Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2000-07-07-Speech-5-046"
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"en.20000707.3.5-046"2
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"Mr President, like everyone else, I want to join in the praise of the Danish Government which has taken this initiative. It goes to show that there can be aggressive and progressive action in the Council when it comes specifically to environmental questions. As we know, conscious and intentional misconduct by companies and individuals in environmental matters not only puts our countryside at risk but also endangers people’s lives.
I am quite convinced that if anyone says the word Teckomatorp in my country, Sweden, then everyone – or at any rate the majority of people – knows what the word signifies, even though it is an environmental crime which was committed more than 20 years ago. It concerned a company which did not manage to deal with its poisonous waste but chose instead to bury it in the ground and in that way put a whole district at risk. Unfortunately, Teckomatorp is not the only event of this kind, and many representatives here in Parliament have also witnessed other events which have occurred since then, not to mention the situation – akin to that in the Wild West – which prevails on our high seas.
Obviously, we must regard environmental crimes as seriously as we regard all other criminal acts. Common definitions of environmental crime are therefore also needed. I agreed with the draftsperson of the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Consumer Policy, Mrs Schörling, that, in order to prevent environmental crime, we also need effective legislation governing environmental liability. Preventive measures are the best way of guarding against further crimes against our environment.
If we are to be able to investigate suspected environmental crimes efficiently and well, special knowledge is also required on the part of both police and prosecutors. Otherwise, there is a danger of these crimes’ not being properly investigated. If these crimes are not detected quickly, they can remain unsolved or perhaps not have anything done about them at all.
In the few seconds I have left, I want to address the Commission directly with the request which, among others, Mrs Thors and Mrs McKenna mentioned in connection with the transport of livestock, instances of which occur every day within the Union and which are perhaps the most obvious environmental crimes we face today. I should like the Commissioner to take this issue seriously on board and ensure that we get something done about the current situation. I really believe we have the citizens of the entire Union behind us when it comes to doing something about the dreadful ways in which livestock are transported."@en1
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