Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2005-05-12-Speech-4-157"
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"en.20050512.22.4-157"2
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"Mr President, on the occasion of my first speech in this House with you in the chair, I should like, if I may, to heartily congratulate you on your election and to say not only that I hold you in high regard, but also that I consider you a great friend.
Ladies and gentlemen, Commissioner, on 14 April, in this House of European Democracy, Mr Casaca expressed his solidarity with the people worst affected by the drought, especially the farmers of the South of Portugal and the
region, as well as the farmers of regions such as Seville, Huelva, Badajoz and Cáceres.
Unfortunately, drought cuts across national borders. This is a genuine, large-scale, natural disaster, on which the European institutions, and consequently Parliament, must focus a great deal of attention. Accordingly, to pick up last month’s debate, we wish to restate our solidarity with Spain and with Spanish farmers. Crop and livestock farmers, and producers of forest products, must be compensated for the considerable losses that they have suffered and will continue to suffer. We must minimise the effects of the drought suffered by workers who depend on crops, livestock and forests and who have already lost their jobs, or whose jobs are under serious threat.
In Spain and in Portugal, exceptional measures must urgently be taken to promote jobs in the affected areas. In my country, the Farming, Food and Forestry Union puts the number of workers who have already lost their jobs, or are in danger of losing their jobs, at 50 000. This situation is expected to worsen as stocks in water protection areas and in groundwater run out, and given the impossibility of operating irrigation channels.
In Portugal and in Spain, it is the oak groves that are under the greatest threat. Thousands of Iberian oak and holly oak trees are in the throes of death. Major regions of the Iberian Peninsula are on the brink of desertification. We are not embellishing a situation that is genuinely dramatic. My description of events is based purely and simply on objective facts and realistic parameters.
Desperate times call for desperate measures. The European institutions have not ignored this disaster. The Commission, for example, has committed itself to providing assistance in its resolution, which we note and welcome. At European level, however, we must do more and do better; the support that has been offered must be stepped up and a multifaceted programme of action – given that the situation is complicated by a wide variety of factors – must be drawn up and implemented.
The Europe that we are constructing must be a thing of great substance, hence my words today, which are both an overview and a call for action; an overview and a call for action not addressed to the deaf and the mute, but to each and every one of you, ladies and gentlemen, Commissioner. I address these remarks primarily to your conscience, as free, fair and fraternal men and women. We are counting on you."@en1
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"Raia de Portugal"1
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