Brussels, 11/02/2004 (Agence Europe) - The future financial framework suggested by the European Commission agrees with the political resolve of ETUC to give the EU an ambitious budget in the context of a Europe that is enlarged to 25 members in order to achieve the political objectives of the Lisbon Agenda and to strengthen economic and social cohesion policy, said John Monks, General Secretary of the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC), as he commented on the Commission's communication on financial perspectives (see yesterday's EUROPE, pages 7 and 8, and pages 7 to 11 of today's edition).
Distancing itself from the call for constraint launched in December by six net contributor countries, the Commission has adopted more ambitious financial perspectives while keeping to the ceiling set by the Treaties, it is noted by ETUC in a press release. It recalled, however, that it had shown it did not agree with the initiative taken by these six countries. "By adopting large budgetary provisions, the Commission shows that it wishes to have a budget that can live up to its ambitions, which is along the lines of what ETUC wants", European trade unions say.
As far as enlargement is concerned, ETUC states it can but welcome the broad guidelines of the financial framework for 2007-2013, which reaffirm the faith put in the regional solidarity policy by the attribution of Community aid not only in current Member States but also in the future Member States (…) and in competitiveness to the service of growth and employment. These are guidelines that had already been set out in trade union demands, ETUC says.