8
May
2023
Watch
Impact on the 2024 EU budget of increasing European Union Recovery Instrument borrowing costs - Own resources: a new start for EU finances, a new start for Europe (debate)
Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, First of all, thank you very much to the rapporteurs for this report. As a fiscal and budgetary politician, I am well aware that it was certainly not easy to draw up the budget of the European Union and that, in the context of the coronavirus pandemic and, ultimately, this devastating war of aggression against Ukraine, it is also a major challenge for the Commission. In spite of all this, a warning voice is needed throughout this round. I stick to that, Article 310 clearly enshrines it: The European Union is not allowed to make any debts, and debts have been made with the Recovery Fund. Now you're surprised that interest will eventually have to be repaid, and you're surprised that interest rates may still rise. For me, as a financial and budgetary politician, this is not a big surprise. But yes, I can live with the fact that we are introducing our own resources; The FTT is certainly a first approach to this. But I am firmly convinced – I also lack that here, I lack the handwriting here: The will to save is not visible to me. I firmly believe that we should have deleted the SURE programme, and I also firmly believe that, even if it does not mean the world: It would not have been wrong to send a signal, only one seat of Parliament, to save money and CO2 emissions.