1997 budget procedure: ad hoc procedure

Adopting the report by Mr Laurens Jan BRINKHORST (ELDR, NL), the European Parliament voted in favour of a new cooperation procedure with the Council on budgets. This procedure could be used in order to check if certain CAP appropriations were justified, on the basis of more realistic forecasts. Parliament considered that there was some uncertainty surrounding EAGGF expenditure for 1997 and proposed transferring any appropriations which did not appear necessary to a reserve. These appropriations relate to fruit and vegetables, milk products, international fisheries agreements and the wine sector. As far as beef and veal were concerned, Parliament approved the Commission's approach, i.e. the creation of a special budgetary line and reserve entitled "Exceptional measures" and proposed transferring ECU 277 million to the reserve. It also proposed the creation of two budgetary lines for forests, one line for preparations for enlargement, one line for a rural development programme and one line for the "greening of the budget". The European Parliament also noted that there had been significant under-utilization of structural expenditure. In particular, it regretted that the Council had not demonstrated the will to conduct an in-depth examination of the classification of expenditure and recalled that the Court of Justice had ordered in this matter that "Council and Parliament agree", especially on the "overall sum of expenditure to be qualified as non-obligatory". The European Parliament therefore called again on the Council to maintain the dialogue on the classification of budgetary lines in 1997, with a view to reaching an agreement on the minimum rates of increase of expenditure.�