Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2006-06-12-Speech-1-134"
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"en.20060612.18.1-134"2
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"Mr President, I also wish to thank the rapporteur for her work. No one here disputes the need to protect and improve groundwater, because it is an important source of drinking water. We all know how dreadful it is to drink contaminated water.
Our record in transposing environmental directives is not good. Many people this evening have mentioned the Nitrates Directive, which dates back to 1991. There are still many Member States, including Ireland, which are struggling to implement it. Has the Commission asked itself why this directive is proving so problematic? I would also ask the Commission to outline, perhaps tonight, who is and who is not implementing it, with specific emphasis on the Irish situation.
I have two questions on the Groundwater Directive, concerning Amendments 36 and 43, which remove the provision clarifying the relationship between the Nitrates Directive and the Groundwater Directive where there is an overlap. If these amendments are adopted, I believe we may be left with two different regimes operating simultaneously for nitrates from agricultural sources. Perhaps the Commission could clarify this issue. Given that we have such a poor record in implementing the Nitrates Directive, having two different regimes dealing with nitrates is not a good idea and may even prove unworkable.
Tackling environmental problems requires education and information campaigns aimed at all sectors: farmers, industrialists and homeowners. The agriculture problem debated this evening and referred to so frequently arose because, in the past, farmers followed the advice of experts who encouraged the increased use of inputs with scant awareness of the environmental impact that advice would have. Ironically, some of that advice was supported through EU and Member State funding.
We now need a sustained campaign to promote greater environmental awareness, including a campaign to highlight the importance of keeping groundwater unpolluted and the possible means of achieving this.
I look forward to the Commission clarifying the important relationship between the three directives: the water framework, nitrates and groundwater directives."@en1
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