Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2006-05-18-Speech-4-024"
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"en.20060518.4.4-024"2
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"Mr President, I shall begin by thanking all of the Members who have participated in these reports, in particular Mr Berend, who has made a great effort to create a majority in relation to the Solidarity Fund, with regard to which there are divergent interests amongst the Members. It has not therefore been an easy job to achieve a common position that makes it possible for this Parliament to act strongly and firmly in the coming negotiations.
I would like briefly to stress certain important elements relating to natural disasters, since I believe that we must enhance the European Union’s measures for dealing with them, given that Community interventions have so far proven themselves to be insufficient.
It is therefore reasonable for this Parliament to ask the Commission for a European strategy for combating natural disasters, and furthermore one that acknowledges the specific characteristics of those of a Mediterranean nature, such as droughts and forest fires.
We must provide resources aimed at the victims of these disasters. Furthermore, the creation of a European Monitoring Centre for Drought and Desertification are important initiatives that we must promote.
I would like to stress the main innovations incorporated into the Solidarity Fund, which are going to make it possible to respond more quickly and effectively to disasters that the Member States cannot tackle alone. Together with natural disasters, admissibility is also extended to industrial disasters, terrorist attacks and emergency public health situations.
We in this Parliament must be firm with regard to the proposal to lower the threshold for mobilising the Fund from EUR 3 000 to 1 000 million in damage caused. Thanks to this measure, it will be easier to use the Fund than it has been up to now.
We cannot lose sight of the fact that it is necessary to determine which emergency operations are essential for the re-establishment of the infrastructures and equipment affected, as laid down in the Regulation. The provision of air and land resources and the administration of drinking water are clear examples of this, without forgetting the technical assistance that the Commission will facilitate.
This instrument must respond quickly and effectively, with financial aid, to extreme situations of drought, fire and floods, without forgetting the victims of these disasters who need immediate help and assistance, and who Europe must not turn its back on.
We are talking about the Solidarity Fund and we must not lose sight of this notion, because the European citizens expect us to respond to their demands. We are talking about a Fund that is a political instrument and, as such, it must resolve the difficulties faced by the areas affected and the people living in them."@en1
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