Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2007-06-19-Speech-2-430"
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"en.20070619.47.2-430"2
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"Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, mercury and mercury compounds are highly toxic substances. Even in low doses, they have an adverse impact on our cardiovascular, immune and reproductive systems. In the environment, mercury can change into methylmercury and concentrate in the food chain, especially in the aquatic environment. In the city of Mina-Mata in Japan in 1956, 8 000 people died because they ate fish with a high mercury content.
Mercury is a global problem and needs coordinated international action to resolve it. The European Union cannot argue persuasively for a reduction in the supply and demand of mercury and, at the same time, continue to be one of the main suppliers in the world. The Commission proposal for a regulation is a unique opportunity to break the cycle of exports of this dangerous substance.
I am extremely satisfied that both the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety and the Committee on Legal Affairs rejected the double legal basis and opted for Article 175 as the only basis, given that the objective of the regulation is to protect the environment and public health.
As far as the starting date for banning exports is concerned, I am calling for something fair and simple: we in the European Parliament need to remain consistent with the resolution we ourselves adopted by a very large majority in March 2006 on the Community Strategy Concerning Mercury. That is why I call on you to vote in favour of Amendment 43, so that we are consistent with these stated positions of the European Parliament. I think that the compounds and mercury products already subject to restricted use and marketing in the European Union should also be included in the export ban, as we agreed in March last year.
What message are we sending to third countries if we export to them the mercury products banned in the European Union because they are dangerous? Will we remember the well-known phrase ‘
’? As far as the ban on mercury imports is concerned, there is no sense in storing mercury from the European Union on the one hand and in importing mercury for use within the European Union on the other. We are calling for common sense. Besides, supply currently exceeds demand, according to the Commission figures, and this situation looks likely to continue in the future.
As regards the storage obligation for metallic mercury no longer used in the chlor-alkali industry, again my views are based on the resolution adopted by the European Parliament. I am calling, until such time as there are appropriate techniques for the final disposal of mercury, preferably in solidified form, for temporary storage in a recoverable form, either in underground salt mines or in surface installations used exclusively and equipped for temporary storage. Otherwise, the storage site for this toxic substance will be the human body itself. Anyway, we are not talking about millions of tonnes. In all, the surplus quantities of mercury in the chlor-alkali industry are estimated at approximately 12 000 tonnes, the volume of which – due to its high density – is approximately 1 000 cubic metres.
At the same time, I am calling for the adoption of a basic framework of preconditions for storage ensuring continuous monitoring, safety specifications, regular reporting, exchange of information and penalties in accordance with the ‘polluter pays’ principle in the event of non-compliance.
Responsibility during temporary storage should remain with the owner of the storage installation, while the Member States should assume administrative and financial responsibility for safe final disposal. I am therefore calling on the Member States to create a fund on the basis of financial contributions from the chlor-alkali industry which will provide the necessary resources. I am also calling for a register of buyers, sellers and traders of mercury to allow regular monitoring of movements of imports and exports.
Let us stand against a watered down regulation which will not provide the level of protection of public health and the environment wanted by the citizens. The call for a ban on exports and the problem of storage must be addressed on the basis of these criteria. The relative cost – for such an investment in the future – is comparatively very low in the face of the exponential benefits it will generate. The European Union, the European Parliament can and must stand at the vanguard of global efforts to withdraw mercury. I hope that our decisions tomorrow will contribute towards this."@en1
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"bon pour l’orient"1
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