Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2007-02-12-Speech-1-172"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.20070212.16.1-172"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:spoken text |
"Mr President, could the Commissioner tell me how lipstick could seriously be a security risk or a dangerous weapon? Could we have some common sense applied to this issue?
Several decades ago, the opponents of European integration claimed that the policies of the European institutions at the time led to wasteful butter mountains and wine lakes. The imagery associated with this catch-cry created an unfair and damaging negative perception of the EU when it was in its infancy.
The new mountains and lakes imagery, which is likely to feed Euro-scepticism today, can be seen in Europe’s airports, where massive volumes of duty free are being confiscated every day from transit air passengers as a direct consequence of the new aviation security measures, signed off behind closed doors without democratic accountability and introduced on 6 November 2006. Under these regulations, as my colleague said, 20 tonnes of duty free products are confiscated every week from passengers travelling through Frankfurt Airport, 1 500 litres of alcohol and perfume daily at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport and 10 000 items every week from transit passengers at Madrid’s Barajas Airport. It therefore comes as no surprise that these actions are causing immense frustration and annoyance to those affected, who blame the EU for their personal financial losses. It is legalised robbery!
But the story does not end there: fear of having duty free purchases confiscated has meant that increasing numbers of air travellers have stopped buying goods at third country airside retail shops. This will spell economic disaster for European businesses, as many of these non-EU duty free outlets are owned by European companies, such as Ireland’s Aer Rianta International, which has outlets all over the Middle East, Russia and Canada.
Ireland has a particular interest in this issue: after all, we invented duty free shopping in the first place, and duty free outlets throughout the world have provided a valuable showcase for selling iconic Irish products which have contributed significantly to the Irish economy, such as Irish whiskey and Baileys.
I would not support any change in a policy which would undermine the safety of our airports or airlines. However, common sense should prevail, and I urge the Commissioner to enter into bilateral agreements with countries in which airport security is at least as good as that which exists at European …"@en1
|
| lpv:spokenAs | |
| lpv:unclassifiedMetadata |
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples