Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2003-02-11-Speech-2-266"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.20030211.11.2-266"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:spokenAs | |
| lpv:translated text |
"Mr President, my congratulations to Mrs de Palacio on the White Paper on transport before us in this debate. This is a well-produced piece of work on the part of the Commission which allows us to look as far forward as 2010.
May I also thank the rapporteur, Mr Izquierdo Collado, on his report. I think all the political groups will more or less vote the same way tomorrow on a number of points which are vital to the future of transport in the European Union.
For me personally, our guiding principles for the immediate development of European transport are to complete the single market, promote competition, especially by liberalising transport wherever it has not yet been liberalised, ensure all forms of transport are safe and prioritise environmental protection.
I should like to qualify these principles by making a few comments on some of the individual issues. First of all, the debate on trans-European networks must at some point stop being a debate and must be fleshed out, by which I mean that the trans-European networks will need to be promoted in practice and this will require political will on the part of the Member States on the one hand and both national and Community funding on the other. We therefore need to increase funding under the Community budget specifically for trans-European networks.
Secondly, we need to open up the railway market. The Council needs to push the second railways package through as quickly as possible on the basis of Parliament’s proposals, so that the European Union has something to show for itself in the railway sector.
Thirdly, we need to strengthen short sea shipping. This is vital, especially in certain areas of the European Union, and of course helps to protect the environment.
Fourthly, our debate must include the special role which outlying regions of the European Union and island regions need to play if there is to be a balanced development of transport networks within the Union.
Fifthly, road safety. The Group of the European People’s Party (Christian Democrats) and European Democrats is not united on this issue. I personally am in favour of a road safety agency, given that 40 000 people are killed on the roads of Europe every year and I think that, while respecting subsidiarity, we need to do something at European level.
Finally, two brief comments on measures to promote safety at sea and charging for infrastructures. We need to look at this issue but we need to be very careful because it is a rather delicate issue and, although the Commission needs to act, it needs to take careful stock before it makes any proposals."@en1
|
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples