Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2006-12-12-Speech-2-049"
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"en.20061212.9.2-049"2
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"Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, I would like firstly to congratulate Mrs Klaß and the other Members for their work on the drawing up of this report. I believe the result to be positive, thanks to the work of this House, which has improved it considerably, to the efforts that the Commission has made in helping us, and also, lastly, to the understanding of the Council in the Conciliation Committee.
Groundwater provides around 65% of all of Europe’s drinking water. The fact that we have obtained a definition of deterioration and that precaution and prevention are now seen as a principle, is really very positive. In order to protect the environment as a whole and human health in particular, we must prevent and reduce the dangerous concentration of harmful pollutants in groundwater, I believe that this Directive is moving very much in the right direction.
The quality of water and, hence, the health of human beings are threatened by the presence of high concentrations of nitrates, pesticides, heavy metals, hydrocarbons and a long list of pollutants. I am therefore particularly pleased with the agreement that we have reached with the Council, which will make it possible to implement a whole series of rules for preventing pollution and protecting groundwater.
These rules will oblige the Member States to prevent or restrict the entry of dangerous substances into groundwater, and in this field it is also very important that we take account of the different hydro-geological conditions in the different regions of Europe, because soil that continuously receives water is not the same as dry soil, which faces other kinds of problems.
Furthermore, I would like to stress the possibility for the Member States to establish protection areas of a size that the water authority, or other competent national body, considers necessary in order to protect drinking water supplies. I believe that this is one of the most important elements to have been introduced.
I would like to end by calling on the Members to vote in favour of this report and I hope that the States will implement these measures as soon as possible, with a view to preserving the environment and protecting human health, thereby moving us in the direction of the sustainable Europe that we all want to see."@en1
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