Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2002-12-17-Speech-2-038"
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"en.20021217.1.2-038"2
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"Mr President, in this Chamber we are very frequently engaged in debating what we consider to be the great political issues. But I seem to remember that when we were elected in 1999 our greatest concern was how we made our debates relevant to our electors. I want to tell you that the area that I represent here in Parliament – the constituency of Wales – is a country that was markedly affected by the foot and mouth outbreak. This debate is very relevant to people in my constituency who suffered from what has been described as a community tragedy. There was an impact on a really human scale. We sometimes do not recognise the sense of isolation that was felt by many farmers and by other people living in rural areas because of the devastating economic and other impacts of this outbreak. I therefore want to begin by thanking the committee for visiting Welshpool, Builth Wells and Sennybridge and meeting people within my constituency who said to Mr Kreissl-Dörfler that the European Parliament was the only official body that came to listen to their views. That addresses, in my view, the issue of the relevance of the European Parliament. Setting up the committee has been a worthwhile exercise.
Secondly, I am sorry we had such difficulty in establishing the committee. I am sorry it was such a struggle. I am sorry that the British Government was so anxious about its own position – that there might be any criticism of its position – that we struggled for some six months to get the committee up and running. We all recognise that it was just one group that was opposed to setting up the committee. Mr Kreissl-Dörfler, though coming from that group, has been a paragon in approaching this issue in a non-political way.
His report is first-rate. His report has endeavoured to address the real core issues that are of concern. Contrary to the views of the people who said that this exercise was going to be irrelevant, Commissioner, we are looking forward to your statement tomorrow, and to having a statement that addresses the concerns outlined by the committee that have emerged in the course of the last year.
Others have touched upon the details. I do not want to do that. All I want to say is this: this is a report that had almost universal support in committee. I am sorry that some additional amendments have been tabled because we should cling to the consensus that is within the report. It is the best example, in my view, of the European Parliament addressing the concerns of voters in a practical way. It is a huge example for the future relevance of the European Parliament. It is a tragedy that at the last minute there are some people who still feel it is appropriate, rather churlishly, to protect the reputation of the UK Government. We are engaged in much more important things than that.
I ask you to look at the report as it came out of the committee and to respond accordingly, Commissioner."@en1
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