EU Parliament to start debating EU's Future via 2014-2023 Financial Perspectives and 2011 Budget ?!

    Key Decisions able to determine EU's Future may start to be debated at EU Parliament from next week in Strasbourg onwards, as it results from various but Converging moves of MEPs which clearly indicate a Political Will to progressively open, at last, in one way or another : even through Financial questions, a series of long overdue but delayed, crucial Political Discussions,  Earlier than what seem to wish some other, implicitly but really opposed groups, which prefer, on the contrary, to again postpone decisions for later-on...

    Among several other Important EU issues, it's also well known that since 2007 French EU President Sarkozy had explicitly agreed to let EU - Turkey Negotiations continue, despite his pre-electoral promise to oppose Ankara's impopular EU - bid, on the double condition that a set of core EU Chapters, touching upon full EU Accession would be excluded, and that EU-wide Debates on "Europe's Future" would start, which will inevitably include also the question of what kind of Europe EU Citizens' want to have : A mere large Market place only, or also a Political Europe, with an Identity and Human Right Values, obviously incompatible with Turkey's controversial EU Accession demands ? But, nonobstant an initial agreement with EU Commission's President Barroso a.o. on those terms, afterwards, this 2nd Condition was practically postponed for later-on, without being really addressed for some years now.  However, at the beginning of 2010, a meeting between Sarkozy and EU Parliament's new President Jerzy Buzek, resulting from the 2009 EU Elections which were marked by a large Victory of Political Parties more or less opposed to Turkey's controversial EU bid (See "EuroFora"'s factual analysis), gave a New Opportunity to call for Substantial Political Debates between MEPs on such key Issues of Strategic importance and of keen Interest to EU Citizens. At present (mid 2010), the expected preparations of EU's Financial Perspectives' review for a Multi-Annual Period starting after 2013 (i.e. f.ex. 2014-2023), provide a New Opportunity to inevitably discuss also Turkey's pending issue, (since an eventual accession of Ankara would necessitate a huge amount of EU Funds, putting at Risk other, key EU Policies, such as Cohesion, Agriculture, etc, but also the completion of GALILEO Satellite Navigation System, Research/Climate, etc)..

              But, at the 1st meeting of the Committee responsible for EU's Financial Perspectives, held earlier on September 2010 in Strasbourg, many MEPs, as well as its Experienced Chairwoman, Socialist German MEP Jutta Haug, said that both for practical and substantial reasons, the final decisions would have to be taken as late as on May 2011, so that a Conclusion might be reached on June 2011, i.e. pretty late, and, may be, even ..too late for Brussels' June 2011 EU Summit to eventually take final Decisions by Heads of State or Government....       

      Indeed, as the competent Committee's President, Mrs Haug, said to "EuroFora", its work Schedule implied an initial "Reflexion" period until December 2010, and, only afterwards, a subsequent "Evaluation" period, extending until May - June 2011.

Thus, she dismissed alleged efforts by other EU Parliament's Top Officials to try to arrive at a final Report at least on March 2011... 

    On the contrary, other MEPs criticized any more Time "Delays" on EU's Financial Perspectives, and asked to hurry up by simplifying things, warning that, otherwise it might be "too Late" for efficient, transparent Democratic Debates and timely Decisions. And experienced German ChristianDemocrat MEP Reiner Böge stressed that EU Parliament's Report could come before that of EU Commission, and, at any case, it must be clearly ready "before June" 2011.

However, EU Rapporteur, Spanish MEPO Salvador Garriga-Polledo's 1st "Reflexion" Paper, focusing on the basic notion of "European Added Value" for any project to spend EU Funds in the Future, presented at a later meeting in Strasbourg towards the end of September 2010, revealed that at least some Time seems needed for Reflexion and Debates....                      

          But, almost at the same time, the President of EU Parliament's biggest Political Group, that of ChristianDemocrats/EPP, Strasbourg's MEP Joseph Daul, already anounced, at EU Parliament's Plenary, that,  in fact, "Debates will be opened on EU's Financial Perspectives already on the forthcoming occasion of EU's 2011 Budget", i.e.  Earlier than expected. ...

    And this Idea has just been officially endorsed by EU Parliament's Committee on Budgets, chaired by experienced MEP, former Minister for EU affairs, Alain Lamassoure, which decided on October 7, to exceptionally include, in its forthcoming Resolutions on EU's Annual 2011 Budget, due to be openly Debated and Voted Next Week in Strasbourg, also many provisions in fact related to EU's Multi-Annual Financial Perspectives and to the Future of EU Finances, so that EU Commission and EU Council would be obliged to start soon brokering a Deal with MEPs also on some key parts of EU Funds' Future...  

    This includes, among various other key issues, also, f.ex., explicit calls to revise and enlarge EU's MultiAnnual Financial Framework in order to take into account also Additional Spending resulting from the need to face the Global Economic Crisis, as well as New EU Policy Areas introduced by Lisbon Treaty from 2010, (i.e. on Foreign Policy, Space, Energy, Research, Climate change, etc).         

     
    - "A substantial budget review is absolutely needed" and an "immediate revisions of the ceilings of the current MFF... has been rendered unavoidable by the various challenges and new priorities that have arisen", MEPs' Draft says, opening also a Debate on the eventual creation of EU's "Own Resources", for the 1st time, shortly before EU Commission presents, next week in Strasbourg, its Draft Paper for EU's New Financial Perspectives for the Period starting after 2013.

    + In addition, meanwhile, a New "Reflexion" Document presented by EU Parliament's Rapporteur on the post-2013 EU Financial Perspectives, Salvador Garriga-Polledo, on Thursday, October 14, clearly shows that EU Economy's Future Multi-Annual trends depend mainly on the efficiency of Decisions due to be taken, in fact, at much Shorter term, including the following  weeks or Months ... :

    Picturing "3 Scenarios" for EU's Growth perspectives, according to the pace and magnitude of EU's "Recovery" at a 2020 Horizon, these Graphics clearly show that, in fact, the main Choices have to be made Soon enough, in order to fix the Shape a Sharp upward trend, "able to make a Full return to earlier Growth Path and raise its Potential to go Beyond" instead of leaving, on the contrary, a "Sluggish" trendency, which might risk to make "Europe suffer a Permanent Loss in Wealth"..

- "The beginning of substantial Debates" particularly on EU's "Financial Perspectives" was launched at the "1st working meeting of the SURE Committee", back from September 9, 2010 in Strasbourg, as EU Parliament's Spokesman, Jaume Duch had initially anounced at his Press Briefing in Reply to an "EuroFora"'s question.

    SURE has the task to work on EU's Political and Budgetary Objectives at a long Horizon starting after 2013 and extending throughout all the next EU MultiAnnual Financial Perspectives' period, (usually around 7 to 10 Years, i.e. beyond 2020).

    Duch was indirectly replying also to another, closely related "EuroFora"'s query, on whether EU Commission President Jose Barroso's 1st "State of the Union" speech and debate, on September 7, at EU Parliament's Plenary in Strasbourg, would have only a scope limited to 1 Year, or might extend further in EU's Future.

    The move was indeed, at least partly confirmed by Barroso, who included in his 2010 State of the Union Speech also some key-parts concerning EU's  foreseable Future, particularly on the Budget during the Post-2013 period, promissing "an Open Debate without Taboos", and proposing a 10 Years Financial Perspectives' framework, with a Mid-Term Review each 5 Years, coinciding with EU a.o. Elections, as he said.

    Meanwhile, EU Commission's President confirmed that "EU's Economic outlook is Today better than one Year ago", because "Recovery is gathering pace, albeit unevenly, within the Union", so that "Growth on 2010 will be Higher than initially forecast", while "unemployment's rate ... has stopped increasing", even if "uncertainties and risks remain, not least Outside the EU", as he observed.

    Presenting his initial Priorities, Barroso added, after the Economic and Financial issues, just a point on EU Citizens' space of Freedom and Security, (including on Migration and EU's External Borders protection), as well as on the effective creation of EU's External Activities' Service, among the main means to boost EU's role in the World.         

    But several MEPs, during the subsequent Debates, (including Political Groups' Leaders,  as. f.ex. Joseph Daul,  Chairman of the biggest Group of MEPs: ChristianDemocrats/EPP), clearly asked from Barroso to "become more Ambitious" on EU's Future, and start the soonest real Debates with MEPs a.o. on a wide spectum of important fortthoming  challenges and probable EU decisions. (See Draft News already send earlier to "EuroFora"'s Donors/Subscribers).

    The previous "State of the Union" landmark debate in EU Parliament in Strasbourg, had been held back in 1995, with prestigious participants also of EU Council's Presidency and even of UNO's Secretary General, etc., as "EuroFora"'s co-Founder remembers well, highlighting an impressive, large and far-reaching overview of EU's potential then, just after its 1994/1995 Enlargement decisions for Austria, Sweden and Finland, which resulted particularly in the creation of "Euro"'s common Monetary Currency, considerably Deepening European integration.