madam president i would like to thank my colleague reimer böge for these questions and this debate on the budget
earlier today we voted on budget twenty eleven and we all know how difficult it was to manoeuvre within the very tight margins in the budget
we also know that we were due a mid-term review of the budget
regarding the non-paper which i read from the commission i would like to ask what status it has now
i know it is slightly off this point but are some of the ideas contained in it still within the commission's framework for further discussion
i am particularly concerned about attitudes to agriculture spending and any attempts to renationalise that policy
others have of course discussed the realities for member state budgets and member state governments as well as the concern about looking for additional funding when all our member states are having financial and economic problems
however if we are to have more europe there is a requirement for more resources
i think one of the great difficulties we have in this parliament is that we have not communicated enough the value of a european union budget and what it does
if you recall again in the votes today we voted on the globalisation fund
when citizens are in difficulty whether it is from flooding or a jobs crisis they turn to the european union for support and they turn to it for budget support
that provides solidarity to the european union which is something that you cannot put a price on
i think we have to be conscious of this
if we continue to measure and count euros rather than looking at what we are trying to create in the european union i think we will limit our vision for the future of what we all hold dear at the european union
that said perhaps the analogy of a cake is appropriate at this point that people look at the european union budget in the shape of a cake
if we have more demands on it we will continue to slice it ever thinner unless we increase the resources
