Mr President, Commissioners, Mr President-in-Office of the Council, let me also, on behalf of my group, in this new sort of debate – not indeed the only one, as we will be having another in October on the substantive votes – set before you our position, our approach and our concerns. I wish to make reference to the great challenges before us, which have just been described. I have great confidence in the work of our two general rapporteurs, Mr Färm and Mr Stenmarck, who have previously shown their capacity for excellent work. In managing the workload over the coming months and weeks, it is on their shoulders that we are standing. The greatest challenge is enlargement, which has already been referred to many times, and which marks a fundamental change in this European Union of ours. The European Union will, in two years' time, have an appearance quite different from any it has had before, which will not only have an effect on financial matters, but will also bring cultural changes in its wake. All this will need proper preparation. Here in Parliament, we will, whilst taking up our respective positions, have to show openness – freedom and openness to the acceptance of others, of new ideas and new impetus. This must also show itself in the budget. Secondly, we have experienced in recent weeks, which started with a vast catastrophe striking Austria, Germany, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, followed by other regions of the European Union, that we are inadequately prepared for the disasters that can afflict our continent. It is not enough to give assistance only in cases of emergency, although thank God this assistance will now be financially resourced in such a way that we are not only giving people the impression that we can help them, but are actually able to provide aid efficiently and effectively. No, it is not enough to help only when something has happened; we have to take preventive action. We have to work together on early warning systems, on research into environmental changes, in order to be able to prepare ourselves, rather than, like a rabbit fixated by a snake, waiting for the worst to happen, but getting to grips with it early on, in order to see what can be prevented right from the outset. Thirdly, there is the issue of work creation. This continent still has too many people unemployed. Although this is one of the richest continents in the world, people are forced to remain unemployed even though we have vast amounts of money to use to counter unemployment. I speak, of course, with particular reference to the Structural Funds, but I also have others in mind. It must be possible to guarantee greater efficiency, and the faster and more efficient distribution of resources. We have proposed an efficiency force to shed light on all the bureaucratic apparatus, enabling us to act quicker and get money to where it is really needed so that people gasping for breath in the tangled bureaucratic undergrowth do not sink back in despair and say they can do no more. We also have to ensure that this EU of ours plans for the long term, with regard to staff expenses as much as to anything else. Thank God our staff are relatively young, but we have to finance all their pensions out of the budget. If we want to plan for the long term here, we have to make an early start on ensuring that funds are put by for this purpose so that we can give help in this area, or else we will run into major problems, at any rate further down the road. There are initiatives that have been in place since 1996, but which have not to date been implemented. That is something we have to get to grips with. We must help small and medium-sized enterprises in the European Union to have their share of economic development. Success in this European Union of ours must not be the preserve of the big firms that can afford their own legal departments and tax departments; it must be put within the reach of small enterprises and micro-businesses. We have submitted amendments on that subject. In these discussions, you will find us to be willing to work constructively with you. Other amendments have been tabled, but I wanted to set out the focal points of our approach. Thank you for your attention. (Applause)

Political group: PSE