Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2007-04-24-Speech-2-266"
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"en.20070424.46.2-266"2
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"Madam President, Madam President of the Council, Mr Barrot, I am delighted with the European obligation for independent enquiries into shipping disasters, and the Group of the European People’s Party (Christian Democrats) and European Democrats gives this initiative its unqualified support, since the aim of such enquiries is to find out the cause of the disaster, so that measures can be taken to prevent similar disasters from happening in future. We already have very good experience of this with disasters involving aircraft. Following the disasters with the oil tankers
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there was no independent enquiry, and there was the risk of the buck being passed from one region or Member State to another. When a major disaster strikes in our international waters, this inevitably involves various Member States and many parties. This European directive will make it possible for us to get to the bottom of the matter and prevent Member States playing each other at the blame game.
We on the Committee on Transport and Tourism gave a sharper edge to the inquiry’s independence when we stipulated that the information it produces may be used only to improve safety at sea, and on this point my group does not agree with the Commission. Information from the enquiry into the cause of the disaster must not be made available for criminal proceedings in the Member States, because of the considerable risk that those involved would not dare produce important information for fear of criminal prosecution. A strict division between criminal enquiry and the enquiry into the cause of the disaster is therefore vital.
Despite the fact that in addition to amendments on this subject matter, along with amendments to speed up the enquiry, a number of amendments have been tabled that concern details and to which we do not attach particular value, I believe that the report before us is, on the whole, a sound one.
I should also like to make a comment about the directive on passenger rights, which was intended for maritime transport, but which now also covers inland shipping, something that, or so I gather, Commissioner Barrot supports. I cannot understand his position, because a passenger ship that sails on the Danube, the Meuse or the Rhine cannot be compared to an ocean-going vessel. To do so is like comparing a train to a coach: the risk profile is very different. In the framework of the Naiades action programme, you, Commissioner Barrot, committed to harmonising European legislation on inland shipping – the legislation involved is that on the Central Commission for the Navigation of the Rhine (CCR) – and you intend to apply maritime legislation to the next incident. This is going the wrong way. I do hope that you still intend to harmonise, and tighten up, CCR legislation. We have re-tabled the amendments to remove inland shipping from this, and I hope that it does not meet with a majority, or at least not a qualified majority, and that the Council is indulged in this area."@en1
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