Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2003-09-02-Speech-2-026"
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"en.20030902.1.2-026"2
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"Mr President, cohesion policy must take account of the special circumstances of the very small islands. On an organisational and political basis, the EU at present deals with all the islands under the one heading, so that even very small and sparsely populated islands come into the same category as islands with many thousands of inhabitants.
I myself live on a small island, Endelave, which has 180 inhabitants and is situated an hour’s sail out into the Kattegat. Clearly, we live under quite different conditions than those prevailing in, for example, Corsica or other islands with many thousands of inhabitants. The challenges are quite different, and we cannot be placed in the same category as the large islands.
That also applies to the Commission’s analyses of the islands’ special circumstances and potential. The small islands must be eliminated from this analysis and be given their own status, with different conclusions being drawn about them and their opportunities for development. In that connection, it is important also to recognise the union of small islands that already exists under the name of the European Small Islands' Network.
To the extent that structural development funds exist, the very small islands must also be allocated these, and national scope must be created for supporting development on the very small islands. Their particular handicap necessitates support for development processes that can increase settlement and employment, that is to say the promotion of a year-round society on the small islands too.
The ferry connection is quite crucial in this connection. First and foremost, it is important for the ferries serving the small islands to be exempted from the EU’s tendering requirements. The tendering demanded by the EU and implemented in connection with the ferries serving Denmark’s small islands has led to large expenditure for the ferry companies, but no one has made them an offer. It is quite grotesque that, on the one hand, we should have a set of regulations that inflicts unnecessary expenditure upon the small islands and their lifeblood, while we, at the same time, talk about development aid for these areas. The ferries must be regarded as the islands’ only highway. It is a question of creating equal conditions."@en1
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