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May 03, 2005
EU financial perspectives must reflect goal of sustainable development
The principle of sustainable development must be reflected in the financial perspective 2007-2013. This is the main request of the EESC’s draft exploratory opinion, drawn up at the request of the Luxembourg Presidency. The priority areas of the sustainable development strategy must be taken into account, right down to the detailed design of the financial programs. Impact assessment will have to play a key role, and support for unsustainable activities should be stopped.
The EESC draft opinion, due to be adopted at the plenary session on 11 May, welcomes the proposed new budget structure that acknowledges the notion of sustainable development. EESC rapporteur Ulla Sirkeinen (Group I, employers, Finland) expects this to be reflected in the implementation of the budget in real terms: “a budget heading as such is neither sustainable nor unsustainable”. Therefore the detailed designs of programs, objectives and criteria have to take into account the goals formulated in the EU sustainable development policy and the revised Lisbon Strategy.
Priority areas such as climate change, transport, public health, natural resources, poverty, aging populations as well as dependence on fossil fuels must be treated as priorities in budgetary policies as well.
The draft opinion stresses that a restructuring of expenditure towards the priorities of the EU must take place irrespective of the overall level of budgetary resources finally decided upon.
Posted by Syamak Moattari at May 3, 2005 01:04 PM
