Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2001-01-18-Speech-4-055"
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"en.20010118.3.4-055"2
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".
Mr President, Commissioner, I would first like to both congratulate and commiserate with the rapporteur, Mr Seppänen. This report on the forest-based and related industries covers just about every important area imaginable, and very much of what it says is correct.
However, I would still like to comment on a couple of points. First, I think what is missing here is a reference to the dramatic developments in this sector as regards mergers and acquisitions. This particularly applies to the paper industry at present, where more and more companies are merging because they believe this is essential if they are to remain competitive. My fear is that Europe, which I hope will itself be growing together, will increasingly be faced with circumstances comparable with those in Canada and other countries, where the pressure which companies are coming under is simply passed on to their forests, which are being exploited in the most brutal way. I therefore hope that the Commission will bring forward appropriate and clear proposals, if at all possible in the form of directives.
As regards the environment, we should not fool ourselves. Nine years after Rio we are still a long way from being able to meaningfully implement what was agreed there in terms of sustainability. In the long run, we will probably have to prepare for our northern forests to absorb what the tropical forests of the Third World cannot, for whatever reasons. So in future forests will above all be very greatly involved in environmental protection, which brings me to my third point, that is to say the Internet.
I personally very much hope that the idea of the paperless office and perhaps even of a paperless Parliament, by virtue of the Internet, will not just give rise to quiet smiles but actually become a reality. Although this would have a corresponding impact on jobs in the industry, it would make sense environmentally speaking. That is my last point.
To sum up, this report creates a negative impression. It relates too much to existing industries, and it rather gives the impression of trying to protect something that really can no longer be protected. We only have to remember what happened to the steel industry.
I do not think it makes sense to subsidise this sector. But the idea of supporting small and medium-sized enterprises which is contained in Amendment No 3 is very positive. It is also extremely important for us to consider the issue of cartels, given the most recent trends in this sector."@en1
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