Strasbourg, 24/02/2005 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday, the Parliament adopted the report by Austrian ÖVP member Othmar Karas on public funding in the EMU in 2004. The MEPs subscribed to the Commission's view which, in its report, put increasing State deficits down largely to a deliberate slackening off on budgetary policy in various Member States (EUROPE of 25 June 2004). The Parliament stresses that it is important to commit to “processes of structural reforms and investment activities” in favour of competitiveness and growth in Europe. It draws a distinction for the Member States of the most recent wave of enlargement, given the impact of the “economic changes” they have experienced, but also urges them to carry out more ambitious budgetary and structural reforms. On the Stability Pact, the EP adopted an amendment which “calls for all the Member States, large and small, to be treated the same”, whilst calling for a “reinforcement of the Commission's role” in opening investigation procedures into excessive deficits and for a revision of the Pact, to boost the preventive side of it, “by paying more attention to economic disparities”. A Socialist amendment listing elements of the revision of the Stability Pact, on the other hand, was rejected. It provided for the establishment of a “clear distinction between investments and current expenditure” concerning education, social services, research and development, transport and communication infrastructure and infrastructure for renewable energy sources.