Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2009-09-14-Speech-1-159"
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"en.20090914.25.1-159"2
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"Madam President, the scale of the forest fires actually exceeds the capabilities of the smaller Member States, especially in those regions particularly affected by drought. That, of course, is why Parliament supports the European Solidarity Fund. We call on the Council to finally release these funds without obstacles. The regions need the money urgently for reconstruction and for prevention. The Solidarity Fund, in conjunction with existing environmental and agricultural programmes, could help on a truly lasting basis.
Apart from that, however, fire fighting is primarily a national competence. Harsher punishments for those who start fires, development freezes that last for something like 30 years where arson is proven, training of fire brigades – more can and simply must be done in this regard. Europe, too, must do more, however, above all, in terms of better coordination. The know-how of European fire brigades must be transferred to regions with high levels of susceptibility to disasters, and we need better rules for the running of cross-border operations. We await proposals from the Commission in this regard, but these should not interfere with the competences of the Member States. That point – not interfering in the competences of the Member States – is something that I believe is extraordinarily important. It is definitely possible to think of European fire brigades and European aircraft, but only once all national capabilities have been optimised and financial assistance for the affected regions has finally been effectively achieved.
I think it is too early to be discussing disaster prevention as a European competence. Let us take the first step before the second. Let us do the most important things first, and that means measures ranging from European help to self-help, including by means of the Solidarity Fund, with training and improved European coordination."@en1
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