Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2000-05-03-Speech-3-131"
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"en.20000503.8.3-131"2
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"Mr President, the passage of this directive at second reading has perhaps been historic. No amendments! I congratulate heartily our rapporteur on her original strategy and I hope what will be her achievement of obtaining continuing consensus.
I do not believe it has been easy for any of us as politicians to curb our natural instinct either to improve on or alter someone else’s text. Yet it was a carefully considered decision. We know the proposal is not absolutely perfect but the general feedback, both at a recent hearing in committee and from those who have lobbied Members has been: ‘let’s have what might be an imperfect directive with a review rather than none at all’. Speed with certainty in this fast-moving new world is essential.
Now we have an initial road-map; a reference point for European businesses trading on the Web; a road-map that has clearly established the country of origin principle while still protecting consumer interest. That is a good balance. This should really open up the internal market to the many and increasing opportunities which
commerce promises to businesses of all sizes, but particularly SMEs. We must continually be aware that the Web is not limited to Europe. It is, of course, global. A large part of consumer transactions from Europe on the Web is directed at American sites and in future may well be directed at Asian sites. European business has to keep up and the key to this will be confidence. We have to aspire to the establishment of the highest quality of
businesses in Europe. Companies setting up or changing to this way of doing business have to look carefully at the way they operate, at the information and the service they provide to customers if they are to survive. We should also take care to provide coherent legislation.
Confidence is essential. There are many opportunities but what of the threats? Only this weekend we have seen in London the down-side of the communications and information revolution that the Web has created by putting elements in society in touch with one another, who have then wrought violence on the streets of London. This may be extreme but there will be unscrupulous people who will set up scams on the Web. One bad news story may blow confidence in
trade for years.
commerce is in its early stages. We need, as legislators, to be watchful, not necessarily interventionist, but wary of implications as the medium grows.
Our rapporteur has given us an extremely good basis. The ELDR Group will stick to her original ‘no-amendment’ line."@en1
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