Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2007-12-10-Speech-1-160"
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"en.20071210.20.1-160"2
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"− Mr President, I agree that fire is a permanent threat to consumers’ lives. Research estimates that the number of fatalities per million inhabitants per year is 10.8 in the UK, 6 in Spain, 11.8 in France, 15.7 in Sweden and 7.3 in Germany. So, as Commissioner for Consumer Protection, this is a matter of major concern for me. Thank you for remembering this important issue.
The collection of EU-wide data and statistics is a critical point: absence of statistical definitions and homogeneity in the way fire accidents are registered in the Member States makes comparability a very difficult and inaccurate exercise.
I would like to move on to the point of standardisation. Standardisation without the support of a legal framework, such as a European directive or even a revised recommendation, would severely reduce its impact, and the ultimate objective of ensuring fire safety in hotels would be frustrated as a result.
Coming to the issue of sprinklers: their efficiency in reducing the devastating effect of fires has been largely demonstrated, but the cost of their installation and maintenance is not always compatible with the type of hotels that are mostly present in Europe, such as small, family-type hotels.
Next to this, the decision of whether sprinklers or any other fire-fighting device should be compulsory in hotels falls within the exclusive competence of the Member States. I would be glad to discuss with the Member States and to support such measures if they are ready to take such steps.
Parallel to these developments on the regulatory side, it should be mentioned that hotels are adopting self-regulating performance-based codes and design methods. I think that hotel chains such as Accor should be really supported in their efforts.
The Commission is not only dealing with fire safety in hotels under its profile as a service, but is also targeting, in a comprehensive strategy against fire risk, all those products that are largely present in hotels and most likely to be either the source of a fire or its accelerant. The initiatives of RIP cigarettes, on which the chair of the Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection, Ms McCarthy, gave us a very important contribution, flammability of upholstered furniture, and nightwear and child-resistant lighters are the pillars of such a strategy.
I am looking forward to continuing our cooperation on this very important issue which is a major concern for all of us.
I would like once more again to thank Parliament and especially the President because we are taking concrete measures with what is in our hands right now.
Let me recall the tragic case involving a British family whose two children were killed by carbon monoxide poisoning in a hotel room in Corfu in October 2006. I have received several letters from you about this case. We contacted the Greek authorities and they informed us that the hotel where the accident happened had its licence immediately revoked and has not been operating since then. I know that legal proceedings are taking place in Greece and I hope they will come to a clear conclusion very soon. This is an emblematic case, but unfortunately this is not the only one.
Fire safety in hotels has been at the centre of discussions with the Member States for the last 20 years.
First, the results that have been achieved so far. Council Recommendation 86/666/EC on fire safety in existing hotels has helped to improve safety levels, especially in those countries where no or scarce regulation was available.
Furthermore, the Construction Products Directive sets up specific requirements in the event of an outbreak of fire for all construction works, including hotels. Several measures have been adopted to ensure a consistent application of this directive in the Member States, such as a common system for classifying fire resistance of construction products and a number of harmonised European standards in the fields of fire-fighting, alarm and alerting equipment.
In addition, the requirements of the Council recommendation addressing the risks linked to electrical lighting have been implemented by the Low Voltage Directive.
However, there is still a lot of ground to cover in making all hotels in Europe equally safe, whether existing or new and regardless of their size and accommodation facilities. As we know, the requirements are for the hotels that have at least 20 rooms.
In its various discussions with the Member States, the Commission has noted that no common way forward for an EU-wide action has yet been agreed upon and that the proper enforcement of national legislation is, so far, the main priority. This issue of compliance is indeed a problem that should not be underestimated, and I am really sad to say this.
This is why I have asked the major hotel chains present in Europe to come to Brussels for a meeting with me on 8 February 2008. Obviously, until we have this legislation in place, we should take our immediate action. We will discuss the hotel safety issue and I will report back to you on the results of this consultation. If we can do it together with Parliament – if Parliament would like to participate in this meeting on 8 February – I will be more than glad to have this meeting with you."@en1
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