(20/06/05) Conclusies van de Europese Raad van 16 en 17 juni - Reactie Europese Groene fractie op mislukken EU-top

• 2005-06-20

Klik hier voor de conclusies van de Europese raad van 16 en 17 juni

EU Summit fails to reach budget deal: Europe must make the best out of the crisis

Commenting on the failure of the Europe's leaders to reach a deal on the EU budget, Daniel Cohn-Bendit and Monica Frassoni, Co-Presidents of the Greens /EFA group said:
"The failure of the European summit has shown once again the inability of European leaders to take decisions for the common good of Europe. They are preoccupied with their own national concerns. It has become clear that we now need a profound debate on what kind of Europe we want and in which direction it should go. After the failure of national governments to find a way out of the current crisis, the European Parliament has now to prepare itself to play a crucial role in the up- coming debate on the future of Europe.

We have to make the best out of this crisis. We have to remember the reasons behind why we are together now. We must redefine the idea of the political union and set new priorities. These priorities will then determine the structure of the budget. If we want a Europe that is fit for the future nobody should insist on old agreements anymore. All issues must be on the table, including the British rebate and the Common Agricultural Policy.

That no deal could be reached this time is in itself no catastrophe. No deal is better than a bad deal. The Greens have always warned against entering the logic of cutting back the Union's budget. This will make a compromise even more difficult. If we want to break free from the paralysing net contributors debate, we have to introduce a system of genuine own-resources for the funding of the EU, which makes the Union more independent and less reliant on the good will of the member states.

There is a glimmer of hope in the generous last-minute effort by the new member countries to save the budget deal by giving up some of their money."

The Greens in the European Parliament will start their reflection process on the future of Europe at a conference on Monday 27 June in the EU Parliament to which they have invited a broad range of representatives of civil society, NGOs and trade unions.