Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2010-03-09-Speech-2-012"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.20100309.4.2-012"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:spokenAs | |
| lpv:translated text |
"I would like to begin by thanking those whom I had the opportunity to work with on the SOLVIT report, the Secretariat of the Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection, all the shadow rapporteurs, and the rest of my fellow Members who have shown their interest in this dossier and have made an important contribution to the end result.
SOLVIT is a network offering informal solutions to problems which can arise due to the inappropriate implementation of internal market legislation. It is a particularly useful innovation for European consumers and companies in the European Union in terms of providing the benefits which European legislation entails. We often have problems implementing European internal market legislation. SOLVIT seems to me to be a viable alternative to the judicial route, with the courts also being so clogged up with all kinds of different cases.
We cannot ignore the fact that SOLVIT is faced with an ever-increasing case load and, from this perspective, it is somehow a victim of its own success. So that SOLVIT can offer high-quality assistance to citizens and companies in the European Union, those SOLVIT centres which do not have the staff they need must receive additional staff.
This additional staff must be supplied in a logical and controlled manner, taking into account the size of the country’s population and the previous number of cases the centre has dealt with in the past. This analysis must be carried out with a view to providing additional staff only in those places where there is a genuine need. Providing SOLVIT with additional staff obviously incurs some costs as well. The report invites Member States to use all the resources available to fund additional staff, including alternative methods of financing.
Another focus area in this report is the promotion of the SOLVIT network, which I personally consider to be of paramount importance, and I believe that all of you will concur with me on this. By calling upon the services of SOLVIT, SMEs can save large sums of money which they can invest in other areas capable of generating economic growth and which are more beneficial to their development than the legal assistance which they would need to resolve any problems. As far as individual consumers are concerned, SOLVIT offers them the benefit of avoiding lengthy and costly judicial proceedings.
However, to enjoy the benefits offered by the SOLVIT network, citizens and companies firstly need to be aware of the network’s effectiveness. This is why I believe that we should actively involve national authorities, the European Commission, as well as members of this Parliament, in promoting SOLVIT. There are numerous ways of doing this, ranging from the mass media and information campaigns organised by Member States to the creation of a single SOLVIT portal. In addition, the public services which are involved in the implementation of European legislation governing the internal market could appoint someone in charge of SOLVIT’s communications, which would again boost the network’s efficiency and contribute to its promotion. As MEPs, we can take the initiative ourselves to promote SOLVIT and we can help raise awareness about it among our colleagues at national parliament level.
The exchange of good practice between Member States with regard to promoting SOLVIT and resolving this network’s operational problems is another measure which this report strongly encourages. In fact, good ideas can be spread and applied at European level for the benefit of all.
Finally, we cannot ignore the fact that SOLVIT often faces many cases which do not come under its remit or which are especially complex, requiring solutions using alternative methods. Petitions submitted to the European Parliament’s Committee on Petitions may offer a solution for those cases which are too complex to be resolved at SOLVIT level. This is why one of the proposals suggested by this report is for the SOLVIT portal to forward such cases to the website of the European Parliament’s Committee on Petitions, as well as to the specialist committees in the national parliaments.
These are just a few of the ideas on which the SOLVIT report is based. I believe that these proposals are able to improve the network’s operation in terms of offering high-quality assistance to consumers and companies. SOLVIT has enormous potential and we must constantly analyse its performance in order to utilise its potential to the full."@en1
|
| lpv:videoURI |
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples