Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2002-02-05-Speech-2-302"
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"en.20020205.14.2-302"2
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"Madam President, it is quite remarkable how Parliament is united across the boundaries of group and nation on this issue, and the Commission and the Council, too, are of the same opinion, that we want to ratify Kyoto. I hope that tomorrow's vote will see us achieve the greatest possible majority and perhaps even unanimity on this issue.
There is a cultural significance to this, for – if I am right – Europe would be assuming cultural leadership on an important issue for the first time since the Second World War. In the past, we always followed the Americans, trailing them by five to ten years. This time, Europe is indeed ahead. That is something that I welcome.
Only a few, though, are aware of what this ratification signifies. Signing it takes no time, but putting it into practice is extraordinarily difficult. Some have already referred to that. I find it all the more regrettable that, on this issue, we – we, the popularly and directly elected European Parliament – are only being consulted. This is a great economic upheaval – and we are only being consulted. That strikes me as extraordinarily regrettable, although I must say that I would still say ‘Yes’ to Kyoto if Parliament had the right of codecision, and I assume that my fellow Members would do likewise.
I also call to mind the fact that we are acting on the basis of the precautionary principle, which has, in the meantime, found its way into our lawmaking. Were we not to act, our inaction could, under certain circumstances, lead to us being sued in the European Court of Justice and compelled to ratify Kyoto.
This agreement also has its advantages, for we are putting our industry and ourselves under pressure to develop the most energy-efficient products and processes, and, finally, we are making ourselves competitive, even though I cannot deny that there will also be difficulties for some branches of industry."@en1
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