Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2004-12-15-Speech-3-294"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.20041215.11.3-294"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:spokenAs | |
| lpv:translated text |
".
Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, the debate on this report comes, as the Commissioner noted, after a series of major natural disasters in recent years which raise the question of the need to strengthen the Community action programme: floods, heat-waves, forest fires, earthquakes, serious pollution incidents from toxic waste or oil spills, such as that from the
as well as serious industrial accidents and also terrorist attacks.
Five, strengthening social partnership with a more active involvement of civil society and local authorities. Increasing the number of volunteers.
Six, empowerment of research and development of emergency systems for a more efficient management of disasters.
And seven, implementation of the principle of subsidiarity and reinforcement of the drawing up of national plans for emergency coordination, a sector in which numerous Member States have serious shortcomings.
For the reasons which I have described to you and so as not to be too longwinded, because it is already quite late, I call on the European Parliament to approve this report with the greatest possible support, as did the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety, which approved my report almost unanimously.
My country, Greece, is currently experiencing immense anxiety as the result of the hijacking of a bus with several hostages whose lives are in danger. These dangers and these disasters have many victims and cause ever greater economic losses; they disrupt the economies of the countries affected, hitting in particular the poorest and most vulnerable sections of the population. That is precisely why action also needs to be taken by governments, preventive measures need to be strengthened and response capacities need to be extended.
The Community response to this problem is the Community action programme in the field of civil protection. This programme expires in a few days, on 31 December 2004, and we need to approve this proposal which I have prepared, in order to avoid a gap until such time as the new programme is prepared. That is why I support the Commission proposal to prolong this programme for the next two years, just as I support the Commission proposal on the necessary increase in the budget for the action programme in the field of civil protection from EUR 1.5 million annually, which was the amount in 2004, to EUR 2.4 million annually for the next two years. You may say it is not a big increase. I agree, but it is absolutely essential in order to finance increased needs due to enlargement and to finance the action programme to combat marine pollution which has been decided in the meantime.
Unfortunately, it would appear that the Council of Ministers does not have the same perception as we have in the European Parliament and in the Commission, and the Council also needs to understand that the decisions which we take in order to do certain things also need the money necessary for their implementation. Otherwise, we shall not be consistent in our obligations towards the citizens and it is precisely at times of natural disasters that those who voted for us and sent us here need to see the European Union and the European Parliament by their side. This programme therefore needs to proceed and, at the same time, certain points in it need to be improved on the basis of experience obtained to date.
In studying the problem, I have identified seven sectors in which improvements are needed in practice, because on paper the system looks good, but on the ground experience to date has shown that it has serious shortcomings.
One, better sharing of information on available resources, expertise and successful strategies at national level. The database, its data and the capacity for fast communication and coordination need to be improved, in other words the computer database needs to be upgraded.
Two, more training for intervention teams. Experience has shown that more regular training is needed for better cooperation and interoperability.
Three, better communication, coordination, in-time information systems for the prompt information of the public and links with other networks.
Four, funding: not simply increasing funding but safeguarding speedier response with the release of the source of funding and concentrating all the appropriations needed under one heading."@en1
|
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples