Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2001-10-02-Speech-2-020"
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"en.20011002.2.2-020"2
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"Madam President, I would like to move the debate on to ground which has not been much talked about and to the remarks Mr Prodi made in his introductory statement about the regional element. I would like to do so particularly from the standpoint of my own constituency, Scotland, but not only from that point of view.
It is interesting to note, when you reflect on Scotland, that about 80% of the competences exercisable by the Scottish Parliament concern domains in which the European Union has a shared competence. When we make laws here, the Scottish Parliament and government are bound by them and have to put them into effect; that is quite right and it is the same across other similar regions. But sometimes it can produce ridiculous results, for example when environmental laws are too detailed to allow sensible local discretion in adapting common principles to local situations. The water problems of the Island of Islay or the Glen of Strathspey are hardly comparable with those of the Rhine basin. A one-size-fits-all approach to water law can have absurd results, for example in respect of the Scotch malt whisky industry, despite its established environmental friendliness over 200 years.
The White Paper says, as did Commissioner Prodi this morning, that the Commission will consult regional and local government early in the policy-formation process and will seek to legislate so that local knowledge is effectively deployed in the implementation process. That is quite right and very welcome, though it was a pity he only devoted one sentence in his opening speech to it. Many of us had expected that the White Paper would contain a far stronger statement, especially in relation to the so-called partner regions exercising their own constitutional powers of legislation.
Europe will fail to regain or retain the affections of the citizens of the Union – and that includes the people in Scotland and our counterparts in many similar lands such as Catalonia, Flanders, Wales, Galicia, the Basque country – unless the regional and local governments with whom people there finally identify are fully respected partners in the governance of Europe. We are the same size and population as many of the existing Member States, the same as many of the adjoining States and we are bigger than quite a few of them.
It is often said that big, important regions of large countries do better in the Union than small Member States. I doubt it and nothing in the White Paper has yet persuaded me that is true."@en1
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