Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2005-05-09-Speech-1-107"
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"en.20050509.16.1-107"2
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".
Mr President, speaking on behalf of my group, I have to say that we agree with those earlier speakers in regarding the Aarhus Convention as a great leap forward in environmental policy. The clear rules on the right of public participation provided for by the Convention create a situation in which members of the public, NGOs, and the authorities too, can make a better job of protecting the environment. I might add that I do not believe for one moment that we in Europe would be making insoluble problems for ourselves if we were to combine these rights with access to the justice system. When engaging in discussions with members of the public, I often find them more advanced than politicians give them credit for, and I do not worry much about their ability to reason in these matters.
I do, however, worry about how Almaty, for which we are currently preparing, will handle the topic that concerns many members of the European public, who can see it giving rise to problems in the future, the topic that Mr Florenz, the Chairman of the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety, has just addressed: will genetically modified organisms be covered by the Aarhus Convention in future or not? The Moldovan government is expressly calling for them to be and would like to see that clearly laid down in an annex to the Convention. How is it that it is an Eastern European country, an Eastern European government, that is pushing this issue forward? I think the reason for this is perfectly clear: American agribusiness – and its European counterpart too – are currently trying to find tracts of land in Eastern Europe in which to experiment – without being observed, if at all possible – with the release of genetically modified organisms. If we want the Aarhus Convention to be credible and to be taken seriously, then I believe that it must cover GMOs. This will certainly be a central issue in Almaty.
I believe, moreover, that – as others have said – rights of participation in other areas need to be clearly regulated. I would also be glad if you, Commissioner Dimas, were again to elaborate on the Commission’s thinking concerning the third part of the Convention – access to justice – and on what you plan to say about this in Almaty."@en1
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