Jean-Luc Dehaene, on behalf of the PPE-DE Group. – (NL) Mr President, although it is thanks to the negotiating skills of Mr Böge and the other negotiators that Parliament has managed to both add real European value to the Council’s original proposals and considerably enhance the institutional framework, the present financial perspectives for 2007-2013 remain unequal to the challenge that the European Union is facing, even though Parliament, in the Böge report, has formulated a reasonable and reasoned proposal that is more realistic than that from the Commission. Nevertheless, the Council’s tight-fistedness and short-sightedness, arising out of national considerations, have triumphed over Parliament’s and the Commission’s European ambition. We will nevertheless be voting in favour of this Interinstitutional Agreement, since it is the only compromise possible under the current circumstances. Indeed, the lack of financial perspectives in the next few years would plunge the Union into an even deeper crisis than the one it is already in. Moreover, it would not be fair on the new Member States, for they need future prospects in order to continue their cohesion policy and to be fully integrated into the common market. This does not alter the fact that the present level of resources is insufficient to meet Europe’s new challenges. That is why the review clause and flexibility scheme were an absolute necessity, because the risk that sooner or later, we will run aground, is too great. Parliament should be fully involved in this. The most important conclusion we can draw, though, is that the current system of own resources has reached capacity levels. There is a need for sweeping reform. We must move away from the system of donations from national budgets, and return to real own resources as was the case at the start of European integration in respect of customs rights. That is the only way of ensuring that the European general interest will prevail over the narrow-minded and short-sighted national interest. This House must play a role – a driving role – in this and formulate proposals, and Mr Lamassoure’s studies and notes are a good place to start.

(Applause)