Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2007-09-03-Speech-1-074"
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"en.20070903.16.1-074"2
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"Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, it has been made clear several times in today’s debate that the recent natural disasters in Member States of the EU, and not only in Greece, have shown that besides the measures which must be taken at national level, there is an urgent need for better crisis response mechanisms for the European Union as a whole.
As the rapporteur for the Solidarity Fund, I am mystified as to why the Council has so far dissented from debating the revised version of the 2002 solidarity instrument, which was adopted one and a half years ago by the Commission and European Parliament. This new revised version is a more flexible and straightforward instrument for the provision of assistance: if it is not mobilised now under the Portuguese Presidency, in the wake of these recent disasters, when will it be mobilised? Europe’s citizens are quite rightly asking themselves: why is the EU not capable of acting more swiftly? How much is the much-vaunted solidarity among Member States worth? The answer to that question is determined by crisis situations like this one, in my view.
The version of the Solidarity Fund adopted by the European Parliament in 2006 is a strong and flexible instrument which serves the interests of the EU, and its deployment will enable those living in eligible areas to benefit from effective assistance and support based on solidarity. This fund is not only a mechanism for restoring normality and functionality, infrastructure and economic and social life; it also – and this is important for the EU – sends out a clear political signal from the EU to citizens who find themselves in an acute crisis.
It is not about endowing the fund with more money. That is not a contentious issue; a nominal budget line of one billion euros should be maintained. In light of recent events, however, I appeal to the Council – and the Portuguese Presidency in particular – to make this revised solidarity instrument's entry into force a priority."@en1
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