Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2012-07-02-Speech-1-131-000"

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"Mr President, I, too, would like to thank Mr Seeber sincerely for his outstanding work. Mr President, I am not sure whether it is a coincidence, but today my Leiden University, released the results of a major study into water quality in the Netherlands that has been going on for years. The conclusions are very clear. The first is that, up to 2001, there were major improvements in the water quality in the Netherlands. One measure alone, namely, the decision to ban the application of pesticides within 1.5 metres of the edges of water bodies, has improved surface water quality by 70%. Let me say that again: a 70% improvement from a single measure! The other conclusion, however, is that, since 2001, the water quality has ceased to improve, despite the fact that the same study indicates that it would actually still be relatively simple to make improvements. With limited interventions, the water could be made 45% cleaner. That tells us everything about the connecting thread with Mr Seeber’s report, which is implementation. Implementation is the key to better water quality. That is rightly where we are placing the emphasis. Better integration is also a focus, however. Commissioner Potočnik has put it back on the agenda. Agriculture and industry use 90% of the water. There is still a great deal of scope for improvement there. More efficient use of water, let us not forget, also falls within the Road map to a resource-efficient Europe, which is a not insignificant point. We could use 40% less water than at present quite easily. Finally, the fourth element that I want to highlight is the importance of ecosystem services. The ecosystems are crucial to European water quality, so let us continue to invest in them. Mr President, last week, we also stressed the importance of access to water at the big conference in Rio. I hope and believe that Mr Potočnik will carry on in that vein and I look forward to the ‘blueprint’."@en1
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