Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2004-02-11-Speech-3-267"
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"en.20040211.10.3-267"2
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"Mr President, Madam Vice-President, let me remind you that the proposal prepared by you – following careful preparation by your officials – initially caused some confusion. The port authorities and shipping companies shot your proposal down in flames. In my view, we must also be grateful to the rapporteur, Mr Stockmann and the entire Committee on Regional Policy, Transport and Tourism. Mr Grosch also worked very hard in the discussions with the industry, and as a result, we have largely assuaged the sector’s concerns. I think they were simply misunderstandings.
I am very pleased that, especially with the amendments proposed by the rapporteur – which we on the Committee on Transport jointly support – we can establish and ensure here today that we are not proposing a European type of standardised container – I prefer not to use the term ‘supercontainers’ – which could obstruct our global transportation business. In the export and import industries, we are reliant on the effective, efficient and swift transportation of these loading units on ships without adaptation of currently existing cell guides etc. In my view, as stipulated in our amendments in committee, we must leave the task of working out the detail to the standardisation committees. As a lawyer, I would be reluctant to embark on the task of developing the fine detail in my role as a Member of this House. It is, however, my belief that the principles we have set out in the proposed amendments will ensure that the new European loading unit does not conflict with existing international norms. This new loading unit is important, for it enables us to align the industry’s interests in greater stowability of palettes with the interest of the shipping companies and port authorities not to have to change all the loading gear and the entire structure of the container ships. In this respect, I think we can be quite happy with what we have achieved.
I hope that the industry will adopt what we are hoping for, namely more widespread use of intermodal units. We are reliant on the industry here. We simply make proposals and will have to wait and see whether the new standardised container is accepted by the industry. The industry’s task is to protect its own interests.
Finally, I would like to point out that this proposal contains not only a definition of this new loading unit, but also a requirement for more stringent controls and inspections of all loading units, regardless of type. If loading units are not properly maintained and repaired, they can pose a danger in goods transportation, in port during trans-shipment etc. We must ensure that serious accidents do not occur, especially in ports and on ships. In this respect, the Commission is right to propose more frequent and thorough inspections of all loading units."@en1
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