As the EPP group Coordinator, I have two main duties. First of all, I attempt to reach a common position from the very different sensibilities which exist within my group on financial issues. In addition, I must negotiate with other political counterparts who very often have different views from ours. The more I am able to achieve consent among my EPP-ED colleagues, the stronger my negotiating position will be compared to other political groups so that we can make the best use of the European Union's budget in the priorities that shape our political family.
The critical point is to keep our Christian Democratic beliefs and values alive in Parliament's negotiating positions with the other institutions and especially the Council, which is the other so-called "arm" of the budgetary authority.
Securing European citizens' interests, solidarity, and best value for money, sound management of resources, and the setting-up of constructive policies for our European future, are my main goals to be reached through the work of the Committee on Budgets... 
Salvador Garriga Polledo MEP (Spain)
EPP Coordinator on the Committee on Budgets
The Treaty of Lisbon will give the European Parliament the power to fix, as a last resort, the level and the content of the community budget, which represents about €130 billion. Our priority will be to finance the new competences given to the Union by the Treaty of Lisbon, notably in the field of energy, external policies and sustainable development. This will only be possible if we find new own resources for the EU, which do not oblige us to tap into national budgets to finance EU policies anymore.
Alain Lamassoure MEP
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The EPP Group presented its 2009 Yearbook
on 2 March 2010
   
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