European Parliament resolution on the 2005 budget: the Commission's Annual Policy Strategy report (2004/2001(BUD))
Date: 2004-04-22
Institutions: Committee on Budgets, European Parliament
Subjects: Community budget, EU policy, adaptation of financial perspectives, budgetary discipline (EU), budgetary procedure, enlargement of the Union, interinstitutional relations (EU)

30.4.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 104 E/1009

Thursday 22 April 2004

92.
Underlines, in the light of the slow take-up of ESF funding in the current programming period, and
the proposed decentralisation, the need to strengthen administrative capacity, with special focus on the
new Member States;

Approves of the integration of the valuable experience and best practice of Community initiatives
into mainstream programming in particular, the principle of transnational cooperation

93.
such as Equal
should be emphasised;

Declares itself in favour of the proposals to enhance partnership and cooperation between the local,
94.
regional, national and EU spheres of government and to encourage Member States to utilise the possibility
of concluding tripartite agreements where appropriate; asks the Commission to develop harmonised and
binding rules and criteria for partnership association and development in the framework of the 2007-2013
Structural Funds regulations, at the same time ensuring efficient partnership through funding the costs of
their participation;

95.
Points to the need for special attention to ensure that the state and regional authorities concerned
comply with the additionality principle, whereby Community resources are to be added to and not replace
state resources, and for the Commission to be provided with the necessary means of supervision;

96.
Supports the idea of the creation of a Community reserve for rewarding progress; welcomes, more-
over, the setting-up of national reserves for responding to unexpected sectoral or local shocks on condition
that these funds have real substance and are not simply symbolic gestures;

97.
Asks the Commission to draw up for the next programming period procedures for verifying addi-
tionality that are more workable, that are integrated into the programming, monitoring and evaluation
frameworks and that are suitable for use with the budgetary and statistical information available; fur-
thermore, asks the Commission to develop specific measures such as sanctions in order to ensure com-
pliance with this principle;

98.

Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council and Commission.

*

*

*

P5_TA(2004)0369

Commission’s annual policy strategy for 2005

European Parliament resolution on the 2005 budget: the Commission’s Annual Policy Strategy
report (2004/2001(BUD))

The European Parliament,

(cid:1) having regard to the communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Coun-

cil (cid:1) Annual Policy Strategy for 2005 (COM(2004) 133),

(cid:1) having regard to the Interinstitutional Agreement of 6 May 1999 between the European Parliament,
the Council and the Commission on budgetary discipline and improvement of the budgetary pro-
cedure (1),

(cid:1) having regard to Article 272 of the EC Treaty and Article 177 of the Euratom Treaty,

(cid:1) having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgets and the opinions of the other committees

concerned (A5-0269/2004),

(1) OJ C 172, 18.6.1999, p. 1, Agreement as amended by Decision 2003/429/EC (OJ L 147, 14.6.2003, p. 25).

C 104 E/1010

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

30.4.2004

Thursday 22 April 2004

A. whereas 2005 will be the first full year of a European Union of 25 countries,

B. whereas the political and budgetary priorities of the European Union for 2005 must respond to the
new challenges of an extended Union, and meet the needs and concerns of the citizens of Europe,
whilst at the same time respecting budgetary rigour and aiming to achieve the best value for money,

C. whereas the benefits of the new activity-based budgeting approach should be further consolidated and
improved, including increased transparency and parliamentary control over the Union’s expenditures,

D. whereas the entry into force of the new Financial Regulation has progressed relatively smoothly, but
has led to decision-making and implementation problems due to the rigidity of certain rules and an
approach of the administration which consists of not taking a decision,

E. whereas the technical adjustment of the Financial Perspective (COM(2003) 785) will restrict the mar-
gin of manoeuvre under some budgetary headings and fix the expenditure ceilings for these at a level
considerably lower than foreseen in the Commission’s financial programming for 2005,

F. whereas the Commission’s Annual Strategy Communication is the first step in the process of formulat-

ing the political and budgetary priorities for 2005,

General aspects

1. Welcomes the Annual Policy Strategy (APS) as an instrument aiming to combine the budgetary and
legislative cycles; underlines that it has decided to modify the traditional procedure for establishing its
budgetary priorities for 2005 (previous ‘guidelines’) in order to further reinforce the political visibility of
these priorities and, especially, to ensure better coherence between the work of the institutions by linking
this resolution more clearly to the Commission’s APS procedure;

2.
Deplores the fact that the Commission postponed the presentation of the APS until the end of Feb-
ruary; expects the Commission in future to abide by the agreed timetable in order to allow the budgetary
authority to deal properly with this important document for the budgetary and legislative procedure;

3.
Fully supports the budgetary provisions in the draft Constitution; deplores the suggestions brought to
the Intergovernmental Conference by Ecofin that severely undermine the present Parliament’s powers; con-
siders that a fair and efficient compromise could only be based on the current interinstitutional balance as
codified in the draft Constitution by the European Convention;

4.
Points out that, in the compact based on trust, the Commission undertook to take all necessary
measures to ensure efficient implementation of decisions adopted by the budgetary authority; calls on the
Commission to explain, before 31 July 2004, how the many key initiatives are compatible with the sub-
sidiarity principle and with the objective of simplifying the acquis and scaling it down from 80 000 to
25 000 pages; points to the significance of demographic change in the Union for welfare systems and
the economy; insists that the Commission make the process of bringing European policies into line with
changed circumstances a task to be carried out across the board;

Strongly supports the Commission’s efforts to improve the activity statements accompanying the
5.
preliminary draft budget (PDB) and recalls that these should summarise in a clear and concise manner
the actions and instruments for each area of the budget; asks the Commission to ensure that they include
objectives and performance indicators that respect the Smart Criteria (specific, measurable, achievable,
relevant and timed), and insists that these should also be included for follow-up in the annual activity
reports; calls on the Commission to include in all activity statements a summary of the Court of Auditors’
findings and of the discharge authority’s conclusions;

Takes note of the opinions of the committees concerned and will take these into account in the

6.
course of the whole budget procedure for 2005 and, in particular, in Parliament’s first reading;

30.4.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 104 E/1011

Thursday 22 April 2004

Financial framework

7.
Stresses that the technical adjustment carried out each year by the Commission on the basis of the
most recent economic forecasts, in accordance with Point 15 of the Interinstitutional Agreement of 6 May
1999, results in a substantial reduction of the ceilings, in particular for headings 3, 4 and 5;

8.
Recalls, however, that following the adjustment and the revision of the financial perspective to
finance the needs of enlargement, an amount of EUR 190 million has been added to the ceiling of heading
3 of the financial perspective for 2005; reminds the Commission that part of this additional amount is
intended to finance not only the programmes under codecision which have been set up in the context of
the 2004 budgetary procedure but also the European Parliament’s priorities such as pilot projects, prepara-
tory actions and other annual activities;

9.
Recalls that the ceiling in heading 5 (administrative expenditure) has been fixed at EUR 6 185 million
for the 2005 budget; stresses that, as a result of this technical adjustment of the ceiling, there will be a
negative margin instead of the positive margin of EUR 28,5 million as was foreseen in the third report by
the Secretaries-General in July 2003; is willing to provide sufficient means to allow a proper functioning of
the institutions of the enlarged Union but considers it necessary to examine further possibilities for repro-
gramming, frontloading and savings;

10.
Recalls the efforts made by Parliament during the previous years of this financial perspective to
further improve the budgetary allocation between permanent tasks and new priorities; reminds the Council
that new needs, including Iraq, can only be funded with new resources, otherwise core activities of the
Union will be affected;

Is aware that, as a result of the additional budgetary constraints caused by the adjustment of the
11.
ceilings in headings 3, 4 and 5 of the financial perspective, the budgetary authority may have to review the
priorities set out in the Commission’s annual policy strategy; expects the Commission to re-allocate
budgetary and human resources in accordance with the decisions of the budgetary authority;

12.
Is concerned by the increasing number of cases where decisions are not taken by the Commission
due to rigid rules in the new Financial Regulation; expects the Commission to observe the application of
the Financial Regulation carefully and to submit an evaluation report to the budgetary authority by 31 July
2004;

Recalls the Joint Declaration on Financial Programming of 20 July 2000 (1); reiterates its strong
13.
interest in improving the matching of legislative and budgetary procedures; invites the Commission to
provide, for each proposal, improved information concerning the overall situation of the financial impact
in order to allow the legislative and budgetary authorities better to assess the utility of each proposal, and
its financial compatibility with the financial perspective;

14.
Notices that in the presentation of the three priorities included in the APS for 2005 (cid:1) competitive-
ness and cohesion, security and European citizenship, and external responsibility: neighbourhood and
partnership (cid:1) the Commission is setting similar priorities to those laid down in its communication on
the financial framework beyond 2006;

Budgetary Headings

Agriculture

15.
Regrets that the largest category of the Union’s expenditure has received little mention in the APS
document; is aware of the need to strengthen financially rural areas, the second pillar of the common
agricultural policy and the following areas in an enlarged Europe: subsidies to young farmers; the fight
against animal diseases, boosting agricultural promotional measures for advertising and marketing within
the EU and in third countries, and the EU school milk programme; asks the Commission to maintain the
pilot project on establishing European quality labels; will assess whether the initiatives and projects under-
taken in the 2004 budget could be continued;

(1) Council Document No 10299/00, p. 8.

C 104 E/1012

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

30.4.2004

Thursday 22 April 2004

Structural operations

16.
Recalls the importance of structural operations as a part of achieving an effective cohesion policy
and promoting sustainable growth; notes the improved implementation of structural fund payment appro-
priations in 2003; points to the persistently large volume of outstanding commitments (cid:1) EUR 60 billion
(cid:1) within the Structural Funds and the Cohesion Fund; asks the Commission to inform the budgetary
authority of the Member States’ forecasts to enable it to assess the appropriate level of payments for 2005;

Internal policies

17.
Is worried by the recent assessment by the Commission, in the progress report on implementing the
Lisbon Strategy, to the effect that the strategy’s mid-term objectives are unlikely to be realised; highlights
the need to concentrate its efforts and, within the 2005 budget, prioritise the key Lisbon Strategy measures
with budget relevance in order to speed up the achievement of the objectives set, strengthening, in par-
ticular, social partner interchange and improving the position of workers within the European economy
and the liberalisation process; reiterates its support for Community measures targeted at SMEs especially in
view of promoting competitiveness in a fully integrated single market and in the pursuit of the Lisbon
Strategy; urges that finance and guarantee instruments for SMEs be further developed and strengthened;

18.
Repeats its request to the Commission to present, for macro-financial assistance, a legislative pro-
posal based on the codecision procedure and containing legal provisions that would enhance transparency
and accountability;

19.
Requests the Commission to forward to Parliament by 30 August 2004 at the latest its study on the
implementation of Basel II, including an extended impact assessment, as this implementation will pro-
foundly influence the aforementioned instruments for SME capital;

20.
Recalls the importance attached by Parliament in previous years to communication and information
measures for European citizens and is deeply concerned at the way in which information policy in general
is being implemented, given the lack of genuine progress in the area; stresses that the Financial Regulation
cannot be invoked to defer implementation of this policy, since the decision on the new Financial Regu-
lation has been known since June 2002; states that application of the new provisions proposed by the
Commission ought therefore to have been brought forward by the departments concerned;

21.
Considers that with the accession of ten new Member States, special attention must be paid to
strengthening European citizenship and to consolidating a European area of security, freedom and justice;
states in particular the need to reinforce the common immigration/migration policy, and to accelerate the
setting-up of SIS (Schengen Information System) II and the Visa Information System; expects the Commis-
sion to submit to Parliament a proposal for a Council decision establishing the Visa information System by
31 July 2004 at the latest; calls on the Commission to clarify its political approach on the preparatory
action on the financial support for the return of illegal immigrants, the European Refugee Fund and the
likely overlaps with the European Social Fund and the Community initiative Equal; will also, in the light of
the budgetary constraints under heading 3 for the years 2005 and 2006, refrain from any budgetary
decision until these questions are resolved;

22.
Stresses its will to increase, sparing no efforts, the fight against terrorism in an enlarged EU and
wishes to maintain and reinforce the existing pilot project on aid to victims of terrorist acts; welcomes the
most recent Commission initiatives in this field, as well as the proposal for a directive on compensation for
crime victims; points to the special importance of cooperation between judicial and police investigation
authorities, in particular with the assistance of Europol and Eurojust; emphasises that, irrespective of the
legal bases involved, Parliament expects to be fully involved in the decisions relating to the design and
content of such proposal;

23.
Asks the Commission to provide for the continued support of the non-governmental organisations
in the social service sector as well as of the social partners and ending their legal insecurity by proposing a
new legal base or their inclusion in the existing legal bases for the Community action programs (subsidies);

30.4.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 104 E/1013

Thursday 22 April 2004

24.
Emphasises the need, following the accession of ten new Member States, to ensure the continuity of
the LIFE III programme and to bridge the gap between the expiry of LIFE and the new financial perspec-
tives; underlines, in this regard, that a high priority must also be given to the Commission initiatives
concerning Natura 2000;

25.
Is taken aback by the fact that, after consulting the Council only, the Commission has withdrawn its
proposal to increase TEN funding for border regions by a total of EUR 100 million (EUR 55 million for
2005 and EUR 45 million for 2006); expects the Commission to take up its proposal again and forward it
through the proper channels to the legislative authority; is surprised that the Commission wants to carry
out groundwork for setting up a new chemicals agency although the legislative process has not yet been
concluded;

External actions

Believes that, in the context of conflict prevention and the development of genuine partnerships,

26.
inter-cultural, inter-ethnic and inter-religious dialogue should be intensified;

27.
Underlines its position that the European Union must make special efforts to export peace to the
world; therefore underscores the importance of eliminating poverty as an EU external support objective of
paramount importance and the importance of continued priority actions in individual areas such as the
promotion and defence of human rights, health and education, measures concerning landmines, and con-
flict prevention and resolution;

28.
Is especially concerned at the current situation in Iraq and considers that measures to improve the
prospects for a free and democratic Iraq which are carried out as a part of a UN mandate, must be
supported; is aware of serious budgetary constraints and, therefore, intends to assess carefully the possibil-
ity of recourse to the Interinstitutional Agreement instruments; also points out that security concerns and
forthcoming elections are crucial issues in Afghanistan and remains committed to supporting reconstruc-
tion and development in this country;

Agrees with the Council’s criticism of the Commission’s approach to shaping a New Neighbour-
29.
hood Policy and of the unclear way in which it is incorporated into the EU’s foreign policy strategy along-
side the Euro-Med process and a new initiative for the Middle East; reminds the Commission, and also the
Council, that Parliament has a legislative and budgetary role to play in this process; expects the committees
responsible to be intensively involved in ongoing consultations; is prepared to use its budgetary powers to
defend its interests;

30.
Expresses its fundamental support for establishing a New Neighbourhood Policy which helps to
provide a sphere of prosperity and stability to the south and east of the current EU borders; emphasises
that in the context of the partnership between the EU and the Mediterranean it is necessary to strengthen
all measures contributing to the full development of the Barcelona process; underlines that these objectives
must be equally pursued in relation to the eastern neighbours of the EU, with a view to establishing the
Northern Dimension;

31.
Stresses that the external priorities of the Union are not solely dependent on geographical proxim-
ity, and that the strategic efforts for cooperation and solidarity with other regions of the world must be
maintained and strengthened;
in this context, emphasises that the bilateral and multilateral relations
between the EU and Latin America must be reinforced, especially in the light of the third EU-Latin
America Summit; points to the special importance of the EU for the ACP States, particularly now that
the pan-African Parliament and African peacekeeping forces are being established; points to the consider-
able importance of successful European stabilisation efforts in Asia;

32.
In view of increased transparency in the financing of international organisations by the EU budget,
requests that the Commission create a special chapter, under external policies, on the different EU budget
contributions to the UN, its agencies, funds and programmes, without prejudice to its periodical contribu-
tion to UN humanitarian funds via the EU budget humanitarian lines, during the budgetary implemen-
tation;

C 104 E/1014

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

30.4.2004

Thursday 22 April 2004

33.
Points out, in a context in which the significance of the EU as a global partner must be streng-
thened, that steps in the direction of establishing a common European diplomacy and towards the creation
of a European external action service would directly contribute to the achievement of this goal;

Intends to analyse future needs and current implementation of the common foreign and security
34.
policy, taking into account the major financial increase granted under this section for 2004; will assess the
outcome of the new joint meetings established between the Parliament and Council following the budget
conciliation meeting of November 2003 and draw the budgetary consequences;

35.
Regrets once again that the Commission has not put forward the parliamentary dimension of the
World Trade Organization (WTO) as one of its priorities in relation to external responsibility and recalls
that the Parliamentary Assembly of the WTO must be developed and made permanent; urges the Com-
mission to submit a concrete proposal to Parliament by 31 July 2004 at the latest;

Personnel and administration

Notes that the Commission plans to request 700 new enlargement-related posts for 2005; encour-
36.
ages the efforts by the Commission to use redeployment within and between departments to mobilise
additional resources; notes that, as a result of redeployment, an additional 570 posts are estimated to
become available in 2005 to implement priority initiatives;

37. Will evaluate the Commission’s request on the basis of different criteria such as availability of
candidates for recruitment, absorption capacity of the institutions, the geographical balance of posts, the
quantitative and qualitative implementation of the European Parliament’s political priorities, the process of
outsourcing and, also, within the general context of heading 5;

Asks the Commission to provide, with the PDB, a mid-term programming of decentralised agencies,
38.
executive agencies, regulatory agencies, external offices with the related impact on the headings of the
financial perspective concerned, in particular headings 3 and 5 with the consequences and the use of
freed resources for the Commission; recalls the Commission’s undertaking to ensure that policy on
agencies complies with a rigorous budgetary approach and remains subject to democratic supervision by
the political and budgetary authorities;

Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission and the Court of

39.
Auditors.

*

*

*

P5_TA(2004)0370

Parliament’s preliminary estimates for 2005

European Parliament resolution on the estimates of revenue and expenditure of Parliament for the
financial year 2005 (2004/2007(BUD))

The European Parliament,

(cid:1) having regard to Article 272 of the EC Treaty,

(cid:1) having regard to the Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 of 25 June 2002 on the Finan-

cial Regulation applicable to the general budget of the European Communities (1),

(cid:1) having regard to the Interinstitutional Agreement of 6 May 1999 between the European Parliament,
the Council and the Commission on budgetary discipline and improvement of the budgetary pro-
cedure (2),

(1) OJ L 248, 16.9.2002, p. 1.
(2) OJ C 172, 18.6.1999, p. 1. Agreement as amended by Decision 2003/429/EC (OJ L 147, 14.6.2003, p. 25).