On 21 April, the European Parliament adopted a resolution by the Chair of its Committee on Budgets, British Labour member Terence Wynn, on the EU's financial perspectives for 2007-2013. Although the dossier may be forwarded to the next European Parliament, formed after the elections to be held from 10 to 13 June, the outgoing Parliament has taken a stance on several key issues. The resolution will be published in full in EUROPE/Documents. (For the debate, see EUROPE of 22 April, p.13, and 24 April, p.12).
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European Parliament resolution on building our common future: policy challenges and budgetary means of the enlarged Union 2007-2013
The European Parliament,
having regard to the Communication from the Commission,
having regard to the EC Treaty, and in particular its articles 268-276,
having regard to Council Decision 2000/597/EC, Euratom of 29 September 2000 on the system of the European Communities' own resources,
having regard to the Draft Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe,
having regard to its resolution of 18 December 2003 on the future budgetary requirements
for external actions,
having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgets and the opinions of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Human Rights, Common Security and Defence Policy, the Committee on Budgetary Control, the Committee on Citizens' Freedoms and Rights, Justice and Home Affairs, the Committee on Industry, External Trade, Research and Energy, the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs, the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Consumer Policy, the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development, the Committee on Fisheries, the Committee on Regional Policy, Transport and Tourism, the Committee on Culture, Youth, Education, the Media and Sport, the Committee on Development and Cooperation and the Committee on Women's Rights and Equal Opportunities,
whereas the current financial perspective is in force until the end of the year 2006,
whereas the promotion of social and economic cohesion has been affirmed as one of the goals of the European Union,
whereas the financial perspective is part of a global interinstitutional agreement which can only be renewed in a context of mutual confidence between the institutions and joint agreement between the two arms of the budgetary authority,
whereas Article 272 of the EC Treaty provides for the adoption of annual budgets even in the absence of a financial perspective,
whereas the experience of the financial perspective starting in 1988, 1993 and 1999 respectively, has proved useful in ensuring a non-conflictual development of the budget,
whereas the European Convention proposed to include the financial perspective into the Constitution through a European law adopted by the Council after conciliation with the European Parliament and after obtaining its consent (Article I-54 and Article III-308),
Recalls that the current financial perspective is in force until the end of the year 2006;
Takes note of the Communication presented by the Commission in accordance with Article 26 of the Interinstitutional Agreement of 6 May 1999 between the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission on budgetary discipline and improvement of the budgetary procedure4, with a view to ensuring continuity with the current financial framework after 1 January 2007;
Recalls that there will be no financial perspective without an agreement between the European Parliament and the Council on the financial package, as the existing Treaty foresees no obligation to have a financial perspective and only provides for annual budgets;
Recalls that, although the financial perspective has guaranteed a framework to develop new policies favouring European integration, it has also imposed more rigidity between different areas of expenditure (headings) and has constrained the European Parliament to abandon certain powers, for example the right to shape significantly the budget on the basis of the Treaty provisions;
Considers that, on a fair institutional basis, the current Commission, Parliament and Council - in which the new Member States do not yet participate - should restrict themselves to setting broad orientations for the future financial perspective including the legislative proposals to be proposed by the new Commission coming into office in November 2004, which are to be decided by the newly elected Parliament and the enlarged Council;
Is determined, for democratic reasons, to take no decision during this parliamentary term which might restrict the scope or decision-making powers of the Parliament elected in June 2004; however, with a view to maintaining institutional continuity, invites the next Parliament, the next Commission and the enlarged Council to take account of the orientations contained in this report as a basis for future negotiations;
Welcomes an approach to associate resource needs and goals with an emphasis on the added value of Community spending over national budgets;
Recalls that Article 6(4) of the Nice Treaty states that the Union shall provide itself with the means necessary to obtain its objectives and carry through its policies;
Stresses that, should the Constitution not be in force during the next financial perspective, the possibility of maintaining annual procedures could be considered in order to avoid a subsequent revision aimed at adjusting resources to the new activities foreseen;
Stresses that the global amounts should take into account the needs of current and future legislative proposals so as to ensure the continuity of Community action; asks the Commission to submit to Parliament and the Council the basic reference documents and to inform Parliament of the programmes which the Commission proposes to continue or discontinue; invites the new Commission and the new Parliament to make a parallel evaluation of the Union's political priorities at legislative and budgetary level, serving as a basis for the political and budgetary choices underlying the financial framework;
Assumes that the amounts made available as EU resources should allow the EU to achieve the crucial and strategic objectives mentioned in the draft constitution;
Considers that the final contents of the Communication should be examined in order to evaluate whether the enlarged Union can fulfil its political commitments and in this sense whether it complies with its legitimate expectations;
Horizontal issues
On the timeframe
Reiterates its will, as already expressed in its report to the European Convention and widely taken on board by the draft Constitution (Article III-308), to have a financial framework established for a period of 5 years; takes the view that, for reasons of democratic responsibility and accountability, it is essential that the timeframe be better adapted to the mandates of the Parliament and the Commission;
Considers that Parliament is not bound by the decision taken by the European Council of October 2002 on agricultural spending until 2013 and sees no reason to accept a 7-year period for the new financial perspective as a result of this decision;
On the GNI ceilings
Deplores the confusion created in the beginning of the process between commitments and payments appropriations in terms of percentage of GNI ceiling and considers that the gap between the two is questionable from a political and budgetary point of view; recalls that, for reasons of sound management, there should be an orderly relation between commitments and payments;
Points out that the ceilings established by the decision on the system of own resources are 1.31% in commitment appropriations of GNI and 1.24% in payment appropriations of GNI and that, in the interest of transparency, the Commission should also present the total appropriations for commitments which will reach 1.27% of GNI in 2013 against the ceiling of own resources for commitments;
Is of the opinion that, after having evaluated its political priorities at legislative and budgetary level, it is the Union's responsibility to define the tasks of the Union in the context of a medium-term policy strategy and, on that basis, to foresee adequate resources;
Notes that during the period 1996-2002, the EU budget (with 15 Member States) increased by 8.2% while the national budgets increased by an average of 22.9% showing the rigour and thrift of the arms of the budgetary authority;
On the profile
Points out the discrepancy between the profile of commitment appropriations and that of payment appropriations; notes that the progressive and linear increase in commitments compared to the irregular development of payments will further extend the gap between the two; believes that, as regards forthcoming legislative proposals, the profiles should be better adapted to the programme cycles;
Considers that, before any decisions are made on the global ceiling of the financial framework, the Commission should further clarify its proposal as regards the ratio between commitment appropriations and payment appropriations for any given year during the period covered by the framework and indicate clearly how this affects implementation; looks to the Commission to provide, in particular, information as to how, under the new financial framework, delays in the disbursement of appropriations in the structural policy sphere can be avoided; invites the Commission to present such an analysis by summer 2004, bearing in mind the requirement for an orderly relation between commitments and payments;
On the structure
Asks the Commission to provide the budgetary authority with a comparative table indicating the current nomenclature by programmes and with the magnitude of expenditure foreseen in order to facilitate the comparison with the current situation;
Welcomes the Commission's efforts to reduce the number of headings (8 to 5); notes, however, that the number of subheadings has increased; considers that a restricted number of headings should not create more rigidity; is of the opinion that the current system has in general proved its efficiency; reserves its position until the Commission submits more in-depth information for its reasoning and this has been evaluated by Parliament;
Recalls that, owing to insufficient resources foreseen within the relevant heading of expenditure on the one hand and rigidity between the different headings on the other, the flexibility instrument foreseen in Point 24 of the Interinstitutional Agreement of 6 May 1999 had to be mobilised in 2000, 2001 and 2002 in order to cover unforeseen needs; asks the Commission to clarify the different flexibility mechanisms foreseen between headings and within headings and to take due account of the different options proposed by Parliament during the negotiations on the current financial perspective;
Regrets that the Commission has not proposed a specific reserve for external actions to deal with unforeseen crises, whilst it has proposed a Growth Adjustment Fund of EUR 1 billion for the new heading 1a;
Stresses that the need to strengthen growth and competitiveness and economic and social cohesion between the Member States are major objectives for the enlarged Union;
Recalls that the decision of the European Council of October 2002, to which reference is made in the accession Treaty (Annex XV), on agricultural expenditure, aimed to fix a ceiling and not a bottom line; intends to evaluate the consequences of such decision in a more global context;
Stresses the need to maintain visibility for the administrative expenditure of the Commission with clear identification;
Underlines that the financial framework agreed in 1999 for the period 2000-2006 did not foresee any increase in own resources; notes that for the time being, the Commission proposal (for 27 Member States) does not foresee any increase in the own resources ceiling either;
Reiterates its will to integrate the EDF into the general budget according to the principle of unity and to ensure a democratic control over this important part of the EU development policy, without prejudice to the overall volume of EU assistance to the poorest countries;
Confirms the need to reform the current system of own resources in order to give it more visibility for European citizens and to take national considerations into account; is ready to evaluate proposals for a general correction mechanism based on the principle of Community solidarity;
Specific areas
Invites the Commission to take into account the opinions of the Parliament's specialised committees annexed to the current report, of which the priorities are outlined in the paragraphs below;
Competitiveness for growth and employment
Agrees with the Commission that the strengthening of the European effort in research and technological development constitutes a major objective of the enlarged European Union; recalls in particular the importance of having appropriate funding, both at Community and national level, with a proper balance between public and private financing; expresses concern that access to R&D capital for European SMEs is still limited and that R&D spending by SMEs is 3-6 times higher in the US; notes that the completion of a "European research area" is important to sustainable development, but is nevertheless concerned by the urgent need for concrete instruments to attain the objectives contained in the Communication; in addition, stresses the contribution of the energy sector for sustainable development, stresses in particular the importance of transferring and developing existing instruments (e.g. the Intelligent Energy Programme) in the enlarged European Union, and calls for appropriate European action in both energy supply and the development of trans-European networks;
Welcomes the priority given by the European Commission to the promotion of the competitiveness of enterprises, especially through:
improved access to Community financial instruments for SMEs;
the promotion of technology transfer, building of innovation networks and coordination between European undertakings;
enhancing European competitiveness and productivity through further development of the information society;
developing and promoting international standards for ICT and mobile telecommunication technology (e.g. 3G).
In order to attain the objectives laid down in the Communication, requests the Commission to present as soon as possible the appropriate legislative and non-legislative proposals with the aim of fulfilling the broader objective of sustainable development;
Recalls that, under Article 3(2) of the EC Treaty, the promotion of gender equality is a fundamental principle of the EU and should be implemented in all Community actions and programmes; calls on the Commission to ensure that gender is taken into account in all main expenditure headings of the new financial framework (2007-2013) and that targets and benchmarks are set;
Requests that, according to the objectives set in the Lisbon strategy and the Barcelona European Council targets to reconcile family and work through the creation of childcare facilities, an adequate proportion of the 16% EU resources for competitiveness for growth and employment be allocated to raise the percentage of employed women in the enlarged EU, taking into account the special need to promote the socio-economic and employment situation of women in the new Member States;
Welcomes the importance that the Commission is attaching to the social policy agenda, in particular, support for social dialogue and initiatives to help anticipate and manage change; points out, bearing in mind especially that new Member States are about to join the Union, that such initiatives will be vital for internal cohesion and social harmony; points out that the social dialogue provided for in the Treaties needs to be strengthened, especially in the new Member States;
Expects that the main imperative, particularly in the new Member States, will be to implement labour legislation, including health and safety legislation, in particular by fostering best practice;
Is consequently of the opinion that the next Structural Fund reform should be based on the following principles: concentration of tasks, administrative simplification and a new allocation formula, having regard not least to the take-up capacity of the recipient regions;
Points out that a high level of public health also contributes to sustainable development, high employment and general welfare; assumes that enlargement will increase the variety of problems related to public health; in order to address the emerging challenges, calls for a new financial instrument on public health to come into operation after the expiry of the present action programme;
Believes that greater financial support for student mobility must be matched by a commitment to ensuring that such expenditure has a genuinely additional effect; notes that the inadequacy of student mobility grants has meant that, hitherto, it has generally been students from more prosperous backgrounds who have been able to take advantage of student mobility schemes; urges the Member States to ensure real access to these grants, taking into account the financial need of applicants in accordance with the definition of 'need' as laid down in the national support agreements;
Welcomes the emphasis the Commission places on support for networks of cultural organisations and for citizens' initiatives in inter-cultural dialogue; notes that the cultural industries make a significant contribution to economic growth and employment in Europe; stresses the need to simplify administrative procedures as regards funding for bodies in the cultural field; notes that the audiovisual industry is still fragmented in national markets and calls for the removal of obstacles to the circulation of European films;
Underlines that, in the context of the recommendations to deliver higher growth to fulfil the objectives set by the European Union for the decade ending in 2010, to become the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy with sustainable economic growth and greater social cohesion, the 'cultural added value' should not be forgotten; believes that the concept of 'European added value' must not be limited to advanced cooperation between Member States but should also contain a 'visionary' aspect;
Welcomes the Commission's general determination to consolidate and rationalise funding instruments; believes that, in the fields of education, training, youth and cultural policy, such consolidation and rationalisation will create administrative economies of scale, heighten the visibility of the programmes and make them more transparent for citizens;
Cohesion for growth and employment
Emphasises the importance of cohesion policy in constructing measures which raise the economic performance of the future Member States and regions as well as existing regions which are disadvantaged because of lack of infrastructure, extreme remoteness, permanent geographical handicaps or industrial decline; reiterates Parliament's demand that cohesion policy be funded by 0.45% of EU GDP to ensure that its objectives are met in the enlarged Union;
Insists that expenditure on cohesion for growth and employment and, in particular, the Regional Development Fund should provide continuity of investment for those regions where the "statistical effect" is adverse and that there should be adequate funds for a continuation of regional policy for lagging regions in the current 15 Member States; underlines the particular problems which geographically outlying, rural, mountain, island and sparsely populated regions face; calls for other sectoral policies to take into account the needs of these regions using criteria such as accessibility in order to further cohesion;
Considers that state aid should be permissible in non Objective 1 regions depending on the level of development and problems faced by the region and asks the Commission to present a new state aid regulation with the new cohesion and regional policy regulations; calls on the Commission, in this context, to clarify as soon as possible the future of the regional aid under Article 87(3)(c), taking care in particular to retain the distinction between the regions eligible under the regional competitiveness and employment objectives;
Expects the Commission, in particular, in the light of the experience gained so far in the field of structural actions (RAL, unreliability of Member States' forecasts as regards spending needs) to present further proposals, accompanying the new financial framework, aimed at ensuring better control of the implementation of appropriations involving a greater responsibility of Members States in the context of shared management, e.g. by the increased use of cofinancing and sunset clauses;
Notes the importance of trans European transport networks for implementing the Lisbon agenda; considers that high-performing trans European transport networks are an essential catalyst for the sustainable mobility of goods and people and notes that the Commission intends to strengthen cross-border cooperation and the development of European networks; believes that setting up a financial bonus for those priority projects of European interest, or for sections of them, which are completed within the next three years, would represent an important incentive for the development of TEN.
Preservation and management of natural resources
Welcomes the greater attention paid to research and development and calls on the Commission, in that connection, also to focus on innovation in the agricultural sector;
Regrets the fact that, in the proposed financial framework, the Commission has not - as announced in connection with the reform of the common agricultural policy - made a stronger second pillar an integral part of the future EU budget, but is instead seeking to freeze planned expenditure on rural development at the 2006 level, which, in a future EU of 25 or 27 Member States, would lead to a steady reduction in appropriations for rural development;
Calls on the Commission, therefore, to revise the Financial Perspective in such a way that rural regions are not placed at a disadvantage in relation to urban areas, thereby forestalling the further economic decline and depopulation of disadvantaged regions;
Believes that the current strict distinction made between categories 1a and 1b, on the basis of the CAP reform decisions concerning modulation, must be replaced to a certain extent by a flexible mechanism for transferring funds to rural development projects, so that adequate allowance can be made for the reorientation of EU agricultural policy launched in 2003;
Notes that the Community fisheries sector is undergoing radical change to give it longterm prospects and allow it to remain competitive in a globalised economy; takes the view that adequate funding must be provided in order to finance the various areas of activity making up the Common Fisheries Policy, namely, resource conservation and protection, international agreements, markets, structural measures, social aspects, etc.; believes, therefore, that existing fisheries-related Structural Fund measures, including socio-economic measures, need to be maintained and optimised in order to maintain European fisheries' competitiveness in a global free market;
Welcomes the progress made in interinstitutional cooperation on negotiating international fisheries agreements, in particular with the Commission, even though it takes the view that there is still a long way to go before Parliament is genuinely involved in policy development and implementation in this CFP area; it also feels that a clear distinction needs to be made between financial compensation for fishing access and the targeted measures, and that the Commission must be able to verify that the latter have been properly implemented;
Is pleased that 'sustainable development' has been proposed as one of the three priorities for the next financial perspectives; deplores, however, the shallow interpretation of the concept of sustainability; notes that the Commission devotes only marginal attention to environmental concerns and fails sufficiently to integrate the environmental aspects of sustainable development in overall policy-making; calls, therefore, on the Commission to strengthen the content of 'sustainable development' in all Community policies;
Welcomes the Commission's proposal that, in future, environmental policy should be financed from the same category of the budget as agricultural, structural and fisheries policy; points out that these policies have a huge impact on the environment; stresses the urgent need to press ahead with the greening of Community policies in practice, by carrying out careful and methodologically sound assessments of environmental impacts in all policy areas, particularly in CAP and structural funds;
Welcomes the reference to financing of the Natura 2000 network; considers this a crucial element to reaching the 2010 target for halting European biodiversity loss; calls for dedicated funds under regional and rural development policy for Natura 2000;
Citizenship, freedom, security and justice
Welcomes the Commission's proposal to make European citizenship, including the completion of an area of freedom, security and justice, one of the top three priorities for the enlarged Union 2007-2013; welcomes and supports strongly the proposal to create a specific heading for "Citizenship, freedom, security and justice" in the new financial perspective as a logical consequence of the proposed priority for this policy area;
Regards the protection of the external borders of the European Union in an integrated way poses a major challenge that requires adequate resources; emphasises, at the same time, the need for increased efforts to establish a common asylum policy with a much stronger burden-sharing element and a correspondingly stronger policy of integration of third country nationals living in the European Union;
Is of the opinion that the Union should respond to the increasing concerns of European citizens with regard to internal security matters and assume greater responsibility in the fight against international organised crime and terrorism;
Requests that the protection of fundamental rights be reinforced, inter alia, by the creation of a genuine judicial area based on mutual trust;
The EU as a global partner
Insists that poverty eradication and the Millennium Development Goals, which are the main goals of community development policy, should remain one of the principal objectives of the category for "External Actions" and that funds for this purpose should be safeguarded against transfer operations to meet other objectives;
Supports the principle of "simplified architecture" in the area of external relations but insists that this must not lead to a diminished role for the European Parliament, either in co-deciding legislation or in the use of its budgetary or discharge powers;
Calls for a clear distinction to be made between those areas of external action which have different characteristics and for which the financial requirements have to be considered separately: pre-accession aid, enhanced neighbourhood cooperation, development cooperation, humanitarian aid, relations with ACP countries, peace and security and reserves;
Insists that EDF budgetisation should result in no reduction in the overall level of finance for ACP countries and that these funds focus on poverty eradication, in line with development best practice and be guaranteed for use within the ACP region, by means of sub-headings or ring-fenced sums in the Financial Perspectives;
Calls for a restructuring and rationalisation of budgetary instruments in order to boost the responsiveness and flexibility of the Union's external policy, while maintaining the transparency of the mechanisms employed and without in any way jeopardising fulfilment of the commitments already entered into; restates the need to introduce for this purpose a mechanism for prior consultation of, and control a posteriori by, Parliament, particularly where appropriations are reallocated; welcomes the rationalisation of headings proposed by the Commission and proposes a breakdown of appropriations by thematic headings matching priorities and horizontal political objectives of the Union, accompanied by a geographical structure allowing such appropriations to be mobilised flexibly for a given area; questions the appropriateness of the existing allocation of responsibilities between external relations and development and proposes that it be reviewed;
Affirms that the neighbouring countries of the enlarged Europe are a priority area for action and attention; asks, to this end, that the provisions of the strategy document on relations with the Arab World be implemented; advocates recourse to all necessary measures to ensure that the New Neighbourhood policy can enable an area of prosperity and stability to stretch further to the south and east of the Union; points to the importance of moving ahead with the Barcelona Process and supporting the political and economic reforms being implemented in Mediterranean partner countries; in particular, asks that the African continent and the countries with the highest rates of poverty and underdevelopment benefit from better interaction between humanitarian policies, development programmes and political cooperation;
Points out that, to be credible, any international player needs to be ready both to respond to unexpected short-term situations and to devise medium- and long-term strategies involving lasting commitments; points out that the Union's external policy must be envisaged in a global manner; points out that its main aims are encouraging macroeconomic assistance designed to prevent conflicts of all kinds as well as peacekeeping activities and crisis management measures in civilian, military, technological and environmental fields, particularly through the rapid deployment of an intervention force;
Places particular emphasis on the need for adequate funding for the aspects relating to cooperation policy, the fight against poverty, the promotion of democracy and human rights and access for populations to basic goods and services; places particular emphasis on the need to promote, through external policy, access to health care (including reproductive health), education, research and the new technologies and the continuing fight against anti-personnel landmines and their consequences;
Reiterates the importance of a parliamentary dimension to the WTO and encourages further initiatives for democratic instruments in the field of trade; believes that the European Union, as a global partner in the present context of globalisation, must reinforce its role as a leading trade power and an active partner in the negotiation of multilateral norms;
Invites the Commission to come forward with the appropriate solutions as regards the presentation of administrative expenditure so as to enable transparency and democratic control over staffing matters; believes this should apply both in the various policy areas and in the heading dedicated to the administrative expenditure of the other institutions;
Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council and the Commission.