2002 budget: other sections

The committee adopted the report by Carlos COSTA NEVES (EPP-ED, P) submitting to Parliament's plenary - at 2nd reading - a draft budget for 2002 totalling EUR 98.63 billion in commitment appropriations and 95.65 billion in payment appropriations, which represents an increase in payment appropriations of 2% over the 2001 budget. The report noted Parliament's decision to confirm the vast majority of the budgetary amendments it adopted at first reading, as well as to approve the changes to some of those amendments resulting from the agreement reached with the Council on a number of issues at the budgetary conciliation meeting of 21 November 2001. For Heading 1 (agriculture), the committee said that the mid-term review of the CAP should be launched in 2002, taking into account the requirements of enlargement, food safety and environmental compatibility. It also reiterated its demand for a greater degree of flexibility in agricultural expenditure. Lastly, it called on the Commission to submit a proposal for an Innovative Participatory Rural Development Action (INPARD) which will serve to prepare new Member States for participation in the LEADER+ programme. Regarding Heading 2 (structural actions), the report stressed the decision to mobilise the flexibility instrument involving EUR 200m (170m to fund the conversion of Spanish and Portuguese fishing fleets to offset the impact of the failure to sign the fisheries agreement with Morocco and 30m to finance projects in regions bordering candidate countries). It also noted that Parliament, Council and Commission had undertaken, in the form of a declaration, to enter in the 2003 budget the extra 27 million needed for the conversion of these fleets (to reach the total of 197m proposed by the Commission) as well as 15 million for the border regions. For Heading 3 (internal policies), the committee welcomed the fact that the Council had given its backing to priorities of Parliament, such as the European Refugee Fund and the e-learning initiative, as well as the pilot project proposed by Parliament on the impact of enlargement in the frontier regions of the Community. Turning to Heading 4 (external action), the committee stressed that the Community had to make a considerable effort to alleviate the human suffering in Afghanistan and neighbouring countries and decided, as an immediate first measure, to adopt an amount of 488 million and to leave a margin of 70m to cover possible further needs in this area in 2002. It also welcomed the decision to allocate 30m to the European Common Security and Defence Policy. For Heading 5 (administrative expenditure), the report reiterated Parliament's support for the reforms under way at the Commission and for the proposal for an early retirement scheme for 600 officials, provided that the scheme was extended to other institutions and to temporary staff. Lastly, regarding Heading 6 (reserves), the committee pointed out that the emergency reserve could be mobilised to meet immediate needs and welcomed the decision to earmark EUR 35m for aid to Afghanistan and neighbouring countries.�