22
Nov
2022
Watch
2023 budgetary procedure: joint text (debate)
Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, It is accomplished: We have a result in our budget negotiations. And that in itself is very important, because I think it would have been very difficult to convey that in these difficult times we are even arguing about comparatively small-scale issues and are not able to bring a budget together. Nevertheless, some fundamental problems remain, and I believe the most fundamental is that we must work even harder to make everyone understand that the European Union cannot be a mere money-distributing machine. The point is that we set clear priorities, that we set political priorities, and I believe that, as my two previous speakers have pointed out, we have succeeded quite well as a Parliament. I would also like to express my sincere thanks for the fact that we have managed to reach agreement and, at least, to anchor some of these priorities in budgetary terms, even across party boundaries, despite differing political views on priorities. For the future, we must learn that we also determine the future with these priorities. We are talking about relatively small amounts. And if you look at the overall budget and the tight framework that the multiannual financial framework offers us, you might think of one thing or another: Well, those are just smaller amounts. But it is also about setting very clear priorities for the future, and smaller symbolic amounts are sometimes very, very important. We have seen in heading 7 that the situation as a whole is very difficult. As a Parliament, we have worked from the outset to show a clear line here too. We have also managed to impose cuts on our own Bureau. We have referred to legal regulations, to the energy situation. We simply have a difficult situation, even in this section. But it is precisely here that we must also learn for the future. I am very happy that we have been able to set a clear focus on cybersecurity, that we have managed to achieve real reinforcement here, and that we have also made it very clear that committed We have agreed and agreed that we also want to work together strongly in the future. This is something that we have emphasized often enough at this point. This shows that we must also be able to see the challenges of the future in the budget. And we, as Parliament, also say that we want to live up to our role as advocates of the other institutions; Europe only works if all institutions are able to work well and if they are also financially and materially equipped and staffed in such a way that they can fulfil their mandate. This also applies to us as a Parliament, knowing that we are also facing a difficult situation here, because the situation in Heading 7 will not be easier next year. This time we have only managed to remain relatively close to the flexibility instrument. We, as a Parliament, will also have to work to ensure that we do not break this bar in the future either. And that is why we will continue to depend on working well together in the future. I would like to thank the shadow rapporteurs, I would also like to thank the Presidency of the Council and also the Commission, which has done justice here to its role as guardian of the Treaties and honest broker. We have just celebrated 70 years of the European Parliament. I believe that we will also live up to our responsibilities as legislators in the future. We will defend our role confidently, and that is what we are learning after 70 years of the European Parliament.