Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2002-09-03-Speech-2-153"
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"en.20020903.6.2-153"2
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"Mr President, the most disastrous floods in living memory to strike those who live on the Elbe and on some of its tributaries have also had a grave effect on farmers and their businesses. Although there is as yet no definite account of the damage, provisional reports from the Federal States of Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt, which have been particularly affected, give some indication of the colossal extent of the flood damage, the present position being that the damage done by floodwater to agriculture and forestry amounts to around EUR 287 million. In Saxony alone, some 1 900 farms have been directly affected by floodwater, and another 640 in Saxony-Anhalt. Far greater, though, is the damage done to residential property in the villages, to the infrastructure of rural areas and to the dikes on the rivers. My home area, Prignitz, lies right on the Elbe, and damage there has been great; even though it was possible to prevent disaster itself in the form of flooding or the breaching of the dikes on the Elbe, the inhabitants of thirty-eight Prignitz villages had to be evacuated, with some 20 000 head of cattle being rescued from the flooding – a massive achievement for neighbourly aid in the sparsely-inhabited Prignitz.
A massive amount of work was done in Havelland, where many thousands of helpers did their best to counteract the artificial flooding of Havelland even though the polder dikes had been burst. The environmental and financial effects will become apparent only in late 2003 and 2004. It is my express demand that the advance payment of the EU's 50% per-hectare premium be proceeded with speedily, but I do ask Commissioner Fischler to review its payment to businesses, even though this is not within his remit.
The application forms that have come into my possession are drafted in the language of bureaucracy rather than that of solidarity. There is, then, a need for additional money. Special credit facilities and guarantee programmes may well be helpful, but many farmers no longer have it in them to get into debt again, as these programmes all have the characteristic that they become effective after a time delay. We know that this year, EUR 1 to 1.3 billion of the EU's budget will be left unused. I ask as a matter of urgency that consideration be given to the possibility of the unused funds being used as non-repayable subsidies to benefit the farmers in all the affected areas which have suffered severe damage, rather than being repaid to the Member States.
When the EU implements its measures, it is subjected to intense scrutiny by its citizens. What is needed, and in short order, is money, not sleight of hand or political evasive action. With that in mind, I hope Parliament, and all of us, will be able to do the right thing."@en1
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