The European
Parliament adopted by 445 votes to 39, with 18 abstentions, a resolution on
the proposal for a Council regulation laying down the multiannual financial
framework for the years 2007-2013.
The Parliament
recalls that, according to the European Commission's latest financial
programming for 2012-2013, the margin available under heading 1a will be less
than EUR 50 million per year and the global margin available under all
headings will be limited to EUR 436 million for 2012 and EUR 435 million for
2013.
Members state
that the European Financial Stabilisation Mechanism has potentially
significant budgetary implications.
Therefore, in
this respect, they request the Council and the Commission to take account of
the following recommendations:
- work with
European Parliament to allow swift adoption of the new instruments
needed to implement the budgetary provisions of the Lisbon Treaty and
revise the current MFF in order to provide for the extra resources
necessary to deliver initiatives not foreseen when the current MFF was
adopted;
- fully comply
with Articles 311, 312(3) and (5) of the TFEU in order to facilitate the
adoption of the financial framework and provide the Union with the means
necessary to attain its objectives and carry out its policies, taking
into account the new areas of action given by the Lisbon Treaty,
including in the fields of external action, sport, space, climate
change, energy, tourism and civil protection;
- draw all
necessary conclusions from the fact that even before the addition of
these new Lisbon-related needs, over the last four years of the
current MFF, the annual budgets could only be agreed either through
using up the existing margins or through recourse to the instruments
foreseen by the current IIA to finance EU priorities such as
Galileo, the food facility or the European Recovery Plan, and that
remaining margins under the ceilings of the current financial framework
are estimated to be negligible for the remainder of the period;
- acknowledge
that the current economic climate might lead the budgetary authority to
make some efforts towards reprioritisation within the budget;
- recognise
that new needs cannot be met through redeployment or reprioritisation
and that a revision of the MFF and the flexibility mechanisms
included in the IIA is necessary, contrary to the Council's position
as set out in its conclusions of 16 March 2010 on the budget guidelines
for 2011;
- respond to
declaration 3 of the current IIA calling for a full, wide-ranging review
by 2008/2009 covering all aspects of EU spending and resources, and stop
attempting to deal with the challenges/competences given to the EU
by the new Treaty through a very narrow review of the functioning of the
current IIA lacking any political dimension;
- recognise
that the position of the Council and the Commission on the revision of
the MFF until now is contradictory with the fact that they are constantly
coming up with new proposals calling for new resources such as the
"Bananas Agreement" and ITER;
- express its
concern considering the trend developed by Member States towards
launching European policies financed outside of the EU budget; measure
the risk of a lack of democratic control and legitimacy over those policies
as well as a breach of the principle of universality of the EU budget
and the negative impact this trend might imply with regard to the
principle of solidarity;
- take all
necessary steps for a revision of the MFF providing the extra resources
necessary to deliver the European External Action Service and other
Lisbon-Treaty-related policy priorities, as well as other initiatives,
particularly under Heading 1a "Competitiveness Growth and
Employment" and Heading 4 "External Relations", providing
EU added value;
- take note of
the fact that without this revision the Parliament will not be able
to adopt any proposals for new agencies or any further Council
initiatives unless accompanied by proposals for fresh resources;
- recognise
the importance of flexibility to create reserves and margins allowing
the EU to respond to current and future needs (the Parliament is not
prepared to enter into negotiations over any proposal that does not
include at least the current degree of flexibility over revisions to the
financial framework of up to 0,03% of EU GNI);
- understand
that a purely technical approach to the implementation of the Lisbon
Treaty in the budgetary field is insufficient and that, for the
Parliament to be able to give its consent, entering without delay a
real, political negotiation at an appropriately high, and if necessary
at the highest, level, is a must;
- give further
thought to the European Financial Stabilisation Mechanism ahead of the
adoption of the MFF regulation; accept that both arms of the budgetary
authority be involved in decisions concerning the impact this mechanism
could have on the EU budget; agree that any possible budgetary needs
linked to this mechanism should be financed through an ad-hoc revision
of the MFF to ensure that sufficient involvement of the budgetary
authority is guaranteed on time.