Strasbourg, 12/12/2007 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday 11 December, in Strasbourg, the European Parliament welcomed the agreement reached with EU member states on 23 November last on all the elements of next year's budget, and in particular the compromise on financing for the future European satellite positioning system, Galileo, until 2013. The EP should have no difficulty in finalising the Community budget for 2008 on Thursday 13 December. The budget should amount to €129.1 billion in commitment appropriations and to €120.3 billion in payment appropriations (i.e. 5.7% more than the 2007 Community budget).
Ville Itälä (EPP-ED, Finland) said: “My main objective as rapporteur for the budgets of Parliament and the other institutions was to keep any increase as low as possible. That is why I named this budget 'the taxpayers' budget'. That objective has been achieved, and the increase has been kept to below 4%”. He then stressed how important it was to accept an amendment in the budgetary resolution on the consequences of the MEPs' statute taking effect at the beginning of the legislature following the European elections of 2009.
Kyösti Virrankoski (ALDE, Finland), rapporteur on the general budget, specified that credits foreseen for 2008 are around €9.3 billion below the financial framework ceilings. The EP had placed emphasis on two priorities in sub-heading 1a (competitiveness for growth and employment), namely Galileo and the European Institute of Technology, and the Council finally agreed to revise the financial framework by drawing solely on the Community budget, Mr Virrankoski recalled. The Portuguese EU Council presidency “deserves all the credit” as it contributed to the EP's “great victory”: that of raising the ceilings of the commitment appropriations under the sub-heading 1a for the years 2008-2013 by €1.6 billion (this increase will be compensated by a reduction of the same amount in the ceiling of commitment appropriations under the agriculture heading for the financial period 2007). More credit can be put down to another success: the mobilisation by up to €70 million of the flexibility instrument to allow common foreign and security policy (CFSP) funding to be increased to meet the needs of the mission in Kosovo.
Speaking on behalf of the Council, Emanuel Augusto Santos, Deputy Secretary of State for the Portuguese Ministry of Finance, welcomed the EP's full compliance with the agreement of 23 November, which met two objectives: - that of defining a framework for the 2008 budget (and thus guaranteeing the good functioning of the EU and “correct” functioning of its policies); - and that of ensuring financing of Galileo, one of the most important projects undertaken in recent years by the EU. Mr Santos stressed the Council's satisfaction with regard to the CFSP agreement for 2008, which is one of the most important political priorities for the EU. The 2008 budget represents a “balanced compromise” between, on one hand, budgetary discipline and good financial management and, on the other, the expectations of European citizens, the president-in-office of the Ecofin Council concluded.
This is the first time in the history of the European budget that spending devoted to competitiveness reaches such a high level, Budget Commissioner Dalia Grybauskaité was pleased to state. She nonetheless called on the EP not to place in reserve the funding required for paying the Commission personnel. The EP threatens to reduce by €17 million the preparation for staff salaries at headquarters in the policy area of external actions and place in reserve €5 million in administrative spending (officials' salaries) pending the results of the analysis on recruitment needs.
The 2008 budget is a “good result” for the EPP-ED Group, said Richard James Ashworth of the UK, who said: “I believe that this budget reflects more adequately the changing priorities of the Union today”. He nonetheless spoke of two concerns. He noted the lack of enthusiasm shown by the private sector to invest in the Galileo project and pointed out that, for the thirteenth year running, the European Court of Auditors has not been able to provide a positive Statement of Assurance on the whole of the budget (2006).
Speaking on behalf of the PES group, Catherine Guy-Quint, of France, considered the general EU budget for 2008 “modest”. This year again, “we have noted the extreme tightness” of the financial framework for European intervention in the world, “which does not facilitate our task when it is a matter of relaying commitments linked to Palestine and Kosovo”, the MEP added. After the talks, the whole of Europe agreed that Galileo should be financed entirely by Community funds. With the European Institute of Technology, this package amounts to €2.7 billion “without harming any of the Union policies”, Ms Guy-Quint was pleased to state.
Anne Jensen (ALDE, Denmark) considered the results obtained by the EP during consultation with the Council were “very good”. Helga Trüpel (Greens/EFA, Germany) was also pleased with the decisions allowing an important industrial project like Galileo to be set on track. Esko Seppänen (GUE/NGL, Finland) explained that the group to which he belonged would vote against the 2008 budget as put together by the EP.
The chairman of the parliamentary committee on budgets, Reimer Böge (EPP-ED, Germany) spared no praise. He praised the “dynamism” of the budget commissioner and the “historic result” reached thanks to the approach adopted by the president-in-office of the Council. The budget reached confirms the added value of Community policies, ensuring the future of Galileo and increasing the means devoted to the European border agency (Frontex). Mr Böge admitted that they would have preferred a longer commitment for the chronically under-financed Heading 4 (external actions) but that it is up to the rapporteur for the budget 2009 to take up the torch - which his Social Democrat compatriot, Jutta Haug is resolved to do. She explicitly stated that she wanted multi-annual financing for Kosovo and Palestine.
Addressing the Portuguese minister presiding the meeting, Mr Gérard Deprez (ALDE, Belgium) said: “If there were a European Legion of Honour, I believe you would deserve it”. He welcomed the fact that the budgets committee was of the same view as the civil liberties committee as far as the suppression of reserves for SIS II (Schengen Information System) and Frontex is concerned. He nonetheless asked the EP to leave in reserve “all credits” for the European Return Fund “until we have adopted” (at Parliament and Council) the proposal for a directive on norms and procedures of member states organising the return of third country nationals residing in the EU unlawfully.
Salvador Garriga Polledo (EPP-ED, Spain) welcomed better implementation of the budget and the way in which consultation between the EP delegation and Council has taken place. “Many of us voted as they say with a heavy heart in 2006 on the multi-annual budget on financial perspectives”, explained Nathalie Griesbeck (ALDE, France). She therefore welcomed the agreement on this budget for 2008 which constitutes a victory for Europeans and a victory also for the Parliament. This is all very well, said Jan Mulder of the Netherlands in the same political group as Ms Griesbeck, but improvements are still possible. He suggested among other things to adopt pilot projects in a separate procedure before adopting the general budget. Some criticism was voiced by the new member states. Thus, Sergei Kozlik (NA) regretted that agricultural policy is still founded on “all kinds of compromise serving the interests of the large states”. Vladimir Manka (PES, Slovakia), for his part, deplored the shortcomings in information and communication with citizens and called for greater transparency and effectiveness in the use of resources. In his view, the budget of the Court of Auditors (conceived according to real spending) should be used as a model to follow. (L.G./L.C.)