Proposition 54K1693

Proposition de résolution visant à charger la Cour des comptes d'enquêter sur l'établissement des causes qui ont entraîné la faillite du Fonds RER et le retard considérable du chantier du RER.

General information ¶

Authors

Ecolo Marcel Cheron
Groen Stefaan Van Hecke
LE Isabelle Poncelet
PS | SP Karine Lalieux
Vooruit David Geerts

Submission date

March 1, 2016

Official page

Visit

Status

Adopted

Requirement

Simple

Subjects

resolution of parliament means of public conveyance regional transport rail transport

Voting ¶

Voted to adopt

Groen CD&V Vooruit Ecolo LE PS | SP DéFI ∉ Open Vld N-VA MR PVDA | PTB PP VB

Contact form ¶

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Discussion ¶

March 17, 2016 | Plenary session (Chamber of representatives)

Full source

The rapporteur is Mr Vandenput and I assume that he refers to his written report.

I will speak from my bank. Of course, we can only support the proposal to entrust the Court of Auditors with the task of carrying out an audit of the RER Fund and an analysis of the considerable delays of this construction site. This is essential for mobility within and around Brussels.

If it is necessary to effectively investigate possible errors committed in the past, it is above all necessary to work to ensure that the RER is completed as quickly as possible. This audit should therefore not divert us from the ultimate goal, and should not serve as a pretext for the government to avoid taking responsibilities.

The show that we unfortunately have been given to see this week, during which the government said everything and its opposite about the four-waying of lines 161 and 124, is obviously not to reassure us. Nor the fact, in addition, that Minister Galant did not make the completion of the RER an absolute priority in the framework of the budget adjustment in the coming days. This was confirmed yesterday in the committee. This obviously causes us to fear a postponement of this project to the Greek calendas.

That is why we wanted to establish a bimestral monitoring regarding the state of progress of the works and the evolution of the RER Fund. This monitoring could be carried out jointly by the RER cell of the SNCB, by Infrabel and by the SPF Mobilité. We also wanted, through this, that Parliament be regularly informed by the representatives of this monitoring committee, so that it can play an effective role, a control role. In this way he could have assured himself that the government was effectively keeping up with its statements and its clear will to quickly finish the four-waying of lines 124 and 161.

The majority preferred to give blind trust to the Minister’s words and therefore rejected this amendment.

We are going to put it down again today; we never know, the majority may have seen, since then, all its usefulness.

In any case, the degradation of mobility in and outside Brussels is such that we cannot imagine for a moment that the government will not make every effort to complete the entire work of the RER as soon as possible. The citizens, neither the mayors MR of the Wallon Brabant would understand a new postponement, which they would rightly consider as a first-class burial of this project. I thank you.

Mr. Speaker, Ladies and Gentlemen, Ladies and Gentlemen, as you know, the Government Agreement provides that the implementation of the RER is and remains a priority. The Minister of Mobility has always recalled that we all have the same interest in this matter, whether it is the SNCB, Infrabel, the Regions, the federal government but also the various mayorals concerned.

However, it should be remembered that, since the establishment of the new government in 2014, it quickly became apparent that the RER Fund would be exhausted around 2019-2020. Without entering into the controversy, it is worth noting that everyone, including the previous ministers in charge of mobility, knew about it.

In any case, it is of course necessary to know what really happened. It is also reasonable to wonder how these investments could have suffered such delays and such budget surpluses. An audit by the Court of Auditors is therefore important to shed light on this ⁇ complex case.

The following report of the Court of Auditors will allow, I sincerely hope, to all parliamentarians, of the majority as well as of the opposition, to have a much clearer and correct view of the evolution of this important project which, I remind you, has characterized our political life for already many years.

A proposal for a resolution to charge the Court of Auditors to investigate the establishment of the causes that led to the bankruptcy of the RER Fund and the considerable delay of the construction site was voted last week in a committee. The Court of Auditors will have to examine the reasons for budget surpluses but also the initial budget estimates as such, or even the different methods of control and monitoring that have been implemented. From there, it will be up to the federal government and parliament to study the results of this audit but let us first, ladies and gentlemen, leave the Court of Auditors to do its job. I thank you.

On behalf of my group, I would like to thank Mr Cheron for his initiative. From the press I note that also the MR of Waals-Brabant is very grateful to you, Mr. Cheron.

I would also like to thank the colleagues of the majority for the illuminated moment they had on 9 March when they approved the text of Mr. Cheron. In the Infrastructure Committee we have learned a new notion, the constructive majority. That can be said, because it doesn’t happen every day.

I noticed a moment of weakness in the discussion of Mrs De Coninck’s amendment. In the requesting part to the Government, she stated that the Government could only examine the results of the audit by the Court of Auditors, while the Consultation Committee had previously gone much further.

However, let us be positive. I am pleased that both the majority and the opposition do not want to neglect the control function of Parliament at all. As a member of Parliament, I think this is important.

Mr. Speaker, based on my parliamentary experience, I know that if I want to maintain in the plenary session the same positive dynamic as in the committee, I must be brief. I will simply make two comments.

First, I welcome the vote that took place in a committee on the request for audit by the Court of Auditors on the status of the RER Fund. This will allow us to objectivize the debate and draw a number of conclusions. Everyone will take their own political path. It is normal. We have an objective view of the situation.

Secondly, I would like to thank all my colleagues who – I hope – will approve this text today. And I would also like to ask you, Mr. Speaker, to take your pen, which – I know it – can sometimes be sharp, effective, to write quickly to the Chairman of the Court of Auditors so that we can have the final document of this audit.

It is still that I can only rejoice in this process that shows that at some times, this majority can be constructive. The opposition was constructive. We have demonstrated this for months. But I wanted here to greet this constructive majority worthy of Spinoza.

Mr. Cheron, I will do my best to get that done as soon as possible.

Mr. Speaker, the PTB will support this proposal.

This RER file has been trailing for many years. I am not going to repeat the history of this, but I will emphasize two elements: the aberration of the institutional imbroglio that characterizes our country and a quite recurring policy of austerity. I also remember this controversy with Minister Galant, who had spoken of a two-way RER. In fact, it was the MR who spoke in two voices because he contradicted his minister.

This proposal seems to me to be of interest and deserves to be supported. We propose two amendments. The first requests to add to the task of the Court of Auditors the examination of the impact that could have had the split of Infrabel and the SNCB. The second requests to analyze the influence of the 60/40 distribution key between Flanders and Wallonia in order to see whether it has influenced the delay of the RER.