Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2005-06-06-Speech-1-112"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.20050606.15.1-112"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:spokenAs | |
| lpv:translated text |
".
Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, as the Commissioner has already indicated, there is indeed a great need for information and for better management of existing information flows. This applies to the European Union in general – as we have noticed at the referenda on the Constitution – but also to all Community policy areas, in particular. Despite decades of common European environmental policy, there is still evidence of major barriers blocking access and the use of spatial information at Community level. There are already quite a few instruments in place, including the European Environmental Agency, and new instruments are being developed in a number of directives that are related to this. In order to eliminate those shortcomings now, the Commission has made a proposal to set up and run an infrastructure for spatial information in Europe, which has been abbreviated to ‘Inspire’. It will in the first instance be based on existing data infrastructures and existing information in the Member States.
Finally, I should also like to thank the Commission for the support we received, not least during the informal talks with the Council, with the object of reaching agreement at first reading, which, unfortunately, we did not manage to achieve. Although this has represented a slight setback in terms of time, together, we have made huge strides forward. The informal talks with Coreper have already clarified and crystallised a number of ideas for the future. I therefore hope that tomorrow’s plenary will be approving this proposal with an equal dose of enthusiasm. It should enable us to take an important step in the direction of a more sustainable European environmental policy.
I can tell you, Commissioner, that we are right behind the proposal’s objectives and principles, because Inspire also seeks to give the public more insight into environmental policy and, in this respect, to increase the level of accountability at local and regional level. Inspire also seeks to promote the reuse, but above all the exchange and sharing, of data between governments, and, without doubt, to be a driving force behind the pooling of new relevant environmental information.
Finally, it will certainly also be instrumental in making environmental policy more efficient and effective across borders. The proposal relates to information needed to supervise the state of the environment, but also to improve on it, and can therefore benefit all policy measures that have a direct or indirect impact on the environment.
As you have already indicated, there has been an extensive debate in our Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety. I can tell you that some Members see the proposal as not going far enough, while others believe that it went a little too far. We in this House thought we should make a number of constructive and useful amendments to this rather technical proposal in order to accommodate a number of justified concerns on the part of the current operators in the field, without, however, losing sight of the ultimate goal. I will mention a few of those amendments.
Our focus of attention was, in the first place, the cost-benefit issue. You know that data suppliers are concerned about the income which they want to continue to generate so as to promote innovation and development. I think it is important for Inspire not to get drawn into this debate on compensation for those suppliers. This remains an issue that must be resolved at Member State level.
Secondly, current European and international legislation concerning intellectual rights of ownership remains in place. It is prohibited to make reproductions, and data may not simply be sold on.
Thirdly, we also built in a number of guarantees for what is referred to as free-viewing, thus avoiding improper use for commercial reasons. It must also be made perfectly clear that at a cost, the download and the processing services can be made available upon request.
Finally, with a view to respecting the division of competence within the Member States, we also suggested a few changes, because we deem it important that the governments that collate this spatial information – those are, in many cases, the regional and local governments – are also involved in the coordination of the infrastructure and are also responsible for the contacts with the European Commission. I can tell you that in a very constructive consultation involving the shadow rapporteurs of all political groups, we managed to approve the report in our committee by unanimous vote.
A number of compromise amendments were tabled to ensure that Parliament’s position is coherent and unambiguous."@en1
|
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples