Activities of Catherine GUY-QUINT related to 2008/2026(BUD)
Plenary speeches (1)
Draft general budget 2009 as modified by the Council (all sections) (debate)
Amendments (10)
Amendment 1 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Welcomes the overall agreement on Budget 2009, reached in the traditional budgetary conciliation meeting with Council on 21 November 2008, especially with regard to the financing of the Food Facility; is extremely concerned, however, by the very low level of overall payments finally agreed for Budget 2009 and about the possible effects of a recession on European citizens and regrets, therefore, that at the conciliation meeting, the Commission was reluctant to disclose any information on the possible budgetary impact of its coming proposal on tackling the economic crisis;
Amendment 3 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Takes note of the Commission's Communication of 26 November 2008 to the European Council entitled "A European Economic recovery Plan"; points out that this plan if approved by the European Council on 11-12 December 2008, will have a significant impact on Budget 2009; requests the Commission to further clarify this impact by providing the European Parliament, as one arm of the budgetary authority, with further details on the scope of its proposal and concrete figures relating to its implementation particularly in respect of the financial programming.
Amendment 8 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Supports Letter of amendment No 1 to the preliminary draft budget (PDB) 2009, in particular as it seems to give a slightly more realistic picture of needs in heading 4 than the PDB; takes note of Letter of amendment No 2/2009 in its traditional aspects of updating the figures underlying the estimate of agricultural expenditure in the PDB and points out that this letter leaves a significant margin beneath the ceiling of heading 2 of the MFF of more than EUR 3 billion in commitment appropriations; takes note of Letter of amendment No 3/2009 aiming at covering - within Council's budget - the cost (EUR 1,06 million) of the reflection group set up by the European Council of 15-16 October 2008;
Amendment 9 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. On overall figures, sets the final level of commitment appropriations at EUR xxx xxx million; sets the overall level of payments at EUR 116 096 million, equivalent to 0,89% of EU GNI ; notes that this leaves a significant margin of EUR 7 762 million beneath the payments ceiling of the multi-annual financial framework (MFF) for 2009; stresses that the overall level of payments for Budget 2009 represents a significant decrease (around EUR 4 billion) compared to the level adopted for Budget 2008 in December 2007, and only a moderate increase compared to the level of payments implementation of Budget 2008, as stated in the preliminary draft amending budget (PDAB) 10 /2008;
Amendment 12 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Attaches crucial importance, therefore, to the ready availability of higher payment appropriations through amending budgets, if those entered in Budget 2009 should prove insufficient, and highlights the commitments made in respect of this by the three institutions in the relevant joint declaration as agreed in the conciliation meeting; asks the Commission to further clarify its intentions in relation to this, following the publication of the European Economic Recovery Plan on 26 November 2008;
Amendment 16 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Welcomes the agreement on the EUR 1 billion financing over three years for the Food Facility, reached in the conciliation meeting; notes that a share of EUR 420 million will be financed by fresh money via the flexibility instrument, while EUR 340 million will come from the Emergency Aid Reserve, partly throughthis amount resulting from an exceptional increase of EUR 240 million in the Emergency Aid Reserve for 2008, which requires an amendment of Point 25 of the Interinstitutional Agreement of 17 May 2006 between the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission on budgetary discipline and sound financial management (IIA), as well as from the mobilisation of funds still available in the Emergency Aid Reserve for 2008 (EUR 22 million) and from the "pre- mobilisation" of the Emergency Aid Reserve in 2009 (EUR 78 million) ; acknowledges that the remaining EUR 240 million will be redeployed within heading 4 but expects the Commission to present a revised financial programme to ensure an orderly progression of the amounts planned up to 2013 despite this redeployment exercise; deeply regrets that a simpler and more straightforward solution could not be found with the Council;
Amendment 23 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 a (new)
Paragraph 16 a (new)
Food programme for the most deprived persons in the European Union 16a. Welcomes the financing proposed by the Commission and approved by the Council to improve the current food distribution programme for the most deprived persons in the Union by increasing the budget by two thirds to around EUR 500 million for 2009 and extending the range of products that can be provided;
Amendment 25 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Expresses its regret that, once more, heading 4 has been under steady pressure since its available margins are not sufficient to finance priorities that have arisen in the course of the year without jeopardising its traditional priorities; reiterates its concerns that the funds available in this heading do not, as they stand, allow the Union to assume its role as a global player despite its various declarations of intent; asks the Commission to present as quickly as possible an evaluation of the situation regarding heading 4 in order to examine the Union's budgetary capacity to assume its role as a global partner within the constraints of the annual budgetary procedures but also in a multiannual contexset by a MFF which proves every year to be insufficient; fears that the Union's credibility in third countries may be irreversibly altered for the worse if, year after year, the budgetary authority is not able to provide the adequate financing to its political commitments;
Amendment 30 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22 a (new)
Paragraph 22 a (new)
22a. Recalls the importance of financing policies dealing with the external dimension of climate change and expresses its concerns at the lack of any ambitious EU commitment on this issue in Budget 2009;
Amendment 33 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22 b (new)
Paragraph 22 b (new)
22 b. Stresses that the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria has proven to be an effective financing mechanism but deplores the fact that the Global Fund is not an implementing agent; reminds the Commission that in order to implement Global Fund grants effectively, increased financial resources will need to be spent on technical assistance;