Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2000-04-14-Speech-5-106"
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"en.20000414.5.5-106"2
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"Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, I experienced the storms of Christmas day 1999 in my home city of Paris and only managed with extreme difficulty to return on the same day to Germany, where the forests were unrecognisable. Further south-west, in France, my parents spent many days in the dim light of the petroleum lamp which I had given to them once as a present. We do not know when and in what form the next disaster will strike.
Permit me, therefore, to say something about the current problems and to expand on one aspect of the comments of my fellow MEP and friend, Gilles Savary. It concerns point 8 of the joint motion for a resolution in which we ask the Commission to create instruments which make it possible to take rapid and effective action within the European Union if we are faced with a crisis situation as a result of accidents or natural disasters. We presently have neither the money nor the infrastructure for this.
We should not in future rely on cross-border neighbourly aid as in the case of the storms at the end of the year. It was offered on a voluntary basis in an exemplary manner. It is also a healthy and important expression of solidarity. However, in itself it does not constitute a European solution. The European Union must take full responsibility for its citizens. The Commission must, therefore, quickly rack its brains to find instruments for rapid and effective emergency aid. We will expect proposals for solutions soon. We need have no qualms about making these proposals unconventional and bold. There will certainly be no lack of support from the European Parliament. The time has come to move on.
But first we must sort out the current consequences of the Christmas storms. This involves three things in particular.
Firstly: we must not let the timber market collapse and must, therefore, directly intervene on behalf of the many small and medium-sized enterprises. Secondly: we must, as an exception, also support necessary transportation and exports of valuable timber to third countries. The Commission must urgently discuss the approval of export subsidies with the WTO. Thirdly: we must do everything we can to counter the risks of fungus, pest and fire so that the damage does not become even worse.
Commissioner, when you say that national aid is the important thing now, then I would say to you that this also means that, in this instance, you do not want to organise the common European market."@en1
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