Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2000-11-16-Speech-4-177"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.20001116.10.4-177"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:spoken text |
"Mr President, Europe suffered across the whole continent from the recent spate of flooding, whether it was in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Italy, Spain or France; hitting, amongst other regions in the United Kingdom, Wales and Yorkshire; in Ireland, Leinster and Munster; in Italy, Liguria and Lombardy.
There was a destruction of homes, of energy, communication and transport networks. In my own region, the Southwest of England, we had all of these consequences. The main railway line between Cheltenham and Swindon remains closed. It will be closed for a month because of the damage caused by the floods. We came within an inch or so of the town of Tewkesbury being cut off. Two major roads were cut for a number of days: the A38 north of Gloucester and the A417 west of Gloucester. It is the worst flooding in the United Kingdom since 1947. In Devon, the River Taw had the highest level since records began. In Somerset, we had tidal flooding across the coastline. In Dorchester, the River Frome was so high that a major-incident plan was invoked to deal with the possible consequences.
We still remain on stand-by at the moment. Tens of millions of pounds' worth of damage has been done and I agree with Mrs Lambert that we must take action to deal with our contribution towards the cause of the flooding in terms of our planning regulations, in terms of reforestation, in terms of all of the actions we have taken to make flooding that much more dangerous than in the past.
We also require the EU to give help and assistance, not just in the southwest but across all of the areas that have been affected. The resolution calls on the Commission and the Member States to waste no time in expressing their support in practical ways by marshalling workers and equipment under the five-year plan establishing a Community action programme in the field of civil protection which was adopted on 9 December 1999.
We also call on the Commission to make use of all existing funding: ERDF, EAGGF, Guarantee Section, which have already been assigned for use in dealing with disasters of this nature to provide financial aid to SMEs, to farmers, to households, the elderly and others affected, particularly those living in exposed areas who have limited protection as recompense and as assistance towards a speedy recovery."@en1
|
| lpv:spokenAs | |
| lpv:unclassifiedMetadata |
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples