Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2001-01-17-Speech-3-010"
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"en.20010117.1.3-010"2
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". – Madam President, before I turn to the specific question of depleted uranium, let me first put the issue in context by saying a word about the environmental situation in the Balkans and what the European Commission has been doing to tackle it.
At the time that the UN Balkans Task Force provided its original assessment of the environmental damage arising as a result of the Kosovo conflict, it had not received any official document confirming whether or not depleted uranium had been used during the conflict. When that confirmation was given, UNEP carried out a mission to collect, for example, soil, water and vegetation samples in autumn last year. We expect that the results of their examinations will be known in March this year.
For our part, the Commission has acted swiftly in the face of recent concerns to ensure that any Commission action on depleted uranium is based on sound scientific knowledge. We have used existing structures to convene a meeting of an independent group of experts under the Euratom Treaty to give an opinion on the possible health consequences in general of exposure to depleted uranium. In their opinion the experts will be expected to draw upon all available scientific evidence. We expect to have the scientific opinion of the independent experts within a month from now.
In the light of the opinion the Commission will review whether or not follow-up actions are indicated, for our own staff for example. We will also decide whether it is appropriate to adapt existing assistance programmes within the longer term with the aim of ensuring the sustainable development of the region.
The Commission will, of course, invite Member States and international authorities to share information on their findings and approaches and to discuss any proposed follow-up actions resulting from the opinion provided by the independent scientific experts.
The twin-track approach I have set out underlines the value added of the Community contribution to addressing the health and environmental situation in the Balkan region. The Commission confirms its commitment to strengthening our medium and long-term support to improve the environmental and human health situation in the Balkan region.
Nearly a decade of regional conflicts, combined with weak institutions, old-fashioned polluting industry and a legacy of years of unchecked pollution, have left the environment of the Balkan region in a state of serious neglect. In June 1999, a report conducted for the Commission by the Regional Environment Centre in Budapest gave a preliminary assessment of the environmental effects of the conflict in the Balkan region. In October 1999, the United Nations Balkans Task Force then provided its assessment of the environmental damage arising as a result of the Kosovo conflict.
In our efforts to tackle the health and environmental situation in the Balkans, the Commission has established a twin-track approach. This combines action on the one hand to address immediate problems with longer term assistance. Our longer-term assistance is designed to embed a process of sustainable environmental protection in the countries in the region, all of which are potential candidate members of the Union.
Let me set out briefly what we have been doing. In the framework of the Stability Pact, the Commission has been the driving force in the development of the Regional Environmental Reconstruction Programme. This provides a framework in which environmental actions can be pursued at regional level in the Balkans. By bringing together the various bilateral donors and the countries in the region, we are providing a focus for the coordination of otherwise disparate and overlapping bilateral actions.
To help launch the Regional Environmental Reconstruction Programme the Commission is currently funding actions to the value of EUR 5m. Other donors have committed a further EUR 2.5m, and others still have expressed their intention to commit around another EUR 5.8m, bringing a total of around EUR 13.3m.
Through these actions we have targeted institution building, participation in the activities of the European Environment Agency in the region and two environmental hotspots in Albania and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. Our contribution reflects the balance between setting the basis for long-term environmental protection and urgent remedial action.
Let me now come to the specific issue of depleted uranium and the public concern about the possible health risks associated with the use of depleted uranium weapons in Kosovo and Bosnia for the local populations, as well as the international personnel serving, or who have served, in the region. The Commission is naturally also concerned to ensure that the interests of its own staff and contractors placed in the region are properly assessed.
Let me stress again that this is an issue which has aroused considerable public anxiety and that anxiety must be addressed. But it can only be addressed on the basis of facts and the provision of all the information on this issue. Our watchword must be "openness". That is why it is essential to proceed rationally and on the basis of scientific evidence.
What then are the facts? Uranium itself, as you know, is a radioactive and toxic element that occurs in several minerals. Depleted uranium is less radioactive than natural uranium. It is readily available as a by-product of the nuclear fuel cycle and it is very hard and self-sharpening. As such, it is used to make tips to shells to increase their penetrating capacity. However, there is currently no unanimously held scientific opinion on the health and environmental effects of depleted uranium."@en1
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