Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2008-02-19-Speech-2-032"
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"en.20080219.5.2-032"2
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"Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, I too should also begin by thanking the rapporteurs and the other Members who have worked their way through this complex dossier, but on this occasion I wish to start on a different note. One person I shall certainly make a point of not thanking is Mr Bloom, who has contributed nothing constructive to the substance of this debate through his intervention. In that respect he has failed in his own quest to remove burdens from the shoulders of Europe’s citizens. I hope you will nevertheless allow me to reiterate the birthday wishes I expressed yesterday evening to my friend Malcolm Harbour.
Whether this package will be a good birthday present remains to be seen. We shall have to wait and see how the Member States implement the decisions we have now taken jointly with the Council. May I convey my sincere thanks to you, Mr Vizjak, for your efforts in this matter, which we spoke about in Slovenia, and may I also thank Commissioner Verheugen. Much will revolve around a clause crafted by Mr Stubb, who deserves credit for its smooth passage through Parliament. I refer to the reversal of the burden of proof in the non-harmonised area of the internal market. That is a principle which will make life far easier in the internal market, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises, with minimal bureaucracy.
I hope that all Member States have understood what they are letting themselves in for here. It is no longer the owners of small businesses or manufacturers who will have to ask governments whether products can be imported but rather the Member States which will henceforth have to demonstrate that all the provisions they have enacted are necessary and proportionate. I can guarantee that some Member States are in for a rude awakening in this respect. None the less, it is an encouraging signal for the internal market as well as for the small and medium-sized enterprises that operate in the internal market.
I am also most grateful to Mrs McCarthy and Mrs Fourtou for informing us that the CE mark and its significance did not just begin to exercise this Parliament when the framework legislation on the new approach was adopted but that, whenever a directive relating to the CE mark has been discussed in recent years, we have repeatedly asked whether the CE mark – which, as we know, was originally intended purely as a marking for market-surveillance bodies – really tells consumers what they want to know when they buy a product. It goes without saying that it is very difficult to draw the line between consumer goods and industrial goods. We are aware, of course, that we need a low-cost solution which is virtually free of red tape. At the same time, we are grateful, Mr Verheugen, that you intend to have a study conducted, a study which our entire committee unanimously supports. We hope that this study will come up with sound evidence which might indicate that the CE mark in its present form does not give consumers all the information they need."@en1
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