I voted in favour of Mr Valdivielso de Cué’s report, because the Euro-Mediterranean partnership must be based on a MEDA programme that is fully efficient and successful. As Member for a town that looks on to the Mediterranean, I hope that the Euro-Mediterranean partnership is given comparable resources for the period 2000-2006 to those given to the countries of Central and Eastern Europe. In implementing the MEDA programme, the simplification proposed by the European Commission and intensified by this report are beneficial. If we consider the appropriation of funds in the first MEDA programme, how can we justify the fact that only a quarter of the appropriations have actually been paid and that it takes an average of four years for payments to be made? This kind of problem harms our credibility on the international scene and gives European taxpayers a terrible impression of the way in which Community institutions use public funds. We cannot be satisfied with such a record. The best we can do now is to back the amendments proposed by the European Commission. Aid to Mediterranean countries must be provided quickly and efficiently, in line with the European Union’s political priorities. Mr Valdivielso de Cué’s report, which proposes that the administration and management of projects should be decentralised, that the MED committee should be given new guidelines, and which insists on improving cooperation between the European Union and its Member States, makes a significant contribution to improving MEDA. Increasing the European Parliament’s participation in MEDA’s decision-making process is another point that I believe to be crucial. I also deplore the fact that, on an issue as important as changing the MEDA regulation, Parliament only has the right to state its opinion by means of the consultation procedure. With the amendments that we are proposing in this report, the MEDA programme will have simplified, decentralised and transparent implementation procedures. I now hope that the Community budget will provide this programme with financial resources that match up to the political ambitions that we are publicly stating for the Mediterranean area. The European Commission has committed itself to increasing MEDA’s staffing levels, with a view to reaching similar levels of human resources enjoyed by other major programmes such as PHARE and TACIS. When it comes to looking at the budget for 2001, the European Parliament must ensure that this commitment is translated into action. With regard to the appropriations allocated to the MEDA programme, I hope that the financial package reflects the political will – which the Council and Parliament have both been trumpeting – to make the Euro-Mediterranean partnership one of our priorities for external action. Amending the MEDA regulation with a view to improving the decision-making process and simplifying the procedure for implementing projects is an important stage in the Euro-Mediterranean partnership. I shall do my best to ensure that the vote on the MEDA budget is another stage confirming the importance we attach to the Euro-Mediterranean partnership. - Varela Suanzes-Carpegna reports (A5-0194 and A5-0188/2000)

Political group: PPE-DE