Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2002-09-03-Speech-2-172"
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"en.20020903.6.2-172"2
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".
Mr President, as we reach the end of this debate, I would like to add a few thoughts to those of my colleagues. It is telling that several Commissioners wanted to be present throughout this debate as we have worked together, and each of us, in their own sector, must contribute to a swift, effective response.
In particular, I would like to say to Mr Ferber and Mr Markov that we are really going to use all the margins for flexibility available to us on the cofinancing rate, invitations to tender and State aid. What applies to the Structural Funds for EU Member States also applies to pre-accession instruments for the Czech Republic and Slovakia, as Mr Verheugen has already said. I would reply to Mrs Krehl that we have no intention of excluding these two candidate countries from our solidarity.
Earlier, Mrs Schroeder spoke of the villages or regions bordering her home town of Dresden. I personally will not forget the sight of the town of Wiesenstein, which profoundly affected me. This small town had only just been rebuilt and restored after the fall of the Berlin wall, and, tragically, it has now been destroyed. We must not forget that aspect, in addition to the large towns concerned.
I would also like to respond to Mr Virrankoski, who mentioned the Fund’s methodology. Very shortly, on 18 September, we shall present a proposal: speed, effectiveness and fairness for the distribution methods of this new Fund. I am currently working on criteria that will make it possible to characterise a major disaster. A major natural disaster, in my opinion, is a disaster that seriously affects a significant proportion of the population in one or more regions, in one or more States. It is also a disaster that severely compromises the economy of that region, group of regions, State or group of States. That is clearly the case of the floods that have recently affected many regions and four States.
It is in this spirit that we are working. Mrs Berger has mentioned the regions that do not fall within the scope of objective 1 or objective 2. The point of this exceptional aid Fund that we are creating together is that it will be able to fund regions outside the objective 1 and 2 areas that have been affected or which could be affected in future.
Lastly, I would like to say to Mr Swoboda and Mrs Echerer and others who have spoken about sustainable development, as I myself did in my first speech on prevention, that there is no European competence for land use planning. Town and country planning falls within the competence of local authorities, regions, or even the Member States. The Commission is not claiming new competences, either now or within the scope of the Convention. We do, however, have a responsibility. I am consciously using this word in the same way as the expression 'political courage'. Our responsibility is to ensure, as in the case of the credits managed within the framework of the Structural Funds, that the credits we are going to allocate within the framework of the total appropriations under this Fund, are used in the field, pursuant to the directives on the environment, with the requirement for sustainable development and perhaps with an additional requirement from now on, concerning prevention. This may be the case of the credits allocated within the scope of Agenda 2000-2006. I promise you that in the proposals I shall make on behalf of the Commission for future regional policy after 2006, the emphasis will be placed on this obligation to take account, with regard to prevention, of the risk of natural and ecological disasters for the future programming documents in each of the regions that are to receive credits.
That is the commitment I am giving. In conclusion, as Mr Karas said earlier, I have been struck by the tremendous dignity and high quality of this debate. That is to be expected and basically demonstrates the action, rapid reaction and solidarity that must exist within the European Union and the neighbouring candidate countries – one big family facing their misfortune together."@en1
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