Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2007-09-03-Speech-1-066"
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"en.20070903.16.1-066"2
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"Mr President, we all feel compassion for those who have lost relatives or friends, but also for those who have lost much of what is important to them in their lives on a very personal level. Yes, we feel sympathy, and yes, it is the European Union’s task to show solidarity. That is our fundamental principle, and we want to apply it in this instance too, and yes, in this way, we also want to fulfil our responsibility, which we owe to every one of our fellow countries in the European Union.
If we are expected to take on responsibility, however, then we can expect some responsibility in return. We must ask ourselves: could this have been avoided? I am looking in the direction of my fellow Members who have spoken, longstanding Members of this House who have already adopted numerous laws and action programmes. There are good grounds for saying, yes, it could have been avoided. Nine years have passed since the European Parliament adopted the Action Programme for Civil Protection, and what is the Programme about, Mr Trakatellis? You were involved in its development, as were many others. The Programme consists of providing assistance promptly, but it is also about providing training and organising information events so that people at local level are taught how to react and get help quickly. That should, perhaps, have been possible in this instance too, but probably not everyone is proficient enough yet.
What about the 'Forest Focus' scheme? Is forest management actually being taken seriously? In those countries of the European Union which are always hot in summer – in other words, all of Southern Europe – are fire lanes envisaged at all? Or is that not lucrative enough? These are all things which we need to think about. If we are willing to take on the responsibility that we owe, then we have the right to demand responsibility as well.
What about waste policy? We have frequently been told that there are Member States which do not take it very seriously. We have been told time and again by the European Commission that there are countries which are not complying with the current legislation. Of course, that means that a thoughtlessly discarded cigarette end can instantly cause a fire. Yes, we want to show solidarity and provide assistance. However, what is this reaction force about? I have a question for everyone here today who is calling for a European reaction force and perhaps even a European fire service. Let me ask them this: how many million people in 27 countries are these supposed to serve? Almost 500 million? These Members are either charmingly naive, straight out of a fairy tale, or they are populist: one or the other.
We should not delude the people out there into believing that the European Union in Brussels – at the Commission or here in this House – could possibly provide enough fire fighters or rescue workers to intervene for us when disasters occur. We need communication structures, and we must call up helicopters from Germany, Finland and the Czech Republic when they are needed, the very same day. After all, there is an early warning system for certain events in the food sector. There, the deadline is 12 hours. I believe we would want to achieve a faster response time than 12 hours there too. I believe we should be honest to the people out there and say, yes, we can give money, and yes, we can set up communication structures. We can try to help, but you need to take responsibility at local level as well, wherever you are, be it Germany, Northern Europe, Southern Europe or anywhere else.
As dreadful as this situation is at the moment, and as much as we feel compassion and must show solidarity, by the day after tomorrow, we must have identified what needs to change."@en1
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