In 2003 Sapir report (Agenda for a Growing Europe) concluded that "the EU budget is a historical relic." Eight years later, amid a sovereign debt crisis, there are still leaders in the Council and European Parliament to insist that the recipe for competitiveness is the same. More taxpayer money for landowners and the big food companies.
More market distortions in the agricultural sector. More subsidies to coal mines, pop music concerts and fuel for fishing vessels. And we wonder why we are not competitive. The EU has made great strides in the last 20 years. We have the single market and the euro. The Lisbon Treaty gives us the constitutional stability and the agreement need to create the European Stability Mechanism provides the foundation for long-term financial stability.
I am convinced that Europe will rise to the challenges ahead. Defeatism is for skeptics and those schadenfreude. Now if we want to promote smart growth, sustainable and inclusive, in line with Europe 2020, we have to undertake reforms. We must start now. And we must begin by reforming our own budget.
From this perspective, the European Commission Communication on the revision of EU budget was disappointing. Although it contains some positive aspects, it lacks a clear program of reforms. Ultimately, the EU budget consists of scarce resources that could be used for investment and private consumption or government spending in member countries.
Therefore, the Community budget should finance activities that generate a real European added value through economies of scale or cross-border solutions to challenges. Currently, a large part of the EU budget goes to activities that do not meet these criteria. Also, the future EU budget should reflect a reality in many Member States are obliged to make significant cuts in their budgets.
Therefore, the next multiannual financial framework should be more specific, reduced and focused on growth. A reasonable goal is a budget ceiling well below 1% of EU gross national income. Instead of keeping the above priorities, the EU should redirect spending toward areas such as research and development, cross-border infrastructure and the environment.
We should also invest in the fight against organized crime and the Common Foreign and Security Policy These areas provide a European added value. The reduction and modernization of the EU budget must be achieved by cutting spending on agriculture, which in turn should put more emphasis on the environment and the provision of public goods in Europe.
Structural funds should be allocated to areas of greatest need the European Union. I firmly believe that Europe will be a knowledge economy vibrant, dynamic and globally competitive. But this requires a decisive break with the hardliners attitudes and budgetary priorities of the past. To achieve prosperity, Europe needs a starting point than the current budget.
To say this is not simplistic nor anti-European. Is responsible for the future of Europe. Is to demonstrate our leadership. And it requires determination. As the Reflection Group on the future of the EU, led by former Spanish Prime Minister Felipe Gonzalez, the dilemma is between "reform or decline."
More market distortions in the agricultural sector. More subsidies to coal mines, pop music concerts and fuel for fishing vessels. And we wonder why we are not competitive. The EU has made great strides in the last 20 years. We have the single market and the euro. The Lisbon Treaty gives us the constitutional stability and the agreement need to create the European Stability Mechanism provides the foundation for long-term financial stability.
I am convinced that Europe will rise to the challenges ahead. Defeatism is for skeptics and those schadenfreude. Now if we want to promote smart growth, sustainable and inclusive, in line with Europe 2020, we have to undertake reforms. We must start now. And we must begin by reforming our own budget.
From this perspective, the European Commission Communication on the revision of EU budget was disappointing. Although it contains some positive aspects, it lacks a clear program of reforms. Ultimately, the EU budget consists of scarce resources that could be used for investment and private consumption or government spending in member countries.
Therefore, the Community budget should finance activities that generate a real European added value through economies of scale or cross-border solutions to challenges. Currently, a large part of the EU budget goes to activities that do not meet these criteria. Also, the future EU budget should reflect a reality in many Member States are obliged to make significant cuts in their budgets.
Therefore, the next multiannual financial framework should be more specific, reduced and focused on growth. A reasonable goal is a budget ceiling well below 1% of EU gross national income. Instead of keeping the above priorities, the EU should redirect spending toward areas such as research and development, cross-border infrastructure and the environment.
We should also invest in the fight against organized crime and the Common Foreign and Security Policy These areas provide a European added value. The reduction and modernization of the EU budget must be achieved by cutting spending on agriculture, which in turn should put more emphasis on the environment and the provision of public goods in Europe.
Structural funds should be allocated to areas of greatest need the European Union. I firmly believe that Europe will be a knowledge economy vibrant, dynamic and globally competitive. But this requires a decisive break with the hardliners attitudes and budgetary priorities of the past. To achieve prosperity, Europe needs a starting point than the current budget.
To say this is not simplistic nor anti-European. Is responsible for the future of Europe. Is to demonstrate our leadership. And it requires determination. As the Reflection Group on the future of the EU, led by former Spanish Prime Minister Felipe Gonzalez, the dilemma is between "reform or decline."
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