Challenge to E.E.C. spending

Press, 29 September 1979, Page 9

Challenge to E.E.C. spending

NZPA-Reuter Strasbourg Members of the European Parliament have vowed to break out of their constitutional straitjacket and challenge the Common Market draft 1980 Budget on all fronts. The newly-elected Assembly was taking its first look at the planned . $22,000M spending plan drawn up by European Economic Community Ministers. The draft Budget is 8.74 per cent higher than this year’s but most of the increase goes to agriculture, leaving little room for what deputies see as the Com-

; munity’s policy priorities — measures on unemployment, J i industrial restructuring,! t energy and regional devel-' ■ opment. I Mr Ray Macsharry, Irish • Minister of State for Public! I Services, had the difficult, task of explaining to the deputies why the axe had toj : fall on some of the E.E.C. 1 Commission’s proposals. , He said this was because the Brussels Commission Tiad allocated money for I(areas where the Nine had no . agreed policy. A Dutch Socialist, Mr Piet, Dankert, the Parliament’s: ’ chief spokesman on the Bud- ; get, called for a shift from! ■ farm spending to energy,!

regional, and social funds, without an increase tn total (spending. Parliamentarians made it clear that Mr Macsharry’s explanation w ; as not accept-! labte. A French Liberal, Mr! Andre Rossi, said his group jw’ould see the Budget as a 'starting point for policy; decisions. i It was shameful that there' had been no serious attempt! in the draft Budget to allo-' cate funds for tackling unemployment, he said. Socialists and Christian' Democrats — the two larg-. est groups in the Assembly — said the Parliament could I block adoption of the Bud-, I get. The Socialists were es-,

. pecially shocked by the M l isters’ plan to slash spent, ing on redistributing aid t the poorer regions ot th< : nine-nation Common Market. The E.E.C. s Budget Com ■ missioner (Mr Christopher i Tugendhat) said the cbmi mission had proposed extra in the regional and social funds and on energy research because these were 'areas where the Parliament •'and EEC. summit meetings ; had expressed concern. He also warned delega e iiof the imminent exhaustiot • of E.E.C. funds because of ; maximum of 1 per cor It which it can take froi - value added tax raised i ■IE.E.C. States.