Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2008-05-21-Speech-3-364"
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"en.20080521.25.3-364"2
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Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, the Parliament resolution adopted in November 2006 invites the European Union and the Member States to undertake to extend the scope of Protocol III of the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons in a bid to curtail the use of depleted uranium weapons. I wish to remind the House that Parliament is calling for action which, as you know, goes beyond the powers of the Commission, given that the Community is not a signatory to the Convention. Moreover, under the Treaties, the Community institutions have no powers in military affairs. I have no wish, nevertheless, to convey the impression that the Commission is indifferent to problems in connection with the production, storage and utilisation of weapons covered by the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW) or the issue of inhumane weapons in general. Its position is quite the contrary, in fact.
The Commission is fully engaged in implementing a common course of action, adopted by the Council last year, in favour of the universal nature of the CCW and its Protocols. Three seminars have been held this year, one for Latin America and the Caribbean in Santo Domingo in March, and two more for the African countries in Lomé last month. Following these seminars, the Dominican Republic has already announced that it is willing to ratify the Convention shortly, and Surinam has stated that it is ready to take the necessary steps towards ratification. The Commission also supports implementation of the Biological Weapons Convention and is also following up initiatives to create a new instrument in response to humanitarian concerns aroused by cluster bombs, within the framework of the CCW and the Oslo Peace Process.
The Commission has also taken action in response to the problems caused by explosive ordnance. In 2006, for example, five million euros were disbursed to help clear explosive war debris in Lebanon.
In relation to the second question, the scientific results available to us cannot confirm that depleted uranium (DU) munitions entail a significant risk to the health of civilian populations in the areas of combat concerned, or to military personnel who are serving or have served in these areas. This is the opinion stated in surveys by the UN, WHO and the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency), and also a Group of Experts established by the European Commission according to Article 31 of the Euratom Treaty, which pronounces as follows, and I quote: ‘On the basis of available information, it is concluded that exposure to DU could not produce any detectable health effects under realistic assumptions of the doses that would be received’, unquote. The Commission is willing to take another look at the issue. It will also continue to guarantee the health of its personnel and be ruled by WHO directives in the event of deployment under conditions entailing potential exposure to DU.
Concerning dialogue with EUROMIL, the Commission is of course willing to talk to any representatives of civil society.
In relation to the last three questions, the Commission does not currently intend to make any financial commitments in these areas."@en1
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