Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2007-11-12-Speech-1-135"
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"en.20071112.20.1-135"2
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"Madam President, before discussing the proposal that is going to be voted on this morning, I would like to thank the rapporteurs from all the political groups, and I would especially like to thank Mrs Sornosa, from the Socialist Group in the European Parliament, and our friend Mr Prodi, who have really worked side by side and have enriched the directive, as have the Group of the Greens/European Free Alliance and many other Members.
Let us build Europe around its strengths, not its weaknesses. This is the path that we have to take.
Moreover, subsidiarity is being guaranteed, and it is being stated that there does not need to be duplication of official arrangements or of legislation. Member States are being given responsibility for carrying it out, and freedom means responsibility.
In a Europe of 27 members, we need to learn that environmental policy cannot be made by implementing it through the judicial system. We cannot solely rely on prosecutors and the Court of Justice to apply it. We need to rely on a common policy, and on faith in the credibility and capacity of the Member States to get going and carry out the best policies. This is why we have largely looked to good practice.
Something else that is innovative about this directive is that, for the first time, it tackles climate change in relation to soil, dealing with adequate treatment of soil for floods, and for combating desertification and erosion. There is another thing that we need to take into account: Europe and its countryside are the result of the work of man; they have been produced by farmers as the gardeners of the countryside. We must take into account that the Europe of the future must be built by its citizens, and therefore, I repeat, we must set common objectives, but help them to take the path that will also ensure health and a commitment to transparency.
Thank you very much, and thank you once again to the political parties.
The document that is going to be voted on tomorrow has several amendments, which were the result of an agreement, and it has therefore been enriched by contributions from other political parties. It is a document that is largely based on a consensus, which is unexpected in an environmental policy that it could be said is going to generate a new European policy and is opening up a new path.
This document is extremely innovative, as it is responding to a new way of tackling directives. We were facing the problem that, out of 27 countries, only nine had soil protection legislation, and this is an issue that we are going to have to tackle again in the future. Europe has developed asymmetrically, and there are currently many countries that are at doctorate level in terms of soil policy while others are only doing their A-levels.
How can we arrive at a policy of consensus, a common policy, when there are such huge differences? This is the challenge with which we were faced. What was the solution? We went to the Treaty and saw that when defining directives, Article 249 states that directives are common objectives, but that the implementation and application of them can be left up to the Member States, and this is what was done.
Articles 1 and 2 have been strengthened right up to Article 6 in order to make the common objectives clear. In other words, we have set out the goal. We know the goal that we need to get to, and we have to recognise that sustainability is a process that needs to have clear goals, but not all countries can move at the same pace. Those who have not yet begun to advance cannot be asked to do the same as the rest.
We therefore ask for implementation to be left in the hands of the Member States, with maximum respect for subsidiarity, thus eliminating the fear in some countries that have already made progress that their official arrangements will be repeated. There is no need for those countries that have clear soil protection to do it all over again.
This policy of flexibility also applies to recognising that, given the climate and conditions in each country, each one needs to be allowed to come to an agreement with its citizens in order to implement these policies. Therefore, for example, in Article 8 we guarantee that farmers can make an agreement with their Member States on soil conservation, and those that have already done so will not have to repeat the legislation.
This means that at the same time we need to ensure that there is a clear policy on contaminated soil and, in this respect, the health of citizens comes before everything else, along with the objectives of protecting health and being transparent in providing information to citizens; this is clear.
Why do I think it is important for there to be a directive, in the face of the critics that do not want one? It is important, ladies and gentlemen, because we have to build Europe based on our strengths, so we need to follow those countries that have done things well. On the other hand, if we do not legislate we will enter into uncertainty and insecurity, and insecurity and uncertainty undermine the market and health."@en1
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