Press Conference

Guy VERHOFSTADT, ALDE group President
Carl HAGLUND, ALDE group spokesperson on financial perspectives

Tuesday 11th January 2011 at 1430
EP press room, Anna Politkovskaya PHS 0A50

The year 2011 will be marked by the opening of the debate on the new financial framework for the period post 2013. The Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe will be outlining their arguments ahead of a seminar tomorrow on better ways to finance the EU.  The group leader will outline the ALDE position paper on the EU budget and tackle the lack of ambition shown by a number of Member States who argue for a freeze of the budget in the future.

Guy Verhofstadt and Carl Haglund will lay out some solutions to the challenges of financing the Union in times of austerity, including a review of some 'sacred cows'. The priority is to invest in growth sectors and use the EU budget and EIB bonds as catalyst in the context of public private partnerships. Furthermore, the EU must be endowed with stable and permanent resources that will gradually replace the current system of national transfers. The efficiency of European public expenditure must be improved through greater synergy with national budgets in areas of shared competence or interest such as the external action service, defence, humanitarian aid or R&D as well as through greater flexibility in the management of the EU budget itself.

For more information, please contact:
Corlett Neil - Tel: +32 2 284 20 77 Mob: +32 478 78 22 84
Laude Yannick - Tel: +32 2 284 31 69 Mob: +32 495 22 78 37
Web: http://www.alde.eu