Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2005-12-12-Speech-1-072"
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"en.20051212.14.1-072"2
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"Mr President, because our shadow rapporteur, Mr Jørgensen, cannot be in the Chamber today, it is I who have the pleasure of speaking on behalf of the Socialist Group in the European Parliament. I wish to begin by thanking Mr Blokland for his very constructive work. He has tabled many amendments supported by our group.
Battery use is increasing more and more, and it is therefore that much more pressing a matter to react now in order to ensure that the most environmentally friendly technology is used and that those batteries that are most dangerous to the environment are banned and phased out. That is why we are well disposed to the proposal before us, even though we believe that the level of ambition should be higher than that proposed by the Council. The use of the heavy metals mercury, cadmium and lead in batteries must be limited as far as possible. Parliament must therefore tighten up the Council proposal now before us.
Cadmium, mercury and lead are already banned in materials and vehicle parts marketed after 1 July 2003, as well as in new electrical and electronic equipment etc marketed after 1 July 2006. It is therefore quite natural that we should now go further in banning the use of cadmium in batteries. It is particularly important that the exemption relating to cadmium in batteries and accumulators used in hand tools be changed into a ban after a four–year transitional period. There are sound alternatives to using cadmium in such tools. I have one here in my hand
and – as I hope everyone can hear – it works splendidly. You only have to take a closer look at it in order not to swallow what the lobbyists in the corridors are trying to delude you into believing.
There are practical alternatives, produced by quite a few manufacturers. These include not only tools for private use but also heavy-duty tools for professional use. Be in no doubt about this. You only have to go onto the manufacturers’ own websites to see for yourselves. Why should we release a whole lot of cadmium unnecessarily? Why should we not demand that the most environmentally friendly alternatives be used? A ban on the use of cadmium in the batteries for these tools would produce great environmental benefits. Moreover, it is important for European competitiveness that when the time is ripe - as it really is now - we boost the development of new technology through legislation on environmentally friendly technology.
We also think that the collection targets proposed by the Council have been set too low. We wish to raise these, and we think, just like the rapporteur, that it is the legal base constituted by Article 175 that has to apply in this draft legislation because the legislation is aimed precisely and solely at bringing about a better environment."@en1
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"(sound of a hand tool)"1
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