Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2002-09-24-Speech-2-261"

Predicate	Value (sorted: default)
rdf:type	lpv_eu:Speech2
dcterms:Date	"2002-09-24"^^xsd:date2
dcterms:Is Part Of	lp_eu:Environmental performance of freight transport system2
dcterms:Language	"en"^^xsd:language2
lpv:document identification number	"en.20020924.11.2-261"2
lpv:hasSubsequent	lp_eu:2002-09-24-Speech-2-2622
lpv:speaker	lp:Mark Francis Watts2
lpv:spoken text	"Mr President, I welcome Marco Polo in principle and in practice. Its predecessor, PACT, was very popular in the United Kingdom with both the public and the private sectors. I am sure Marco Polo will be even more popular in the United Kingdom. I should also like to thank the rapporteur for ensuring that Marco Polo will be even more business-friendly than PACT was. I agree with the Commissioner that is important that Marco Polo does not lose sight of its main objective, which is to encourage modal shift. Why must we do that? Firstly, because we must tackle pollution. Transport is the fastest-growing source of global warming gases in Europe. Secondly, we must tackle congestion. We must, for example, help switch high-volume, long-distance freight away from the road onto the railways where it belongs. Action is also clearly needed at EU level, not just at a national level. After all, only by encouraging the 15 railway companies to work together can some of the artificial national barriers to free movement be removed. Action is also needed to encourage greater use of our ports, seas and inland waterways. 40 per cent of freight already goes by sea. That is an area where we can – and because of Marco Polo will – see more growth. Marco Polo will make a difference there. Finally, and most importantly, let us not get carried away with our own rhetoric. Marco Polo is a positive move but, on its own, it is clearly nowhere near enough. The PSE Group urges the Commissioner to encourage more actions like this and encourage the Member States themselves to take on board their own responsibilities to encourage modal shift in a much more dramatic and radical way than we have seen in the past."@en1
lpv:spokenAs	substitute; EMPL (2002-01-17--2004-07-19)3 member; PES (1999-07-20--2004-07-19)3 member; Committee on Regional Policy, Transport and Tourism (2002-01-17--2004-07-19)3 vice-chair; Delegation to the EU-Malta Joint Parliamentary Committee (2002-02-07--2004-04-30)3 unknown; Labour Party (1999-07-20--2004-07-19)3
lpv:unclassifiedMetadata	"Watts (PSE )."1

Named graphs describing this resource:

The resource appears as object in 2 triples

Context graph