Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2006-10-25-Speech-3-393"
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"en.20061025.28.3-393"2
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"Mr President, I should like to draw particular attention to the title of Mrs Wortmann-Kool’s report. It is a report on the promotion of inland waterway transport. Inland waterway transport most certainly needs aid. This might not be the case in the Netherlands, where the report’s author hails from, but it is certainly true of many other European Union countries, including Poland, my home country. The Oder Programme was adopted a few years ago in Poland, and was initially called the Oder 2006 Programme, but was later extended to last until 2015. However, all these schemes amount to empty words, because nothing is actually being done.
The virtue of the report we are currently debating is that it sets out to deal with European inland waterways as an autonomous field, and here I emphasise the word ‘autonomous’ which means not treating inland waterways as a complement to road and rail transport, as an unimportant addition to them. Instead, inland waterways are perceived as an independent, autonomous whole. This is very significant, because the forthcoming accession of Bulgaria and Romania will provide a unique opportunity to create a European network of inland waterways.
I would like to tell the House about one of my dreams. It is a dream I think many members of my committee share, and it involves a journey along the old and new inland waterways in Europe. It may be an old-fashioned journey, but it is a very beautiful one. In order to be able to undertake it, however, further significant investment is needed.
I think it is worthwhile recalling a couple of significant ideas that have formed part of the aspirations of far-sighted politicians over the centuries. One of these is the plan for a canal between the Oder and the Danube, which would create a link between two important bodies of water.
I urge the European Commission not to end the studies, but to continue working on a European network of inland waterways. Studies in this field should be continued, and I wish the venture every success."@en1
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