Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2001-01-31-Speech-3-153"

Predicate	Value (sorted: default)
rdf:type	lpv_eu:Speech2
dcterms:Date	"2001-01-31"^^xsd:date2
dcterms:Is Part Of	lp_eu:Rail transport2
dcterms:Language	"el"^^xsd:language2
lpv:document identification number	"en.20010131.7.3-153"2
lpv:hasSubsequent	lp_eu:2001-01-31-Speech-3-1542
lpv:speaker	lp:Konstantinos Hatzidakis2
lpv:spokenAs	substitute; Committee on Foreign Affairs, Human Rights, Common Security and Defence Policy (1999-10-07--2002-01-14)3 member_of_the_bureau; EPP-ED (1999-10-12--2002-03-07)3 member; Delegations to the parliamentary cooperation committees for relations with Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia (2000-08-30--2002-01-14)3 unknown; Nea Dimokratia (1999-07-20--2004-07-19)3 member; Conference of Committee Chairs (1999-07-21--2002-01-14)3 chair; Committee on Regional Policy, Transport and Tourism (1999-07-21--2002-01-14)3
lpv:translated text	"Mr President, Mr Vice-President of the Commission, since 1994, when I was elected to the European Parliament, I have heard many a debate on the frightful problems facing the European railways and I imagine that many such debates were also held before I was elected. Despite the fact that we have known about the problem for years, I think that the compromise now being debated as a result of the conciliation between the European Parliament and the Council is perhaps the first major decisive step towards the creation of a proper new, unified rail transport network and towards much needed liberalisation – much needed in my view, Mr President, because this is how we can support the competitiveness of the European railways, which have been on the decline for years without our being able to do anything substantial about it. Surely, everyone involved in this issue will want to give praise where praise is due, i.e. to the European Parliament and, of course, the Commission, for the simple reason that they have been urging the Council for years to take the action which it has, I think, now been forced to take – action which will certainly benefit European citizens, consumers, rail passengers and rail freight customers. I remember that when a compromise was reached between the 15 ministers, the Helsinki Council felt that it had come to the end of the line as far as the liberalisation of the railways and the new institutional framework are concerned. It is significant, I think, that Parliament, with the Commission's help, has managed to change Council's mind, giving us a far better compromise than the Helsinki compromise. I do not intend to go into the details, because the two rapporteurs, who know the subject inside out and whom I should like to congratulate on the results of the compromise, have already done so; I should merely like to reiterate how important the clause on further liberalisation of rail transport is and to point out that, generally speaking, there will be no exemptions or derogations for the Member States – unless absolutely necessary because of the nature of the Member States or their position on the map. I should like to close, Mr President, with a wish: that from now on the Council will operate with greater transparency, that it will talk to the rapporteurs early on, that it will attend European Parliament committees not simply to strengthen the role of the European Parliament but so that faster decisions can be taken, faster than the 16 kilometres an hour which is the present average speed of the railways."@en1

Named graphs describing this resource:

The resource appears as object in 2 triples

Context graph