Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2003-12-03-Speech-3-167"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.20031203.13.3-167"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:spoken text |
".
Mr President, may I first of all thank Mr Cashman for his detailed and precise report on this very sensitive and important issue. This report sets out very clearly the problems regarding the repatriation of mortal remains that exist within the Union today. I know how strongly many Members feel about this issue. Many Members of this House have personally intervened to assist families of constituents who have faced these difficulties when trying to repatriate the mortal remains of their loved ones. I therefore appreciate the particular importance that must be attached to this issue. The Commission agrees with Mr Cashman that these problems will multiply as EU citizens increasingly use their rights to work and reside in other Member States.
Although the Commission fully recognises the importance of this issue and the urgent need to deal with it, I must admit that it has been somewhat hesitant, as the report has clearly pointed out, in determining precisely what to do about this. The Commission has signalled, in response to a number of questions by Members of Parliament, that it does not believe, at this stage, that specific harmonisation is required. I wish to stress today, however, that this does not imply that we cannot move to resolve these problems.
In the coming weeks, I shall be asking my colleagues to adopt a directive on services in the internal market, and I believe that directive will help resolve a number of the problems raised by Mr Cashman's report insofar as they reflect restrictions on the exercise and provision of cross-border funeral services. In particular, it will simplify administrative procedures and abolish authorisation requirements that are not consistent with the principle of proportionality. I also hope to be able to deal with the specific problem related to zinc coffins insofar as a coffin is obviously an essential element of the funeral director's services.
There will remain problems caused by different national requirements such as those on death certificates and autopsies. On those issues the Commission doubts that it is legally possible to apply the principle of the free movement of people to contest restrictions on the transfer of mortal remains. It also believes that harmonisation on these issues would be likely to be contested on the grounds of subsidiarity.
I wish to thank Mr Cashman once again for this report and I should like to reassure this House that the Commission will seek to resolve as many of the problems raised in it as possible, but I cannot guarantee that we shall solve all the problems, given the uncertain legal situation regarding the free movement of people. In resolving the restrictions to the provision of funeral services the Commission will do its utmost to make Member States aware of the very important problems raised in this report regarding differing provisions on autopsies and death certificates. In particular, we shall indicate that national legislation in this field should respect fundamental rights, and in particular the dignity of people."@en1
|
| lpv:unclassifiedMetadata |
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples