Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2001-03-15-Speech-4-034"
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"en.20010315.4.4-034"2
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"Mr President, this report should be welcomed for its well-rounded approach. It highlights in a factual and non-alarmist manner the enormous potential of the European biotechnology industry for assisting economic growth, for encouraging job creation and improving the competitiveness of our industries.
But it is not all about growth. As we live longer we also need to ensure that we live better and the infirmities of older people have to be addressed. Diseases like Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, diabetes, heart disease and even cancer have yet to be fully challenged by the biotechnologists. It is not only a question of living better, we have to be fitter so that older people can continue by their work to contribute to the wealth of society. Long life and a healthy life have to be earned.
I am convinced that in plant, animal and human biology lie the biggest challenges of the 21st century. I very strongly support that section of the report which calls for more concrete proposals for action from the Commission and Council. We need the Commission to report on the present state of the industry and the comparisons between Member States and to give us better data for future action. The development of a plan for a bio-Europe – paralleling the e-Europe – for activities of the Commission and Member States to make the Union a competitor for the biotechnology industry is a worthy aim. The Council should also commit to biotechnology as a key new technology and the Stockholm Summit would be a useful time for them to do this.
The region that I represent has the lowest GDP per head of any region in the United Kingdom. It is not a comfortable position and one of the key developments in the regional economic planning is to support a company to stimulate growth in biotechnology industries. We call it Bio-Science-North. The aim is to draw on research in university departments, to establish incubator companies and stimulate growth in those that are already established. We believe that this is one of the most important instruments that we have been able to put in place in the last two or three years, with of course support from the European Regional Development Fund. I know that our region is not alone in that but I believe that this is something that all regions in the Community should be examining.
The final point I would like to make is that we must reinforce the environmental possibilities of biotechnology. It should be recognised that it gives us tremendous opportunities for tackling pollution and reducing resource depletion and gives us opportunities in the food sector to improve the output from our agricultural industries. I hope that the biotechnology industry will get a tremendous boost from the adoption of this report."@en1
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