payment appropriations

I would now like to turn to the level of payment appropriations.

We are asking for an increase in the very low level of payment appropriations.

So a forced increase in payment appropriations for the year 2000 is not the right way.

Our group is worried about the low level of payment appropriations.

Last year, in 2001, nearly all available payment appropriations were implemented.

Right to the end, the Council wanted to limit payment appropriations.

The total increase of payment appropriations is therefore restricted to 2%.

It was set at 1.06% of gross national income for payment appropriations.

Yet only 15 million in payment appropriations is being reserved, and under certain conditions at that.

We have also reached agreement about the increase in payment appropriations: 2.3% compared to the 2003 budget.

And they have agreed on the overall volume of payments appropriations.

It is a fact that these are payment appropriations and the question might therefore seem quite technical.

It seems a moderate approach to the increase of payment appropriations has emerged from first reading.

The reason for this is the under-utilisation of payment appropriations.

This situation can only be prevented by making sufficient payment appropriations available.

The big question is whether that is possible with the current level of payment appropriations.

There was much wrangling over payment appropriations, which looked as if they were going to be too small.

Enlargement is going ahead and payment appropriations are being reduced.

At first reading, the Council concentrated largely on cutting payment appropriations right across the board.

It is gratifying to see that 100% of the payment appropriations were used during this period.

We think that increasing the payment appropriations will enable us to make improvements there.

While this does not seem to create particular problems in category 1, the payment appropriations for the structural funds will very likely be fully used.

On pages 8 and 12, there is an equally terrifying problem: we have increased the payment appropriations.

Payment appropriations for actions against anti-personnel mines are down by 1.5 %.

Perhaps so many payment appropriations are not necessary.