Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2010-07-05-Speech-1-151"
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"en.20100705.19.1-151"2
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member; Delegation for relations with the countries of the Andean Community (2009-09-16--2014-06-30)3
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"Mr President, on behalf of my group, I would also like to join in congratulating and thanking Mr Iturgaiz. I believe that we are looking at a detailed report on the intensive work that the Commission did in 2009.
That intensive work related to petitions, which are becoming an increasingly effective instrument for the public, meaning that the total number of petitions has actually increased in relation to 2008. I believe that this indicates that the public really views Parliament as a very useful tool when it comes to presenting it with all types of petitions: environmental problems, fundamental rights, justice, the internal market, etc.
More and more petitions: top of the list are Germany, Spain, Italy and Romania; I hope that it bears no relation to the result of the match the day after tomorrow and that Germany will not be above Spain. However, it is true that we are looking at an instrument that is truly useful to the public.
I believe that the report has the virtue, not just of describing issues that need resolution for the sake of the effectiveness of the petition procedure, but also of pointing them out to the European Commission.
Firstly, simplifying petitioning falls to all of us, including this House. Nevertheless, regarding everything relating to EU competences, such as management of the ecosystem, the environment, etc., we would need to make the Commission’s responses relating to this procedure much faster, including the warning letters to Member States. They need to be faster because, as the Commission knows, when the letter arrives or even when the Court of Justice of the European Union intervenes, it is often too late: the damage is irreversible; the environmental damage is irreversible.
That is why it seems very important to me that we should actually be able to find a much faster response on this specific issue. This response must be much faster from when the petition arrives and from when the Commission pronounces its agreement that harm has been done or that the European directives on environmental protection are being violated, in order for this procedure, when it does reach the courts, to get there much faster to seek to prevent the damage being irreversible.
That is the experience that we had in 2009: it was a year with very important repercussions for my country, Spain. Spain has been one of the countries most affected by uncontrolled urban development, so Mrs Auken’s report was very important at the time. I would remind you, for example, of the port of Granadilla.
Our recent visit to Huelva regarding all the results of pollution in the estuary demonstrates that it is indeed a very useful instrument. I believe that the public will thank us if we can speed up and simplify the Commission’s actions, as well as making them have much more effect when there are breaches of environmental regulations."@en1
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