WRITTEN QUESTION E-1203/01 by Alexandros Alavanos (GUE/NGL) to the Council. Increase in the European Union budget.
Date: 2001-04-24
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: adaptation of financial perspectives, enlargement of the Union, financing of the EU budget, general budget (EU)

4.4.2002

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 81 E/15

unity(cid:146), including main ethnic Albanian political parties, was finally formed, which was warmly welcomed
by the Council as an important step towards closer cooperation between different ethnic communities in
the country.

The signature of the Stabilisation and Association Agreement with FYROM on 9 April has been a powerful
lever in the hands of the EU, and the agreement will remain an important instrument for engaging the
FYROM government.

The EU has clearly stressed the need for the new government to produce quickly concrete and substantial
results, particularly on issues related to the situation of minorities (i.e. new TV channel in the Albanian
language, progress on the Albanian-language South East Europe University in Tetovo, early reconstruction
of buildings damaged by armed clashes etc). The European Union will support FYROM(cid:146)s efforts to this end.
The EU feels that the delivery of early, concrete results is vital in order to keep the political process going,
to isolate extremists and to bring FYROM closer to Europe. The Council emphasises its view that only
through political means can this crisis be resolved and a viable solution found.

The EU message was clearly spelled out by the EU Ministerial Troika, which visited Skopje on 16 May
2001, to all its interlocutors.

(2002/C 81 E/018)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1203/01

by Alexandros Alavanos (GUE/NGL) to the Council

Subject: Increase in the European Union budget

(24 April 2001)

The second report on economic and social cohesion in the EU points out the wide disparities in
development between the Member States, the regions and the countries which will be joining the EU in the
next few years. In order to reduce these disparities, or to prevent the gap from widening at least, a much
greater amount of funding than that provided by the EU budget will be required. At the same time, the
cost of dealing with the BSE crisis has raised spending on agriculture to its maximum permissible level,
prohibiting any other action and necessitating cutbacks in other areas of agricultural expenditure.

Since it is becoming increasingly clear that the EU(cid:146)s budget is unable to meet the needs of enlargement or
cover current EU policies, will the Council consider increasing the EU(cid:146)s own resources? Have the Member
States raised the question of increasing own resources or revising the financial perspective? How will the
Council satisfy these urgent financial needs?

Reply

(20 November 2001)

The Council wishes to stress that, in accordance with the conclusions on the budget guidelines for 2002
which it adopted on 12 March 2001, it intends fully to apply the Interinstitutional Agreement (IIA) of
6 May 1999 on budgetary discipline and improvement of the budgetary procedure (1), and Community
expenditure in the period 2000-2006 must therefore remain within the limits imposed by the financial
perspective annexed to that agreement. The rate of change in own resources over that period is governed
by the Council Decision (2000/597/EC, Euratom) of 29 September 2000 on the system of the European
Communities(cid:146) own resources (2), which should enter
in agricultural
expenditure is governed by Council Regulation (EC) No 2040/2000 of 26 September 2000 on budgetary
discipline (3).

into force in 2002, and that

The Council would point out that the IIA, which was adopted by the European Parliament, the Council
and the Commission, includes several provisions to deal with unforeseen expenditure in the application of
the Agreement and the financial perspective, whether in connection with the margins under the different
headings, by means of the mobilisation of the various reserves, the flexibility instrument or the margin for
unforeseen expenditure, but that it is for the Commission to make any relevant proposals required. The
Council would also point out that the financial perspective is sufficiently flexible to deal with the European
Union(cid:146)s financing requirements and it does not therefore consider it necessary to revise it.

C 81 E/16

Official Journal of the European Communities

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4.4.2002

the Council would draw the
As regards more particularly the expenditure relating to enlargement,
Honourable Member(cid:146)s attention to the fact that the IIA includes not only the financial perspective for a
Union of fifteen but also, in Annex II thereto, a financial framework for a Union of twenty-one, which
takes account of the foreseeable financing requirements of enlargement. In addition, section 25 of the IIA
permits, if necessary, the adjustment of the financial perspective. To that end it states that:

Without prejudice to the outcome of the accession negotiations, the change in the headings concerned
should not exceed the amounts shown in the indicative financial framework based on the assumption
of an enlarged Union with six new Member States from 2002 and contained in Annex II, which forms
an integral part of this Agreement.

The additional requirements will be covered by the available amounts set aside for this purpose in the
financial perspective and, if necessary, by using the additional own resources resulting from the increased
Community GNP after enlargement of the Union.

Lastly, the Commission has stated that before the end of 2004 it will conduct a general evaluation of the
system, taking into account, inter alia, the effects of enlargement on the financing of the budget.

(1) OJ C 172, 18.6.1999, p. 1.
(2) OJ L 253, 7.10.2000, p. 42.
(3) OJ L 244, 29.9.2000, p. 27.

(2002/C 81 E/019)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1265/01

by Jens-Peter Bonde (EDD) to the Council

(27 April 2001)

Subject: Audit

Is it not, in the Council(cid:146)s view, a problem that the Court of Auditors has refused for the sixth consecutive
year to state that the transactions on which the accounts are based are legal and formally correct?

Reply

(20 November 2001)

The Council would point out that since introduction of the statement of assurance (SOA) in 1995, it has
always deeply regretted the fact that the Commission has been unable to obtain this statement of assurance
It considers it
transactions underlying the financial statements.
on the legality and regularity of
unacceptable that
the incidence of error affecting transactions underlying payments has not been
substantially reduced to date.

However, the Council is aware that the reform of departments and procedures already initiated by the
Commission in the area of financial management should gradually have a positive effect on the SOA. With
this in view, it invited the Commission in March 2001, in its recommendation for a discharge in respect of
the implementation of the budget for the financial year 1999, to speed up implementation of the measures
provided for in the action plan which it had established with a view to obtaining a positive SOA from the
Court of Auditors and to supplement that plan with specific targets that enable progress to be measured
and with a timetable containing dates by which the impact on the SOA should be observable.

(2002/C 81 E/020)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1267/01

by Stavros Xarchakos (PPE-DE) to the Council

(27 April 2001)

Subject: Protection of the cultural heritage in Turkey

In Helsinki in December 1999, Turkey was designated (cid:145)a candidate for accession(cid:146) to the EU. Nonetheless,
the (cid:145)secular(cid:146) State of modern Turkey does not recognise the national and cultural heritage of the millions of