Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2005-05-09-Speech-1-089"
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"en.20050509.15.1-089"2
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"Mr President, I should first like to thank our rapporteur and fellow member of the Group of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe for the quality of his report. We are well used to it. It is both an ambitious and a balanced text that tackles the major issues: being practicable and also giving precise and up-to-date information to bathers.
For my part, I should like to make two observations on reading the European legislation on bathing waters that, today, spans nearly 30 years. Firstly, we must above all congratulate ourselves on the very encouraging results already obtained. I would point out that, according to the last report made public by the Commission in 2003, nearly 96% of coastal sites and over 91% of freshwater sites were in compliance with the quality standards laid down by the directive. Secondly, it is nevertheless advisable to place a caveat on this observation and this success and to criticise the lack of scope given to the Member States in applying this European law.
If you will excuse me, I shall give a concrete example that affects me: it appears to me to be particularly zealous that, for certain rivers in Wallonia, the Commission, with the support of European judges, has considered that a river of 10 centimetres deep, where two bathers occasionally go to take a dip, warrants the classification of bathing water and therefore requires drainage investment amounting to EUR 700 000 per zone. It is no coincidence that this legislation in force has been the subject of no less than 15 judgments of the Court of Justice. If we want this new directive to bring about the improvements desired by one and all, and in particular, if we want it to be applied in practice, we must get rid of this slightly restricted legalism at all costs.
We want a practicable law – we have said it, the rapporteur has said it – a directive that also provides us with the means to inform and to fight effectively against all forms of pollution, the majority of which is, moreover, less and less accidental, since in the case of bathing waters as well, we must address the causes of environmental pollution and their impact on the health of citizens from Europe and elsewhere."@en1
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