| Author (Person) | Banks, Martin |
|---|---|
| Series Title | European Voice |
| Series Details | Vol.10, No.5, 12.2.04 |
| Publication Date | 12/02/2004 |
| Content Type | News |
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Date: 12/02/04 THE European Commission's budget proposals for 2007-13 have been broadly welcomed by the main political groups in the European Parliament. European Commission President Romano Prodi unveiled the spending plans at the assembly on Tuesday (10 February), setting the scene for a fierce battle with finance ministers. He wants to boost the budget by a third to more than d900,000 billion - rising from d124.6bn to d143.1bn per year. The Union currently spends around €100bn a year. Six member states, the Union's biggest net contributors, want to to keep spending at the current level of 1% of gross national income (GNI). But the Commission's plans would require contributions of 1.14% of GNI. Prodi called for a shift of priorities, with a much larger share of EU money in future being spent on boosting employment and economic growth. Spending on research and development, training and infrastructure, would rise from €8.79bn to €25.83bn. Prodi insisted that the Commission was being realistic and that Community-financed projects would be more effective than piecemeal national measures. European Parliament President Pat Cox welcomed the plans, saying: "We can't run an ambitious Europe of tomorrow on an empty fuel tank. This is not the time to do Europe on the cheap, nor is it the time for short termism, retreat or hesitation." Kyosti Virrankoski, the Liberal spokesman on the financial perspectives, said: "These plans are well justified and the priorities are right. Enhanced spending on competitiveness and employment and increased funding on cohesion policies are essential for a successful enlargement." For the Greens-EFA group, Kathalijne Buitenweg, a Dutch member of the budget committee, described the proposal as "a good starting point for discussion", adding that it was "disingenuous" for finance ministers to endorse growth initiatives such as trans-European networks, "then subsequently balk at the required levels of funding". Conservative MEP James Elles said the European People's Party favoured a five- instead of seven-year budget period, adding: "Let us avoid Soviet-type planning which will take us too far into the future with our commitments." However, Spanish Socialist Joan Colom, Parliament's rapporteur on the financial perspectives, said the Commission's proposals were not generous enough: "The same financial framework is being proposed for a Union of possibly 27 states in 2013 as was agreed in 1992 for 12 member states. Surely we should be more ambitious than this?" Socialist group leader Enrique Barón Crespo criticized the member states which had called for a budget cap, warning: "The consequences of such action are clear: there would be less economic support for those countries which clearly have a standard of living inferior to the EU average. This in turn would have a direct effect on one of the fundamental principles of the Union since its foundation - solidarity." Liberal leader Graham Watson also lambasted the so-called gang of six, describing them as an "unholy alliance".
The European Commission unveiled its spending plans for 2007-13 on 10 February 2004 and the proposals have been broadly welcomed by the main political groups in the European Parliament. |
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| Subject Categories | Economic and Financial Affairs |
