Draft general budget for 2006 (Section III) - Draft general budget for 2006 (Other sections)
Szabolcs Fazakas (PSE). – (HU) Mr President, first of all I, too, would like to congratulate Giovanni Pitella for his excellent work and wonderful report.
The current budget is hugely significant to Hungary and the other newly joined states. On the one hand, because it represents a transition to the 2007-2013 financial plan which will be defined within the framework developed by the European Parliament and will hopefully be accepted as soon as possible, and on the other hand because the representatives of all Member States have participated as equal members in the creation of this budget, from the preliminary work to completion. At long last, here we did not see the fifteen plus ten differentiation. In light of yesterday’s debates I do not think I need to emphasise the significance of this fact.
Close cooperation was evident not only during Commission meetings, but also during conciliation sessions in the course of developing the 2006 budget and the 2007-2013 financial perspective. For the first time we were able to say that the 25 Member States are equal parties, that there are no differences between them. This is extremely important, as we can only build a common Europe if we work together.
The main figures of the 2006 budget in respect of Hungary have been known, they had already been determined through the Copenhagen Agreement. However, we were able to effect certain changes in these figures within the framework of the Agreement through the amendment proposals in order to reach our common European values. We are particularly pleased that following a Hungarian proposal we wish to ensure a larger allocation to Serbia, demonstrating that the EU does not only impose conditions, but also rewards their implementation.