Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2006-07-03-Speech-1-169"
Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
---|---|
rdf:type | |
dcterms:Date | |
dcterms:Is Part Of | |
dcterms:Language | |
lpv:document identification number |
"en.20060703.20.1-169"2
|
lpv:hasSubsequent | |
lpv:speaker | |
lpv:spokenAs | |
lpv:translated text |
"Mr President, I too would like to begin by thanking Mr Blokland. It has been a long process, and you have worked hard. You have seen eye to eye with the Socialist Group in the European Parliament for a large part of the way. It is also for this reason that we are able to support the compromise even if, like the preceding speaker, we are not entirely satisfied. There are certain areas where this piece of legislation could have been better. We do not agree that cordless power tools, specifically, should be excepted. They account for a large proportion of the cadmium batteries in use today. There are alternatives, which may be reusable. It may also be possible not to let some of these batteries slip through the system, and for the environmental damage therefore not to be as large – if, that is, the system works. We must simply point out, however, that there are alternatives, and since there are alternatives, why should we not use them? Why should we not, then, ban these hazardous batteries?
It is, of course, the progress, indeed great progress, made that ensures that we are supporting this legislation despite everything. The capacity labelling is a good thing, particularly for consumers. We are, of course, aware of all the advertisements for batteries – I shall not specify any product names, but there is definitely something to do with a rabbit – and the manufacturers clearly wish to give the impression that these batteries last much longer than those of their competitors. It is also possible that they do just that, but now we will have proof of the matter, because it will now state on the packaging how much energy such a battery contains. This is clearly a good thing.
A further positive is that we are obliging the manufacturers to ensure that if there is a battery in an appliance it must be easy to remove. Another positive is the fact that we in Europe will now have a high overall percentage of recycling. Again, we could well have wished for an even higher figure, but we are happy to have Community rules in this area. All in all we have to say that it is an important area that we are now legislating for at Community level. Our ambitions were higher than what has been achieved, but we nonetheless support the legislation, overall, on the basis of the improvements that have been achieved."@en1
|
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples