Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/1999-09-13-Speech-1-005"
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"en.19990913.1.1-005"2
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"This summer I have been led to express our solidarity with the people of Turkey and Greece on the occasion of the tragic events they suffered at the time of the violent earthquakes at Izmit and Athens. As some of you may have noted, I offered condolences on behalf of us all, on your behalf, and I expressed our deepest sympathy for the plight they have endured. At this point in the proceedings, out of respect for the memory of the victims and the profound grief of their families, I ask you to please observe a minute’s silence.
I shall simply mention the few matters which, at the time, seemed most urgent, starting with disabled access. It has been possible to complete a number of modifications, following the perfectly legitimate request of one of our colleagues. I think that matters are now in hand regarding this aspect. The problem of access for disabled visitors still remains, but we naturally intend to have the situation under control.
Regarding signposting and access to the building, you will, I hope, have noticed some improvements. You no doubt appreciated the welcome offered by the young hostesses whom the Mayor of Strasbourg agreed to make available to us in order to make reception more welcoming.
We also spent many hours on the safety problems regarding the lifts and all the very serious malfunctions which occurred during the July part-session affecting both the ventilation and the operation of the lifts.
We have also very attentively studied the problems of the working conditions of the media and we have, in particular, looked into the outfitting of the press room and the problem of access with mobile phones, but not just this problem. And finally, the Quaestors have taken note, and I think they are sufficiently creative in this field, of the matter of decoration of the building in order to render it somewhat less lugubrious. So, for example, in one lift we have a prototype for light wood panelling which, if we are in agreement, may be used to improve other surfaces. Obviously, I shall meticulously examine the legal problem this may present with regard to the building constructor’s artistic copyright.
As you can see, ladies and gentlemen, my intention was that all this should be taken very seriously, but I do not want us to engage in a debate now. I think this would not be very useful as you have not yet had time to see everything that has been done. There is also the problem of the offices for Members of Parliament and the need for mailboxes which can be locked. We have really gone into a great deal of detail and, if you agree, I would like to organise a sort of question time on Friday morning, which I shall chair, when you can report any problems you may have again noted this week so that together, we can see what we can do in order to be able to conduct the October 4 part-session in better conditions. If this suggestion is acceptable to you, we can adopt it, and table a question time for Friday at 9 a.m.
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Ladies and gentlemen, as you may also perhaps have noted, as soon as I learnt of the deaths, in particularly tragic conditions, of Yaguine Koita and Fodé Tounkara, I felt bound to express how shocked I was by these tragic deaths. The feeling was the same, of course, when the death of a young Senegalese man in the same circumstances was reported. The letter they wrote addressed to the leaders of Europe was obviously of prime concern to me in my capacity as President of the European Parliament. This gesture, deeply moving in its humanity, expressed the desperate cry of the youth of a continent which sees the gap between standards of life in North and South increasing inexorably from year to year.
At a time when we are currently involved in renegotiating the Lomé Convention and negotiations, as you know, are coming up, in particular, against the stumbling block of the principles of proper administration of public monies, it seemed to me to be essential to state that education must be one of the priorities of the European Union.
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Regarding the Strasbourg building premises, you will recall just how often during the July part-session we all noted significant defects, poor operation and problems affecting the reception and working conditions of colleagues and also those of our assistants and the media who follow our work. You will recall that I undertook, here in this very Chamber, to do all in my power to improve matters.
I must thank our Secretary-General for the very industrious and efficient assistance he gave me, since a task force, combining all the departments concerned, was immediately formed, and which tackled the whole situation very thoroughly. For my part, I established a number of contacts with legal and administrative personnel and I planned a visit which I would not hesitate to describe as an inspection visit. Last Wednesday, therefore, together with the Quaestors, Mr Colom i Naval, who is the Vice-President specifically responsible for monitoring buildings, the Secretary-General, my Chief-of-Staff and the civil servants more specifically involved in this case, we spent an entire day here, in order to establish the situation regarding what it had been possible to improve and what still had to be improved.
At the end of the day, which concluded in a business meeting – I must specify that it was a business meeting – with the Mayor and also the managing director of the building firm, I wrote you a letter, which I hope you have already received – at any event you will have it in your mail boxes – summing up the situation. Appended to this letter are some details of what it has been possible to achieve and what is still outstanding."@en1
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