Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2000-01-18-Speech-2-159"

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"Mr President, Commissioner, France is still in shock as a result of this terrible disaster which has caused the death of dozens of people. No sector has been spared: road, air, rail, ports, electricity and telephone infrastructures, homes, school buildings and historic monuments, not forgetting of course agriculture and forestry, which have been devastated in many regions. People may have been traumatised in the areas where the damage has been greatest, but nobody has given up in the face of these terrible circumstances. In the days immediately following the storms, a fantastic spirit of solidarity and generosity developed, and still exists. Elected representatives, municipal employees, citizens of France and of all Europe have rallied round to offer their help. I would like to pay special tribute to the commitment and the devotion of the public service employees who gave freely of their own time with the sole aim of helping those affected, to re-establish normality with regard to electricity, transport, telephones and the utilities. At this testing time, demonstrating their efficiency, the public services have reminded everybody how essential they are to the life of our society. I think that this should give us pause, particularly with a view to halting the current process of deregulation and privatisation. It is, of course, also crucial to tend to wounds, to make preparations for reconstruction and repair, while learning all the lessons that this terrible disaster has to teach us. I clearly heard what Commissioner Barnier was saying and indeed I appreciate his proposals, but personally, I would not set emergency goals and long-term goals in opposition to one another. On the contrary, I think that the situation shows in hindsight the relevance of the proposal my group made to restore a specific budget line for natural disasters in the Union. It would also be appropriate, of course, to increase the Structural Funds for reconstruction in regions which have been devastated, particularly appropriations for rural development, for agro-food measures and for forestry. I took particular note of the proposals concerning Objective 2. Finally, the idea that this type of disaster is connected to climate change due to the consequences of human activity upon the environment has been advanced. If this idea were to be confirmed, the European Union would have to make considerably more effort to ensure that the commitments given at the Kyoto Conference are respected. It should also make protection of the planet a priority, rather than the unbridled pursuit of profit."@en1

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