Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2001-01-18-Speech-4-184"
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"en.20010118.10.4-184"2
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"Mr President, I really must say that I am quite amazed at how one can manage, in a debate about an earthquake in El Salvador, to say that one was a reserve officer in the German army and a "positive" member of the generation of 68 and to talk about stone-throwing members of the 68 Movement. I do not know what one has got to do with the other, apart perhaps from the fact that Mr Knolle felt compelled to tell us a little of his own biography, but this is perhaps not without interest either.
According to the descriptions of my colleagues, the events in El Salvador are dramatic and we have heard many speakers state quite correctly that if the question being asked here is how quick and efficient our aid is, then in the case of this natural catastrophe it does actually seem to be arriving quickly, our initial assistance I mean. What concerns us, however – and what also characterised the discussion about the motion and how it should be worded in our group – is the fact that we know from experience that this has not always been the case. We call on the Commission to ensure that the aid – when the European Union helps by providing a go-get-it approach, know-how, equipment and people on the ground – does not only arrive when the people have, for the most part, already helped themselves or when the next natural catastrophe is due to be dealt with. The European Union's credibility, both internally and in its relations with its partners, is threatened when money is admittedly made available and aid is promised, but because of bureaucratic obstacles the aid either arrives far too late or not at all.
On the one hand, therefore, this is about immediate help for the poorest of the poor, who need our solidarity, but on the other hand it is also about the fact that we need to bear in mind that our aid is futile if it becomes entangled in a jungle of red tape. That is why we are glad that this motion has been drafted jointly by several groups. We hope, Commissioner Nielson, that the Commission will work just as quickly on this motion as Parliament has. As for Mr Knolle, I hope that he does not encounter any stone-throwing foreign ministers."@en1
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