Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2003-09-01-Speech-1-070"
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"en.20030901.5.1-070"2
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"Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, I should first like to extend my sympathies to all of the regions in the south of Europe that have been devastated by terrible fires. This is a true human, environmental and economic tragedy. As you said, Commissioner, repairing the damage is more expensive than preventing it: we therefore need to give prevention the consideration and funding that it deserves.
In this respect, I can report that creating networks in the forests of Aquitaine by building tracks, firebreaks and ditches, by increasing the number of water supply points and by appointing fire spotters has made it possible to limit the spread of nascent fires very considerably. These preventive measures were funded in particular by a European regulation dedicated to protecting forests against fire, Regulation 2158/92/EEC, which unfortunately expired at the end of 2002. In spite of the indisputable beneficial effects of this regulation, the Commission – as many of us have pointed out – has transferred only the fire surveillance aspect to its 'Forest Focus' proposal. As for the prevention part, it has been incorporated into rural development, where funding is a great deal more uncertain.
This shows the Commission's intention to abandon wholesale a European policy of defending forests against fire and to renationalise this policy. To do so is, I believe, a political, economic and environmental mistake. Well before the terrible fires of this summer – note, well before – and more specifically on 29 April, I wrote to the President of the European Commission, Romano Prodi, to tell him how astonished I was by the Commission's position. At first reading, the Commission had in fact spoken in favour of rejecting Parliament's amendments integrating fire prevention in 'Forest Focus'.
In response, all I received was a reassertion of this position, which I regard at the very least as surprising. At a time when the European Parliament is preparing to reopen discussions on the 'Forest Focus' proposal at its second reading, we need to do all we can to include fire-prevention measures in 'Forest Focus'. When it comes to the Community budget, this funding is a drop in the ocean, but, Commissioner, it is a drop of water that will enable many fires to be extinguished."@en1
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