Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2002-01-16-Speech-3-181"
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"en.20020116.12.3-181"2
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"Mr President, I believe that the Directive, which is now in its third and final reading, will improve air quality in Europe. It amends the 1996 Directive so as to meet the national emission ceilings for atmospheric pollutants and the recommendations of the World Health Organisation. The work of Parliament in the drafting of the Directive was significant, and so once again our warm congratulations go to Mr Davies and to our other colleagues who were involved in this process, which lasted over two years. In addition, we need to give our special thanks once again for the work of Belgium as Council President.
In the Directive which has now been approved, the Member States are obliged to submit plans which will allow the limit values necessary for the protection of human health and of vegetation to be lowered by 2010. 2020 will be the benchmark year for long-term objectives and for the subsequent revision of the Directive. In special risk zones, short-term action plans plus active and open information and publicity work are also required.
From the point of view of this Directive, it is of particular importance that an attempt be made to also involve all the candidate countries at as early a stage as possible, since the distance impact of nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds on lower atmosphere ozone levels is significant. In Finland for example the greater part of the ozone present in the lower atmosphere originates from transboundary pollution, in other words from emissions which our country could, in reality, hardly influence at all without the European Union.
Mr President, as you have personally remarked, we have arrived at the half-way point in Parliament's fifth term of elected office. Parliament has already at this stage of its term been able to exert significant influence on the improvement of the air quality in the Union and the candidate countries. In the environmental field, Parliament has thus used its new and enhanced authority in a good and responsible manner. This work needs to be continued, the Commission must be encouraged to be more ambitious when drafting its proposals, and the good cooperation developed with the Council in the field of the environment needs to be kept as warm and effective as it is at present."@en1
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