13. 2008 budget: Section III - Commission - 2008 budget (sections I, II, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII, IX) (debate)

Verbatim reports

Report on on the draft general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2008, Section III - Commission (C6-0287/2007 – 2007/2019(BUD)) and Letter of amendment No 1/2008 (13659/2007 - C6-0341/2007) to the draft general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2008 - Committee on Budgets. Rapporteur: Kyösti Virrankoski (A6-0397/2007)

on the draft general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2008
Section I, European Parliament
Section II, Council
Section IV, Court of Justice
Section V, Court of Auditors
Section VI, European Economic and Social Committee
Section VII, Committee of the Regions
Section VIII, European Ombudsman
Section IX, European Data Protection Supervisor [C6-0288/2007 – 2007/2019B(BUD)] - Committee on Budgets. Rapporteur: Ville Itälä (A6-0394/2007)

The President made the following statement: 'Before I give the floor to Commissioner Dalia Grybauskaitė, I should like to express my amazement that other Commissioners whom we invited to attend are not here. There are various reasons for this. Our invitations were, apparently, sent too late. That may be the case; I will look into the matter.

However, I would remind the Commission that, under an interinstitutional agreement, the Commission is required to be present at the plenary sessions of the European Parliament. I will look into the matter, and I expect both the Commission and, of course, we in Parliament to honour our commitments under the interinstitutional agreement.

I call on the Commissioner present, Dalia Grybauskaitė, to pass on this message to the Commission. I had, incidentally, also expressed this view in the Conference of Presidents. However, I do not want to make any one-sided accusations here, but I will look into the matter.'

Ville Itälä and Kyösti Virrankoski introduced the reports.

The following spoke: Richard James Ashworth, on behalf of the PPE-DE Group, Catherine Guy-Quint, on behalf of the PSE Group, Anne E. Jensen, on behalf of the ALDE Group, Wiesław Stefan Kuc, on behalf of the UEN Group, Helga Trüpel, on behalf of the Verts/ALE Group, Esko Seppänen, on behalf of the GUE/NGL Group, Nils Lundgren, on behalf of the IND/DEM Group, and Hans-Peter Martin, Non-attached Member.

The following spoke: Dalia Grybauskaitė (Member of the Commission).

The following spoke: Michael Gahler (draftsman of the opinion of the AFET Committee) and Ralf Walter (draftsman of the opinion of the DEVE Committee).

IN THE CHAIR: Manuel António dos SANTOS
Vice-President

The following spoke: Peter Šťastný (draftsman of the opinion of the INTA Committee), Salvador Garriga Polledo (draftsman of the opinion of the CONT Committee), Cristobal Montoro Romero (draftsman of the opinion of the ECON Committee), Gabriele Stauner (draftsman of the opinion of the EMPL Committee), Jutta Haug (draftsman of the opinion of the ENVI Committee), Angelika Niebler (draftsman of the opinion of the ITRE Committee), Luisa Fernanda Rudi Ubeda (draftsman of the opinion of the IMCO Committee), Wojciech Roszkowski (draftsman of the opinion of the REGI Committee), Jan Mulder (draftsman of the opinion of the AGRI Committee), Emanuel Jardim Fernandes (draftsman of the opinion of the PECH Committee), Helga Trüpel (draftsman of the opinion of the CULT Committee), Gérard Deprez (draftsman of the opinion of the LIBE Committee), Rihards Pīks (draftsman of the opinion of the AFCO Committee), Christa Prets (draftsman of the opinion of the FEMM Committee), Luciana Sbarbati (draftsman of the opinion of the PETI Committee), László Surján, Jutta Haug, Gérard Deprez, Zbigniew Krzysztof Kuźmiuk, Gérard Onesta, Pedro Guerreiro, Jean-Claude Martinez, Sergej Kozlík, Ingeborg Gräßle, Vladimír Maňka, Nathalie Griesbeck, Seán Ó Neachtain, Margrete Auken, Adamos Adamou and Janusz Lewandowski.

IN THE CHAIR: Adam BIELAN
Vice-President

The following spoke: Louis Grech, István Szent-Iványi, Konrad Szymański, Satu Hassi, James Elles, Joan Calabuig Rull, Samuli Pohjamo, Simon Busuttil, Göran Färm, Hannu Takkula, Monica Maria Iacob-Ridzi, Marusya Ivanova Lyubcheva, Margarita Starkevičiūtė, Rolf Berend, Thijs Berman, Christofer Fjellner, Katerina Batzeli and Reimer Böge (Chairman of the BUDG Committee).

The debate closed.

Vote: Minutes of 25.10.2007, Item 7.2 and Minutes of 25.10.2007, Item 7.3.

(The sitting was suspended at 17.45 pending Question Time and resumed at 17.50.)