Mr President, since the last time we discussed the budget in this House, significant progress has been made, particularly following the joint meeting between the Council, Commission and Parliament on 24 November. Finally, an agreement has been reached about the funding of Iraq’s reconstruction. From the 2004 budget, EUR 95 million will be taken from the flexibility reserve and EUR 65 million from Heading 4. The fact that it was Heading 4 means that cuts will need to be made in other lines and that the lines by which some groups set great store have lost some of their importance. However, I welcome the fact that there is an agreement. We have also reached agreement about the increase in payment appropriations: 2.3% compared to the 2003 budget. This means that, irrespective of whether 15 or 25 Member States are involved, in 2004, we will in all probability spend 0.98% of the gross national income. I am not certain whether everyone knows this, but that is the lowest percentage since 1990, and as far as that is concerned, we fully comply with the objectives which we set ourselves at the beginning of this year in the directives for the 2004 budget, namely to draft an economical budget. There is also agreement about common foreign and security policy. A Police Mission can be sent to the Former Yugoslavian Republic of Macedonia. We hope that with this agreement, the provision of information to the Parliament will also improve, for that is of extreme importance to us. All praise goes to Mr Böge and Mr Colom i Naval for the agreement on the programmes under codecision, particularly the programmes following enlargement. That is, in my view, quite a feat because in future, it will considerably simplify decision-making and budgeting. The same compliment can be made to Mrs Dührkop Dührkop and to the rapporteurs of the various specialised committees for the agreement that has been reached on subsidies. Finally, there is the result of the most recent conciliation meeting. Not only will we save about one billion on agricultural expenditure but the Council of Ministers has also adopted Parliament’s priorities in agriculture. Enlargement was the single most important element in the 2004 Budget, and I am therefore delighted to be able to announce that Parliament has agreed to the majority of applications of new Commission posts. We will put 25 posts in reserve. We want the Commission to comply with certain other conditions, but I think that the Commission has received most of the posts it had requested. An important initiative has also been taken in the area of small and medium-sized enterprises. In our opinion, the economy in the new countries and in the old Member States can ideally be boosted by increasing the opportunities for small and medium-size businesses. This is also something which we managed to secure via this budget: considerably more credit has been made available. As to agencies, with the entry into force of the new Financial Regulation, Parliament should also gain a better insight into personnel policy of these agencies. This year is still a transitional year, but in the next few years, Parliament will be paying a great deal of attention to this. As far as reserves are concerned, according to the result, at least of the votes in the Committee on Budgets, the reserves will be maintained for the NGOs, Eurostat and for Afghanistan. At the beginning of this year, Parliament declared itself in favour of a budget for 25 Member States. What we will be voting on this week, is a budget of 15 Member States. The groundwork has been done, though, and has been done well, so that we, on the basis of the agreements of Copenhagen and on the basis of Parliament’s first reading, can submit a sound, amended budget, or approve one for the ten new Member States. With regard to the 2005 Budget, with a reduction of the financial perspectives, the 2005 Budget will become considerably more difficult than that of 2004. I would therefore wish Mr Garriga Polledo and my successor every success. Finally, as is known, we in this Parliament have an excellent secretariat for the Committee on Budgets, without whose efficiency, it is obvious, the work here in the Parliament would not have been completed. I should like to express my warm thanks for this. I should also like to thank all the group coordinators. In my view, cooperation was excellent and I am very grateful for this. Cooperation with the Italian Presidency has also been very successful, for which my thanks. Finally, I should like to say special thanks to two people: the first of whom is the chairman of the Committee on Budgets. I have valued him for years, but I have now also seen him in action close-by. I can only express my admiration for the way in which he has done things. My thanks for this. Finally, I am also indebted to my personal assistants, particularly Mr Marko van Workum. (Applause)

Political group: ELDR