11. Believes that the attempt to reduce the budget deficit primarily through increasing revenues does not guarantee that results can be maintained and emphasises the need to take measures to achieve greater rationalisation of expenditure; underlines the risk of an excessive increase of the tax burden and stresses the need for a decrease of current expenditure in certain Member States; recommends that an examination be made of the ways in which tax cuts decrease the tax burden on labour, and how they contribute to the creation of regular jobs, maintaining a moderate wage policy and harmony between the social partners, and ensuring that these cuts are properly financed without further undermining social and health benefits fo ...[+++]r the low-income section of the population;

Extensive production of greenhouse gases is resulting in the depletion of the ozone layer which, in turn, is resulting in higher sea levels, contributing to greater coastal erosion, greater flooding and the elimination of many of our island communities.

Labour relations are being dismantled, the social security system is under threat and the working classes are being condemned yet again to poverty and social exclusion, allegedly in order to increase employment.

In three out of four recent springs severe ozone depletion has occurred in the Arctic region. Increased UV-B radiation resulting from ozone depletion poses a significant threat to health and environment.

The other imports do not add to the European Union's consumption of CFCs, or of any of the ozone depleting substances, because neither type of import is treated as consumption within the terms of the Montreal Protocol.

Statistics indicate that a decrease of the ozone levels of 1% will cause an increase of incidences of skin cancer of around 2%.