10. Calls on Member States to maintain budgetary positions of close to balance or in surplus throughout the economic cycle, and as long as this has not yet been achieved, to take all necessary steps to ensure an annual improvement in the cyclically-adjusted budget position of at least 0.5% of GDP; asks for budgetary positions to be evaluated in a flexible way in accordance with the guidelines set by the Commission in its Communication of 27 November 2002 to the Council and the European Parliament on strengthening the coordination of budgetary policies ;

take appropriate measures to reach a budgetary position close to balance or in surplus.

reach or maintain budgetary positions that are close to balance or in surplus throughout the economic cycle.

10. Calls on Member States to maintain budgetary positions of close to balance or in surplus throughout the economic cycle, and as long as this has not yet been achieved, to take all the necessary measures to ensure an annual improvement in the cyclically-adjusted budget position of at least 0.5% of GDP; asks for budgetary positions to be evaluated in a flexible way in accordance with the guidelines set by the Commission in its Communication of 27 November 2002 to the Council and the European Parliament on strengthening the coordination of budgetary policies (COM(2002) 668); ...[+++]

Maintain budgetary positions of close to balance or in surplus throughout the economic cycle, and as long as this has not yet been achieved, take all the necessary measures to ensure an annual improvement in the cyclically-adjusted budget position of at least 0.5% of GDP.

6. Stresses Parliament's commitment to the Stability and Growth Pact (SGP) and supports its intelligent and flexible application in the ways proposed by the Commission, in particular the stronger emphasis on overall debt levels of individual Member States, taking into account public investment requirements - especially when those investments are considered by the Commission to be coherent with the Lisbon and Stockholm strategy, and, for that reason, of common interest; notes with disappointment that recently several Member States with high structural deficits have not progressed towards budgetary ...[+++] positions of close to balance or in surplus, thus resulting in the malfunctioning of automatic stabilisers; believes that during the years of economic bonanza before the downturn, the Council and the Commission failed in their duty by not warning Member States in time about inappropriate fiscal policies;