Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2006-09-25-Speech-1-089"
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"en.20060925.13.1-089"2
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"Mr President, as a Hungarian MEP, I am particularly sensitive to the current debate about air pollution. My place of work, Brussels, as well as my home, Budapest, both figure among the darkest spots on the map of European air pollution. With regard to suspended particles, for instance, Budapest had already exceeded threshold values within the first four months of the year, and it is not uncommon to see levels rise to 4-5 times the maximum.
This has been going on for many years, without the least sign of improvement. Yet the harmful effect of fine particles on health is a fact. A European resident loses on average eight months of his or her life as a result. In the case of Budapest’s inhabitants, however, this loss is as high as three years. For this reason, I welcome the new thematic strategy on air pollution, as well as the regulation of fine particles.
However, regulation does not achieve anything if its enforcement is not guaranteed. We cannot expect local communities to do more than they are really able. But we must expect them to do at least that much. It is obvious that air pollution is strongly influenced by numerous external causes, including the weather, for instance. This does not mean, however, that with proper urban planning and the development of public transport networks, we may not achieve significant improvements. Thus, it is extremely important that only those communities be given extensions on observing the threshold values which have truly made every possible effort.
We must ensure that not a single European city should experience what is going on in Budapest today; namely that despite the European obligations in this regard for all these years, the municipal government still does not have a strategy for improving air quality. That is, they do not even have any idea how they might come closer to observing the limits that are so essential for ensuring public health. It seems to me that we have to offer the citizens of Europe a more attractive alternative than the masks that cyclists in China are compelled to wear."@en1
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