Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2000-02-15-Speech-2-161"
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"en.20000215.8.2-161"2
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"Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, water is a precious raw material. Millions of people do not even have clean water – a absolute necessity for survival – at their disposal. It should, therefore, not surprise us that water is the cause of wars. The capitalist world too sends out its pawns in order to gain maximum control over water reservoirs. General interest or solidarity often do not come into the equation.
Europe is therefore facing an arduous task; that of combining a Community water policy which is fragmented in terms of objectives and means into more coherent framework legislation. I have to admit that in Flanders, where I come from, we still have a long way to go too. We were recently rapped on the knuckles by the Commission regarding this matter. Anyone with any sense would like to see this framework directive used as a big stick for those pursuing policies who are now failing in some way.
The common position is in this respect a farce, a document with no strings attached and a true affront in the light of the OSPAR agreements. The period of implementation can even be extended up to 34 years. By then, my children will be older than I am now. You have to admit: this is a joke. Tomorrow, we might opt in favour of a weak and permissive framework which ruins the future of our children. Either we opt for the amendments of my group, of the rapporteur or the Committee on the Environment.
I would like to finish off with this observation. In the past couple of months, we have witnessed a great deal of lobbying in Belgium. What was remarkable about this dossier was the enormous pressure from the Council of Ministers. In our own country, this pressure was exerted by both Flemish and Wallonian Environment administrations. They have opted for the weak common position in favour of our Parliament’s more drastic positioning. I really do wonder whether this is an approach of which the green Environment Ministers in my country are aware.
Ladies and gentlemen, fine words are no longer sufficient. We need to change tack completely. During the vote tomorrow, we can make it clear that Europe is drafting a responsible and future-orientated water policy. This can only benefit our credibility."@en1
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