Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2007-09-03-Speech-1-055"
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"en.20070903.16.1-055"2
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".
Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, I had the opportunity to see the disaster and its impacts for myself in Greece at the weekend. My colleagues and I travelled to some of the affected areas, and I must say that I have never seen such a tragedy in my life. There are people who, as a result of these fires, lost everything they owned, their homes and possessions, in a matter of minutes. I spoke to people who had run for their lives, quite literally with only the clothes on their backs. The situation is critical. Many people’s livelihoods are at risk, and they need help in the short term.
Let me make one final comment that I think is very important: I believe that in a situation such as the one facing the people of Greece today, it is very important for them to feel that they are not alone. That is why I felt it was so important for us, as the Socialist Group in the European Parliament, to send out a message to the people there. Let us say to them: ‘All of us – across party lines – know what you are going through’. In this situation, there are no ideological differences. There is no such thing as Christian Democratic or Socialist fire protection! What there is, however, is solidarity with people in need.
I have one further comment: there will always be people in need – whether as a result of flooding or fire – unless we understand that it is not just about criminal elements. Yes, I think that arsonists who want to seize a piece of land by destroying the natural environment are nothing but primitive criminals. They do exist. Nonetheless, much of what we have experienced in recent years is a consequence of climate change, and we will have to become acclimatised to much more than what we are experiencing now. It is not enough to tackle the consequences as they occur. We must also address the causes. That is why a new climate policy course will also play a key role in helping us to deal more effectively with what we have witnessed in Greece and elsewhere.
Commissioner Špidla is thus quite right when he says that we need swift aid and we need unbureaucratic aid. Speaking on behalf of my Group, when I say that we need swift and unbureaucratic aid, this does not mean – as some Commission officials think – in two or three months' time. No, the aid must be provided now, straight away and directly. People do not need help in two months’ time; they need it now. That is why we are asking for resources to be made available directly from the Solidarity Fund, and if any money is left over in the Structural Funds or other budgets, this should be made available as quickly as possible too.
This is not our first debate about disasters. Time and again over the last ten years, we have sat here and discussed what to do. This applies not only to Greece; it also applies to the people in the flooded areas of Great Britain, who were similarly affected this summer, or people who are affected by earthquakes, and indeed any disaster area.
The following point is important: a centralist approach is of no help when we are trying to mitigate the effects of a disaster at local level. If there are fires around Athens, we need an effective local fire service, not a Disasters Commissioner in Brussels. That is the key point: disaster management must be organised on a decentralised basis. The governments of the European Union must therefore establish their own infrastructures in their own countries, based on their own local conditions and within their own jurisdiction. This infrastructure is needed to take swift and effective action at local level when floods or fires occur.
The European Union must utilise the opportunities at its disposal in order to ensure effective coordination. There are governments who want to start by doing everything themselves – even though they have missed every opportunity that has presented itself over the last ten years to develop the infrastructure – and then call for others’ assistance far too late, out of misplaced embarrassment or misplaced ambition.
Let us be clear about one thing then: asking for international assistance, ladies and gentlemen in government, is not an admission of failure. On the contrary, it shows a sense of responsibility and demonstrates an effective management approach. Governments need to respond in this way much more quickly. We then need to develop the coordination mechanisms that are essential to enable us to take effective action.
As politicians, we must all be clear on one point: people do not like the State. Their experience of the State is its role as a regulatory power or tax authority, and we are all well aware that this is only of peripheral interest to citizens. There is one thing which interests citizens when it comes to the State and central government, however, and that is knowing that the State is there to help people in their hour of need. If the State is not there to help when it is urgently needed, and if it does not take action when the police are needed or the fire service is needed, citizens never forget. That should be borne in mind by everyone in a position of responsibility in every country!
What are we actually here to do? Our task is to create the parameters to cushion the fundamental risks facing people in their lives. This must take place at local level. I must reiterate that point. In the places I visited, there is no volunteer fire service. In my country, in the town where I was mayor, we had a volunteer fire service consisting of men and women who give up their free time to protect others from fire. In the places I visited in Greece, this does not exist.
It would be an act of solidarity, for example, if countries who do have this type of service could work together with the affected communities, e.g. in Greece, and think about setting up this type of scheme, with the European Union providing assistance, funding and equipment to enable these structures to be established. That should be one of the lessons we learn from these experiences."@en1
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