Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2006-06-12-Speech-1-163"
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"en.20060612.20.1-163"2
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"Mr President, first of all, my compliments to Mr Seeber. I think he has presented an excellent report, the broad outlines of which we will endorse. To millions of people in Europe, floods are a reality, and a scary one at that. In recent years, the Danube, Rhine and Meuse have all burst their banks, with devastating effects. An increasing number of people are faced with floods. The development of water meadows has intensified and river basins have been shortened. Water levels may well be rising as a result of climate change. It is because most rivers are international that it is essential that this problem be tackled at international level. Appreciative though I am of the Commission proposal, I do have two comments to make about it.
First of all, the way in which this issue is to be tackled internationally is left too vague. The only stipulation is that problems must not be passed on. That is in fact too little in my view, for the question is, of course: what is meant by ‘pass on’? That is why the Socialist Group in the European Parliament is asking for more flesh to be put on the idea of cooperation between Member States. We should be guided by the river’s natural course, which, in the case of many rivers and in many places, no longer exists, of course. The principle is clear, though: anyone who shortens or cuts off the river must compensate for it on their own territory, so that water is not rushed to countries that are downstream. That is simply a question of good neighbourhood policy, and that is why I am asking you to support Amendment 82.
My second comment is about subsidiarity. Europe should not concern itself with more than is strictly necessary. There is every reason for this. Democracy should be as close to the citizen as possible, and that is why the PSE Group is asking us in Amendment 81 to abandon the application of planning and report obligations to rivers that run within the territory of a Member State, provided that this Member State guarantees the level of protection that is described in the directive on high water levels."@en1
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