Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2000-12-11-Speech-1-098"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.20001211.6.1-098"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:spokenAs | |
| lpv:translated text |
".
Madam President, may I start by pointing out that the programmes which it is proposed to extend, four programmes for two years' training and two programmes for one year's training, are directly related to the new health programme which is currently being discussed in the Committee on the Environment.
Unfortunately, the new programme, which will run from 2001 to 2006, is still not ready and is not expected to enter into force for some time. Consequently, the request for an extension to the previous programmes – important programmes on cancer, AIDS, diseases such as pollution-related diseases or the monitoring of infectious diseases, i.e. programmes which are of tremendous significance to public health in general – was a logical step. If they are not extended, we shall have a huge gap in public health issues and programmes. We must not forget that the essence of the
from these programmes needs to be passed on to the new health programmes currently being drawn up and it is therefore only right that we extend them.
What we have agreed with the Council and the Commission and, of course, with Parliament's Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Consumer Policy, so as to avoid a second reading and allow these programmes to continue without a break, thereby avoiding any gaps, is to extend the four programmes by two years, as the Commission has requested; however, the money will only be released a year at a time, so that if the new health programme is approved and enters into force in the meantime, there will be no need for an extension and the money can be used for the second year. If, of course, the new programme has not yet begun, which I do not believe will be the case, then we shall, of course, carry on and use the money for the second year. So that is what we have agreed; we have agreed that the two programmes which expire in December 2001 will be extended for one year and we have also agreed on the amount, which is the same, in fact it is slightly less than the amount which the European Commission originally requested.
So we have, I think, proceeded very quickly and with excellent cooperation. I would even go so far as to say that we may well have inaugurated a new
for codecision issues. Instead of waiting for conciliation, which takes a very long time, we have, to all intents and purposes, dealt with the conciliation in advance, a method which I would recommend to the European Commission, the Council and the parliamentary committees. What a good idea to be able to prepare the way, to proceed as far down the line as possible, to be so close that, even if we need a second reading, we are already within a hair's breadth of a decision.
I should, of course, like to thank all my colleagues, and the other groups, and of course I should like to thank my colleagues in the Committee on the Environment, because we had a valuable convergence of opinion and were able to proceed quickly so as to avoid any gaps in the public health sector.
I trust that we shall proceed in the same manner and will use the same method for the new health programme, so that we really can make headway on these issues, and that the European integration which we talk of, constantly telling ourselves that it is not something abstract, is not the sort of integration which only applies to external relations and defence issues. It is a series of convergences. It is impossible to conceive of a unified European Union without convergence in the health sector and in the education and other sectors. So I feel that, slowly but surely, we are making headway. Of course, we know that the health sector is still the responsibility of the Member States, but the Treaties do, of course, give the European Commission a great deal of responsibility for the public health of European citizens. So we are moving in the right direction. I see these programmes as the first signs of convergence, a convergence which should be a straightforward task, because European citizens stand to gain a great deal from action in the public health sector."@en1
|
| lpv:unclassifiedMetadata |
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples