Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2005-09-05-Speech-1-009"
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"en.20050905.5.1-009"2
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"Please allow me next to make a statement relating to the events we have witnessed this summer.
The results of this environmental damage caused by too much water, in some cases, and a lack of it, in others, will be very difficult to reverse and should remind us that the violent nature of these phenomena is the result of imbalances to which the European Union has paid particular attention and will have to continue to do so.
Ladies and gentlemen, in the face of the majority of these dramas, the European Union has demonstrated its capacity to mobilise and to go to the assistance of the victims quickly. We must make use of our capacity for prevention and action in order to show solidarity. Our Parliament will have the opportunity to debate this issue today, within the context of the Commission statements appearing on our agenda and we will soon have to legislate on strengthening air safety.
Having commented briefly on these dramatic events of this summer which is coming to an end, I would like to call on you, now that we are back here again, to observe a minute’s silence to demonstrate our solidarity with all of the victims and express our deepest sympathies to them.
As you will remember, on 7 July, at our last sitting before the holidays, we were taken by surprise by the terrorist attacks on London, which, as we feared at the time, caused many victims. Europe continues to be threatened by terrorism and this is a problem to which we must attach special importance in view of the events of July and those which followed.
This summer, however, has also been marked by other tragic events: the persistence of terrorism in Iraq, horrendous natural disasters and accidents that have brought pain to many families throughout the world — particularly here in Europe and now, especially, in the United States.
You must be aware that, during this summer, whenever one of these events has taken place, I have immediately expressed our solidarity and made contact with the countries affected by these dramas on behalf of the European Parliament. Every time they have happened we have made our voice heard.
I also believe that we should all join together today to share the pain of the families of the victims of these events, of those who have lost their loved ones in the deadly conflicts affecting the planet. The United States deserve special mention, since they are currently experiencing a drama of extraordinary dimensions which is shocking the whole world. It appears that there will be many many victims, thousands of people have been displaced and enormous damage has been done, both in economic terms, and to the social structure.
In Iraq, terrorism kills many people everyday, in a constant drip. A rumour alone is enough, as was the case a few weeks ago, when panic on a bridge in Baghdad led to the deaths of more than a thousand people.
Dramatic civilian aeroplane and helicopter accidents have led to the deaths of more than 400 people in Indonesia, Greece, Venezuela, Peru and in the Baltic, and also in Afghanistan, where European soldiers have died — Spanish, on this occasion, but they could have been from any European country — following a helicopter accident.
I feel we should remember at this point the words addressed to us by the President of Afghanistan, Mr Kharzai, when here in this Assembly he highlighted the significant role played by the troops of European countries in defence of human rights and peace-keeping in his country.
There has been more: disastrous floods in Austria, Germany, Bulgaria, Romania and Switzerland have killed dozens of people and displaced hundreds of thousands of inhabitants. Serious economic damage as a result of excessive rainfall in one half of Europe and serious economic damage resulting from the terrible drought suffered by the other half of Europe, a drought that feeds the forest fires, particularly in Portugal, France and Spain, which have cost the lives of dozens of people, including firefighters and pilots involved in fighting those fires."@en1
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