The following spoke: Ruža Tomašić (rapporteur for the opinion of the REGI Committee), Krišjānis Kariņš, on behalf of the PPE Group, Dan Nica, on behalf of the SD Group, Edward Czesak, on behalf of the ECR Group, Pavel Telička, on behalf of the ALDE Group, Xabier Benito Ziluaga, on behalf of the GUE/NGL Group, Claude Turmes, on behalf of the Verts/ALE Group, Christelle Lechevalier, on behalf of the ENF Group, who declined a blue-card question from Claude Turmes, Zoltán Balczó, non-attached Member, András Gyürk, Martina Werner and Jaromír Kohlíček.

It has a provisional budget of EUR 17.5 billion, including Euratom. I would like to thank the Swedish and Belgian Presidencies, the European Commission, Commissioner Busquin, Mr Westendorp, the Secretariat of the Committee on Industry, External Trade, Research and Energy, the ITER Committee, the administrators of the different groups, my assistant Gaëlle Le Bouler, the shadow rapporteurs of the ITER Committee, the draftsmen of the opinion, the shadow draftsmen of the committees consulted and the group coordinators.

I do not understand why, when I am the official draftsman of the opinion of the Committee on Citizens’ Freedoms and Rights, Justice and Home Affairs, when I prepared the amendments tabled by my Committee, when I arranged the vote on these in my Committee, when I defended them, rather vigorously at times, in the Committee on Budgets – where, in most cases, I also managed to obtain the approval of my fellow Members – why, therefore, my name is not on the list of draftsmen due to speak.

Draftsman: Mr Frieder Otto Wolf

At its meeting of 20 and 21 May 1997, DT(d month yyyy)@INTDT@DAT1 the Committee on Legal Affairs and Citizens' Rights appointed Mr Cot draftsman.

At its meeting of 21 January 1998 the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs and Industrial Policy appointed Mr Wolf draftsman.