Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2001-01-16-Speech-2-029"

Predicate	Value (sorted: default)
rdf:type	lpv_eu:Speech2
dcterms:Date	"2001-01-16"^^xsd:date2
dcterms:Is Part Of	lp_eu:Special reports of the Court of Auditors2
dcterms:Language	"fi"^^xsd:language2
lpv:document identification number	"en.20010116.3.2-029"2
lpv:hasSubsequent	lp_eu:2001-01-16-Speech-2-0302
lpv:speaker	lp:Esko Seppänen2
lpv:spokenAs	unknown; Vasemmistoliitto (1999-07-20--2004-07-19)3 substitute; BUDG (1999-07-21--2002-01-14)3 member; Delegation to the EU-Russia Parliamentary Cooperation Committee (1999-09-29--2002-01-14)3 member_of_the_bureau; EUL/NGL (1999-10-13--2004-07-19)3 member; Committee on Industry, External Trade, Research and Energy (1999-07-21--2002-01-14)3 substitute; CONT (2000-05-03--2002-01-14)3 substitute; Delegation to the EU-Estonia Joint Parliamentary Committee (1999-09-29--2002-01-14)3
lpv:translated text	"Mr President, in the report of the Court of Auditors for 1999 we can read that Great Britain, Belgium and Holland have been huge net payers into the EU budget. These three countries have rendered account in the budget of their customs duties, i.e. own resources, to a much greater extent proportionally than other countries. There are large ports in these countries and a lot of traffic in transit passes through them. Both the documents of the Court of Auditors and Mr Garriga Polledo’s report feature an embarrassing element. In many countries abuses have been revealed, although there is no mention of countries’ names. This consequently gives rise to the suspicion that crimes are mostly committed in those countries that have large transit ports. If there is no mention of countries’ names, suspicion must fall on Great Britain, Belgium and Holland. If they are not guilty of covering up crimes and protecting criminals, they are, nevertheless, the object of suspicion, as the countries’ names are not mentioned. Huge volumes of goods pass through the European Union, which are then shipped outside the Union from its ports. Studies by both the Court of Auditors and OLAF have shown that there is major abuse associated with tobacco imports and transit traffic in particular. It is difficult to assess the extent of this, but the size of the damage caused to the Union is estimated to be between one and five billion euros. Tobacco comes mainly into the Dutch and Belgian ports and is transported on through EU countries, often to the area of the former Yugoslavia, to Montenegro, for example. Last year the EU decided to grant financial aid to Montenegro to the tune of EUR 15 million for political reasons, free of any conditions connected with the prevention of smuggling. Every night contraband tobacco is taken by 50 or 70 speedboats from Montenegro to Italy from where it is distributed to EU markets free of customs duty or tax. To prevent this sort of thing from happening, we need determined effort and answers to the problems Mr Garriga Polledo referred to in his report. From the Union’s point of view, we are talking about a project costing billions of euros."@en1

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