele Schreyer during the debate. She recalled that the 2002-2006 financial prospects form a reference for the budgetary procedure for 2002 and that compared to 2001, the global increase authorised by the Berlin ceilings will be, in 2002, 2.9% for engagement credits and 7% for the payment credits. Due to the BSE and foot and mouth crises', the 2002 budget must be sufficient flexible to cover the new spending, she felt. The reimbursement of 60% of the costs incurred by the Member States in the fight against foot and mouth disease will already cost the budget more than EUR 100 million. The most important rate of increase concerns the Common Agricultural Policy, with a rise of EUR 2.5 billion in 2002, said Mrs Schreyer, adding that the Commission will have to re-examine the situation in relation to the developments in certain markets and their financial impact. She cited as an example the Common Market Organisations for sugar and cotton. If the savings should be recorded in order to avoid a revision of the financial prospects, they should not occur to the detriment of the rural development measures, warned the Commissioner, feeling that this would be "counter productive". The Commissioner returned to certain priorities underlined by the rapporteur such as illegal immigration or even the eLearning initiative and indicated having hope that the issue of the returning to the budget of the unused credits from the structural funds will be resolved during the EP session on 2/3 May.
Mr Costa Neves said that the multilateral talks at the WTO and enlargement should encourage the Community to begin reflection on how to redirect CAP. He also stressed the importance of improving implementation of the budget and of fixing priorities in the field of external actions.
One third of the European United Left/Nordic Greens Left group will vote against the Costa Neves report, announced the president, Francis Wurtz, who mainly regretted the refusal by the budgets committee of the proposal by his group to create a special reserve to face up to the BSE crisis. In addition, he was highly critical of Mr Costa Neves' propensity to examine each of the Union's political ambitions in the light of expenditure rationing. He noted that a single area seems to find grace with the rapporteur - security and defence policy - the only area where "in veiled terms", he seems to be able to envisage the possibility of revising financial perspectives. The vote on the report by Joan Colom I Naval (PES, Spain) on the adjustment of financial perspectives in order to take into account the under-implementation of structural funds was postponed at the request of the rapporteur. He recalled that the budgetary committee was to give its stance on Tuesday on the new Commission proposal that follows the agreement concluded in "trilogue" last Thursday (see EUROPE of 31 March, p.7). We recall that, during this meeting, there was discussion on the possible compromise that would be along the lines recommended by the parliamentary budgets committee, namely the budgeting of the most important part of credits during the financial years 2004 and 2005. It would seem, however, that there is reticence within the Council about reaching a majority in favour of such a compromise.
The Parliament also adopted without amendment the report by Dutch Green member Kathalijne Buitenweg on guidelines for the Budget 2002 of the other institutions.