Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2000-02-18-Speech-5-051"
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"en.20000218.3.5-051"2
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"Mr President, Commissioner, it is no coincidence that I am the fifth Member of this House from Scotland to rise to speak in this debate. That is a measure of the importance to us of our postal services.
Scotland as a country is larger than some Member States. It has many remote mainland communities accessible only by road, sometimes served poorly by public transport, sometimes not at all. Such communities rely for their survival on having local facilities, such as a school, a post office and a shop. It is on the last two that the elderly, in particular, depend. Often they are located together, each service being made more viable by the existence of the other.
Scotland also has many island communities, some of which can be reached by air but most of which depend on sea ferries. It has been calculated that the actual cost of carrying a letter from Edinburgh to the Central Highlands is about ten times that of carrying the same letter across London. And it is about four times the postage cost actually charged. The more remote the community, the greater the difference becomes. That is the measure of the problem.
It is not to oppose liberalisation to ask that it be done in a way that takes account of these factors and allows the continuation of a universal and affordable postal service. It is for all our remote and island communities, no matter where in the European Union they are situated, and not just for the people of Scotland, that I ask you to preserve the vital lifeline that their postal services provide."@en1
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