Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/1999-10-28-Speech-4-146"
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"en.19991028.4.4-146"2
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"Mr President, Commissioner, the situation is well known and the Commissioner has had the opportunity throughout this debate to obtain further details about the difficult situation in which we find ourselves, especially the fishing communities most affected by this problem.
This is not only an economic problem. And if it were, that alone would have required the Commission to act more rapidly and to take the initiative in this matter. It is also the problem of the relationship between two countries in a part of the world that needs peace and tranquillity. And this is why this Agreement is of strategic importance, not only in relation to these fishing communities, but also in relation to the balance, to the peace that can only be achieved by means of various types of cooperation, this being a case in point.
But now that we have reached this situation, we should work out why it is that we have done so. And the Commissioner is not new to the Commission; he is a Commissioner who has joined us from the previous Commission. He has joined us with exactly the same portfolio and the same dossier, and therefore, he has a very specific and genuine political responsibility which is his alone, not only to resolve this problem, but also to resolve all the problems that will remain until the agreement is renegotiated.
I would like to tell you sincerely, Commissioner, that I was not very convinced by your speech a while ago. I sensed little enthusiasm, and it seemed to me that you have come here to give an administrative response to what is a worrying situation. This is a cause for concern not only to me, but certainly to my fellow Members in Parliament too. What fishermen need to know on this specific point is not that the Commission will be implementing initiatives and not that the Commission is prepared to help them. What the fisherman need to know, Commissioner, is what kind of initiatives are going to be implemented, and above all, what amount of Community subsidy is going to be provided to help these fishermen, and for how long the Commission is prepared to maintain it. Because, as Mr Miguélez said, what the fishermen need is not to be financed to remain inactive, but to be supported by the European Union so that they can carry out their professional duty, which means being able to work and thus contribute to the wealth of their country and to the wealth of the Community.
Therefore, Commissioner, I am asking you for concrete responses. You know that you are already not very popular in Portugal because of the meat issue. We hope that your popularity does not continue to decline because of fish!"@en1
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