Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2003-03-27-Speech-4-028"
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"en.20030327.1.4-028"2
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"Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, I wish to thank you very sincerely for your contributions. As the rapporteur, Mr Caudron, said at the beginning of his speech, I believe that we are facing a challenge where time is of the essence. That is why the will of Parliament, the Council and the Commission to work together in an attempt to coordinate their efforts as swiftly as possible is, as I see it, key for the success of this action, which although it will not of course solve all the problems, will nevertheless make Europe's efforts in the field of research and development more effective. What sets this programme apart is that it involves the participation of partners from Africa, where the programme is to be implemented.
Lastly, Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, I think that we have all gained a sense of the scale of the tragedy that these diseases represent for developing countries, and particularly for Africa. We therefore hope that this experiment will yield a positive outcome and that it will open the way for similar initiatives on diseases that are neglected at present. That is by way of response to a number of questions. I believe that this first example will enable us to demonstrate that by virtue of initiatives carried out under Article 169, we now have an additional instrument that will allow us to carry out even more effective actions at European level. We should look at the possibilities which that prospect opens up.
In any case, I wish to thank Parliament for its very effective and helpful contribution.
Turning to your various contributions, I think that the compromise amendments that you will have to vote on shortly very much reflect the concerns and aspirations expressed by you individually. It is clear, as I have already said, that this project will not be able to solve every problem, but it is a step forward that should provide us with a model for other actions in the future. But first of all we need to put this programme into practice.
It is for that reason that I wish to say, on behalf of the Commission, that we are able to accept all 36 compromise amendments, which reflect the spirit of the Commission's original proposal whilst improving and enriching it. I would like to emphasise once again the quality of Parliament's work and of the support the Commission has received. We have not only had support, our proposal has also been strengthened and given a higher profile. I regard that higher profile as being very important, because this is a new departure for us. So it is now up to the Member States to demonstrate the same determination and will, which is always a problem when we try something new.
The programme itself marks a turning point. I would also like to mention, as some of you raised this point, that the programme forms part of the Commission's programme of action in a broader sense. In dealing with AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis we are of course entering the sphere of research, but development, trade and other areas are also involved here. So this is not an isolated initiative, we will be integrating the programme into the EU's overall strategy in this area.
By the same token, I would like to say that the joint programme, which is the stage we are embarking on now, is being set up on the basis of the programmes of each individual Member State. We already have a good deal of knowledge about those programmes, Mrs Sandbæk, and we therefore know that there is some duplication of effort. That is to be expected, but it demonstrates that we are not as efficient as we might be. So it is now up to us to put that right, in conjunction with the Member States.
What is more, we require a legal basis to apply Article 169 of the Treaty. The Commission will therefore have to wait for the tripartite agreement between the Commission, the Council and Parliament to be concluded before it can get the Member States to act without further delay to implement this joint programme. We will only make our financial contribution once the joint programme is under way.
Having said that, Mrs Sandbæk, let me reply to your specific question. Concrete actions are now under way, particularly in the area of anti-malarial drugs. Germany, the United Kingdom and Spain have already mounted operations with three clinical sites in Africa. A second very concrete example is that of the health school in Vienna, which trains African researchers in the methodology of clinical trials. So these are some examples of this type of activity.
I would like to finish by very warmly thanking the rapporteur, Mr Caudron, and his shadow rapporteurs, Mr Nisticò, Mr Piétrasanta, Mrs Corbey and Mrs Flesch, and all the members of the Committee on Industry, External Trade, Research and Energy, including its chairman, Mr Westendorp y Cabeza. I also of course wish to thank the other committees for their contributions. I have in mind the Committee on Development and Cooperation and its draftsman, Mrs Sandbæk, and the Committee on Budgets and the Committee on Women’s Rights and Equal Opportunities.
I also want to comment on the extent to which cooperation between the successive presidencies, that is the Danish and Greek Presidencies, has contributed to progress towards an optimal solution acceptable to everyone. Mr Caudron has been in a very good position to observe this. I therefore wish to thank the Danish and Greek Presidencies."@en1
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